Permaculture Design Course
Facilitators - theory days
Welcome to our permaculture tutor team. Between us we have many years' experience and a deep level of permaculture-related knowledge. We are all working in the field of permaculture in our businesses.
Guenther Andraschko
Lead Facilitator
Guenther is a Permaculture NZ-affiliated teacher, and is the lead facilitator for the Matakana Permaculture Design Course.
Guenther has facilitated Permaculture Design Courses for many years around New Zealand, including Northland, Coromandel and the South Island.
Not only is he an experienced workshop facilitator, Guenther is also a professional permaculture landscape designer with over 25 years’ experience in designing outdoor environments utilising permaculture ethics & principles.
Guenther brings a wealth of practical knowledge and experience to trainings and enjoys supporting others to realise their own resilient living projects and aspirations.
Judy Keats
Guest Tutor
Judy is a regenerative permaculture educator with 14 years experience in permaculture garden design, establishment & operation.
Judy has a passion for holistic edible garden production ranging from community gardens and urban plots to broad scale farms, including having managed Kelmarna Organic Community Gardens & City Farm for many years.
"Self sufficiency and community resilience can be realised when we set out on this path with intrigue, integrated systems thinking and a thirst for practical know-how".
Trish Allen
Guest Tutor
Trish is a Permaculture NZ affiliated teacher and holds a Diploma in Permaculture. She has over 30 years’ experience as a permaculture practitioner including establishing the award-winning Rainbow Valley Farm with her late husband Joe Polaischer.
The farm demonstrated permaculture in action and inspired thousands. Trish has now moved on and established a village-scale model of permaculture.
She is also co-founder of Mahurangi Wastebusters which aims to divert waste from landfill and promotes a circular economy.
Carl Pickens
Guest Tutor
Carl is a landscape architect with over 20 years experience designing and building sustainable landscapes across New Zealand.
He operates Carl Pickens Landscapes that focuses on sustainable, regenerative, ecological and permaculture-based approaches to landscape design and development.
His training in organic horticulture and a lived permaculture background brings a depth to his work that’s evident in the successful fruition of these landscapes; from design to implementation and eventual maturity.
Facilitators - practical workshops
Guenther Andraschko
Guenther facilitates the Ecological Building workshop and has extensive experience in ecological building, having built his own adobe-in-situ house, and facilitated earth building workshops around New Zealand and Australia.
He also facilitates the Mushroom Growing workshop , as well as co-facilitating the Deep Ecology and Inner Resilience workshop.
He also co-supports all the gardening, pruning and compost workshops.
Stephen Moller
Stephen co-facilitates the Ecological Building workshop and is an experienced, professionally-trained lime & clay plasterer, having gained his skills in Switzerland, then worked with a company specialising in lime renders, natural paints and building biology. Stephen runs Limewave - a company specialising in beautiful, natural finishes and has extensive experience in both commercial (restaurants, office spaces etc), and private earth build projects.
Avril Hamlin
Avril co-facilitates the Deep Ecology and Inner Resilience workshop. She is a Somatic Trauma Therapist and Ecotherapist with a passion for nature and wellbeing.
Avril has studied Ecotherapy with
The Earthbody Institute, USA and has also completed a 3-year professional Trauma Training with the International Somatic Experiencing® Trauma Institute, USA. She has also completed two PDCs, including one with Geoff Lawton.
As well as facilitating workshops, Avril is a therapist with a clinic in Auckland.
Judy Keats
Judy heads up the Seasonal Gardening & Seed Saving workshop, the Pruning option #1 workshop, Forest Gardens/Planting Hugelkultur garden beds workshop and the Composting Grafting & Propogation workshop.
Judy has a wealth of knowledge and many years experience running gardening and fruit tree-related workshops - including pruning, setting up food forests as well as having managed Kelmarna Organic Community Gardens & City Farm.
Tim Croft
TIm "The Pruning Guy" has an extensive background in pruning including managing the pruning of vineyards and a wide range of fruit tree varieties on private landblocks.
Tim's down-to-earth, knowledgable teaching style and humour always make his workshops a great day of learning and fun.