Wednesday 27 March
Drove to Waihi to give evening presentations on Food security and Food resilience.
In Katikati we visited Hugo Verhagen of Permaculture Blitz, a group that helps design and make permaculture gardens for others in the region. One of 3 landscape garden designers, they have turned their talents to permaculture design for backyards and the local team get together to implement the design. Hugo’s garden is exemplary with mandala gardens, compost bins and chickens. He grows most of the food for a family of four on his town section, moving chickens around to clean up leftovers and maintain fertility. If you are interested in finding out more go to www.facebook/permablitzbayofplenty.
Drove to Waihi to give evening presentations on Food security and Food resilience.
In Katikati we visited Hugo Verhagen of Permaculture Blitz, a group that helps design and make permaculture gardens for others in the region. One of 3 landscape garden designers, they have turned their talents to permaculture design for backyards and the local team get together to implement the design. Hugo’s garden is exemplary with mandala gardens, compost bins and chickens. He grows most of the food for a family of four on his town section, moving chickens around to clean up leftovers and maintain fertility. If you are interested in finding out more go to www.facebook/permablitzbayofplenty.
Kate and Kent Pfennig at Katikati Motel used to have a swimming pool when they first took over there but it was no longer viable. A permaculture design followed by a blitz broke the concrete into pieces and built walls for the garden. The garden has a series of beds the same size as the chicken run so again they can move it wherever needed. The beds are wicking beds - they have plastic sheet, then around 200 mm of small stone with weed mat over, then soil up to the level of the raised beds. There are pipes put in which reach down to the stones so that one can add water as required. This method was developed in Australia and allows irrigation in low rainfall areas. Kate loves to offer her guests the veg and herbs. The eggs go for guests breakfasts and they often comment on the delicious flavour.
Katikati Free Kindergarten was a wonderful example of children enjoying an enhanced natural environment whilst learning the benefits of worm farms and recycling systems. The playground was mudbrick structures and climbing areas built by locals and so much imagination could be used to invent castles, etc. The garden had fruit and vegetables that the children could pick and water play where they added flowers making potions, herbs they would cut up and make teas out of. The teaching and learning possibilities were endless. The worm juice was sold in their shop as worm wine in recycled wine bottles and newspapers made into brickettes for the fire. The teachers were an inspiration and had been involved in putting in an orchard nearby where children could pick fruit on their way to or from school.
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Marie Manning, originally from Canada has 30 sq metres of garden in vegetables and fruit. 4 months ago a design was prepared for her garden and a permaculture blitz transformed her garden. Footage of the blitz is available on a Facebook page for PermablitzBOP.
In her garden the centre piece is the base of an inukshuk, a stone landmark or cairn built by humans, used by the Inuit often to signify a food cache. She feels hers radiates peace around her garden and to the world. The garden beds are circular around it. She is giving food away as well as feeding her guests and is amazed at the amount of food she has been able to grow in a short time. Her garden is an incentive to all with a small space to grow their own.
A big thankyou to Edwina for looking after us so well, giving us leads for filming and showing us around as well as organising venues in Waihi and Katikati where our presentations were well attended and we shared wonderful local food with all the folk there.
In her garden the centre piece is the base of an inukshuk, a stone landmark or cairn built by humans, used by the Inuit often to signify a food cache. She feels hers radiates peace around her garden and to the world. The garden beds are circular around it. She is giving food away as well as feeding her guests and is amazed at the amount of food she has been able to grow in a short time. Her garden is an incentive to all with a small space to grow their own.
A big thankyou to Edwina for looking after us so well, giving us leads for filming and showing us around as well as organising venues in Waihi and Katikati where our presentations were well attended and we shared wonderful local food with all the folk there.