I share a GRIPPING TALE about a droplet of water before sitting down with Helen Lehndorf [https://helenlehndorf.com/], who is a radical forager, author, anarchist, poet and plenty more wonderful things besides. I loved her memoir A Forager's Life so much! Helen and I dive straight into the weeds about permaculture life strategies, unlocking creativity, writing for nature and how to rebel against The Machine by playing the Holy Fool. Medicine for muddled, blocked or chronically shy creatives. IN THIS CONVO Swimming upstream of the over culture Undoing cultural entrainment Social permaculture Permaculture design web Establishing a daily writing habit The world isn't saying PLEASE ARTIST MAKE MORE ART but you should anyway Anarchism The YES, AND rule The Holy Fool archetype AI? *shrugs* Enspiriting your art ECOPOETICS Getting past sharing insecurity Writing for nature Why little lives are worth sharing Invisible care work Journalling versus publishing Blackberry medicine What is it to relate with plants? PUNK GRANDDAD DANDY Synesthesia The future has an ancient heart 🧙‍♀️ LINKY POOS 🧙‍♀️ Helen's home on the web [https://helenlehndorf.com/] A Forager's Life ~ Helen Lehndorf [https://harpercollins.com.au/products/9781775492511_a-foragers-life-a-spellbinding-debut-memoir-about-plants-motherhood-and-belonging] The Bruise Palette ~ Helen Lehndorf [https://firestarter.nz/the-bruise-palette/] Social permaculture ~ Looby Macnamara [https://loobymacnamara.com/home/] Kirsty Porter Wild ~ Cheryl Strayed E.M Forster ~ Howard's End Annie Dillard Sound credit: Morepork / Ruru (Owl) - Auckland, New Zealand by tdes -- https://freesound.org/s/319539/ -- License: Attribution 3.0

We built this city on rock n roll! And cheap oil. And it's currently running out… so what happens now? This week I chat with Nathan Surendran [https://energyandresilience.substack.com/]to get a foothold on the fossil fuel crisis (which is the Everything Crisis) and how we can keep our balance, together. Nathan is a systems thinker, recovering engineer, energy and security analyst, policy advisor, author of the Energy and Resilience substack and chair of the Wise Response society. He is also seriously kind, and provides so much practical, empowering advice in this convo, including: Moving far far away from civilisation The unsustainability of cities Neurodivergence leading to deep research The Energy Elephant in the room: WHAT AREN'T WE SEEING Why oil (diesel) is the lifeblood of industrial society Drawing down ancient sunlight 1 million times faster than it's being recharged Every calorie of food takes 10 calories of fossil fuels, oof The Iran War Why we can't just switch to renewables Right relationship with renewables What are baseline standards of living? Household appliance heroes for the energy descent What is Energy Blindness? Emotionally processing peak oil One barrel of oil = 5 years of human labour (!) Are we being gaslit about the situation in the strait? The industrial system schools us to comply, not think Why the rich aren't as protected as they might think Less affluent people are ahead of the game What is mutual aid? Un-pathologising co-dependence Maori concepts of community care Why we need danger from a mental health perspective 🧙‍♀️LINKY POOS 🧙‍♀️ Nathan on Substack ~ Energy and Resilience [https://energyandresilience.substack.com/] Nathan's home on the web [https://www.schema.nz/] [doc] When The Trucks Stop ~ mutual aid guidelines [https://wiseresponse.substack.com/p/what-can-i-do-in-response-to-the] Wise Response on Substack [https://wiseresponse.substack.com/] Jason Bradford ~ The Future Is Rural Steve Keene Ian McGilchrist Charlie Hoyle Nate Hagens Steve Keen Howard T Odum 📸 Photo credit: Jason Hosking [https://www.jasonhosking.com/] 🧡 Support Reskillience on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/c/Reskillience] 🧡

