Who is Geoff Lawton and what is his role in permaculture?

geoff lawton

Through out the my Permaculture journey I heard a lot about Geoff Lawton and his movement to change our way of living towards Permaculture, Geoff Lawton is a permaculture teacher and garden designer.

I became one of his students through out his Permaculture course, In this article I will share with you how Geoff changed my way of thinking and living.

In this article you will read:

  • Who is Geoff Lawton?

  • Geoff Lawton’s Education and Training

  • Geoff’ Lawton’s Family

  • Geoff Lawton’s Work With Bill Mollison

  • Geoff Lawton achievements

  • Conclusion

Who is Geoff Lawton?

Geoff Lawton is a permaculture consultant, designer and teacher. He has taught permaculture in 17 countries and created the Permaculture Research Institute (PRI) of which he is the Director. He is a full member of the Australian Association of Consulting Arborists, the Permaculture Association (Britain) and a Consultant Member of the Australian Society of Permaculture. He has been a professional practitioner of permaculture for over 30 years.

Geoff Lawton has completed over 500 projects including urban and rural properties, farms, schools, community developments, villages, towns and cities. His most famous project was his design for Bill Mollison’s home at The Sisters near Cygnet Tasmania. He also designed Tagari Farm with Bill Mollison and was instrumental in many aspects of its development.

Geoff Lawton’s current project is theZaytuna Farm Permaculture Education Centre in northern New South Wales Australia where he lives with Nadia Lawton their three children and two dogs Molly and Harry.

Geoff Lawton’s Education and Training

Geoff Lawton was born in England, later moving to Australia. There he attended the University of New South Wales where he trained as an architect. In the early 1980s he began living and working on a smallholding in the hills of northern New South Wales.

Geoff studied civil engineering at Sydney Technical College from 1969 to 1972 and then worked as a structural engineer for some years with various government bodies such as Roads & Traffic Authority (NSW), Department of Public Works and Department of Housing before he started his career as a permaculturist.

Geoff Lawton’s Family

Geoff lives with his wife Nadia at Zaytuna Farm, a permaculture demonstration farm, located on the border of NSW and QLD in Northern Australia.

Geoff Lawton’s Work With Bill Mollison

Geoff is a graduate of the Permaculture Design Course taught by Bill Mollison in 1983. He was immediately employed to help establish the permaculture research institute of Australia (PRI). In 1984 Geoff began his career as an international consultant and teacher.

He has since made a considerable contribution to the development and application of permaculture design principles.

Geoff’s work has included many diverse environments, including Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America, UK, Middle East and Australia.

His innovations in design include water harvesting earthworks and keylines; the use of greywater systems in urban areas; earthworks for retrofitting degraded landscapes; urban food production; aquaculture; shelter design; cool climate permaculture, education structures and applications for permaculture in arid climates.

Geoff Lawton achievements Work

Lawton, Geoff. “Brick and Tile Permaculture” (PDF). Permaculture International Journal No. 51. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 April 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2017.

“The Sleeping Jaguar” (co-author), Permaculture International Journal

“Ecuador” (co-author), Permaculture International Journal

“Permaculture Aid in the Balkans”, Permaculture International Journal

“Future Food Security”, Green Connections

Films

Harvesting Water the Permaculture Way (2007)

Establishing a Food Forest (2008)

Introduction to Permaculture Design (2009)

Greening The Desert II (2009)[11]

Permaculture Soils (2010)

Urban Permaculture (2011)

Green is the new Silver (Lining): Crisis, Hope, and Permaculture (2019)

Awards

The Permaculture Research Institute Australia won the Humanitarian Water & Food Award for 2010 for their initiative “Greening the Desert”.

The Permaculture Research Institute and founder Geoff Lawton, based in Australia, were the 2015 winners of the Energy Globe Award.

The Permaculture Research Institute recognised with UNCCD Accreditation

Conclusion

Geoff Lawton is a permaculture teacher, designer and practitioner. He is the creator of Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC), the internationally recognised qualification in permaculture. Geoff has taught in Europe, North America and Japan. He has also led workshops for more than 25 years in over 50 countries, including as a visiting professor at the British University of East Anglia and the University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne.

 

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