The new year has come in with a new (and what appears urgent) motivation to move the acre I live on into complete sustainability.  

What existed before my internship:

-a polycultural orchard (32 fruit trees of various types) irrigated by a grey water manifold system from the Aqua Nova biocycle system in place.  I have the ability to choose which trees are irrigated through a simply designed manifold off the main sceptic tanks

-a grid connect solar system and solar hot water system

-a veggie garden with little success

-a chemical free environment - no sprays, pesticides or herbicides for 3.5 years

-replaced ALL lighting with 5 Watt LED technology

-45,000 L rainwater tank which stores rainwater from house roof area

-a grey water system where nothing but plant based natural products are used in the closed system.  This grey water is recycled and irrigates the orchard.

-a recycling system in place

What is planned:

-Animal systems - chooks

-replace grid connect with a state of the art solar battery bank system with latest panel technology

-Install an interconnected system of swales, banana/paw paw circles and on-contour raised garden beds, with potential for a small dam

-Swale food forests once earthworks are finished

-solar food dryer construction

-black soldier fly and worm farm

-Additional water tanks and gutters on all buildings or structures to harvest water (including the large concrete driveway which slopes down to the house)

-Construction of a small nursery

-Potentially replace existing biocycle system with a reed bed system or advanced enviro-septic systems (already approved by sunshine coast council) - requires no energy to run and no cost for quarterly services by plumbers.

-installation of an approximately 400 m2 raised bed contour garden with drip irrigation - this in combination with all other raised beds on the property and food forests will supply all fruit and veg required during the year

To date the following has been done:

-support species planting and mulching in a polycultural orchard (could be considered a food forest now!)

-interplanting of rock melons, watermelons, squash and pumpkins within the orchard

-construction of different trellising systems

-installation of raised garden beds in any area that is not being utilized for growing

-increased growth of green crops for composting

-first composting pile in last stages, about to start next piles

-compost tea and biofertilizer has been applied to food forest and gardens

-contour raised beds installed with tyre ponds and herb spirl in veggie garden

-started seed saving program at home and have been germinating and propagating my own seeds

-have been lucky enough to volunteer at Isabell Shipard's herb farm once a week to gain experience in a nursery and growing operation

-set up compost tea brewer and bioferitilzer fermentor

Stay tuned - much much more to come!