Ever wish you could sit down with permie elders to hear their take on the current chaos; what to do, where to live, and whether it's really that bad in the grand scheme of things? Well just call me Genie cos this convo with permaculture educators and radical homemakers Ian Lillington and Marita Zeh will deliver. Ian and Marita live in a solar passive straw-bale home on the edge of Castlemaine, Victoria, surrounded by fruit and nut trees and veggie gardens, where students come to see – and feel – what it is to be wrapped in abundance. And this is where I found them, on a sunny autumn morning, in the cosy warmth of their kitchen, dealing with masses of peaches, pistachios and zucchini. And we all sat down and chopped and chatted, eventually remembering to turn on the mics. In this convo: Pursuing a hybrid model of permaculture Rat poison sandwich Renting till your 40s What is good debt? Where is even affordable anymore? How to deal with gluts Giving to community Small garden farming Being strategically connected to the grid Diverse household energy systems Scales of usage An elder's perspective on current affairs Sharing permaculture as a political act Permaculture priorities Gratitude vs. fear Impermaculture 🧙‍♀️ LINKY POOS 🧙‍♀️ Send Ian an email ~ [email protected] Or keep it old school with a text ~ 0478 297 057 The Castlemaine Permaculture Hub PDC [https://holmgren.com.au/permaculture-events/permaculture-design-course-pdc-2025/] (for locals) Castlemaine Permaculture FB group [https://www.facebook.com/groups/445686212227432] (national) Permaculture Australia FB group [https://www.facebook.com/groups/874575125557524]

I tell a story about my grandpa's deathbed song request before having a heart-to-heart with Emily Coats, a deep nature connection facilitator, ancestral skills practitioner, threshold-crossing guide and dreamworker. In this convo: Shakespearean activism What the world needs right now (hint: not more intellect) Ways to wholeness Does activism have to feel hard and gnarly? Being precise in the ripples we cast What happens at Tracker School Ancient skills… for survival? Why to prioritise spiritual preparedness How we live and how we die Losing her dad; the gifts and lessons Intentions vs. realities of living in a handmade black wattle shelter offline, offgrid and alone for 7.5 months How to use spirit tracking to find lost stuff 🧙‍♀️ LINKY POOS 🧙‍♀️ [starts soon in Naarm] Earth Time: The Lost Art of Being Human [https://www.naturesapprentice.com.au/events/earth-time-human-winter] Emily's home on the web [https://emilycoats.net/] Emily on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/_emily_coats_/] Nature's Apprentice [https://www.naturesapprentice.com.au/] Nature Based Leadership Training [https://www.naturesapprentice.com.au/events/nblt-2026/] Bill Plotkin & Animas Valley Institute [http://www.animas.org/] Jon Young [https://www.jonyoung.org/] The Animal Communicator [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBpG1nkM5jc] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBpG1nkM5jc Jon Young Australia workshop [https://www.artofmentoring.com.au/mindofthementor/] 🧡🧡🧡 Support Reskillience on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/c/Reskillience] 🧡🧡🧡

In 2018 Professor Jem Bendell [https://jembendell.com/] published an academic paper that went viral; pretty weird for a piece of scholarly writing. The topic? Societal collapse caused by runaway climate change. The timeline? Soon. Deep Adaptation presented a frank, delusion-free framework for facing the end of the world as we know it, sparked a movement, and copped a lot of flack. I wanted to chat with Jem not so much about the grim facts but about how, "as that collapse guy"*, he is filling his life with meaning at the eleventh hour. And it turns out, that includes becoming a farmer, writing folk songs and considering having kids. *Jem happily identifies as a doomster [https://jembendell.com/2024/08/10/we-still-care-doomster-characteristics/] 🎙️ In this convo Experiencing climate change first hand as a farmer in Bali How to act on knowledge about collapse and climate? Making the leap towards your values (with the help of a global pandemic) Why the wellness community is full of shit Farming fails Picking up music at 48 and writing comedy rock Faulty beliefs we have about our creative gifts Living fully at the eleventh hour Letting go of status and security Why it's all ok when everything's not ok Kirtan and ecospirituality practices Jem's evolving views about how collapse will unfold Bringing kids into this world, yay or nay? The Deep Adaptation framework Becoming NURTURANT How to help others through the grief Jem's simple pleasures Oracle cards for cynics 🧙‍♀️LINKY POOS Jem's home on the web [https://jembendell.com/] [paper] Deep Adaptation [https://jembendell.com/2019/05/15/deep-adaptation-versions/] ~ Jem Bendell [book] Breaking Together [https://jembendell.com/2023/04/08/breaking-together-a-freedom-loving-response-to-collapse/'] ~ Jem Bendell The Metacrisis Initiative [https://jembendell.com/metacrisis-initiative/] Jem's collapse-aware oracle cards [https://jembendell.com/resilient-life-oracle-cards-for-challenging-times/] Jem's music [https://jembendell.com/tag/music/] Songbird credit: Australia Outback Birds by EduFigueres [https://freesound.org/s/562111/] License: Attribution 4.0 🧡 Support Reskillience on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/c/Reskillience] 🧡

