The Wild Mountains and Beyond

Its been a wild ride.  Today I find myself at what may likely be my final destination, the Crystal Waters Permaculture eco-village about 150k north of Brisbane.  My host, Peter, has a beautiful garden, plays in a community marimba band, and has lived here for 25 years.  

It is quite a large community, with 85 house lots, 250 people, and 600 acres, most of it bushland/rainforest.  They have a community center, saturday markets, monthly gatherings, and a the whole slew of political and interpersonal issues that come up when people from different backgrounds try to come live together.   I'll be woofing, helping garden, gather wood, and bake sourdough.

Aside from one night and a mate's birthday party in Brisbane, I have been staying at the Wild Mountains nature reserve for the last few weeks.  This is a hundred acre sub-tropical rainforest area built with the specific goal of earth education.  Earth education consists of a "head heart and hands" approach to developing a connection with nature.  I got to see this first hand with a group of 25 fifth graders this week.  The running tagline:  spending time with nature feels good. 

Yup.  And they weave a really magical opportunity for the young people to become keepers of the keys, and help begin a notion of how soil and air cycles are essential to our existence here on earth. 

Richard and Susan Zoomers helped start the place 30 years ago, living in tents as they hand built all the present 2 homes 5 a-frame cabins and the magnificent new main hall.  They are a working model of sustainable systems with solar power, solar hot water, wood stoves, rainwater catchments, and many efforts to restore rainforest species to certain of the more logged and flogged areas of the property (once used for farming).

I spent a day slashing through these head-high bushes of Lantana, a really invasive weed, as well as paving an area for new solar battery arrays and planting trees.  It was a really lovely time and a good opportunity to connect with the effort of cultivating wonder in times of ecological stress, and I now have a much better idea how to get the message across in a safe and meaningful way.

I'm off to a home-brewed beer party tomorrow, and then I'll be cruising around this community, interviewing friends and trying to piece together what it means to grow your own lifestyle.

Cheers,

Michael