Vocal About Local

This is a non-hostile takeover - while you're regular podcast hosts are away, Nikki is coming out to play... well, maybe not play, but to host a mini-series called the QUICK FIVE - as part of this series Nikki will ask her guests 5 quick questions about business and life. 😎

In this episode Nikki chats with Kimberley Furness, the award winning Editor and Founder of OAK Magazine, and chart topping podcast host of A Friend of Mine and She Makes News.

Kimberley was the 2022 Agrifutures Rural Women’s Award winner for Victoria and the National Runner-up.  She brings over 20 years experience working in communications and marketing and has spent the last 7 years travelling around regional and rural Victoria and New South Wales working with local business owners to successfully and confidently manage their social media and marketing.


This episode is powered by Grown Not Flown GYM - there's no need to sweat the small-stuff with this GYM membership. For only $49 a month you get unlimited access to the Grown Not Flown online masterclasses hub including upcoming live masterclasses plus their library of on-demand masterclasses. Now, that's the kind of GYM I want to be part of! 💪🏋️‍♀️🤸‍♀️

www.grown-not-flown.com/masterclasses

Host: Nikki Davey from Grown Not Flown
Guest: Kimberley Furness from OAK Magazine
Website: www.oakmagazine.com.au
Instagram: @aokmagazineau

This is a non-hostile takeover - while you're regular podcast hosts are away, Nikki is coming out to play... well, maybe not play, but to host a random little mini-series called the QUICK FIVE - as part of this series Nikki will ask her guests 5 fast questions about business and life. 😎

In this episode Nikki chats with Nadine Brown, founder of the The Ivy Institute.

Nadine started her floral journey over 30 years ago and is a seasoned business professional with a background in marketing, business management and entrepreneurship. Nadine is one of our online masterclass hosts and is about to kick off a new series that will focus on growing what florists want, selling to florists, creative ways to diversify your income and running workshops.

We hope you enjoy our new FAST FIVE podcast mini-series. 🤗


This episode is powered by Grown Not Flown GYM - there's no need to sweat the small-stuff with this GYM membership. For only $49 a month you get UNLIMITED access to the Grown Not Flown Online Masterclasses hub including upcoming live masterclasses plus their library of on-demand masterclasses. Now, that's the kind of GYM I want to be part of! 💪

www.grown-not-flown.com/masterclasses

Host: Nikki Davey from Grown Not Flown
Guest: Nadine Brown from The Ivy Institute
Website: www.theivyinstitute.com.au
Instagram: @the_ivyinstitute
YouTube: TheIvyInstitute

Having grown up on a farm Leila McDougall finished school, and headed straight to the big city lights of Sydney to study fashion design. Home on the farm was never far from her thoughts though with fashion being a pathway brought about from years on the sheep farm and a want to use the Australian Wool she was so familiar with. The Big Smoke charm wore off though and it wasn't long before the country came calling, with Leila settling down with now husband in  down in rural NE Victoria.


In this podcast Leila speak openly and articulately as she credits her fathers willingness to talk mental health and his struggles as why her life has since taken a vocational turn towards championing mental health.  Leila's mother also attempted to take her own life so with real life lived experience, Leila has become a fierce mental health advocate not just for farmers but for all of rural Australia.


This manifested into a Mellow in the Yellow or MITY as it is known. MITY is an annual event, now in its 8th year that celebrated Aussie Farming communities by hosting a day out in a flowering canola crop. The funds raised are distributed into various community incentives that aim to strengthen the health and well being of farmers as well as encouraging conversations around Mental health.


Not content at that Leila has now moved her talents onto the big screen in her newly released film "Just a Farmer". Just a Farmer is a fictional movie, that Leila wrote and which she starts in,  playing the lead character. The film touches on some very real and powerful messages about farming and rural mental health and even had input from Hollywood Star Hugh Jackman along the way.


We hope you this chat with Leila but be please be warned, there are triggers in the conversation which are around mental health themes and suicide. 

Hosts: Sam Baff and Jayde Timms from Grown Not Flown
Guest: Leila McDougall - Writer and Star - "Just A Farmer"
Related Websites: www.justafarmer.net & www.mellowintheyellow.com.au
Watch YouTube trailer - "Just a Farmer" 

Having recently collaborated with Grown Not Flown and collected a Bronze Medal at the 2024 Melbourne Flower and Garden Show with a sustainable exhibit that ended with only 1 small piece of plastic from some chicken wire being the only thing to go into waste; we sit down to chat with Ellen Douglas, the tour de force behind Botany Melbourne.

