The RegenNarration

Kate Chaney has become the first female independent MP from Western Australia to be elected to the Australian parliament – along with a whopping eleven other independents. A year ago to the day on this podcast, Cathy McGowan – Australia’s first female independent MP in 2013 – talked of the potential to transform politics in this country by 2030. Merely a year on, and that transformation is well underway.

This story isn’t limited to Australia either. But more on that another day. This Australian story is now global news. The BBC and Time Magazine were among many beaming into Kate Chaney’s election night event.

I’ll put out a special extra to this episode next, following how election day unfolded with Kate in the now independent seat of Curtin. For now, join Kate and I the day after her win was confirmed, as the sun set on Cottlesloe Beach.

This conversation was recorded among Friday evening revelers at Cottesloe Beach, on the day after the seat of Curtin was won by Kate Chaney, 27 May 2022.

Title slide: Kate Chaney speaking at her election night event (pic: #MilesTweediePhotography). You can find more photos on the episode webpage.

Music:
Regeneration, composed by Amelia Barden, from the soundtrack of the new film Regenerating Australia, available for community screenings now.

Find more:
Tune into the special extra to this episode, ‘How Election Day Unfolded, with Kate Chaney in the now independent seat of Curtin’. (You'll find more photos of that night on the website too.)

You can hear my conversation with Kate at the start of her campaign in February, accompanied by some photos and links (with a link, also, to the episode with Cathy McGowan a year ago).

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Tony Rinaudo instigated what’s been called “probably the largest positive environmental transformation in the Sahel and perhaps in all of Africa." They call him The Forest Maker, but Tony will tell you the transformation was really in the people, starting with himself.

I had this conversation with Tony back in 2020, and have never forgotten it. It’s one of those stories you wish everyone knew. So when Tony reached out to me recently to let me know he’d just finished his autobiography, and given there are so many more of you listening to this podcast now than there were two years ago, it seemed fitting to re-release this excerpt of our conversation.

The new book is called The Forest Underground: Hope for a Planet in Crisis. It follows Tony’s journey from Australia to Niger, and tells the miraculous story of how his discovery revolutionised reforestation in Africa, restoring over 18 million hectares of degraded land across 27 countries, without planting trees - and all led by the people who live there.

But really, that’s not the half of this story. As a metaphor, it’s a revelation of the sheer scale of possibility if we focus on tending and harvesting what’s already within us, as people and planet.

This conversation culminates in some of the most extraordinary, moving and instructive stories I’ve ever heard.

“I’m often called The Forest Maker, or Tree Whisperer. Don’t believe a word of it. 95% of my time is spent re-greening mindscapes. If we win that battle, the rest is relatively easy.” – Tony Rinaudo, at his virtual book launch on 22 April 2022.

“For years I have longed to see this biography written. And it lives up to my every hope.” - Tim Costello, CEO World Vision Australia 2004–2016.

This conversation was recorded online with Tony at home in Melbourne, in June 2020.

Title slide: Tony Rinaudo in the field (supplied).

Music:
The System, by the Public Opinion Afro Orchestra.

Regeneration, composed by Amelia Barden, from the soundtrack of the new film Regenerating Australia, available for community screenings now.

Find more:
If you’re in Australia or NZ, you can buy ‘The Forest Underground: Hope for a Planet in Crisis’ on the publisher’s website.

Or you can get it on the Book depository, or wherever you get your books.

If you’re in or near Melbourne on 31 May 2022, you can register for the book launch at St Paul’s Cathedral (featuring Tony, Tim Costello and others).

If you’d like to hear more of Tony’s background, go back to episode 64 and listen to the first 15 minutes or so. That’s in The Forest Maker: And the largest positive environmental transformation in Africa, with Tony Rinaudo AM.

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The RegenNarration is independent and ad-free, with hundreds of episodes freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. If you're enjoying the podcast, I hope you'll consider becoming a paid subscriber, from as little as around $1 a week, to gain access to a great community, subscriber events and giveaways, and to help keep the show going, on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find some writing, photography and tunes too).

You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal.

I hope to see you at an event soon, even the shop. Thanks so much for your support!

Kim Paul Nguyen is a multimedia journalist and filmmaker. He recently produced a documentary film called ‘Conversations with Coal Miners about Climate Change’, funded by the Walkley Foundation and distributed by VICE. And what a film. Damon Gameau, the award-winning filmmaker of 2040, That Sugar Film, and most recently Regenerating Australia, calls it a ‘must-watch’. In many ways, there is no more important a story. And Kim navigates it beautifully. Though not without hitting up against the challenges that make this work so vital.

