Welcome to the PiNZ 20/21 Summer Newsletter

Kia ora koutou, harae mai

Today is the Summer Solstice with the sun going into Capricorn at 11:01 pm tonight. The longest day of the year. In New Zealand, the northernmost point - Te Rerenga Wairua / Surville Cliffs, sunrise is 6:12 and sunset 8:39 and southernmost point - Slope Point, sunrise is 5:46 am and sunset is 9:37 pm.

This year has brought changes to all our lives. We are all finding different ways to adjust to the new dynamics that are presenting themselves and moving through, in whatever way best suits the circumstances and our needs.

Permaculturalists have a good tool belt of skills and understanding to be able to draw upon in times like these, with a determination to just get on and sort things out with a hands-on approach.

Just like the macro picture, the micro one holds us to account too. Needing us to look at the root of our purpose and find strength in the paths we have chosen or are having to choose now.

The conversations of our times and the possibilities to do radical change are critical to us all. On so many levels we are being activated to step out of our old comfort zone of patterns and to extend our boundaries out, or even get rid of them altogether. To approach life in a curious, conscious and caring way through the action needed to transfer our local and world community into a safe future.

We need to look at ourselves and change the small things that matter into big ones that take shape and change the culture we are given to the one that supports a regenerative mindset. Away from the individual needs to the global action required to change the outcome that daunts our, and future generations, security on this planet we inhabit,  to form a true relationship with our environment and make the difference now.

Lee Williams (local Whanganui hui team member) said to me recently… “ Covid has been our gift!… ”

This picture above is featured in the latest Greenpeace New Zealand post which wrote: 

“The Covid recovery is a golden opportunity for New Zealand to reset, and to start doing things differently. To create a cleaner, safer place for everyone, and for all the creatures we share this planet with."

It's time to ask … what is my question, my purpose and gift to give?  How can I help the movement from depletion to regenerative abundance?

This newsletter has been promoted by these conversations that I have been coming across lately. Like you I am learning, energised, tired, unsure, fuelled, cautious, desperate, loving, fearful, ready …. The blend of everything. 

Yet, when I talk to others about the varying conversations of our times, I am always encouraged to do more, help out where I can, figure out a way forward. The care and attention others are giving to make change give me the shoulders I need to move forward with my missions.

I would like this next wave of newsletters to share these conversations with you. In this edition I am introducing 3 people that are making a difference with their passion' and are part of a growing community that is connected within Aotearoa.

Firstly,

The new PiNZ Council (Clare Wimmer, Dave Hursthouse, Donna Tikitumu, Leo Gedye, and Lillee Star) came together recently for their first Face to Face (f2f) meeting which was hosted in Whanganui by Geoff Hipango at Te Ao Hou Marae, where the hui will be in April 2021.

We were very blessed with the open space, views and rich conversations that took place here and the heart and healing energy that Te Ao Hou Marae holds. It supported the council to conduct a full agenda and some deep mahi on relationship, passions directions for permaculture in Aotearoa, inspiring ideas, next steps actions and a full belly to digest.

The main outcome from this weekend was an updated strategic objectives plan for this council to focus on. We identified where energy and interest landed within the prioritised objectives and what tasks were needed to complete the work. 

Below is the overview.  The circled titles are our top priorities, and main drive leading up to the next AGM in April 2021.  You can find out the steps captured for each objective actualisation on Nov F2F minutes stored on the PiNZ website. If you are interested in helping with any of these objectives we would love to hear from you. Email info@permaculture.org.nz

Update 

Changes to the PiNZ Annual Hui

The 2020 Annual Permaculture Hui was going to be held at Te Ao Hou Marae in Whanganui but was postponed due to COVID-19. In the last few months, the local team has been re-igniting the conversations about the Hui and looking forward to 2021.

Our collective context has changed. While things are looking promising in terms of our national COVID response, we’re still in the thick of it and it is hard to say where things may be at in April 2021. This global disruption has stimulated an increasingly local focus and in response to our new context, the Whanganui Hui team has decided on a different approach to the Annual Permaculture Hui this year.

In April 2021, there will be a Permaculture Hui at Te Ao Hou Marae in Whanganui. This Hui will be a smaller more intimate event organised by locals, for locals, with an added emphasis on localism. At the same time, the content of this Hui will be broadcast around Aotearoa, and local groups around the country will be encouraged to get together in their place to connect, learn and share together. 

