Master in Food Culture, Communication and Marketing (Italy, 2019); Certificate III Permaculture (2012); Permaculture Design Course (2011)
Category: Travel, Study & Learn
Cider, Fire + Biking: A perfect Hills weekend
It’s Sunday night of a delightful Mother’s Day spent biking through John Forrest National Park. The house is quiet except for the peaceful bubbling and burping of fermenting cider bottles and I’m reflecting on a perfect family weekend in the …
Flying high at Blue Sky Festival
Mundaring comes together to celebrate community and promote sustainability True to its name, the Blue Sky Festival was a sunny affair, in more ways than one. A demonstration of the power and joy of community, this local sustainability festival was …
Good things come to those who wait
…or so the time-worn adage goes. And so, we will work, save and wait another year to go to Italy. I always knew it was a crazy ambitious goal: to move our family to Italy for a year and for …
Urban and Regional Food Declaration
During a chat with the Director of the Food For Thought Festival in Albany, I was given a copy of the “Urban and Regional Food Declaration” produced by Sustain: The Australian Food Network. The Declaration seeks to promote the local production …
Albany offers Food For Thought
My family and I recently took off on a four-day road trip to Albany, five hours south of Perth, ostensibly to attend the third annual Food For Thought Festival, which was held on Sunday in the Town Square. The Food …
Proud of our local Waste Champions
I’m thrilled for my friends Jeannie and Amanda, co-owners and founders of the Wasteless Pantry, who recently won yet another award for their advocacy work and innovative retail business. I feel rather lucky to have this bulk food store in …
National Fair Food Week 7-16 Oct
What is Fair Food Week? Coordinated by the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance (AFSA), Australia’s Fair Food Week shines a light on our new story of food. From the 7th-16th October 2017 you will discover events across the country that will attract, intrigue and entertain …
Embarking on a year of gastronomic discovery in Italy
I’m saying it out loud, I’m writing it down, I’m telling friends and family, yet still it seems like a delicious fantasy. A wildly adventurous, unashamedly romantic, ridiculously out-of-the-box idea that maybe, just maybe, we might manage to pull off. …
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Kombucha from Pakistan via Abu Dhabi to Perth
While in the backseat of a cab en route to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi last year, I had this box of Pakistan’s finest thrust enthusiastically into my hands by our garrulous taxi driver who proclaimed it …
War On Waste: winning hearts + minds
The ABC TV’s recent three-part series, War On Waste, has been phenomenally successful in penetrating the mainstream consciousness. It’s a part of conversations in the schoolyard, at my local shops (Wasteless Pantry) in community groups (Hills Food Share, Mundaring in …
Woodworking Pt 2 – Dovetail joints
It’s now Term 3 at Mundaring Sharing where I booked into a woodworking course (in Term 2) to make a “simple” potato box for my pantry from Jarrah planks leftover from my deck. I am still plugging away. I now remember that …
Just Eat It. A Food Waste Story.
I’ve only seen this movie trailer so far but it highlights an issue close to my heart and I can’t wait to see the full documentary. It’s so great that there are folks out there raising the awareness of the general …
Wonderful woodworking
I’d always longed to try woodworking, so Jeff bought me a Introduction to Woodworking course at Perth Wood School for my birthday years ago. I made a very simple document/jewellery box and loved it. So, of course, I jumped in head …
Plant databases – just what I need
Five of our favourite Plant Databases – Milkwood – Real Skills for Down to Earth Living. In my opinion, Milkwood Permaculture is one of the best Australian permaculture groups with a fantastic website, newsletter, training, information and general marketing. This link is …
Do yourself a favour and watch “Symphony of the Soil”
Make yourself a cuppa, close the door to all the household noise, sit down and take the time to watch this incredible documentary. It is insightful, moving, educational, thought-provoking, shocking, sad, uplifting and inspiring. Gotta go…I’m off to plant some …
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Professional horticultural advice to the rescue
I had a lovely afternoon with my family in Guildford last Sunday. Being school holidays, we all had a bit of cabin fever and needed an outing. So after soccer in the park, lunch at Little Guildford cafe and a visit to the Museum of …
Origins of the name “Edgefield”
I’m often asked why we called our property Edgefield and where the name comes from. It’s actually an amalgamation of ideas that we knew just fit, as soon we said it out loud. Jeff’s surname is “Thierfelder“, which in German means “animal fields“. My …
Cert III course photos
Edgefield and Certificate III Permaculture A Picasa web photo album of all my photos of our Mundaring property and my Certificate III in Permaculture course work so far…
Phew…it’s all over!
I have now successfully completed my 72-hour Permaculture Design Certificate with last Saturday’s grand finale Permablitz a roaring success. The transformation of this private backyard was truly incredible. Shona and her kids now have an amazing garden to eat, work, …