Ellen is an apprentice trained florist who in 2020 went solo and created Botany  as a alternative to conventional floristry.  In Ellen's own words "While our industry excels in showcasing natural beauty, it often generates excessive waste. We are so passionate about creating beautiful floral arrangements that don’t compromise the planet which is why we believe in a different approach—a low-waste, eco-friendly model that supports local growers while delivering top-notch quality".

We talk  about Ellen's flower journey to creating Botany and why sustainability is such a focus for her; how this lead to collabing with Grown Not Flown and why we should be supporting our local flower growers where possible. She also touches on her recent experience "going viral".

Hosts: Sam Baff and Jayde Timms from Grown Not Flown
Guest: Ellen Douglas - Botany Melbourne
Website: www.botanymelbourne.com
Instagram: @botany.florist.melbourne

In this weeks episode we chat with Lucy Vincent who along with partner Bruce, runs Australian High Country Honey.

Lucy's family farm was purchased in 1976 & has been subject to sustainable farming practices in order to improve the landscape health & biodiversity, farm profitability & the ability to cope with natural adversity of drought, fire & flood. With recent succession to the next generation, Lucy is working hard to integrate juniper & bioactive honey production into the family property & create a sustainable farming future & lifestyle.

We talk about Honey Production, how raw honey differs from not raw honey and also about how a varroa mite potentially threatens their hives. As well as their recent success at the National Honey Awards with their Snow Gum Honey.

We also touch on their newer project of planting Australian Juniper and how they are leading the charge in Australia to get their juniper into Australian Gin.

Hosts: Sam Baff and Jayde Timms from Grown Not Flown
Guest: Lucy Vincent- Australian High Country Honey
Website: www.ahch.com.au
Instagram: @australianhighcountryhoney

Jacob Wolki and his namesake Wolki Farm describes itself as the connector between the conscientious consumer and quality produce. 

Its safe to say that Jacob and his family have been on quite the journey over the last decades, brought about initially by Jacob's health and  taking over the counter medications focussed on treating symptoms as opposed to curing whatever it was that wrong with him. Becoming obsessed only to then realise he was finding answers but then having more questions, Jacob came to the conclusion at every point of his journey that "good food is a key to healing a broken body".

Jacob now has a multi farm business, rearing grass fed animals working with the land, rather than against it. His business is guided by the 5 pillars of "Wolki Farm"; 

• Animal Welfare
• Environmental Backbone
• Healing Food
• Building Community
• Profit.

Additional to the farming operations Jacob has an unstaffed butchery - that is open 24/7 for whenever customers need it. The butchery allows Wolki's operation to now start shipping its meat around the far ends of the country and allows consumers to obtain his "old school produce with a new school approach".

In this chat with Jacob we explore all the facets of his business, his motivation, his belief that the current food system is compromised and how he is leading the charge in farming a better way. 

Hannah Maloney has perhaps the most enviable job in the world - and she knows it - as a presenter on Gardening Australia which she calls a "dream gig". 

Hannah's journey to the small screen however started in, inner city Brisbane where her parents had a small herb nursery. Leaving this behind at 18, Hannah travelled the country (and world) ending up right back where she started - working on small scale farms and this led her to the world of permaculture. 

Hannah now lives in a pink house on a hill, overlooking Hobart, TAS  which she shares with her husband and daughter as well as a menagerie of goats, chickens  ducks and bees. 

Hannah set up her company "Good Life Permaculture" to allow her to bring education on permaculture (which she is formally trained in) to those searching for it with the aim of developing community and designs that helps create good lives and landscapes. 

She is a best selling author and self described activist and in this podcast talks about her journey, what permaculture is and how that transcends from the garden through to everyday life. She also tells us of how what she does is led by her values and how "having fun" and "doing things that make her smile"  is a conscious part of her philosophy - something which led to her pink house and pink hair. 

Hosts: Sam Baff and Jayde Timms from Grown Not Flown
Guest: Hannah Maloney - Good Life Permaculture and Gardening Australia.
Website: www.goodlifepermaculture.com.au
Instagram: @goodlife_permaculture

There are lots of pretty instagram accounts - but one that stands out more than most is Little Lyndoch Flower Farm. 