Out of the story’s dramatic and moving turns so much is revealed, including how coal miners, and the rest of us, are too often used as political pawns. And how we can get out of that trap, to have a chance at achieving more of the bigger picture outcomes just about all of us want.

Kim’s is a heck of a life story to date, and this provides the backdrop to the film. As a young person deeply concerned about climate change, he became a committed activist. In 2009 he cycled from Australia to Denmark to promote action on climate change, and was nominated for Young Australian of the Year. But it started to dawn on him that what he was doing wasn’t working. It wasn’t changing things the way he’d hoped. So he headed north, camera in hand, to dig deeper into what might.

Kim has also written for The Guardian, Al Jazeera, VICE and the Big Issue.

This conversation was recorded online with Kim at home in Sydney, on 11 May 2022.

Title slide: Kim setting up in Clermont, Queensland (supplied).

Music:
Temporary, by Yen Nguyen. Find more of Yen’s tunes.

Regeneration, composed by Amelia Barden, from the soundtrack of the new film Regenerating Australia, on tour around Western Australia this week.

Find more:
Kim’s website.

Kim’s film ‘Conversations With Coal Miners About Climate Change’ (37 minutes, freely available).

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Please share this episode or the trailer with a friend, follow the podcast, and subscribe if you can.

The RegenNarration is independent and ad-free, with hundreds of episodes freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. If you're enjoying the podcast, I hope you'll consider becoming a paid subscriber, from as little as around $1 a week, to gain access to a great community, subscriber events and giveaways, and to help keep the show going, on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find some writing, photography and tunes too).

You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal.

I hope to see you at an event soon, even the shop. Thanks so much for your support!

Agostino Petroni is a journalist, author, economist, gastronome, and 2021 Pulitzer Center Reporting Fellow. His work appears in National Geographic, BBC, The Atlantic and many more. I first came across it in Reasons to be Cheerful, the terrific news outlet founded by one of my all-time favourite musicians and producers, David Byrne. That outlet is part of a growing movement sometimes called ‘solutions journalism’. Though you might just call it good journalism. And Agostino’s article that first caught my eye is a great example of that – outlining a terrific success story so relevant to some of the pioneering efforts – and vital needs - we’ve heard about in this podcast.

One of the most fascinating and popular stories on the podcast was featured in the 100th episode under the title Wanted Land Doctors. I’ve had many interesting exchanges in the wake of that episode, including with a listener in the eastern states who shared stories of goats being used by public agencies to reduce fire fuel loads after the horrific Black Summer fires here in Australia. It turns out that the Mediterranean region has created some great models in this mould, that are successfully getting people back on Country, with communities and their livelihoods reinvigorated, and trajectories of mega-fire, extinction and polarised politics reversed.

In the first half of this episode, we talk about Agostino’s unexpected personal journey into the work he does, his formative film-making journey to Latin America, and this phenomenon of so-called ‘solutions journalism’. In the back half, we delve into some of the incredible stories he’s found, principally that piece from Reasons to be Cheerful, and the patterns we’ve observed.

This conversation was recorded online with Agostino at home in Puglia, Italy, on 3 May 2022.

Title slide: Agostino Petroni at TEDx Barletta.

Music:
Regeneration, composed by Amelia Barden, from the soundtrack of the new film Regenerating Australia, screening around the country now.

Find more:
The article from Reasons to be Cheerful ‘Grazing Livestock Among the Trees Is Helping to Prevent Wildfires’.

Some of Agostino’s broader work.

Including ‘How to Save the Sea: Lessons from an Italian Fishing Community’ in the legendary Yes Magazine.

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The RegenNarration is independent and ad-free, with hundreds of episodes freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. If you're enjoying the podcast, I hope you'll consider becoming a paid subscriber, from as little as around $1 a week, to gain access to a great community, subscriber events and giveaways, and to help keep the show going, on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find some writing, photography and tunes too).

You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal.

I hope to see you at an event soon, even the shop. Thanks so much for your support!

A lost and angry childhood spawned a champion boxer, and out of this, a community leader. And fifteen years ago, Eugene Eades became the backbone of the incredible restoration of Country at Nowanup - inland of Bremer Bay in the south of Western Australia. This is a particularly privileged conversation on Country at Nowanup, with this legendary Aboriginal elder. Eugene might move a little slower than those championship days, but his sharp eyes, wry humour, and rock solid presence resonate as powerfully as ever.

