Dynamic Groups, Dynamic Learning Dynamic Courses, Books, Resources and Tours for Healthy Groups, People and Culture with Robin Clayfield

It is said by Futurists that Facilitation skills will be one of the Top 10 skills required in the future. Robin has been training facilitators, teachers and group leaders for 32 years now and after a time, formed up her observations, experiences and thoughts into a Learning Methodology. She’s floated it out into the world with the help of ELFy, the magician. ELFy is a Jigsaw Puzzle where each piece is part of what she suggests is required for the group and each individual to be successful, engaging with the subject, motivated and having fun. ELFy is also an acronym for Educator, Leader, Facilitator and helps me address all of us who facilitate groups, train, educate, teach, lead, chair or mentor. Key pieces of the puzzle are Creativity, Group and Personal Empowerment, Interactivity and Collaboration along with grounding by meeting Needs and establishing shared Values, Ethics, Principles, Agreements and setting …

Robin’s ‘The Vision Tree Planning and Design Framework’ which will be a whole chapter in her upcoming book ‘Dynamic Teaching and Facilitation’ will most likely be featured as an article in the UK ‘Permaculture Magazine’ sometime through the middle of this year. Delvin Solkinson from Canada and ‘Visionary Permaculture’ encouraged the article and drafted the first version and after slight edits from Robin and a Yes from the magazine editors and publishers, it’s ready to go. A wonderful tree illustration for the book chapter has been created by the very talented Permaculture artist and illustrator Brenna Quinlan and this will be used in conjunction with the article. ‘The Vision Tree Planning and Design Framework’ gives a map to journey through to plan and design anything, be it a land based design, a project or event, a business plan, a life design or the creation of a new group, organization or …

After a very successful ‘Women’s PDC’, for women and presented by women, in November last year, Annaliese Hordern and the Ground Permaculture crew are putting on another Women’s PDC in October this year. The course last year was in honour of and celebrating that is was 40 years since the first ever PDC, which Robin was a participant in. To support the course robin did seven sessions as a special guest, two of which were tours of Crystal Waters and of her garden. She’ll be a special guest again this October. Here’s the link to look or book

Last year’s ‘Dynamic Groups’ course saw some special guests as participants and everyone enjoyed a fun filled, deep learning and confidence building time together. Robin organized an exciting music event the night after the course to host ‘Formidable Vegetable’ playing two big sets and Jimmy Halliday, who grew up on Crystal Waters, playing with Charlee McGee and Brenna Quinlan to complete the band and also doing his debut with a new style of Looping music. Robin gave a challenge to the ‘Dynamic Groups’ course – to design and plan together an interactive, creative and potentially musical process piece that was 10 minutes long and would involve the whole group and all of the audience. After Jimmy’s set the group rose to the challenge and took to the stage. They had the whole crowd (over 200 people) up and dancing in sync and we saw introverts become extroverts and very professional …

The weather here has not been very supportive of gardening lately. First a very hot dry period towards the end of 2023 where many plants and trees died, then this year has been so wet and humid up here in South East Queensland. The result has been an overgrowth of tenacious grasses and ‘weeds’ that threaten existing trees and take over whole orchards, access paths and large areas of land as well as many large woody herbs and trees overextending themselves to obscure anything around them. Then along comes fantastic Volunteers and WWOOFers (Willing Workers On Organic Farms) who have helped turn a problem into a solutions.Lots of hard work…• Making Hot Compost from the ‘weeds’ and prunings, often chipping them first• Sheet mulching weedy areas by cutting ‘weeds’ and grasses then adding biochar, rock minerals and some nitrogen bombs then covering with soaked cardboard then straw• Placing ‘weeds’ in …

For the last 4 years, back in our home country Brazil, we decided to go on a journey of reconnection to the land and holistic way of living, that was when we discovered permaculture. Each of us fell in love with it in our own ways, “For me (Renata), coming back to the land and learning about permaculture helped me make sense of and connect my passion for food, local systems, and community living.”; “And for me (Thais), Permaculture ethics aligned with my values not just with the practical tools it provided for caring for the land but also on the social aspect, because I am amazed by the power of achievement that arises when people come together towards the same dream”. The goal of coming to Australia was to get to know a different culture and to continue to live on the Permaculture path we started, thus, there wouldn’t …