Tours

 


PRE-APC Tours


There will be a free tour of Northey Street City Farm  during the Community Gardens & Permaculture Festival on Sunday 11 April 2021 at 10.30am.

 


POST-APC TOURS


 FOOD FOREST FIELD TRIP. Northern Rivers, NSW.

Coordinated by Bunya Halasz

Thurs April 15

Carpool travel from Convergence to Mullumbimby (to be organised during convergence)

5:00/6:00 pm – Arrive Mullumbimby and unpack for accommodation – billeted beds available on request for at least 10 people and potential for camping at Mullumbimby campground (unpowered campsites $25/night) https://www.mullumbimbyshowground.org.au/camping-info

Dinner to be purchased by participants in Mullumbimby town – many options available

Fri April 16 

(optional) early morning trip (on foot) to Mullumbimby Farmers Market http://www.mullumfarmersmarket.org.au/ – a great chance to peruse the local produce and characters from the region (from 7:00 am) to purchase personal foods for breakfasts and snacks – and other things you may not be able to resist…. If you are camping at Mullum showgrounds you are already there! Extremely low foot miles for a great breakfast.

9:30 – 10:30 – Tour of Sharon Gibson’s award winning demonstration in urban permaculture in Mullumbimby town. She specialises in the harvest and processing of subtropical and tropical crops and is an accomplished cook of local, seasonal foods. Sharon is a tutor for the Byron College of Permaculture, having coordinated the Cert 3 Accredited Permaculture Course for many years.

Car pool travel to Conscious Ground Organics https://consciousground.org/

11:00 – 12:30 – tour of Conscious Ground Agroforestry Food Production systems

12:30 – Delicious local, organic lunch at Conscious Ground – cost covered in tour

1:30 – 2:30 – travel to Namabundah Farm Agroforestry Project in Alstonville. This project is a Successional Agroforestry planting of primarily local indigenous bush foods, evolving on the Lands of Bundjalung Tribal Society through a collaboration between many groups including The Bundjalung Tribal society, Ethos Global Foundation, Growing Roots Permaculture https://www.facebook.com/GrowingRootsPermaculture/and Hungry Earth Agroecology https://www.facebook.com/hungry.earth.agroecology/

2:30 – 4:00 – tour of Namabundah Farm Agroforestry Project

4:00 – 5:30 – golden hour in special local rainforest remanant J

Back to Mullumbimby to accommodation and do it yourself dinner in town

Evening – free time for collaborative cocreation

Saturday April 17 

Pack down camp/rooms and sort own breakfast

9:30 – Carpool to the Living Agroecology https://www.facebook.com/livingagroecology food production and hands-on learning space at ‘The Farm’ in Byron Bay https://thefarm.com.au/

This 2ha Agroecological market garden on land leased from ‘The Farm’ has been evolving for the last 3 years in the direction of multi-strata, mega diverse food production with the intention to push the boundaries of regenerative food production and community engagement. Coordinated by Evan Anderson of Hungry Earth Agroecology and Bunya Halasz of Growing Roots Permaculture, this project has trained hundreds of students, volunteers and interns in the ecological foundations of regenerative food production and the hard work and economic challenges of remaining economically viable whilst continuing to expand the footprint of ecological regeneration through primary production.

10:00 – 12:00 –tour of Agroforestry plots at ‘The Farm’. Potential to stay until lunch (heaps of options available onsite) or whenever people want to leave….

Depart from ‘the Farm’ by car pool back to Brisbane or else we can organise lifts to Byron for people to book their own busses

Costs

$80 plus food plus contribution towards drivers for car pooling

Booking:

Please email Bunya Halasz on  growingrootsgarden@gmail.com to book a place on the tour. Payment can be made at the start of the tour.


A ONE DAY TOUR of the SOUTHERN MORETON BAY ISLANDS – A Natural
Permaculture  Community

Friday 16th April 9am – 4.30pm (Ferry Departs Redland Bay at 9am sharp).

Hosted by SMBI PERMACULTURE.

Though surrounded by marine national park, under an hour from Brisbane CBD (and just a few kms from this year’s convergence at Kindilan), the
four beautiful islands of Southern Moreton Bay (SMBI) remain relatively unknown.  Lots of open spaces, old farms, quiet roads and friendly  people give the islands a distinct rural feel. It is here many permaculture practitioners are taking advantage of the islands’ rich soil and food growing tradition stretching back to the early days of Brisbane. Because good land is very affordable, young and old are able to realise their dream of owning their own permaculture property.
Come for a sparkling trip across the water and visit us for our 1 day Permaculture Convergence Tour of the Islands on Friday 16th April and see how small, discrete, naturally formed communities can foster sustainable living.

Stay overnight on one of the islands on Thursday 15th April at one of the many lovely Airbnb’s on the islands or ferry departs 9am sharp from Banana St. Redland Bay on  Friday morning.

Cost: $35 + return ferry fare from Redland Bay approx. $9 each way or cheaper with a GO card (includes lunch and afternoon tea cooked with love and home grown produce from the islands.)

Please see our Facebook event for more info 

To book your place.
Limited to 8 people!


APC NORTHERN TOUR WEEKEND

Due to COVID and less interstate attendees, the planned Northern tour has been downsized to involve 2 days of self drive/car pool tours.

