Permaculture Design Course Tutors
Graeme George
Graeme lives on a 5 ha property near Healesville in the Yarra Valley where he runs a small market garden and heritage fruit orchard in a bushland setting. He has a background in conservation biology and the captive breeding of endangered wildlife, has been teaching Permaculture Design and Applied Permaculture courses since 1994 and is compiler of Permaculture Melbourne's "Syllabus for Permaculture Design in Cool Temperate South Eastern Australia". He is currently President of Permaculture Melbourne and is active with several of its groups - Heritage Fruits Group, Victorian Educators Group, Yarra Valley Permaculture Group, and is Coordinator for the Yarra Valley Group's weekly Organic Farmers Market at Healesville.
He also developed and now teaches Permaculture by Distance Education as a second year subject for Charles Sturt University's degree in Ecological Agriculture based at Orange. He has been a Seed Saver for many years, and is also a member of Birds Australia, the Australian Mammal Society and the American Society of Mammalogists. His publications on the evolution, zoogeography and conservation of New Guinea's marsupials earned him a Master of Applied Science degree in 1994.
Graeme has a passionate interest in the application of Permaculture concepts to land use patterns.
David Arnold
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David Arnold is a designer, teacher and permaculture activist who works from Violet Town in NE Victoria. He is presently working towards planning approval to realise his design for a permaculture community subdivision at Murrnong and is active in local community development, re-localisation, in preparation for energy descent. He is active in organising learning events and facilitated group processes for the Violet Town Action Group, and the Violet Town Seedsavers and Permaculture Group.
Since 1995, while developing the Murrnong property, David has operated a permaculture planning and contracting business which has planned and managed a broad range of projects across NE and North Central Victoria. Those projects have included planting more than a million trees over very diverse sites, and contributing to the development of a regional farm forestry resource through the management of farm forestry sawlog plantations.
He has experience with low irrigation tree crops such as olives, stone pine, and bunya pine, and has provided professional assistance to many smaller scale home self-reliance permaculture projects. In 2006 he lead the design and planting of the Violet Town Community Forest, an example of analogue forestry, designed to mimic the structure and functions of native forest.
Through all of these projects David has gained a tremendous range of planning and practical experience, and has an extensive understanding of the landscapes of the region.
David Arnold first taught permaculture in 1991 at CERES (Centre for Education and Research in Environmental Strategies) in Melbourne. He then taught agriculture and other subjects at Worawa Aboriginal College in the Yarra Valley for 3 years. While there he was involved in the establishment of permaculture courses in the Yarra Valley.
"You are an excellent permaculture teacher/mentor and I am truly grateful for the heaps of insight, inspiration and knowledge that you have imparted." - Kareen, Colorado (permaculture student)
Ian Lillington
Ian Lillington has taught PDCs since 1992 (in Manchester, UK), in Hepburn Springs with David Holmgren (1993-96) and at the Food Forest, Gawler, SA (1996-2003), and as a guest tutor on many other courses.
Ian is one of the Permaculture Industry Reference Group that has organised the accreditation of Permaculture Courses in the VET/AQTF sector, and holds Diplomas in Permaculture (one from the Permaculture Institute in Tasmania, [1994] and one through the VET/AQTF sector [2004]) .
He also teaches and organises courses for permaculture trainers, enabling them to get their Certificate IV in Training And Assessment (TAA 04) via an eco-conscious route.
Living in Castlemaine, Ian is active in a town where 're-localisation' is well underway, with a very active Sustainability Group (see www.masg.org.au), and is employed as a project manager to assist with the development of small-scale housing clusters around Castlemaine.
Ian's book "Living Sustainably: Living Permaculture" is due for publication in 2007.
Beck Lowe
Beck Lowe first became interested in Permaculture as a positive solution after too much time spent protesting and focusing on the negative. She completed a PDC in 1994 in Melbourne and received her Diploma of Permaculture in 2006 by Recognition of Prior Learning. She also holds a Batchelor of Science Degree majoring in zoology and a Certificate IV in Assessment and Workplace training.
She and her husband Mark are developing and managing a forty acre permaculture farm, Tukkadjungul, in Central Victoria, and owner-building their home. They also run a small business, Cydonia Permaculture and Community, providing training, resources and consultancy to various groups and individuals. At the moment Cydonia is providing supervision and training in horticulture (with a permaculture bent of course!) to a group of people setting up edible gardens in schools. Beck is also the Project Coordinator at Gravel Hill Gardens in Bendigo - running a community garden and community supported agriculture (CSA) scheme; looking after and expanding an integrated permaculture system; providing training; managing workers and generally running around like a chook with its head cut off.
Beck has been involved in organising, facilitating and tutoring on various PDCs and is an Accredited Permaculture Trainer.
For details contact David Arnold on (03) 5798 1679