Editorial

Situated as we are – down under – Australians rarely get insights into the activities relating to landscape management around the world. This editorial touches on that and provides links to some exciting developments, particularly in Europe. I want to draw out some aspects of a webinar organised by EcoAgriculture Partners, a collective based in Virginia, on the occasion of the group’s 20th anniversary. The webinar addressed the subject, Decades of Empowering Landscape Regeneration: Transforming Policy and Finance Systems to Benefit People and Nature. EcoAgriculture Partners is not the IEA but is connected through common interests.

In the webinar you will hear visionaries from Climate-KIC, the Agroecology Coalition, CIFOR-ICRAF, and EcoAgriculture Partners discuss the successes, challenges, and prospects of integrated landscape management (ILM) as it intersects with climate change, food systems transformation, water conservation, biodiversity and human well-being.

To watch the 80 minute video of the webinar, click the link below.

The group’s website offers loads of inspirational resources. Have a peek here.

The remainder of the editorial will focus on the reflections of Climate-KIC and their spokesperson Kristen Dunlop as covered in the webinar. You can replay Kristen’s segments of the webinar by fast-forwarding to the section at 48.37 to 50.29 minutes; and the excellent overview at 48.07. The following is a paraphrase of Kristen Dunlop.

Dunlop believes that 20 years of evidence of climate change tells of an indisputable phenomenon. Climate change is real. In fact, she believes planet Earth and its inhabitants are on overshoot given the rise in temperature by 1.5 degrees already. The overshoot spells danger for world civilisation leading ultimately to chaos – social instability, food system collapse and significant loss of biodiversity. In short what she sees ahead is rampant volatility.

One of the weapons against this outcome, she believes, is integrated landscape management. Dunlop believes this offers a ‘texture of resilience’ which is more likely to cope with this volatility.

However, she then shifts slightly with her judgement that the solution lies in the social sciences. To this end she is critical of silo thinking that prevents connecting with a wider vision of possibilities. She alludes to the importance of systems ways of thinking and doing. In effect, she is saying that silo or reductionist thinking got humanity into this mess and it is impossible for it to get us out of it!

It is an interesting overview of the current problems and one that the IEA supports. The IEA believes agricultural education at the tertiary level, for example, is caught up in the reductionist science mantra, and whilst this form of science has delivered much over the 300 years of its existence, at the same time, it has created problems such as high CO2 levels that could lead to that endpoint she describes as ‘volatility’.

Given the density of the arguments surrounding this issue it is timely to lighten the mood with an IEA favourite. As Mike McClellan says, ‘you can’t kill the beast when it is out of the cage’:

Click the link to watch Mike McLellan’s You will be witness.

Some threads connecting ecology, culture and spirituality

Emergence magazine is an award-winning periodical that explores the threads connecting ecology, culture and spirituality. The podcast features exclusive interviews, author-narrated essays, fiction, and more. Today via this edition we put you in contact with the Emergence podcasts which are uploaded each Tuesday. There are many podcasts that connect with ecological agriculture, but a good starting point might be a meditative walk through a forest. A Forest Walk is by Kimberley Ruffin. Also recommended, the podcast, Ethic of Wild Mind by David Hinton.

The latest communique from Gene Ethics

It is great news that Agriculture Minister Murray Watt will accept and implement most of the recommendations from two recent reviews of the Australian Pesticides & Veterinary Medicine Authority (APVMA). They found that our pesticides regulator is captive to the agrochemical and GM industries it is supposed to regulate. However, the Farm Weekly report shows that CropLife Australia, Grain Producers, the VFF, and others are already lobbying the Minister to retain their control over farm chemical rules …

It sounds as though the foxes have been given the right to look after the hen house. Is this what regulation is about?

The importance of having independent regulators was brought home to the Editor this week after watching How to Poison a Planet which is streaming on STAN. The story is about so-called forever chemicals produced by 3M but also involving Du Pont. One forever chemical is a foam used in fire-fighting operations. The focus of the story is the USA but there is also an excellent account of the effect of these chemicals on the small indigenous communities of Wreck Bay near Jervis Bay. Wreck Bay was a place where the community would meet, swim, have celebrations, and eat oysters and fish. This is what they cannot do today as a consequence of pollution from the chemicals PFOS and PFOA. It is a tragic story about big business and what they will do to market a product even knowing that the chemicals are forever and cause problems such as heart disease and cancer. It is a beautifully told documentary that demonstrates the danger of big business and what they will do to keep the money rolling in. It is disappointing that this story is only available on STAN.

Commonland and Landcare: Two peas in a pod

Commonland is not a commonly known term in Australia but in the Netherlands it is. Commonland Environmental Services is committed to restoring degraded landscapes to create brighter futures – for people, nature, community and business. You can read about the group’s mission here: https://commonland.com/. In Australia we have Landcare but they have Commonland which provides a similar direction but with a different focus. The following video will take you to the Netherlands and incidentally to Joel Salatin as well.

And still on Commonland: Here is their raison d‘etre. It is built into their call for a shift from EGO to ECO. Read on:

Our society needs to shift from an ego-centric to an eco-centric model, centered around living in harmony with the natural world we're all part of... What could happen if we managed to shift from ego to eco? Here are some ideas:

* Immersing ourselves in natural environments: by recognising the interconnectedness of all life and the natural world, we would deepen our sense of belonging and meaning, strengthening our bond with nature.

