Permaculture Week 2024 a Success!
By Peter Veeken, President – Permaculture Yarra Valley
As I write this, we are nearing the end of Permaculture Week 2024 and have had a busy schedule of events to promote permaculture to the wider community. This is the fifth year Permaculture Yarra Valley has run Permaculture Week and the first year is has gone beyond the Yarra Ranges.
Events kicked off on Friday 15th and concluded on Sunday 24th March (which is actually more than a week!)
In the Yarra Valley we held 18 events starting with the Ecotopia Festival at Ecoss followed by site visits, workshops, a film screening, a seminar on Growing our community and a visit to a commercial Biochar facility.
Feedback from attendees has been very positive and gives me a buzz making the months of planning worthwhile.
Permaculture Week events in the Yarra Valley included:
- Ecotopia Festival at Ecoss – Wesburn
- Healesville Organic Market – 20 th Birthday Celebration
- Bushcraft Workshop run by Leafy Adventures
- Edible Forest Tour hosted by Edible Forest Yarra Valley
- Small Suburban Permaculture Property Tour – Millgrove
- Large Rural Permaculture Property Tour ‘Tenderbreak’ – Dixons Creek
- Biochar Facility Tour – Lysterfield hosted by Earth Systems Pty Ltd
- Large Suburban Permaculture Property Tour – Lilydale
- ‘Ecosophia’ Film screening – Warburton
- Gardens for Harvest Permaculture Talk – Eastern Regional Libraries
- Visit to Edible Warburton Community Garden
- ‘Growing our Community: One backyard at a time’ Seminar with Nick Rose and Kat Lavers
- Large Suburban Permaculture Property Tour – Healesville
- PEACE Farm Tour – Yarra Junction
- Harvest Festival/Soul Dance – Permaculture Finale – PEACE Farm
- Suburban Permaculture Property Tour – Kilsyth
- ‘Wild Ridge Farm’ Property Tour – Healesville
Some of our event hosts have pledged ticket sales to support Permaculture
Australia/Permafund.
Beyond the Yarra Valley in Victoria, the Mornington Peninsula Permaculture Group,
Permaculture Out West, Cardinia Shire Council, CERES, and Latrobe City Council hosted several events to celebrate permaculture.
Outside Victora, a couple of events were held in Tasmania and internationally events were held in the USA and the UK making Permaculture Week almost a global phenomenon.
Supporters
Planning and organising Permaculture Week takes a lot of effort and it’s important to
acknowledge the voluntary work of several people:
- Leanne Hall (Ecoss) and Chelsea McNab (Ecoss & Yarra Ranges Council) and Kat McKay (PEACE Farm) for coming up with the idea all those years ago.
- Fiona Campbell (www.permacultureday.org website administrator) for enabling the site to list Permaculture Week events and marketing.
- Meg Mulcahy (Permaculture Australia) for designing the Permaculture Week logo.
- Gabrielle Francis (Latrobe Community Health Service) and Nikkie Hale (Mornington Peninsula Permaculture Group) for the enthusiasm and dedication to spreading the word.
Sponsors
I’d like to thank Yarra Ranges Council and VicHealth for their sponsorship of events
Finally, I thank our indigenous peoples for allowing us to hold events on their land.
Events
Well over 400 people attended events in the Yarra Valley.
| Event Name | Total Attendance |
| Ecotopia Festival – ECOSS | Several Hundred (est 700+) |
| Edible Forest Tour 2024 – Dixons Creek | 12 |
| Small Suburban Property Tour – Millgrove | 10 |
| Permaculture Tour – Tenderbreak – Dixons Creek | 20 |
| Mt Evelyn Community Garden Opportunity | 30 |
| Yarra Ranges Council Biochar Facility Tour – Lysterfield | 15 |
| Large Suburban Property Tour – 1 Acre in Lilydale | 10 |
| Visit Edible Warburton Garden | 5 |
| Lilydale Library Talk | 20 |
| Growing our community – Seminar | 68 |
| Movie Night – Ecosophia | Approx 50 |
| Large Suburban Property Tour – Healesville | 18 |
| PEACE Farm Tour | 25 |
| PEACE Farm Harvest Festival | Approx 100 |
| Urban Property Tour – Kilsyth | 10 |
| Permaculture Tour – Wild Ridge Farm – Healesville | 30 |
| Total for all except Ecotopia | Approx 423 |
My initial guess is we raised just under $350 for Permaculture Australia/Permafund thanks to the generosity of a number of hosts.
I hope Permaculture Week grows into a global movement in 2025 and beyond.