Nowanup is a 750ha property that is part of the broader 1,000km stretch of restoration happening through the Gondwana Link network (featured on episode 79). The Healing People/Healing Country initiative at Nowanup has been unique and transformative for both People and Country for since 2006.

Eugene has led cultural and educational camps for communities, schools and universities, youth at risk and justice intervention programs, eco-art projects, music festivals, cultural heritage assessments and much more.

Importantly, Nowanup has formed an important place of respite for local Noongar people to recharge and continue to care for each other. The more than 16,000 visitors to Nowanup have also included other Indigenous people from all over Australia, and non-indigenous people from all over the world. And since the Nowanup ranger programs were established, a string of Ranger groups has been formed across the region.

Join us with a little audience around the fire in one of the thatched meeting places at Nowanup, for a treasured yarn, and a special tune from Eugene.

This conversation was recorded on Country at Nowanup on 24 January 2022.

Title slide: Eugene Eades showing us around Nowanup (pic: Anthony James).

You can see a few other photos of the beautiful Country at Nowanup on the episode web page.

Music:
Looking Back To Yesterday Again, by Eugene Eades, performed with Bruce Anthony.

Regeneration, composed by Amelia Barden, from the soundtrack of the new film Regenerating Australia, screening around the country now.

Find more:
Nowanup website.

A direct link to the beautiful 10 minute short film mentioned.

You can donate or get involved to support the work at Nowanup via Gondwana Link.

Hear Gondwana Link’s CEO Keith Bradby talk about the Nowanup story and what it means to him on episode 79.

And to view some outstanding footage of Eugene as a 5-time State Champion boxer.

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Please share this episode or the trailer with a friend, follow the podcast, and subscribe if you can.

The RegenNarration is independent and ad-free, with hundreds of episodes freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. If you're enjoying the podcast, I hope you'll consider becoming a paid subscriber, from as little as around $1 a week, to gain access to a great community, subscriber events and giveaways, and to help keep the show going, on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find some writing, photography and tunes too).

You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal.

I hope to see you at an event soon, even the shop. Thanks so much for your support!

Louise O’Neill is a British-born holistic health professional and farmer. She met husband Warren as a backpacker, and now with their two sons, they’ve embarked on a gutsy, vivid and transformative journey.

The O’Neills were farmers in the wheatbelt of Western Australia, but reached a point where the tribulations and toxicity of that life were literally hitting them in the face. When a tractor breakdown prompted personal breakdown, they picked up and moved south, took courses in regenerative agriculture, and started to turn their new farm’s fortunes around. And out of all this, Louise began to expand her passion and enterprise for helping to improve the health of regional families across the country.

When we returned south from the Kimberley late last year, we had earmarked some time south in the new year with Tanya Massy and her partner Kris, near Denmark in Western Australia (that story features in the previous episode). With Tanya just setting up her place, Louise and Warren reached out to welcome us to their home. And as we got to know each other a little, I was struck again by the gutsy transformations being negotiated in people’s lives everywhere.

This was another brilliant and moving story of regeneration. And again, with an invitation to others to explore the abundant opportunities with them.

Update: Soon after this was recorded, Louise was named a finalist in the AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award. A week later, she was declared the winner. She now goes into the mix for the national award.

This conversation was recorded in the dappled shade by the creek at Mt Romance farm on 28 January 2022.

Title slide: the entrance to Mt Romance farm (pic: Olivia Cheng).

You can see a few photos from Mt Romance on the episode web page too.

Music:
Regeneration, composed by Amelia Barden, from the soundtrack of the new film Regenerating Australia, screening around the country now.

Find more:
Farm Life Fitness.

Visit Mt Romance farm (their farm-stay business).

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Please share this episode or the trailer with a friend, follow the podcast, and subscribe if you can.

The RegenNarration is independent and ad-free, with hundreds of episodes freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. If you're enjoying the podcast, I hope you'll consider becoming a paid subscriber, from as little as around $1 a week, to gain access to a great community, subscriber events and giveaways, and to help keep the show going, on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find some writing, photography and tunes too).

You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal.

I hope to see you at an event soon, even the shop. Thanks so much for your support!