* Embracing indigenous wisdom: we would delve into ancient ecological knowledge, which offers solutions to modern environmental challenges.

* Creating a resilient economy: we would prioritise ecosystem and community health through regenerative models. Investments in renewable energy, regenerative agriculture, and circular economy practices would enhance our resilience against environmental shocks and resource scarcity.

* Ensuring a healthy planet for future generations: we would adopt a long-term perspective and safeguard against compromising the well-being of future generations on Earth through intergenerational equity.

* Catalysing political transformation: we would demand greater accountability from leaders and institutions in addressing environmental issues. Ecocentric citizens advocating for the common good could lead to more equitable and responsible governance systems.

Join us in restoring landscapes and shifting towards an eco-centric mindset! (This raison d’etre is accessible to Commonplace subscribers and is also posted here.)

The article also acknowledges Otto Scharmer as the creator of the model which is used at Commonland to guide their work. Scharmer is also the father of Theory U, which you may find inspiring. A useful summary of U theory is given on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_U.

The IEA wholeheartedly supports these ideas. If they represent what you believe in why not make contact with us at IEA! You can send an email to info@ecoag.org.au or visit our website (www.ecoag.org.au) and sign up for the newsletter. It is free. And if you have a story you would like us to cover – perhaps a farm/farmer that represents an ecological/regenerative approach, and you think others might like to learn from it, then please let us know and we will take it from there.

Regenerative Agriculture Special Conference

Regenerative Agriculture Network Tasmania is excited to announce the 2024 Thriving in Agriculture: Land, People and Profit Conference at the The Tailrace Centre, Launceston, on 10–11th July 2024.

This event is more than just a conference; it is very much a ‘how-to’ guide to resilient, profitable, productive, joyful farming. It will focus on practical solutions on how to rapidly build landscape health, functionality, biodiversity and soil carbon sequestration – all while enhancing profitability and farmer well-being.

Globally renowned speakers who have effectively implemented these practices on their farms and in their work will share their practical insights grounded in real-world experiences. Farmer case studies, alongside cutting-edge research and trials, will be shared during the event. Presenters include:

• Walter Jehne, Regenerate Earth

• Gabe Brown, Understanding Ag, United States

• Graeme Hand, Hand for the Land

• Rachelle Armstrong, Soil Restoration Farming

• Steven Hobbs, farmer and Nuffield Scholar

• Chris Main, Australian Soil Management

• Celia Leverton, Regenerative Agriculture Network Tasmania

• farmer discussion panels

• and there may be some surprises!

To book, go to www.regenagtas.org.au.

Who represents your interests on the IEA Board?

Our Board profiles can be read on our website at www.ecoag.org.au. We meet once a month and usually on a Monday at 5.30pm. All meetings are managed via zoom. Starting now and in future newsletters we will introduce the Board members to you.

Secretary: Rachelle Armstrong

Rachelle grew up on a dairy/beef property in Yackandandah, Victoria. From the beginning of her career, Rachelle’s care for human and planetary health led her to achieve a Bachelor Degree in Health Science, majoring in Public Health. Her gift of bringing people together, naturally found her in community development roles, living and working in Sri Lanka for 3years and in Nannup, Western Australia, where she worked for local government as a Youth & Community Development Officer for three years.

In 2005, she partnered with her parents to commercialise and develop the NutriSoil business based on a vermiculture product developed by her father, Graham Maddock. Joined by her husband, Justin, they developed the team and business into a significant concern. Under their leadership, NutriSoil became a multi-award winning and B-Corp certified business – businesses that benefit the world. They used education and networking to build the biological and regenerative agriculture movement, along with raising the profile of the NutriSoil Biological Solution to become a household name in the industry.

Rachelle and Justin decided to leave the NutriSoil business in 2020 to pursue the next dream of building Soil Restoration Farming, a business based on a community of support for independent coaches and consultants who work with farmers on the journey of farming more regeneratively. They developed Coach the Coach and SRF FUNdaMENTALs programs to disrupt the traditional consulting and advising services currently in mainstream agriculture.

Rachelle has been part of the Syntropic World community since 2020, which aims to create new models for doing business that leaves everything better and is a Syntropic Coach. In short, this means observing and applying the laws of nature to the way we behave and do business. Rachelle has also been certified as a Results Coach through the International Coaching Foundation (ICF).

Rachelle’s top values are Community, Health and Holism. She is driven by people being their own kind of different, which she says is needed to grow the regenerative agriculture movement and build new models that make the existing degenerative models obsolete. She is passionate about building the regenerative community through synergistic collaborations and also does individual coaching for coaches, consultants, educators and regenerative farming businesses who are ready to do business differently.

Join the Institute of Ecological Agriculture

If you are interested in joining the Institute, then the pathway to doing so is simple. Just go to https://www.ecoag.org.au/membership and fill out the form.

If you are not sure about joining but would like to receive the Newsletter, go to https://www.ecoag.org.au/news and fill out the form.

If you are not sure about the IEA and need reassuring, best go to our Position Statement and see what it says: https://www.ecoag.org.au/position-statement.

If you are interested in becoming accredited within the framework of ecological or regenerative agriculture, please visit the following: https://www.ecoag.org.au/accreditation.

Sharing the good oil!

The Newsletter needs to circulate through the Australian rural community. It provides a different and important worldview on farming. Help the organisation to grow by circulating it to your friends or to people whom you think would benefit from it!

Editor: Kerry Cochrane
Design & Presentation: Tony McKenzie