I tell a story about Jar Power before sitting down with Robin Greenfield, an incredible fella best known for his radical experiments in simple living, food reclamation, waste minimisation and wild foraging. He has been called "the Robin Hood of our times", "the Forrest Gump of ecology", and "the best kind of crazy". To me, Robin is a torch bearer for truth, leading the way towards justice – with a whole lotta joy and integrity. This year he is eating 100% foraged foods – unreal! – so we chat about that, as well as: Why Robin is so gassy How it feels to break free from the global industrial food system Why Robin is not into human optimisation Practicing non-attachment and impermanence Freedom in community What gives Robin the power to do crazy stuff? Non-delusionalism How to identify your purpose and niche The most limiting factor in figuring out who you really are Pursuing radical honesty Robin's simple finances Skills + relationships = freedom Transition ethics Compassionate communication What IS foraging, really? All the foraging nuances you never thought about! How our language is built around disconnection What would happen if everyone foraged? Joy as resistance 🧙‍♀️ LINKY POOS Robin's website [https://www.robingreenfield.org/] Robin's books [https://www.robingreenfield.org/robinsbooks/] Robin on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/robin.greenfield/] [book] Mark Boyle ~ The Moneyless Man [https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-moneyless-man-mark-boyle/book/9781786075994.html?source=pla&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21611747256&gbraid=0AAAAA-Ia9hOgD6qhohHesLu1pDYcYHtyU&gclid=CjwKCAiAtq_NBhA_EiwA78nNWESoE4Q2Zjg19KgPNgjtWojYZnF93MPdHkcFztXJyRY6akqDgyIgaRoCaikQAvD_BwE] 🧡 Support Reskillience on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/c/Reskillience] 🧡

Christie Green [https://www.christiegreen.net/] spends days at a time in the mountains, in the snow, tracking elk, solo. Her hunting journey began at 40 as a practical way to feed herself and her family, and became a fierce and fluid exploration of womanhood, motherhood, stewardship, intuition, listening and kinship. Christie wrote a memoir about her experiences called Moonlight Elk that I rapturously devoured, licking my fingertips with every turn of the page, it is that delicious.  🦌 Terrain covered: Life in Sante Fe, New Mexico Hunting as a deep and embodied exploration of just about everything. Listening to other than human perspectives as a landscape architect Designing for soil, water, animal, pollination; landscapes in service of wild nature Learning to hunt at 40 Weaving values into business How to catch dreams Why would you want to hunt alone? Being an "other-centred" person Following desire and intuition The extreme paradox of loving and killing Defying categories and boxes Are there better and worse ways to hunt? Could and should everyone hunt? Communal local food relationships Walking in fear as a woman, as prey Dreams as soul expression Writing sex scenes that feature yourself The choiceless choice of creativity 🧙‍♀️ LINKY POOS Christie's home on the web [https://www.christiegreen.net/] Christie on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/radiclelandscape/?hl=en] Get your mitts on Moonlight Elk [https://www.unmpress.com/9780826366726/moonlight-elk/#:~:text=Here,%20hunting%20in%20the%20wild,%20the%20moon%20cycles] (note: you can buy it anywhere, or ask your library for copies) Moonlight Elk audiobook [https://www.audible.com.au/pd/Moonlight-Elk-Audiobook/B0DZYZN56V] Selected essays by Christie Green [https://www.christiegreen.net/essays] 🧡 Join the Reskillience community on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/c/Reskillience] 🧡 Outro birdsong credit: Afro408 [https://freesound.org/s/815260/] - License: Attribution NonCommercial 4.0