Part 2 of this episode with Tanya Massy was recorded in two locations. The first half was recorded back at the farm in Western Australia, on that hay bale. We delved further into Tanya’s deep personal journey of leaving Severn Park and starting up a new farming enterprise on the other side of the country. That was recorded back in January, as that enterprise was just going to market. Then came heartbreak. Soon after we left, Tanya and Kris had to pull the plug on it all and return to the Massy farm at Severn Park.

As fate would have it, come late March, Tanya and Kris had just arrived back at Severn Park when we were in northern Victoria visiting Ian and Courtney (my guests from episode 89). So we followed the Murray River for a while, wound our way through the Snowy Mountains, and reconnected with Tanya back at Severn Park for the second half of this episode. We talk about what happened, how they’re recovering, how the land is thriving, and what they’re starting up now.

This conversation was recorded on-location at Severn Park in New South Wales, on 3 April 2022.

Title slide: The ‘treehouse’ – Charlie Massy’s office, inside which this conversation was recorded, at Severn Park farm (pic: Anthony James).

See the episode web page for a selection of photos from Severn Park, including some spectacular 'before and after' shots.

Music:
Stones & Bones, by Owls of the Swamp.

Find more:
You can hear the rest of Tanya and I in conversation in the main episode: ‘Farming Wonder: Tanya Massy on growing up, starting up and scaling up regeneration’. You’ll find a few links in the show notes, and a few more photos on that episode web page too.

And if you’re interested, you can hear the WOMAD event I hosted with Charlie Massy, along with Anika Molesworth and Bruce Pascoe, on the WOMAD podcast.

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Please share this episode or the trailer with a friend, follow the podcast, and subscribe if you can.

The RegenNarration is independent and ad-free, with hundreds of episodes freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. If you're enjoying the podcast, I hope you'll consider becoming a paid subscriber, from as little as around $1 a week, to gain access to a great community, subscriber events and giveaways, and to help keep the show going, on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find some writing, photography and tunes too).

You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal.

I hope to see you at an event soon, even the shop. Thanks so much for your support!

Tanya Massy is one of three brilliant daughters of regenerative agriculture legend, Charles Massy. Though she’ll tell you she’s been equally inspired by the strength and spirit of her mother Fiona. Great lineage aside, Tanya is forging her own pivotal path as a regenerative farmer, award-winning writer, and highly respected researcher.

A couple of recent reports, in particular, are making a big impact, exploring the barriers to regeneration, and breakthrough opportunities, with communities around Australia and the world. Stemming from that, she’s helping to create more of those breakthrough opportunities in some significant ways. Meanwhile, she continues to chart her own farming journey, starting up a new enterprise far from home.

This is where we meet for this conversation - at the new farm, Wildewood, near the town of Denmark in the south of Western Australia. I’d last seen Tanya there in late 2020, just as they were settling on the land purchase. A little over a year later, and we’re one of their first customers at the local farmers market. But none of this story follows a straight line.

This conversation was recorded at Wildewood Farm on 23 January 2022.

Title slide: Tanya in the foreground, with little companion Nullaki at her feet, partner Kris to her right, and Olivia to her left (pic: Anthony James).

Music:
Regeneration, composed by Amelia Barden, from the soundtrack of the new film Regenerating Australia, screening around the country now.

Find more:
Tune into Part 2 to this episode, Mountainside to Oceanside ... & Back.

Changing Face of Farming magazine, with Tanya on the cover.

Sustainable Table Fund.

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Please share this episode or the trailer with a friend, follow the podcast, and subscribe if you can.

The RegenNarration is independent and ad-free, with hundreds of episodes freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. If you're enjoying the podcast, I hope you'll consider becoming a paid subscriber, from as little as around $1 a week, to gain access to a great community, subscriber events and giveaways, and to help keep the show going, on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find some writing, photography and tunes too).

You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal.

I hope to see you at an event soon, even the shop. Thanks so much for your support!

I had this conversation with Cathy McGowan in the middle of last year, just as the community independents movement in Australia was really picking up. Since then, it’s been astronomical – the number of ‘voices for’ groups has exploded around the country, followed by an array of quality candidates that have responded to their communities’ calls to contest the next federal election. And many of them are genuine contenders.

So with the election now due next month, it seemed a good time to re-release this pragmatic and inspired last 20 minutes or so of my conversation with Cathy.

