By Callum Ludwig
The President of Permaculture Yarra Valley (PYV) Peter Veeken is coming to Yarra Junction Library to share his wealth of knowledge with aspiring farmers and gardeners.
Permaculture is the practice of land management and design that fits within the natural environment, helping to ensure permanently sustainable ecosystems.
Mr Veeken said permaculture helps create a really sustainable and self-sufficient garden or agricultural system.
“It’s essentially observing what nature does, and mimicking what is done naturally. If you walk into a forest ecosystem teeming with plants, animals, insects, and everything, it’s a self-sustaining system that has been there for thousands of years,” he said.
“If we can replicate that to produce food in a sustainable manner, the guys who came up with the idea thought it would be good for the environment and for human beings.”
Bill Mollison and David Holmgren are credited with inventing the permaculture movement in the mid-1970s.
Mr Veeken said PYV was started 30 years ago.
“Three local guys came across the idea, and started sharing and it established a permaculture group in 1972. They held meetings at one of their farms and invited others along as they ran introductory courses,” he said.
“We’ve now grown to over 260 people in the Yarra Valley, which is pretty amazing if a bit scary. We run events and educational courses, it’s a community-building thing. I’ve been involved for about four years now and it’s been a wonderful experience in meeting people, learning how to manage our land and being productive in our garden.”
Attendees to the event at Yarra Junction Library on Monday 8 August from 2pm to 3pm are encouraged to bring some seeds to swap using the new seed library.
Mr Veeken said PYV’s membership exploded during the pandemic.
“I was looking at the newsletter from about 10 or 12 years ago and they had 57 members. During the pandemic, I think people were interested in growing their own food,” he said.
“We’ve had a large influx of new members, and now one of the biggest challenges we face is to ensure we can satisfy their needs for information.”
PYV will be celebrating their birthday on Sunday 11 September, with special guests like Mr Holmgren, one of the inventors of permaculture, and Graham George, one of the founders of Permaculture Yarra Valley. There will also be a catered lunch by Koha Community Cafe and entertainment, including a magician, for kids.
PYV is involved in a number of events and organisations across the Yarra Valley, including Ecoptopia hosted each year by Yarra Valley ECOSS, the community gardens in Healesville and Warburton, the Healesville Organic Farmers Market and a number of seminars and workshops run regularly.
