030 - Healthy Water And Permaculture With Dr. Ross Mars
Stewarding Water Through Waste Water Re-use And Permaculture Principals
In this episode we have a doctor of environmental science known to some as Dr. Greywater. Ross Mars is an author, a teacher and has 20 years experience in the field of greywater and wastewater. He’s the Managing Director of Water Installations, a company based here in Perth, W.A.
He is also an accredited permaculture design teacher and teaches people how to teach permaculture.
Listen in as Ross shares a bit of his journey and we discuss: the development of permaculture, greywater systems, Australian native herbs and medicinal plants, and how we can use water more effectively in our environment.
This episode is a bit of an insight into how we use water here in Western Australia, but I think the principals can be utilised in any climate.
Check out Ross’ work at:
http://www.waterinstallations.com/
http://www.redplanetplants.com.au/
http://www.mundaringecostay.com/
https://www.cfpermaculture.com.au/
https://www.youtube.com/user/WaterInstallations
Show Notes
Formative Experiences & Background
- grew up with orchards & home-grown veggies
- learned a lot while weeding the garden
- first got into permaculture by tagging along with his wife to a course
- studied biology and teaching
- specialised in waste water for graduate research project
- worked on introducing accredited permaculture training to Western Australia
- discussion of permaculture courses
- Ross is “Dr Greywater”
- did lots of experiments & thesis on greywater
- discussion of greywater ecosystems
The Future of Permaculture
- Ross enjoys teaching others, especially those who go on to also teach people themselves
- seeing a huge move of people learning to live more sustainably
- vegetable seedlings are the most popular selling plant
- understanding that you do have options
- seeing change among mainstream farmers
Backing It Up With Science
- Ross is very keen to make sure what is being taught about permaculture is firmly based on science
- when wanting to use herbs medicinally, find out what you can about the herb being tested so as to use it safely
- much of current herb lore is anecdotal
- working to get studies undertaken to test these claims
- discussion of current testings
Water Filtration & Soil
- discussion about turning greywater into drinking water
- passing water through some kind of filter, for ex. soil
- if we get the soil right, we get the plants and the people healthy
- when we build soil, we can create biological filters for our water
- need to build water literacy among local populations
In 50 Years, Ross Would Like to See…
- desalination plants are not the way of the future
- stormwater harvesting is beginning to be practised in Western Australia
- government enforced grey water home systems
- needs to be more moves to reuse all water on gardens
What’s Happening Now?
- discussion of water filtration in Kalamunda (area in Western Australia)
- discussion of climate change in Australia, specifically the South West
- “transition movement”: arose out of permaculture course in England, also spreading in Australia now, utilising urban areas to grow food and live more sustainably
- turning chlorine pools into natural pools
- discussion of setting up proper safety measures so water is completely safe
Living a Probiotic Life
- planting a seed or cutting and watching it sprout
- safeguarding family, teaching kids to grow food
- great to see this happening in schools now
- become involved in teaching others what you know!
- books: Getting Started in Permaculture, The Basics of Permaculture Design, How To Permaculture Your Life
- 2 dvds: RAPS - Remote Area Power Supplies