I graduated from the University of Auckland (NZ) in 1992 with a degree in Architecture and have worked since then on a wide range of projects in the education, commercial and residential sectors, firstly in medium size practices in Auckland and more recently in my own practice near Arrowtown.

I live with my husband and three children on a 3 acre lifestyle block just outside Arrowtown. We moved to the property 8 years ago, which at the time was a cottage surrounded by paddocks. Working steadily, we have planted 1000s of trees establishing shelter, heritage fruit tree orchards, vegetable gardens and built another house to share the property with a second family. A turning point for our family occurred at the beginning of 2013 when we sold our cottage to a family with similar values and thus creating a mortgage free existence. What a change! Learning to slow down and value the work we do on the land the same as paid work has been a huge learning curve. A far greater challenge than I ever imagined.

Enrolling for a PDC at the Koanga Institute was an opportunity to learn more about what’s vital to a healthy and fulfilling life and the link between the places we live and the land that sustains us. The architectural work I had done to this point was mostly about buildings and this alone was no longer enough.

I came back to the South Island from my PDC with a new way of seeing the world around me. Numerous monocultures and unlinked systems were everywhere. Most importantly though, I came home with a little understanding of holistic management, the work of Alan Savory and the power of making positive choices for life based on a holistic system.
Continuing the way we had, making the decisions we always have is no longer enough.

I am looking forward to working on new projects that encompass land, buildings and growing systems.

feeding chicken with maggots

first trial - ended up composting the rabbits so a bit much mulch under the bunnies I think - will have another go

feeding chickens with maggots

I'm just about to embark on a trial using road kill to grow maggots for chicken feed