The green age

A house with two cars, a dog and a lawn uses more energy than a village of 2000 Africans.

According to Australian Permaculture founder Bill Mollison, the Permaculture concept - which has spread to 160 countries – embraces a threefold ethic: care of the earth, care of people and dispersal of surplus time, money and materials towards these goals. The permaculture system also has a basic tenet that recognises the worth of every living thing, even if it doesn’t have a commercial value.

Permaculture teacher Vicky Gear says: “Whether you live in a unit or on 50 hectares, you can still practice permaculture. It’s for everybody. Applying the ethics of permaculture makes you aware of how to live more sustainably and consume less; it teaches you how to be a conserver rather than a consumer; how to cooperate and not compete; and how to coexist.”

Permaculture is about getting involved in the environment and in your community. It’s about a happier, healthier life. “Permaculture is more than just organic gardening – it encompasses all areas of your life,” Gear says.

Caring for the earth means looking after soils, forests, animals and waters. Look at how sustainable your entire lifestyle is. Do the quiz at www.earthlab.com and find out how much waste you create and how to reduce it. Some easy things you can do are composting kitchen scraps, not using chemicals in your garden or house and thinking about whether you really need something before buying it.

Get active about conservation. Plant a tree or support an environmental organisation. Join a group that supports animal rights or reforestation, or donate to organisations such as Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth or the World Wildlife Fund. 

We all need food, shelter, education, satisfying employment and good company. But few of us realise that a lot of this is within our own power and doesn’t have to be supplied by big organisations. Even if you live in an apartment or rent, you can still grow your own veggies.

If you don’t want to grow your own food, buy from a local retailer or grower who produces food in an ecologically sustainable way or join a community garden. If there isn’t one near you, why not start one?

While most of us have shelter, we all need to look at how we can make it more energy efficient. It could simply be hanging heavy curtains to reduce heat so that you rely less on air-conditioning.  Or you might install a solar hot water panel or a rainwater tank. You can also donate to the homeless through a local organisation.

The concept of permaculture involves thinking about the long-term impact of what you do for a living. Think about your working day, too: why not cycle or walk to work, recycle paper, resist printing emails and encourage your office manager to provide fresh snacks like fruit for staff rather than packaged junk food.

Finally, turn off the TV and join a book or running club. Take a community college course and make new friends. Dr Martha McClintock, director of the Institute for Mind and Biology and a fellow of the Brain Research Institute in the US, has recently found that, when housed in groups, rats live 40 per cent longer than those housed alone. She is now trying to determine how social interactions bring about hormonal and genetic changes that increase the quality and length of life.

Share seeds or ideas with neighbours, help your local school put in a veggie garden. The possibilities are endless. Just remember that every little bit counts.

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