I have been living a reasonably simple, self sufficient and sustainable existence in both of the eastern Australian areas of Moreton Bay and Byron Bay for the past 15 or so years.

Each year I seem to need less and feel more connected to the natural elements.

For the past 14 years I've been teaching people and businesses how to use less resources, thinking about where water, materials, consumables, food and energy comes from and designing buildings and operations with this knowledge in mind.

I've begun teaching specific permaculture courses - firstly I designed and taught a full PDC - it was the first PDC ever taught in the shire of Redlands just east of Brisbane. I wanted it to be an interactive learning experience - and so I brought in a few other teachers - people who I knew had good skills and knowledge but had never taught. We also did a lot of practical work - had a 'real' client to design to and visited some other sites around the northern NSW area.

I'm now also beginning to teach accredited permaculture through the Byron Community College.

While I have qualifications and experience in environmental management, training, marketing, waste management and animal behaviour, I value highly the learnings I get from interactions with others (human and other) plus trusting my instincts and heart.

I have a growing knowledge of practical approaches to sustainable living - growing chemically free; harvesting and using water cleverly; co-existing and harmonising with other species, minimising my energy use and closing the loop on the lifecycle of things - so as to reduce the creation of waste.

Having lived primarily in the temperate and sub-tropical regions of Australia, it was a wonderful experience to experience Jordan for my PDC learning experience in 2011.

I hope to spread my learnings to other climatic zones while continuing to build practical experience in all areas.

The joy will be seeing footprints get lighter; food fresher and more evenly available; the planet greener; soil healthier; potable water more abundant; less energy expended; diversity of species and cultures greater, more understood and accepted plus life for all more peaceful.