Day 1, Saturday 17th will offer 4 sites in the Maleny/Conondale/Crystal Waters area, organized and hosted by Robin Clayfield. In the morning people will meet at Annaliese Hordern’s Permaculture Garden in Maleny then travel to Green Harvest’s ‘Incredible Edible Organic Gardens’. The afternoon will be spent at Crystal Waters Permaculture Village beginning with a general tour of the central village area and then the 640 acre EcoVillage and completing with a tour of a private Lot on Crystal Waters, Kutamullamee (Robin Clayfield’s family home and garden).

Day 2, Sunday 18th involves an invitation to Noosa Permaculture’s monthly Club Day at Cooroy Community Permaculture Garden and a self drive/car pool tour to an Open Garden and Farm Tour of Zaia and Tom Kendall’s Farm at Kin Kin.

For more details contact Robin Clayfield on  robin@earthcare.com.au

 Saturday 17 April 2021 – Day 1

Tour 1 – Tree Haven – Annaliese Hordern’s Permaculture Garden

Time: 9am to 10am

Tour 2 – Green Harvest’s Incredible Edible Organic Gardens with Frances and Jeff Michaels

Time: 10.30 to 11.45

Welcome to our unique, inspirational, world leading, subtropical, beautiful edible landscape which contains a propagation nursery, seed saving and permaculture designed gardens, rammed earth shop and offices.

Established in 2013 this 1 acre site, just outside of Maleny, showcases the world’s best edibles from the equatorial regions. A guided tour takes you “up the garden path” where you will see and learn about perennial edibles, soil improvement, habitat creation and enhancement for beneficial insects and bees.

This is a small, diverse enterprise helping Australians to grow organically since 1992. This is not your “standard” garden centre where all the plants are bought in and the core business is homewares and a café. We walk the sustainability talk and invite you to be part of our story so that we all can move together toward improved health for us and the planet.

Tour 3 – A 2 hour ‘Crystal Waters Permaculture village tour’

Time: Lunch between 12.30 and 1.30. Tour from 1.30 to 3.30 pm

Robin will give an informative and insightful tour of the 33 year old Permaculture Ecovillage. You will see both the central village area and the wider 640 acres with dams, clustered housing, and licensed plots for commercial, hobby and community use… home to approximately 250 people.

Tour 4 – Kutamullamee – Robin Clayfield (and Friends) Creative Permaculture Home and Garden

Time: 3.30 to 5.00 pm

Kutamullamee means ‘Many Hands’ and has a 30 year history of people living, learning and working on the 1 acre Lot at Crystal Waters. Robin spent over 4 years away from the gardens in recent years and now she’s been back for 4 years. Even though it’s still a building and retrofit site in places, the re-visioned site has many gardens, systems, building technologies and creative spaces to be enjoyed and inspired by, along with a reemerging biodiversity and a new Social Permaculture overlay.

Meals: Morning cuppa at Green Harvest, Picnic lunch at Crystal Waters (Please order) plus Flowerpot Café open for cuppas, cakes etc. Could arrange an evening dinner and activity if enough of you staying over at Crystal Waters

Transport: Self-drive or car pool if possible. Could arrange pickups for carpooling from Landsborough station (on Nambour/Gympie Line). Would need to arrive before 8.30am.

Cost: $55 to $75 per person (sliding scale) for all of Day 1 if more than 10 people book. (PLUS cost of picnic lunch – will be arranged and needs to be booked. Please enquire).

Accommodation: Either Friday night, Saturday night and/or Sunday night all possible at Crystal Waters EcoPark – Camping or Bunkhouse or Family rooms. Book with caretakers via https://crystalwaters.org.au/eco-caravan-park/make-a-booking/

 Sunday 18 April 2021 – Day 2

MORNING – ‘Permaculture Noosa’ Club Day, Cooroy Community Permaculture Gardens

Time: 9-11.30am.

Permaculture Noosa welcomes you to our April Club Day at Cooroy Community Permaculture Gardens! Please join us for guest speakers, a garden tour, seed saving for our seed bank, and harvest swap. Our guest speakers in April will be Kumu Pa’a Kawika Foster and Kathryn Roberts. Kumu Pa’a Kawika Foster is a traditional cultural practitioner of Hawaiian ancestry from the valley of Halawa on the island of Molokai. He now lives in Australia and shares the traditional teachings of his ancestors combining ancient wisdom with a modern approach and how traditional Hawaiian practices apply in our world today.” Kathryn Roberts is from the team at Subpod who will share how below ground composting can help divert waste from landfill to feed the soil. Subpod is a worm farm that is buried directly into the garden helping worms and microbes do the work of converting food waste into nutrient rich compost.

AFTERNOON – Kendall Permaculture Farm Tour (home of PermEco Inc.) in Kin Kin with Tom Kendall

Time: 1.30pm

The 3 hour tour is by donation. Donations will go towards farm maintenance and PermEco running costs. There will be an afternoon tea afterwards with an opportunity for people to ask questions and to connect.

Meals: Zaia and Tom recommend lunch beforehand at the Kin Kin store / Black Ant Gourmet. The Black Ant is a great cafe in Kin Kin that supports local growers, has a snail of approval and is a great supporter of PermEco Inc.

Transport: Self-drive or car pool if possible

Cost: Morning is free but I’m sure a donation would be appreciated. Afternoon is by donation.

Accommodation: Local options or could come back to Crystal Waters EcoPark