We are now engaged in applying permaculture principles to the establishment of food production on our property (Black Cockatoo Ridge) which is located on sandstone ridge country with poor soils in the driest part of Southeast Queensland (average rainfall 780mm/yr).  As a part of this learning process I did a Permaculture Design Certificate course with Tom and Zaia Kendall at Maungaraeeda just outside of Kin Kin on the Sunshine Coast (I highly recommend this course).  We are now in the process of applying the many lessons learned from the PDC to the development of our food production areas.

I plan to use my combined professional expertise (natural resource management, training, participatory processes, project management, surveying, writing, photography, etc.) to spread knowledge of permaculture to a wider audience, both in Australia and in developing countries.  As a part of this we intend to develop Black Cockatoo Ridge to become a demonstration site for the application of permaculture to drier areas with difficult soils – a typical situation throughout much of Australia, and not just in the far inland.