Why I do what I do

I have been teaching Organics and Permaculture since 2002, but have always had a love of the earth and working with people. My parents raised me and my four siblings on a spray-free sheep farm in Southland. We had a huge vegetable garden, and my dad always took the opportunity to tell visitors about the amazing life in the soil and how important this was for healthy animals and delicious produce. I guess I was destined to end up teaching about healthy soils and resilient food production!

Whilst the challenge of feeding ourselves homegrown, nourishing food can sometimes seem daunting, the reality is - we have the tools to do so - right now! We can borrow from decades of accumulated knowledge from Organics, Permaculture and Soil Ecology, as well thousands of years of combined knowledge from traditional food producers in Aotearoa and around the world.

I have seen it as my job (more like an adventure!) to unearth natural growing know-how, and pull together the best ecological methods and systems for growing food naturally, and to share those learnings in a creative and fun way. The goal for me is always to send learners home with the tools to ‘get growing’. Practical growing skills are necessary, more now than ever. As it has been said ‘This is not a dress rehearsal!’

My educational services continually evolve to meet the changing needs of my community. So whatever food resilience or soil regeneration project ideas you may have - as an individual or an organisation - I am always excited to develop an engaging and practical program to meet those needs, build your skills and get growing!

My Educational Journey

Bachelor of Science - Zoology. Otago University.

Master of Regional & Resource Planning - with Distinction. Otago University.

National Certificate in Organic Growing. Christchurch Polytechnic.

Permaculture Design Certificate. Christchurch Polytechnic.

National Certificate in Adult Education and Learning. Te Wananga Aotearoa.

Certificate of Completion - Soil Food Web Foundation Courses with Distinction. Dr. Elaine Ingham’s Food Web School.

What People Are Saying

  • Mary D.

    “

    This was the best afternoon of learning in ages – keep it up! Thank you so much! So very good, Michelle is a great communicator. The practical components were very well balanced, theory, practical, discussion. We all need to compost. I would be interested in other events of this type. I tried 3 times to get on the course, they were so popular.

    ”

  • Emma B.

    “

    Loved all of it! Excellent workshop. Loads of information in an easy-to-understand way. Soil microbiology very interesting. Lots of opportunity to ask questions. Hands-on making of compost heap very valuable. Looking forward to enrolling in more workshops!

    ”

  • Eleanor P.

    “

    The day very much exceeded my expectations and was incredibly valuable. This would be so useful for so many people.

    ”

  • John G

    “

    Fantastic workshop! Everyone should attend a composting workshop.

    ”

  • Phil C

    “

    Totally converted and inspired. Awesome workshop thank you!

    “

“This is not preparation for something else. This is not the dress rehearsal. This is it. It doesn’t get any more It than this. We need to wake up to conscious design, be vocal and take a lead to build a world we want to last”

Stefan Guyer

from Zen in the Art of Permaculture Design