Background on Our ‘How to Make Your Own Natural Fertiliser’ Soil Science Course

Paul Taylor, the main teacher of our ‘How to Make Your Own Natural Fertilizer’ biological soil science course, is the managing director of Trust Nature Pty Ltd. Paul has been working as a recognized educator and sustainable design consultant for the past 30 years. Paul has Australian Federal Government FarmReady approval as an educator, is a recognized Permaculture Teacher and organic soil management specialist and has completed his Certificate IV in Education, Training and Assessment, qualifying him as an educator under the Australian Federal Government VET (Vocational Education and Training) guidelines. Paul has worked extensively as a consultant and educator in Australia, India, the Middle East and the U.S.A.

Geoff Lawton and Paul Taylor at the PRI’s Zaytuna Farm
Photo © PRI

Cocos Islands 2010

Paul’s passion is to reduce energy requirements and reduce environmental impact from development and agriculture so as to ensure quality of life for future generations and for all living beings on the planet.

With Milkwood Permaculture 2009

One of his specialist areas of education and training is organic and biological gardening and farming. This includes making Bio-Vital™ regenerative compost from farm and community waste, designed to regenerate degraded land and help communities to ‘grow food for free’.

Teaching at a federally funded FarmReady event 2009

Paul grew up on an organic farm in America in the 60s and has worked with land restoration for 40 years. Paul believes that growing local food for local people is becoming a lost art. He is a keen educator, teaching people how to grow vital food for less cost and less energy and believes that we now have the knowledge, science and experience to use sustainable agriculture as the path forward for restoring degraded land. Carbon sequestration, increased organic matter, lower input costs and increased soil fertility should all be a natural by-product of sustainable land management.

Paul on his farm near Noosa, Queensland, Australia in the 80s

Paul works extensively with Geoff and Nadia Lawton at the Permaculture Research Institute (PRI) Australia’s Zaytuna Farm in Australia as an educator and consultant, where he regularly teaches 5-day courses. He has also worked on larger projects with Geoff and Nadia in the Middle East, using permaculture as the design platform for an environmentally sensitive resort project and for designing agriculture in arid climates to become more sustainable.

Teaching and consulting in Saudi Arabia 2008

Paul teaches regularly at the PRI of Australia, and for the federal FarmReady program as well as teaching training programs during consultancies in Australia and overseas.

The next ‘How to Make Your Own Natural Fertiliser’ course is being run for five days from September 17, 2012, at the PRI Australia’s Zaytuna Farm. This course is run three times per year — see www.permaculturenews.org/courses for other dates.

Teaching at Zaytuna Farm PRI Australia 2011