I have always been a gardener, and my life's work has been saving the heritage seeds of New Zealand, and finding practical solutions for home gardeners, for growing healthy soils, nutrient dense food and nurturing the culture of gardening and simple living in New Zealand.

In 1997 I co-founded the Koanga Institute, where I am presently the CEO, teaching apprentices and working to ensure that our enterprises support the work that we are doing, maintaining and distributing NZ's largest collection of Northern bio-region heritage fruit trees, and a national New Zealand heritage seed collection.

In 1983 I was inspired by Bill Mollisons presentation at the NZ Tree Crops association conference, and attended a Permaculture design course the following year with Max Lindegger and Lea Harrison. This started an ongoing passion in collecting first heritage fruit trees and a small nursery, and then heritage vegetable seeds.

My work has been featured in many documentaries over the years and I have written several books and guides for home gardeners.

* The Koanga Garden Guide
* Design Your Own Orchard
* Change of Heart:The Ecology of Nourishing Food
* Save Your Own Seed
* How to Grow Nutrient Dense Food.

I am currently strengthening the Koanga Institute's ability to inspire gardeners to produce nutrient dense food, and process and prepare food in accord with traditional principles (in association with the Weston A. Price Foundation) to develop our capabilities in simple sustainable living.

I am currently working on a garden design process guide, which will be published shortly, using pattern language. This will help people design their gardens so that they automatically follow all the critical principles to make it sustainable for the long haul.

www.communitylandtrusts.co.nz

Social & Digital Communications Internship with Koanga Institute

Appropriate Technology Internship - Feb 29 - March 18 2016 (3 weeks)

Bio-Regional Seed Bank Internship: February 15 - 26, 2016 (2 Weeks)

Permaculture Design Course - PDC : February 1 - 12, 2016 (2 Weeks)

Cook in Exchange for all 8 Spring Workshops! NOW FILLED

Builder/Handyman Required Urgently - PAID!

Two People Living Off A 200sqm Garden – Plan Included!

Garden Update August 28

Big changes in my garden in the past few weeks,

Garden Update August 15

Spring is well and truly here! we are all a little scared to feel and acknowledge it after the past 8 months of rain! It is sunny and warm, chicken pumping out eggs, muscovies beginning to nest, along with the Weeder Geese, and bees humming.

Thorny Croft - Poultry Project

For 30 years our family has been actively involved in breeding heritage chickens. We were lucky enough to have begun this project whilst there were several old time “chicken men” still around in Northland, New Zealand where we lived then.

Thorny Croft - Small Farm

Thorny Croft is an 8 hectare ‘small farm’, being established by Bob Corker and Kay Baxter. It is ‘Thorny Croft ’ because of the hawthorns which we love, and it is a ‘croft’ in the traditional sense of the word, in that it is it is a diverse and integrate

Kay's Garden Report - 2 July

It’s mid-Winter here right now and the garden has slowed right down, taking a big breath. There is a load of food in the garden, and not much work in the garden for a few weeks yet. Winter here is a lot colder and far more frosts than Northland!

Teaching in Australia next week, then new Internship Program

I'm off to Australia to teach a range of workshops at the PRI and an evening talk in Melbourne. The workshops areSeedsaving and food security, Bio Intensive gardening, and cooking and Preparing Nutrient Dense Food. Our new internship program begins in Sep

Designing a Garden To Provide the Nourishment Needed by our DNA to maintain our health!

How Do you get 10,000 IU of Vitamin A ( the amount indigenous people's had in their diets and the amount recommended by the Weston Price Foundation ) each day ?

Garden Planner

I'm excited about my new Garden Planner due to be released in September this year

Appropriate Technology Workshop

We have an exciting group of people here this weekend, as the finale of our Appropriate technology Workshop