But it didn't start instantly with pretty flowers and a landscaped flower farm.

In this week's episode we are lucky to speak with Katie Arena who runs Little Lyndoch Flower Farm and The Queens Quarters with her partner Rob. Katie takes us from her lack of enjoyment in the Corporate world in 2016 to going all in and backing herself to create her dream. From renting without a rental agreement, discovering what GST is; ignoring Robs advice to just chill for a few months, only to commit to a pop up shop 2 days later - to finding the current farm that is now little Lyndoch Flower Farm - Complete with 8 ovens sitting in the front paddock. 

Katie candidly talks about the journey she has been on from hustling to learn the art of floristry; how important self development has become in recent times and how they are now turning to attention to their upcoming Bloom Conference. Katie also credits Rob for bringing 6 dahlia's home from Bunnings and chats with Uncle Lucky as being the catalyst for them growing flowers. 

We hope you enjoy this honest, fun and open discussion about Katie's Journey. 

Hosts: Sam Baff and Jayde Timms from Grown Not Flown
Guest: Katie Arena - Little Lyndoch Flower Farm/The Queens Quarters
Website: www.littlelyndochflowerfarm.com.au and www.thequeensquarters.com.au
Instagram:  @littlelyndochflowerfarm and @thequeensquarters

It's not often we get to chat with someone whose website banner includes the words "where to find G.O.D" but here we are. 

Jodi Clarke and husband Greg run Great Ocean Ducks (G.O.D) from their property situated  near one of the most famous driving roads in the world - Victoria's great Ocean Road.
 
They began in 2009 with 30 ducklings and no idea about what they were doing , with the couple choosing to farm the Aylesbury  Duck for its historical connections. The Aylesbury is the classic English table duck and was wildly popular in the 19th century - and is well known in pop culture with perhaps Jemima Puddleduck from the Beatrix Potter novels probably being the best anthropomorphic example of an Aylesbury. 
 
In late 2012 Great Ocean Ducks started rearing Pekin Ducks instead of Aylesbury's (a type of duck, not to be confused with Peking Duck - a Chinese Dish) and started feeding all their ducks strawberries and other fruits. (For anyone interested, Scrooge McDuck being a pop culture example of a pekin).

Great Ocean Ducks has gone from strength to strength, with Greg having previously worked as a food journalist they were able to leverage existing relationships and networks to showcase their ducks and  that has resulted in their humble product passing the "chef test" and has resulted in them now supplying some of the best restaurants in Australia. These restaurants include Brae, Du Fermier, Attica and Movida. 

Just Duck, a book featuring recipes from acclaimed chefs and stories of their farming adventure, was written in 2015.

We chat with Jodi about starting a farm with no idea (her words not ours), the demands of Duck Farming, the "hardest workers on the farm"; their Malamute livestock guardians as well as the farm gate premises that G.O.D are building.  

Hosts: Sam Baff and Jayde Timms from Grown Not Flown
Guest: Jodi Clarke - Great Ocean Ducks
Website: www.greatoceanducks.com
Instagram: @greatoceanducks

AgriFutures Australia is essentially a Research and Development organisation whose intent is assisting and serving the needs of Australia's rural communities. Their aim is to do this by delivering research and innovation that aims to give Australian farmers and producers real returns, as well as preparing them to thrive into the future.

But what industries have AgriFutures Australia been working with to help develop? Current industries include honey bee's and pollination, ginger, tea tree, goat fibre, buffalo, deer, rice and kangaroo. 

This week's episode however is with Dr Olivia Reynolds who works with those smaller industries trying to grow and prosper as she currently heads up the Emerging Industries Team for AgriFutures Australia.

Current emerging industries include Hemp, Seaweed, Sesame and Insects.

In this podcast Olivia talks about the benefits of industries having a strong collective interest and a well skilled industry body and how AgriFutures can assist industries trying to develop from there. We talk about the importance of research, how having the right skill set for an industry body is far more important than "self appointing" and some of the work that her and her team are undertaking - from Truffles, to Australians burgeoning coffee growers - we even touch on how insects are playing a role in a major australian city CBD in eradicating food waste. 

Hosts: Sam Baff from Grown Not Flown
Guest: Dr Olivia Reynolds - Senior Manager, Emerging Industries - AgriFutures Australia
Website: www.agrifutures.com.au
Instagram: @agrifuturesau