Toru Trail: Explore how a bare eroded dairy pasture can evolve into an abundant off grid homestead

The next event in our monthly series of events called the Toru Trail, find out more about our Toru Trail events here.

We invite you to spend a day at Mary Beth & Tony's, family homestead, Tierra. For 37 years an ecosystem has evolved from bare over grazed and eroded dairy pasture to a place that now provides timber, firewood, bird, lizard and insect habitat, berry fruit, apples, pears, stone fruit, flowers, free range eggs, and organic vegetables. 

A steep and irregular 3.5 acre property with a mixed forest, “Tierra” is a land of varied climates - temperate at the hilltop log house and gardens, cool in the timber, and humid by the wetlands and ponds. 

Current and future projects include more veggie gardens, a tunnel house, more orchard and native plantings, a tiny ‘eco-cabin’, more solar/alternate energy and storage capacity and maintaining all of the above! 

After a welcome and introductions we will learn about the story of Tierra and how the permaculture principles have guided their regeneration of the land and approach to sustainable living. We will wander and wonder and use our helping hands to get in touch with the earth.

Lunch will be provided, but feel free to bring a small contribution to go with it.

After lunch there will be time for reflections and an opportunity to share asks and offers,

During the day, you will learn about: 

• How to live and learn on the land in partnership with Nature.
• How to believe in a scrappy piece of land and your combined ability to create a beautiful and productive place for humans and native flora and fauna.
• How to practice resource management (water, hot water, energy, food)
• How to follow a vision to build a homestead to provide for current and future generations.
• How to change, adapt and re-construct a lot!

There will also be a crop swap table where we practice the permaculture approach of reciprocity of 'give and take'; you might enjoy bringing seeds, seedlings, produce from your garden, and walk away with something unexpected (again, don't feel obliged to contribute).