Nick Huggins – CoDirector: I’ve been working with soil from a young age. Since that time 30+ years as a regenerative practitioner. Under pinning my knowledge base are Holistic Management, Permaculture, Regenerative Agriculture (Regen Ag), Keyline Design and were it all started in Horticulture.
Over the years I’ve assisted many in growing economically viable businesses that work with nature and create abundance. Introducing Regenerative processes spanning biological amendments to holistic grazing, Permaculture Design and as a hands on practitioner, educator, speaker, mentor…
Justin Hurley: Holding a deep fascination with the natural world and concerned with the rate of decline of our environment I have dedicated my time to learning about the various and wonderful ways that landscape can be healed and regenerated, developing my connection to land and allowing me to live a meaningful life.
Regenerative Landscapes Platform (RLP)
RLP has been developed over the years by taking an anti-dogma stance in adopting strategies for repairing and regeneration of the Australian landscape. Dogma is a principle or set of principles laid down by an authority as incontrovertibly true. It serves as part of the primary basis of an ideology or belief system, and it cannot be changed or discarded without affecting the very system’s paradigm, or the ideology itself. N
ature is not dogmatic or lineal or predictive, so our approach is one of working with natures pattern. Careful consideration is taken to implement the right tools in our assessing landscape function form urban to rural aspects to apply design strategies and deliver on ground outcomes. No one single set of techniques, approaches or more importantly disciplines takes precedence over another because of its popularity and is solely dependant on nature and when she’s ready.
Our LRP allows for only the most closely connected methodology of the time most appropriate to our constitution and integrity and how this fits with our clients ambition and intentions for there land. In our evolution in land management the philosophy we have embraced is “when you know
better, do better” (Maya Angelou). The word Sustainability is a mediocre term used by business and more so by government to describe business as usual with a great wash which equates to re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Ambition starts with regeneration of landscapes, communities, ecosystems and the move to antifragile food production systems and economies.
Regenerative Landscapes Australia has partnered and converged with Australian and internationally recognised regenerative pioneer consultants acting as mentors, forming collaborative relationships working on innovative solutions for beyond best practice, regenerative permanent culture and ethical business practices.
Robert Gourlay, RFD, B.App.Sc, M.App.Sc. – Rob is the Managing Director and Chief Scientist of Orbtek Pty Ltd (www.phion.com.au), and Environmental Research and Information Consortium Pty Ltd (ERIC, www.eric.com.au) specialising in biological research and resource assessment and management. He has extensive experience in biological research and is an acknowledged expert in natural resource assessment and management, soil and water management, biological farming and trace mineral applications. This includes addressing the issues of food, water and alternative energy security and integrity, which he does through his products and services at www.phion.com.au.
Darren J. Doherty – www.regrarians.org – Darren has extensive experience across the world in project design, development, management & training. A career-long
focus on the profitable & regenerative retrofit of broadacre landscapes has seen Darren acclaimed as a pioneer in this important & often overlooked field. Darren has provided professional consultation services to (RLA) Nick Huggins over the years and into the foreseeable future. Darren is a respected colleague and mentor. Darren is a 5th generation Bendigo region farmer, developer, author & trainer and has been involved in the design & development of nearly 2000, mostly broadacre projects across 6 continents in close to 50 countries, ranging from 1 million hectare cattle stations in Australia’s Kimberly region to 110,000 acre Estancia’s in Patagonia, EcoVillage developments in Tasmania to Public:Private R&D Agroforestry & Education Projects in Viet Nam, Novel AG Machinery development + Family Farms across the globe with a range of private, corporate, government & non-profit clients.
Geoff Lawton – Permaculture Research Institute Australia – This is the man with which it all started with. Nick studied and worked with Geoff on many projects together. Nick has taught and run design courses at the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia over the years. Both Geoff his wife Nadia are well respected colleagues, friends and mentors. Geoff is an internationally renowned permaculture designer, teacher and consultant who has worked in over 35 different countries. He is continually invited to teach and consult on the design science of permaculture for government agencies, UN agencies, aid organisations, major development companies and private individuals. Geoff is also an inspiring educator, producing thousands of active permaculture designers around the world. He has been responsible for the establishment of a network of global education centres and demonstration sites linked by some of the largest permaculture websites in the world.
