Clare Wimmer

Co-Chair, Treasurer

2nd year on Council

Clare lives near Raglan in the Waikato Region of the North Island with her husband David, and son, Max on a 1 ha property (La Finca). Her current interests include the domains of Permaculture Action, with a focus on Education and Culture, Finances and Economics, Land and Nature Stewardship and Building. She believes by redefining how we learn and becoming more active through a reflective process of progressive problem solving and accepting the observer as part of the system; we can creatively respond to change. This process blossoms through La Finca internships and provides an alternative exchange system building capacity.  La Finca delivers the experience of ecological living to New Zealanders and international visitors. She takes Human Capital into account by combining social, intellectual and experiential capital with living capital, AND understanding and working with nature.

As far as work goes, as a part-time business manager for CLIMsystems, a global leader in climate change software and consultancy, she works in collaboration with scientists to provide support for climate change adaptation and risk assessments to the UNDP, UNEP, LDC countries and a variety of other clients. At La Finca, she spends time with interns and Wimmer Design which is a family business designing & building tiny homes. During summer months Clare has fun by working with clay and teaching others to create ollas for their garden or vessels to make fermented food in her pottery workshop.

When asked how she is "being of service", she says "Enabling positive change, one intern at a time"

Clare completed her PDC through Hamilton Permaculture in 2015, and the following March completed Teacher Training at Solscape under Robina, Fin and Dan. She collaborated on a Permaculture Educational Hui event in Waitetuna at the end of 2016. As far as being of service to Permaculture in Aotearoa New Zealand goes, Clare has volunteered as a bookkeeper since 2016, behind the scenes and last year was treasurer on the council.  Clare is keen on facilitating streamline processes to assist the organisation in developing its potential. 

It has been a pleasure to be on the PiNZ Council for the last two years, and Chairperson for the last year. I wish to continue in this role for the next year. 

I am an ecological designer, educator and organisational facilitator. I'm also a farmer.

During my time on Council and as Chairperson, I have been facilitating a shift within PiNZ toward economic prosperity and job creation; supporting localised action on the ground; and enhancing the scope of Permaculture education in Aotearoa.

I am also passionate about cultural healing and decolonisation, and I believe this is integral to regenerative practice, Permaculture and local food sovereignty. My Doctorate studies are on decolonising social organisations, informed by ecological patterns, and I wish to bring this insight to the PiNZ

Dave Hursthouse

Co-Chair

3rd year on Council

Donna Takitimu

Membership Sectary, Bioregional Liaion

1st year on Council

Kia ora e te Iwi, aku mihi mahana ki tēnā ki tēnā e hāpai nei i tēnei kaupapa, arā, te manaaki i a Papatūānuku me ngā tāngata katoa e ora pai ai tātou. 

Aku hononga whakapapa ki te Tairāwhiti me te moutere o Norfolk, nō reira e rere whānui aku mihi. Tokorua aku tamariki, a kotahi taku mokopuna.

Professionally I've mainly worked in Māori environmental education, from early childhood, primary secondary but many years in tertiary & into management.  Apart from environmental kaupapa I'm passionate about the reclamation of te reo Māori as a living language. 

I did my PDC at my marae, Whitianga Marae under Geoff Lawton who was invited over by Kay Baxter & Bob Corker when Koanga was based in Te Whanau ā Apanui, about 15 years ago. I also did a Permaculture teaching cert at Zaytuna farm, the Permaculture Institute of Australia. 

Since then I've incorporated a PDC into a NZQA approved tertiary programme & managed a national team of lecturers to bring about hundreds of graduates.  

Lots of exciting plans for initiatives in the future to share with you all.  

I have lived and moved through several parts of Aotearoa, from my childhood in Auckland, teenage years in the Waikato and then Wellington, Northland and Golden Bay. I have recently moved to Whanganui with intentions of settling in and applying my energies to a context which is more nested within community and place.

I have been a gardener at many different scales since my teenage years (thanks mum) and learning with a permaculture lens for about 10. I took my PDC in 2016 with Robina McCurdy, Courtney Brooke and Dave Hursthouse. Since then I have been a practitioner, teacher, critical thinker and will always remain a student. I attended and volunteered for two months the International Permaculture Convergence in India in 2017 which was an incredible experience

I have deep interests in hosting and cultivating experiences for people with te Taiao (the natural world) from working as a tramping guide for Kahurangi Guided Walks who mostly serves retired kiwis, to getting people into the garden and observing and learning in new ways. I feel that many of the ills and traumas of our society can begin being healed for individuals as well as the collective through experiences outside.

I am currently studying in an inquiry which is mapping the primary food production in the Whanganui region and drawing links with some of the tensions around community resilience and modern society.

Leo Gedye

Sectary

1st year on Council

Lillee Star

Hui Liaison, Newletter & Website

4th year on Council 

I have been entwined with Permaculture for the last 17 years now and experienced a diversity of initiative around the world before landing in Aotearoa in 2009.

One of the main reason I am living NZ is through became involved in a conscious earth-friendly festival in Golden Bay. I met community of like-minded/ spirited people that grounded me to a place of being, a sense of purpose that had benefits for a gretaer good and a place I could call home. I have now been involved with them for 10 summers.

For the last 8 years I have been based in Canterbury and have taken on several roles within the community. Director, Shop & Business Manager for Harbour Co-op, part of Christchurch Food Forest Collective, on the steering group for Food Resilience Network in Christchurch, Permaculture Designer & Consulting for the Otakaro Orchard/ FRN Hub.  From this work, I saw the need for hands-on, community-based learning to share knowledge & skills that could aid in the transformation of communities & food security within our region post earthquakes.

Alongside my business partner, we started an education & consultant social enterprise called Canterbury Permaculture Institute. We are currently involved with a number of local permaculturalist, groups, projects & business that work along the same ethic and principles of permaculture to grow culture and wellbeing for our natural environment, whilst providing for the communities needs.

For PiNZ I look after website content, newsletter production and hui liaison for the national annual gathering.