There is currently no plan for an Annual Permaculture Hui in 2021 like those we have enjoyed in the past, where people physically come together from all around the country. Instead, PiNZ is encouraging local people to physically come together in their local place, while maintaining a digital connection and sharing all around the country - with a focal point around the event at Te Ao Hou Marae in Whanganui.

The details are still to be figured out, and you are encouraged to begin chatting with your local community about how you may be able to come together. Imagine getting all the local permies together at a local farm or marae, watching content together from the Whanganui Hui, having a few local presenters share their recent mahi, and facilitating stimulating conversations. Imagine recording some of those sessions so that they can be shared around the country too. There may be a series of online discussion forums or panels that we can all share in.

There are a lot of options around how this year's Hui could feel, and you are invited to contribute your ideas toward creating an engaging Hui that is adapted for the unique and changing context of this year. 

-----------

The PiNZ Council will be focussing more on digital sharing and enabling local groups, while the Whanganui local team will focus on organising the Whanganui Permaculture Hui.

If you are interested in helping to organise the online aspects of the 2021 Hui, or getting a small gather or event going in your local area, please contact: pinz.hui@permaculture.org.nz

To find out more about the Hui in Whanganui (click on the poster)

To find out more about PiNZ National Hui

Features

The theme is around regenerative practices, from land to people.

...

Getting to know Emma Morris
from Socio-Ecological Learning Environment  

"I appreciate a shared understanding through the Permaculture community about ethics and principles that are holistic and take a systemic and interconnected lens for caring for our people and planet. I believe many people are connected to this way of knowing under a variety of names other than permaculture, and that this community is expansive and bursting with potential. "

Interview mentioned on Emma's 'Getting to Know' page... Living Systems Thinking/Podcast Posted June 21, 2020 by Dan Palmer on Making Permaculture Stronger: Regenerating Permaculture Design Process Together.  ... Bringing Education back to Life with Emma Morris (e45)

Getting to know Antoine Tane

"So my mission is to help free this plant from its restraints and adopt its fullest potential.  I see Hemp’s effect on land is like microgreens for humans. Quick and effective. If we want mass regeneration of land, people and economy, we need a regenerative resource to get us there. What better than a plant with over 50,000 uses."

I happened to find out just before publishing this newsletter that both Emma and Naomi know each other from the international Permaculture Conference in India (IPC13 feature story 3/18). Plus Emma and Antoine know each other through a new course that took place in lock-down this year hosted by Regenesis. 

The Regenerative Practitioner Series is an online 3-month distance-learning commitment that gave a run of dialogues each session for those interested in creating regenerative effects in the places that they live and work.

 The course “Introduces the core concepts and frameworks that define the practice of regenerative development, a process and methodology for harmonizing human activities with the continuing evolution of life on our planet, even as we continue to develop our potential as humans.”

The Regenesis Institute is a nonprofit organization formed in 2018, dedicated to providing education pathways for regenerative practitioners around the world.

Watch their Regenerative Development Five-part video series from  2017.

Check out the Regenesis Group and the projects they have done around the world and the Resources they have to share.

“The regenerative development thinking technology and practice methodology that we teach have been developed over the past 25 years through our work as members of the Regenesis Group, where we have applied a regenerative approach to hundreds of projects across six continents.”

ko te tangata matariki he tangata ahunga nui

the regenerative human is an awakened being of abundance

Whakatauki (proverb) by Isaac Bishara

 I am reading this book at the moment and I am loving where this is leading me... and another cross over here is the comment on the book below is by Bill Reed from the Regenesis Group mentioned above.

Daniel Christian Wahl - "I have a passion for building bridges between diverse stakeholders, perspectives, disciplines, and worldviews. I bring innovation, creativity, and whole systems design to enterprises, projects, and educational programmes that foster effective collaboration in the transition towards a thriving and innovative culture of sustainability, resilience, and wellbeing. I look forward to collaborating with you."

Daniel also has a large list of articles that are posted on ... 

Just pasted, though still worth a mention... We can use this soil awareness through this season as we grow our gardens.

What can we do to understand and support the soil life in your garden to allow our products to thrive, whilst giving the taste and nutrients needed for a healthy abundant diet?

Below are a couple of short videos I have recently come across, followed below by some longer videos to stimulate your thoughts. 

