Ben is the Course Convenor and Lead Design Consultant for Aiki Designs. At various times he has worked as an environmental scientist, aikido instructor, early literacy tutor, landscaper, retail salesperson, personal assistant, writer, illustrator and starving artist. He completed his Permaculture Design Course in 1998 (with internationally renowned teacher Geoff Lawton) while working for the Queensland Forest Research Institute and quit his job shortly after to become a Permaculture Designer and Teacher.

He has since travelled a path which has led to modest success (and only occasionally to spectacular failure) both in Permaculture and in other pursuits. Recently he had the honour of naming a new species of leaf-tailed gecko endemic to South-East Queensland which he discovered while working as a forest wildlife researcher in the 1990's, and he currently also acts as administrator and webmaster for a creative arts collective.

He has travelled in India, Nepal, New Zealand and New Caledonia, but knows and loves Australia best.