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Guest Speakers - Caralyn La Grange

Caralyn La Grange (multiple environment award winner)

Design for Life 

Caralyn La Grange and “A Garden Path” (multiple environment award winner)
Caralyn has survived major trauma, injury and illness, including breast cancer.

To regain her health and vitality she turned to growing her own organic food and environmentally friendly living. Within three months, she began sharing her knowledge with other cancer patients.Five years on, Caralyn “lives the life” on her Bedfordale property, demonstrating that individuals can garden and farm with a “soft footprint”. Caralyn believes that global environmental problems can be tackled in courtyards, backyards or farmyards; and that people need help to understand that their health and the health of the environment are intrinsically linked.
Through “A Garden Path’s” educational activities, Caralyn shares her personal experiences and knowledge, inspiring others to garden and farm in environmentally friendly and sustainable ways using strategies that allow for natural processes. Many of the techniques Caralyn uses are drawn from the past; others are innovative, creative solutions to challenging situations. All are highly productive, promote biodiversity, increase self-sufficiency and assist in the development of healthy eco-systems.           

Identified Environmental Problems

• Chemicals and processes detrimental to people and the environment are used in the production of food.

• Food is freighted around the world and across the country (food miles issue).

• Limited local water is harvested (rainwater), recycled (greywater) or retained (stormwater). When used outside, water is typically directed to recreation and landscaping rather than more productive use.

• Often house/garden by-products are “wasted”: ie disposed of as rubbish.

• Biodiversity, both native and exotic, is now seriously compromised by development, pollution and global warming. 

Practical & Innovative Solutions to Several Environmental Problems
Caralyn demonstrates that with:

• 2 sqm you can be self-sufficient in herbs.

• 5 sqm you can have year-round fresh herbs, salads and vegetables.

• 17sqm you can have a sustainable food garden with worms, compost bins and chickens, producing herbs, salads, vegetables, fruit and eggs.

• 220sqm, a pool and ponds you can create food and wildlife aquatic habitats producing fish, herbs and vegetables.

• 400sqm you can produce large quantities of fresh produce.

By working with nature and using effective water and nutrient harvesting and recycling, Caralyn has:

• Fresh organic produce with minimal food miles;

• Avoided questionable processes, technologies and toxins;

• Reduced household rubbish;

• Increased carbon captured and reduced greenhouse gas emissions (mitigating climate change); increased native and exotic biodiversity.        

Caralyn has appeared on the Garden Gurus (2007, 2008), Gardening Australia (2006) and Channel 10 (news). In 2007 she won the WA Government Environment Award for Individual Community Achievement and in 2008 the Telstra April Environment Award. She is a regular exhibitor at the UWA Sun Fair, Garden Week and the Royal Show (Landcare). Her garden has been open to the public through Australia’s Open Garden Scheme from 2004 until 2008. She is the author of Gardening and Eating for Living (2006).
Topics Caralyn presents on include: creating water-conserving micro-climates, planting for aesthetics, food and reduced fire-risk; grey-water gardening, seed saving to preserve bio-diversity and ‘from soil erosion to pastures and a food forest’.
Innovative Techniques Sensitive to the Environment.

• Container/Raised-bed Organic Horticulture for Food

Caralyn combines principles of recycling with growing healthy and environmentally responsible produce, without harmful chemical fertilisers, insecticides, herbicides or fungicides. Container and raised-bed organic horticulture for food production has many environmental advantages, particularly when combined with other strategies. Container gardens can be readily moved around according to seasonal conditions. Establishing micro-climates reduces water needs, encourages birds and insects and maximises the efficient use of space. Biodiversity of plantings permits the establishment of natural balances between pest and predators and reduces disease problems. Topping up with composts avoids disturbing soil eco-systems.

• Retro-fitting Gardens and Farms

It is Caralyn’s mission to influence others to retro-fit their gardens and farms and re-direct water usage away from exotic ornamentals to edibles. She demonstrates water collection and conservation strategies like rainwater tanks, greywater re-cycling, shade, windbreaks, drip lines and uniquely formulated mulches that retain moisture and slow water run-off.

• From Degraded Soils/Soil Erosion to Gardens, Pasture and Bushland

Without resorting to intensive and intrusive cultivation methods Caralyn has developed techniques to create topsoil and establish plants and pasture on laterite soils that have been subjected to 25 years of erosion. Topsoil is initially generated through careful observation of existing conditions followed by specially formulated mulches, earthworms for natural tillage and the planting of leguminous grasses and plants. In some areas the replenishment of topsoil is being assisted by farm animals. 
Relevance to the Wider Community
As the community strives to adapt to climate change and finite resources Caralyn’s activities are gaining in relevance and acceptance. Her work demonstrates that one person can make a difference in addressing environmental issues.
 Some of Caralyn’s Approaches, Views and Understandings
Within the constraints of WA’s environment Caralyn draws on age-old wisdom and techniques and adapts them to her situation. Her methods can be readily replicated by all, including individuals with injury, illness and disability. No heavy machinery, tillage or acreage are required.
Caralyn has observed that current food production in Australia is heavily entrenched in broad-acre mono-culture requiring continuous intervention. Natural systems, however, are bio-diverse poly-culture systems, perpetuating themselves through natural forces.
Until the appearance and intensive promotion of synthetic fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides, the backyard vegetable patch was organic. Now urban gardens are landscaped, featuring large areas of paving, lawns and exotic ornamentals. Thus they have become highly water-dependent and unproductive for food supplies. They also contribute to the leaching of nutrients and dangerous chemicals into groundwater and river systems. Farms are similarly landscaped but on a much larger scale. They too are highly chemical and water-dependent.
Most gardeners and farmers have lost sight of the age-old wisdom of land management where soil fertility was maintained in sustainable and environmentally friendly ways. Caralyn sees it as her mission to foster a return to more food being produced locally as it increases diversity, sustainability and self-sufficiency, reduces green house gas emissions and mitigates climate change.
Caralyn provides the inspiration and support others need to ‘have a go’ at doing this. Her relating of personal experience and adversity – from surviving to thriving – is inspiring. The combination of teaching ability with ever-growing learning and insight ensures that others are well-equipped to implement her knowledge.
More and more individuals are going on to establish their own organic gardens and farms in environmentally friendly and sustainable ways.  Many are motivated to share their new knowledge with family and friends. Inexorably, Caralyn believes, we will see a return to the backyard vegetable patch and small, intensive but highly productive sustainable farms. Says Caralyn, “If we all plant a clove of garlic, a field will grow.”.

John Cashmore (Bio dynamic farmer),

Helen Parker, Naturopath C.M.A.

Peter Andrews(Back from the Brink),

Gerard Siero (Eco architect),