WHEN I moved to Bathurst from Melbourne to begin life as an environmental educator, I was thrilled to experience all the benefits of a regional setting - farmland, community, snow days, local wine, and bushwalking.
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But it didn't take long for the realities to kick in - anxiety levels rose whenever there was a fire, flood, snowstorm or dust storm.
A local friend drew my attention to the food supply vanishing in the shops within a couple of short days whenever our vulnerable roads were closed to trucks.
For the first time, I felt the insane fragility of our supply chains - food grown in Bathurst trucked away and trucked back again to eventually fill our supermarkets.
Transforming worry into wisdom, I turned my attention to the practical solutions offered by permaculture.
Often thought of as a clever form of organic gardening, permaculture is actually a design system based on principles and ethics.
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These help organise our lives and societies in harmony with our natural local places to provide our needs and create the world we want.
Bathurst is fortunate to have its own urban permaculture market garden, 3 Veg Farm, designed and run by Cathie Hale.
All food is grown and sold in town either at farmers' markets, through home delivery, or by visit.
This farm is an example of what's needed to tackle the increased fragility we face in our region while regenerating life around it.
Permaculture ethics are "Earth care", "People care", and "Fair share" (for now and for future generations).
From these, the design principles flow, such as "catch and store energy", "obtain a yield" and "design from patterns to details" - any can be applied individually, socially and environmentally.
Applied to any bioregion, farm, suburban block or high-rise apartment in the world, permaculture is adapted according to the deep knowledge of place held by the designer.
Tools the designer selects will differ everywhere, creating more resilient and abundant supplies of food, water, health, biodiversity and energy for a thriving community.
An introduction to permaculture will be offered in the Central West by Wambuul Permaculture on Sunday, June 19 at the Springside school house.
The full 72-hour course will be offered over several weekends starting in October 2022.
