We are excited to offer an extensive programme for April thanks to our partners and funders. Some events require registration and some do not. Please see below for details.
Kia Kaha!
April Events
All posts by Estwing
RetroSuburbia Property Tours
These events are free to attend.
Partial funding comes from Whanganui District Council.
RetroSuburbia Property Tours
An introduction to permaculture and how it can be used to improve the resilience of suburban properties.
Saturday 25th March at 2:30 pm. 9 Tainui St. Castlecliff. Sandy and windy site.
Monday 10th April 2:30 pm. 37 Downes Ave. Springvale. Large site
Sunday 16th April at 10:30 am. 6 Plunket. Durie Hill. Clay soil and gully.
Permaculture Productivity
The growing season here on Kaitiaki Farm has been fantastic so far. Plenty of rain and plenty of sunshine have resulted in abundant yields in the orchards, paddocks and gardens.
At the moment we’re flush with plums, goat’s milk, avocados, zucchinis, green beans , silverbeet, and eggs among other things. We’ve been busy preserving plums, making cheese, and freezing green beans.
We’ve got a great group of permaculture interns helping with all this and enjoying the fresh, healthy kai.
*One note, however, our garlic season was a bit ordinary because of a fungal disease on the leaves.
We’re also looking forward to forthcoming abundance in basil, potatoes, pumpkins, chokos, peaches, apples, feijoas, pears, persimmons and citrus.
Peace, Estwing
And piglets born this week!
Love Your Land
Love Your Land Day
16th February, 10:00 – 2:30
Kaitiaki Farm, Whanganui
Join us for a tour of restoration projects along with speakers on water quality, sustainable land management, and regenerative agriculture.
Kaitiaki Farm hosts a wide variety of landforms, site conditions and micro-climates within its 5.1 hectares. Holistic, integrated, and regenerative approaches are applied across the challenging landscape alongside extensive wetland, riparian and bush restoration work.
Speakers
Phill Hodges is Horizons land management advisor for the lower Whanganui region. The land management team works with landowners to aid with the mitigation of hill country erosion and sedimentation in waterways. We achieve these results through our Sustainable Land Use Initiative (SLUI) program, assisting with space planting of poplars, retirement of land and afforestation.
Scotty Moore is the Horizons Freshwater Coordinator for the Jobs for Nature Stream Fencing and Riparian Planting programme and is based in Whanganui. The Horizons Freshwater team work with landowners, farmers, iwi, hapū, trusts and community groups to improve water quality and native fish habitat in Aotearoa waterways and wetlands primarily through stream fencing and riparian planting grants.
Richard Pedley is a research student at Massey University studying if spiders are suitable biological indicators of soil health in the context of New Zealand pastoral farms. In particular, if spider diversity demonstrates a sensitivity to the impact of grazing practices associated with regenerative farming on soil health.
Coffee and Tea Provided. Please BYO lunch.
Notes for attendees:
Requires walking up and down hills.
Dress for the conditions, including sun hat.
Bring a water bottle.
Draft Schedule
10-10:30 Arrival and Morning Tea
10:30 Welcome & Safety Briefing
1045-12 Session 1
12-1 Lunch – BYO
1-215 Session 2
215 Thanks & Farewell
Free to attend. Registration essential: theecoschool@gmail.com
Signs of Spring
Despite a very wet winter the farm is looking fabulous and the animals are very healthy. These pregnant goats were shifted into this paddock for a good spring feed.
We’ve had a dozen kids born this season with one doe left to go. Sophie had twins on Sunday afternoon.
Mindy had a Mini-Me
The red shaver chicks we bought in the autumn have grown into hens and laying eggs with the longer days. Eight hens are laying 5 to 6 eggs per day.
The 100+ poplar poles we planted this winter are starting to leaf out.
The piglets are looking plump and healthy, while the sows and boars are keeping on top of the fast growing grass.
The garlic is up and going – almost ready to be mulched.
Plum and peach blossoms have been plentiful and we are hoping for good fruit set.
Avos are ready to be picked.
And tomatoes are ready to go into the ground.
So much more to report but also so much work to be done!
Kia kaha, Estwing
Permaculture Farm Internship
Earn a Permaculture Design Certificate on one of New Zealand’s best permaculture farms.
Our programme is unique in the world of permaculture in that it combines best practice teaching and learning along with best practice regenerative land management.
The programme balances content, process and reflection, while nurturing systems thinking skills. It’s about developing a way of thinking that recognizes the connections between diverse elements on the farm and how they interact, along with the hands-on skills required to work effectively with cultivated ecologies.