The community Cathy represented in the seat of Indi changed the trajectory of politics in this country, and may just be about to see it transform altogether. I’ve just spent some time visiting people around Indi, and seen posters of Helen Haines, Cathy’s brilliant successor, in town after town. And why wouldn’t they be? Perhaps this little excerpt can help spur us along towards what Cathy envisages as the transformation of politics in this country by 2030.

We pick things up with a powerful sequence from Cathy, and an insight into what’s bubbling up around the country in the lead up to the next federal election. We then go into how things worked for her, as the first female independent MP to sit on the Australian parliamentary crossbench, and other increasingly successful independents, on the ground – the practical realities, the value set, and the networks of support that make it all possible.

We close with more of the vision, strategy and supportive infrastructure being developed, to get more community-minded independents elected. Oh, and an express request from Cathy to share this podcast.

Title slide: Just one of the many Helen Haines billboards all around Indi right now.

Music:
Faraway Castle, by Rae Howell & Sunwrae.

Find more:
You can hear the rest of our conversation in episode 85, ‘Politics That Works: A proven way becoming a powerful movement’.

And my conversation with our local independent candidate, Kate Chaney, is in episode 110, ‘Independents Day: Kate Chaney on contesting a key seat & transforming politics’. 

There are a series of links on each of those episode web pages too.

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Support the show

Please share this episode or the trailer with a friend, follow the podcast, and subscribe if you can.

The RegenNarration is independent and ad-free, with hundreds of episodes freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. If you're enjoying the podcast, I hope you'll consider becoming a paid subscriber, from as little as around $1 a week, to gain access to a great community, subscriber events and giveaways, and to help keep the show going, on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find some writing, photography and tunes too).

You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal.

I hope to see you at an event soon, even the shop. Thanks so much for your support!

This is a Spanish version of episode 113.

Esta es una versión en español del episodio 113. Aqui, por supuesto, Inés habla por sí misma, y Rony traduce mis palabras. Desafortunadamente, no incluye las partes del episodio principal donde Rony y yo hablamos en inglés, cuando me dirigía a él directamente. Pero incluye una platica divertida extraoficial donde hablamos entre nosotros tres en español. Retomamos nuestra conversación al principio.

El Instituto Mesoamericano de Permacultura (IMAP) es una cooperativa sin fines de lucro que comenzó en el año 2000 en San Lucas Tolimán, a orillas del espectacular Lago de Atitlán en las tierras altas Mayas de Guatemala. Fue creado por un grupo de Kakchiquel Mayas con el deseo de usar semillas nativas, permacultura, conocimientos indígenas tradicionales y educación, para crear recuperación social después de 36 años de conflicto armado que eliminó a cientos de comunidades y desplazó a millones de sus tierras.

Recuerdo haberme inspirado con el IMAP en sus primeros años, cuando vivía en Guatemala. Y a finales del año pasado, los organizadores de un importante premio mundial me contactaron para informarme de que IMAP era uno de sus ganadores.

Esta conversacion fue grabada por el 1 de Marzo 2022 con Inés en Guatemala y Rony en Canada.

Foto principal: Lago de Atitlán.

Música:
Stones & Bones, por Owls of the Swamp.

Encuentra más:
Puedes escuchar la versión en inglés de Inés, Rony y yo en conversación en el episodio principal: 'Transformations with Mayan Culture and Permaculture'. También encontrarás algunas fotos allí.

IMAP sitio de web

Lush Spring Prize

Spring Prize sitio de web sobre IMAP

Ethical Consumer sitio de web

Y su sitio dedicado al Lush Spring Prize

Se puede ver los premios en seis idiomas diferentes aqui.

Gracias, como siempre, a los generosos seguidores de este podcast, por hacerlo posible. Si usted también valora lo que escucha, considere unirse a ellos convirtiéndose en patrocinador o donante del podcast, dirigiéndose al sitio web. ¡Gracias por ayudar a mantener el espectáculo en marcha! Y gracias por escuchar.

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Support the show

Please share this episode or the trailer with a friend, follow the podcast, and subscribe if you can.

The RegenNarration is independent and ad-free, with hundreds of episodes freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. If you're enjoying the podcast, I hope you'll consider becoming a paid subscriber, from as little as around $1 a week, to gain access to a great community, subscriber events and giveaways, and to help keep the show going, on Patreon or Substack (where you'll find some writing, photography and tunes too).

You can also donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal.

I hope to see you at an event soon, even the shop. Thanks so much for your support!