You've heard of swales… but what about swales in the brain to slow and deepen our human experience? Join me and Cecilia Macaulay for one of those special convos that gets to the heart of life's gnarliest struggles; our biggest messes, our greatest failures, our everyday chaos… and uses permaculture design to harness their power. This episode will particularly chime with "forgetful, distractible" types, clutter accumulators, chaos agents, overwhelm junkies, and anyone with a hunch that a few elegant household systems could MASSIVELY increase their effectiveness in the world. WE COVER Insane wisdom from Bill Mollison Meeting Masanobu Fukuoka The FIVE RULES OF HARMONIOUS PERMIE SHAREHOUSES Japanese rules of Non-Complaint and Taking Full Responsibility Growing an enduring permaculture spirit How to become a world expert in a tiny little thing Creating a failure protocol Upward spirals Permaculture for heartbreak Being an effective human later in life More than medication for neurodiversity The connection between untidy houses and trauma Making your kitchen sink a shrine to beauty and goodness Setting a household culture using mirror neurons The eco-footprint of university STOP AWFULISING! Permaculture zones in the home Why to share what's spare STOP COLONISING CREATIVE VOID! Expanding the edges of our gifts and talents Beautiful messcapes Knolling What "can't be bothered" really codes for How to use imagination to improve your memory 🧙‍♀️ LINKY POOS 🧙‍♀️ Cecilia's home on the web [https://www.ceciliamacaulay.com.au/] Cecilia's nine month home harmonising project [https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/the-home-that-loves-you-back-9-month-guided-home-harmonising-project-registration-1981827693982] The Edible Balcony Garden ~ Indira Naidoo Sand Talk ~ Tyson Yunkaporta Screen Zen App WWOOF, HelpX & Workaway Polyvagal theory 🧡Join the Reskillience community on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/c/Reskillience] 🧡 Thanks to kangaroovindaloo for the singing bowls [https://freesound.org/s/618079/]: License: Attribution 4.0

Big personal shares at the top of the ep (preview: podcasting terrifies me) before an utterly delightful conversation with Scots folk singer Josie Vallely aka. Quinie [https://www.quinie.co.uk/]. Quinie's album Forefowk, Mind Me was named The Guardian's best folk release of 2025, but don't worry if you're not into bagpipes because we mostly chat about: Not making your art your career Tips for slow art/seasonal living in a rushing world The mind bending differences between relating with Country in Australia versus Scotland Minority languages and evocation of place The right to roam Confused white settler syndrome When you're a cultural mongrel Impure ancestry Place as a surrogate elder Tradition in motion Where do songs live? Journeying on horseback Horses as bodyguards Why we all just want to be got 🧙‍♀️LINKY POOS Quinie's home on the web [https://www.quinie.co.uk/] Quinie on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/quinie.music/] [album] Forefowk, Mind Me ~ Quinie [https://open.spotify.com/album/0xbYYtVhesOTeHJmzmT6np?si=BMDVtJNoQ1yDTzLsr797gg] Quinie's seasonal almanac ~ Things that happen every year in a cycle [https://quiniemerch.bigcartel.com/product/everything-happens-in-a-cycle-almanac-wall-hanger] [film] Forefowk, Mind Me  [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjLd9k_WF40] Guardian review of Quinie's album [https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/may/23/quinie-forefowk-mind-me-review-collecting-songs-on-horseback-this-scottish-musician-is-alive-with-ideas] Cover art photo credit: Anthony Rintoul 🧡🧡🧡 Join the Reskillience community on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/c/Reskillience] 🧡🧡🧡

A garden drama unfolds during a heatwave, and I share my summer solstice/New Year wishes for you. Thanks for tuning into another year of Reskillience! We'll be back later in January full of fresh questions and custard.  Shout out to my love Jordan Osmond for helping produce this episode. Sound credit: BlackbirdFiltered.wav by acclivity [https://freesound.org/s/13531/]  🧡 Support Reskillience on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/c/Reskillience] 🧡