UQ and Monash Uni Agroecology Educators and Activists Tour from Four Countries

Crystal Waters Permaculture Village, Earth Care, EcoVillages, Gardening, Permaculture, Robin Clayfield, Social Permaculture, Tours

The Tour of Barung Landcare Seed Forest and Nursery

A passionate and skilled group of 18 people from India, Sri Lanka, Uganda and Solomon Islands plus two University Professors (Kristen from UQ and Jagjit from Monash and India) and two student interns participated in a specially designed 3 day tour of places of interest in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland in mid December 2023.

Robin hosted the tour group with Raven’s help covering logistics and most admin tasks.

Half the Group at Mary Cairn Cross Reserve

The program included beginning in Maleny with an Acknowledgement of Country, Lunch at an Indian restaurant and a presentation by Assistant Manager of 44 year old Maple St Co operative, a wonderful member owned food health food store. The afternoon completed with some shopping time and a tour of the Co ops, Collectives and points of interest around Maleny then a bus ride to Crystal Waters Permaculture Ecovillage and dinner with Yoav from ‘Good Food Vibes’ on the Deck at Crystal Waters.

Participants stayed over the two nights at Crystal Waters in the EcoPark which stretched to accommodate everyone.

The second day was a tour of Crystal Waters during the morning and a two hour interactive Permaculture learning session at the EcoCentre during the afternoon.

A Group Handshake Process – One of Robin’s Signature Processes

The last day’s program included at tour of Barung Land Care’s Seed Forest, plantings at Unity Waters’ Maleny Sewage Treatment Plant – Upgrade Disposal Forest & Tertiary Wetland and the new Barung Native Plant Nursery. This was of special interest to some of the participants who specialized or had needs for sewerage treatment solutions in their home regions.

The last component of the tour was a visit and guided tour of Mary Cairncross Scenic Reserve, a remnant rainforest with views over the Glasshouse Mountains, a Rainforest Discovery Centre and a Café where everyone had lunch before heading back to Brisbane on the bus.

A great time was had by all, many new friendships forged and the feedback was very complimentary and encouraging of this type of program.

About Robin Clayfield

Robin Clayfield is an international teacher, facilitator and author who is passionate about healthy groups, organisations and communities, their structures and governance and most importantly, their facilitation and group dynamics. She presents and consults all around the world to support global health, well-being and whole systems change through using Permaculture, Social Permaculture and ‘Dynamic Groups’ methodology. Robin is a Permaculture Pioneer and Elder who has lived at Crystal Waters Permaculture Eco-Village in SE Queensland, Australia since 1988. Her books and resources include ‘You Can Have Your Permaculture and Eat It Too’, ‘The New Permaculture Principles Card Game’, ‘The Creative Community Governance and Decision Making Resource Kit’ and the ‘Creative Process Wild Cards’. She is also the co-auther (with Skye in 1995) of ‘The Manual for Teaching Permaculture Creatively’ plus several resources and card games for teachers and facilitators.

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