Summer PDC Course – New graduates charged with permaculture change
These are the newest graduates from PSI January PDC course charged to go forth and change the worlds with permaculture. And a fine bunch there were too. I have great hope and optimism from the designs they produced in the course. The course gave them their first...
PermEstate – Presenting Permaculture properties for housesitting, rent, sale or hire
House sitter required - Marsfield PSI’s Sydney base, in suburban Marsfield, needs a house-sitter for the period 21 December to 8 February. The family normally there is visiting parents in Japan then. Critical duties include the feeding and care of two ducks and two...
PSI Natural building workshop
Since August at Permaculture Sydney Institute, construction of a bench has been underway as part of a Natural Building workshop that was held on the first weekend of October.
News from the Winter PDC 2022
The July PDC Course happened to intersect with our big flood. Some students got trapped in (for the two weeks) and some got trapped out, and so we had no choice but to run the course with ten of us here at Bandusia. We had no power from day one. So, no hot water, no...
Floods, floods and yet more floods!
Our beautiful valley was hit very hard by our last flood in July with the highest flood levels since 1949. In some spots, the highest ever on record. It has knocked our community very hard. No one has been unaffected, and we are all still in shock and disbelief about what has happened here. Losses have been immense. Homes, possessions, animals, paddocks, fences, riverbanks and landscape, either gone, buried or destroyed.
What’s new? Our bush tucker food forest.
We’ve been creating a new food forest on the farm of a different kind. This one is a bush tucker food forest consisting entirely of native edible species. It is situated in zone 3 of the property as it requires less maintenance than a zone 2 fruit and nut tree food...
Natural Health & Healing from your garden workshop
This amazing workshop with Pat Collins filled out fast and for those of you that missed out. Don’t despair, the next one is Oct 23rd. Here’s some scenes from the event: Stage one: Identifying, sourcing and gathering the weeds.Hunting and gathering the weeds....
The Mandala Market Garden
The mandala garden continues to develop and flourish, with emphasis now on its production with the construction phase complete. Sunflowers are beaming from one of the gardens along with beans and squash producing bountiful quantities. Potatoes are standing proud and...
Gardens PSI designed, constructed and maintained over the last 10 years
Over the past ten years, PSI has designed, constructed and now maintains 27 specific gardens at our PSI Farm and Bandusia country retreat. The gardens are based on permaculture principles and are all organic, using animal or fish fertilisers only and with no...
Permaculture Sydney Institute (PSI) Seasonal Permabees – Labour, learn and laugh together
About the PSI Permabees PSI holds four Permabees (Permaculture working bees) a year - the first Sunday of each new season. Permabees bring people together who have a curiosity or interest in Permaculture. No experience or formal training in permaculture is necessary....
Eco-structures built at Permaculture Sydney Institute
Over the last 10 years PSI has been creating a permaculture demonstration site at Bandusia Country Retreat and the adjacent PSI Farm. The power of a demonstration site we believe is the best way to share and influence knowledge about ecologically sustainable...
Permaculture Strategies for Fire Prevention & Preparedness.
There are many things we can do to design for fire as many examples in these recent and other fires have shown us.
Farmer of the month: Jane Blacker – St Albans Nut Company
Jane Blacker farms and manages one of Australia’s largest organic Pecan nut farms. Right here in our valley. Although a petite women in stature, Jane is certainly not small by nature or in what she has set up and achieved. Jane and her husband Warwick have...
News from the JULY PDC Course
Well another round of amazing PDC students were produced here at Permaculture Sydney Institute who without a doubt will go on to achieve great things. It was a small but very productive group this winter. Each have big ambitions of teaching, working abroad, developing...
Farmer of the month: Nick Shaw
This month’s farmer of the Valley of St Albans is Nick Shaw. Nick is a Horticulturalist and is passionate about plants. He teaches horticulture at Ryde College of TAFE where he teaches about plants so much of his life is about just that - plants. Nick was inspired to...
10 Reasons I love Mandala Gardens
You don’t have to have a mandala garden to have a permaculture garden or be a permie. One chooses to have one. There are many garden design options sometimes the site will determine, the climate or the designer. I’ve chosen a mandala garden design and here are 10 good...
10 good reasons why you should do a Permaculture Design Certificate Course (PDC)
A good PDC Course can be a life changing experience. It changes you, your thinking and lifestyle and it assists you with information and skills to construct a sustainable property (wherever your are) and live your dream. It can save you lots of money, time, heartbreak...
11 reasons you should do a PDC Course with Permaculture Sydney Institute
Eleven reasons why you should do a PDC Course with Permaculture Sydney Institute – and they have everything to do with “Quality”. 1. Quality Education PSI’s PDC Course provides a comprehensive curriculum – the “ Permaculture Designers Manual” by Bill Mollison and a...
Farmers of the Month Series:
Each month PSI profiles a farmer of our valley who is growing food and contributing to the ‘Valley Veg Basket’. Farmers of the month profile - "The Girls" Sherri McMahon and Ingrid CullenSherri and Ingrid need no introduction for us locals here at St Albans. Apart...
The Valley Veg Basket Project
The Valley Veg Basket Project has been keeping us very busy sourcing and co-coordinating food from neighbouring farmers and growers in the valley to make up Veggie baskets for local consumers. We are starting small and at this stage we only have a very small...