Matt Kilby – Global Land Repair Pty Ltd – Since 2000 Matt has continued to refine the art of tree planting by expanding on a successful polyculture tree planting strategy and incorporating soil health principles utilising mineral and microbe balancing. As a result, Global Land Repair has developed the unique Plant Pink Tree Planting System™ that is achieving up to 97% tree survival rates in commercial timber plantations and other nursery and regeneration projects. Matt has provided professional consultation services to (RLA) Nick Huggins over the years and into the foreseeable future. Matt is a respected colleague, mentor and friend..
Gerhard Grasser – AgriSolutions Pty Ltd – The philosophy and motivation of AgriSolutions largely stems from the passion and beliefs of the Managing Director, Gerhard Grasser. His passion for natural living and sustainable agricultural practices is unsurprisingly extended to those around him and hence the business was formed and grown substantially. His passion to teach others about natural alternatives for the environment and particularly farming never waned and this drive has lead him to expand his own knowledge and skills to meet the increasing demands of this “mentoring” role. Gerhard has provided professional consultation services to (RLA) Nick Huggins over the years and into the foreseeable future.
Martin Royds – Jillamatong Beef – Martin has re-defined his meaning of success on the land. During the 1982 drought, Martin Royds watched in horror as tonnes of topsoil blew off hillsides and coated fences. Gully erosion was rampant, and when the rains eventually did come, any remaining topsoil and organic matter was stripped and washed away. Over the years since, Martin Royds has turned his land around, battling advocates of traditional methods and regulatory constraints to create an agricultural enterprise example – and gaining well-earned recognition in the process. Holistic management has helped deliver a property that is still able to fatten cattle during drought periods when neighbours are unable to run stock. Diversification has also enabled the maintenance of cash flow through other industries such as harvesting native grass seed, truffles, garlic and yabbies. Martin has won or been nominated for a range of awards, including winning the award for ‘Carbon Cocky for East of the Divide’ in 2007. He is tireless in his thirst for gaining and sharing knowledge, attending or presenting at conferences and seminars across the country and maintaining membership with a number of organisations and committees. Nick and Martin are working closer together on developing education courses and Permaculture Design Certificate courses on farms to give people a real experience on the land. Martin is a respected mentor, colleague and friend.
Dr Maarten Stapper – BioLogic AgFood – Farming Systems and Agricultural Science in Transition. Dr Maarten Stapper has lived, studied and worked in the Netherlands, Canada, USA, Iraq, Syria, and, since 1982, in Australia. He has an agricultural engineering degree from Wageningen University, the Netherlands, in farming systems and catchment management in semi-arid tropics. He did his PhD with the University of New England, Armidale, on wheat production systems, linking crop physiology with agronomy and daily weather in simulation modelling. Maarten was then employed by the International Centre for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA) at Aleppo, Syria, where he did his field work. Maarten worked from 1983 to 1988 at CSIRO, Griffith, on irrigated wheat and introduced irrigation scheduling, a nitrogen fertiliser calculator and the first crop monitoring program for farmers to support their management decisions. He then moved to CSIRO, Canberra, to work on drylands wheat systems and the management of high-yielding irrigated wheat, which led him to the principles of biological agriculture. Martin has worked with Nick on delivering education to Permaculture Design students over the years and looks forward to more collaboration.
Dr Greg Bender – Australian Soil Management – Dr Bender is one of Australia’s most experienced and knowledgeable scientists in the field of soil biology and organic matter. He is passionate about smarter land management, meaning the integration of sophisticated natural systems with modern farming practices to build better soils, landscapes and businesses.From 2001 to 2006 Greg was National Coordinator for the $10M Soil Biology Initiative funded by the Grains Research & Development Corporation. The Initiative was Australia’s first national coordinated research effort to understand soil biology and organic matter (carbon) for the benefit of farmers and other land managers. In 2016 Nick has started working with Greg on how to improve farm and land soils with the application of compost from city green waste. Its just the beginning of what will be an exciting collaboration with ASM and NHG.
George Gundry – Result Rewards – Holistic Management grazing consultation and mentoring to Nick. George has provided professional consultation services to the Nick Huggins Group over the years but sadly passed away in 2013 and was a great friend and mate. George had fundamental influence on Nick’s career when introduced him to Holistic Management. Nick also gave George insight into farm planning and design though Permaculture Design.