 An olddie one but a goodie.

The slides for this presentation are available to download to view whilst listening to the lecture.

 A recent video with Elaine on soil life and its huge network of life and their functions, within a new series on soil discussions with varying experts.

 Dr David Johnson is an Adjunct Professor, a microbiologist, and along with his wife Hui-Chun Su, has developed the Johnson-Su Bioreactor - a static aerobic composting process.

 Gerry Gillespie has an incredibly diverse background focused on innovative solutions to managing what we generally refer to as 'waste'.

The Impact Initiative brought the international conversations of the Social Enterprise World Forum (SEWF) home to Aotearoa, for a week of online events all about the power of positive impact in a New Zealand context.

The recordings from these sessions are now available below. Some sessions were a discussion that followed a screening of a SEWF Digital session, but the videos below do not include the SEWF session itself.

Aotearoa NZ SDG Summit Series Online Hui 1: Lightning Talks and Panel Discussion 

The 2020-2021 Aotearoa New Zealand Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Summit Series is here to take you on a journey from an individual understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals to collective action. Starting with the first of three online Hui, #SeeTheChange we want to ask: how are you seeing the change in your communities for sustainable development in Aotearoa?

In this video, you'll hear from four panellists followed by a panel discussion: Tāmati Cunningham, Lucy Gray, Dr Pedram Pirnia, Raewyn Jones 

Essay: The Serviceberry An Economy of Abundance by Robin Wall Kimmerer

" As Robin Wall Kimmerer harvests serviceberries alongside the birds, she considers the ethic of reciprocity that lies at the heart of the gift economy. How, she asks, can we learn from Indigenous wisdom and ecological systems to reimagine currencies of exchange?" 

This is a narrated option of this 20+ page essay.

A recent post on the PiNZ Facebook page reached 5.6k views in just over a day… I thought I would share it here along with the resources shared. 

Tāne Feary is feeling curious. 16/12/20 at 6:45

Mōrena. Hope everyone is having a lovely summer. I'm looking for materials around decolonising permaculture that are specific to Aotearoa--are there any books? I've come across one podcast episode and an article. What have you come across?

• Kai Oranga (Kaupae Tuawhā)
• Māori Women Promoting Food Sovereignty in Aotearoa (New Zealand)
• Maramataka Maori, Maori Moon Calendar
• Te Waka Kai Ora National Māori Organic Authority
• Dr Jessica Hutchings Director / Kaupapa Māori Researcher / Author / Yoga Teacher
• Awatea Organics
• Dark Emu (book)
• Te Mahi Māra Hua Parakore, A Māori Food Sovereignty Handbook
• Food for thought
• Did early Polynesians sail to the Americas?
• Growing Culture (instagram)

Do you have anything you can share  … click here to post.

Facebook Conversation Starter (16/12/20 9:43)…

Have you read this book?

The post links toAn Interview with Tao Orion, Author of Beyond the War on Invasive Species

What to add to the conversation on Facebook…. 

click here to post.

Do you have a story to tell? Would you like to share it on the PiNZ web page to get a feature in one of our newsletters? Or would you like to be a part of a new feature that profiles people around Aotearoa New Zealand to showcase your projects/adventures?

Get in touch with Lillee - pinz.newsletter@permaculture.org.nz

Courses

Otaki - Modular PDC 2021 Course - starts 16 January 2021

Taranaki - Planning and Planting a Food Forest - 30/31 January 2021

Golden Bay - Residential PDC Course - 15 February - 4 March 2021

Christchurch - Integrated Food Systems - 20/21 February 2021

Taranaki -  Introduction To Permaculture Weekend Workshop - 20/21 February 2021

Matakana - Modular PDC Course - starts 13 March 2021

Matakana - Seed Saving Workshop - 14 March 2021

Golden Bay - Sustainable Living Course - starts 14 March 2021

Christchurch - Designing for Regeneration - 20/21 March 2021

Matakana - Deep Ecology One-day Workshop - 28 March 2021

Want to add your event or course to the PiNZ webpage?  login & post here

Membership

If you love what we are doing, please consider becoming a financial member of the organisation. Check out the benefits you get and give by being a member.

Content Deadline for next newsletter -  March 10th 2021

Email: pinz.newsletter@permaculture.org.nz

Unsubscribe

Opt-Out