3RD JANUARY, 2023 – 8 WEEKS WITH A WEEK OFF IN THE MIDDLE. $850
CLIMATE RESILIENCE PDC
IMMERSE YOURSELF IN ECO-DESIGN FOR CLIMATE RESILIENCE – WORKING WITH NATURE INSTEAD OF AGAINST IT. THIS PDC FOCUSES ON ECOLOGICAL LAND MANAGEMENT, REGENERATIVE FARMING, WATER MANAGEMENT, ECO HOUSING, APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY, HUMAN-SCALE APPROACHES,AND TRANSPORT ALONG WITH THE FULL PDC CURRICULUM.
7TH MARCH, 2023 – 8 WEEKS WITH A WEEK OFF IN THE MIDDLE. $850
ABUNDANCE PDC
AUTUMN IS A GREAT TIME TO BE ON THE FARM WITH HEAPS OF FRESH KAI FROM THE ORCHARD, GARDENS AND ANIMALS. THIS PDC FOCUSES ON GROWING, PROCESSING AND PRESERVING KAI ALONG WITH ANIMAL CARE, BUSH RESTORATION, AND SOME ECO-BUILDING PROJECTS.
Free Programmes 2023
These events are free to attend.
Partial funding comes from Horizons Regional Council, the Whanganui River Enhancement Trust, and Whanganui District Council.
Register: theecoschool@gmail.com
RetroSuburbia Property Tours
An introduction to permaculture and how it can be used to improve the resilience of suburban properties.
Saturday 25th March at 2:30 pm. 9 Tainui St. Castlecliff. Sandy and windy site.
Monday 10th April 2:30 pm. 37 Downes Ave. Springvale. Large site
Sunday 16th April at 10:30 am. 6 Plunket. Durie Hill. Clay soil and gully.
Bike or Bus to the Market
22nd April, 11:00-12:30.
Let’s embrace active transport & public transport with our tamariki.
Come down to the market for some kai and a good play with others.
Small and Large Block Permaculture
23rd April. 1-3 Permaculture on a Small Block. 3-5 Permaculture on a Large Block
Family Planting Day
25th April, 1-3 pm. Join us for a fun family day on the farm exploring, playing and planting native trees to protect te whenua and Te Awa Tupua.
Healthy Homes for Healthcare & Social Workers
25th May
Whanganui Regional Health Network
This programme helps healthcare and social workers to empower families improve the health and comfort of their homes.
Register with Angela Weekly at the Whanganui Regional Health Network.
Register: theecoschool@gmail.com
Kia Kaha!
Hedge Against Inflation
We’ve been practicing a form of permaculture we call “Eco-Thrifty” at our two homes in Whanganui for well over a decade. When we started our first blog in 2010 we thought the idea would catch on. It didn’t.
Twelve years later we are still at it and are reaping the harvests of avoiding the inevitable price rises in food and energy. Despite heading into winter and some seriously crazy weather, our farm is thriving and producing plenty of healthy kai while resisting the ravages of climate change.
Here is a visual update from yesterday.
Not bad for a blustery Sunday in June.
Peace, Estwing
Read All About It
Over the last few years I’ve been blogging less and writing for publication more. Below are some of those articles about our holistic approach for farming and home renovation that are available online:
https://www.buildmagazine.org.nz/articles/show/from-tent-to-toasty-home
Peace, Estwing
Kaitiaki Farm Weekend
Kaitiaki Farm Weekend
October 15-16
Saturday 2 – 5 pm: Farm Tour of Gardens, Intensive Orchards, & Farm Buildings (Permaculture Zones 1-2). Includes integrating farm foul into fruit & veg production and what are the best tools to use for low-input/high performance systems.
Sunday 9:30 – 12:30: Farm Tour of Paddocks and Hillsides, Non-Intensive Orchards, Stream Restoration, Bush Restoration, and Browse Block (Permaculture Zones 3-5). Includes water management, preventing slips, managing gorse, silvopasture, integrating poplar and willow, managing goats and kunekune pigs.
Sunday 1:30 – 4:30: Eco Design/Build for Sleep Outs, Tiny Homes, Minor Dwellings. Includes passive solar design, ‘super-wall’, retrofit double-glazing, building code changes, wastewater compliance, compost toilets.
Choose any combination: $50 each or $130 for all. (Couples $240)
Meals and accommodation also available – please enquire.
Register: theecoschool@gmail.com
Eco Thrifty Living 