Environmental Activism In Your Own Backyard

Panel discussion- Environmental Activism in Your Own Backyard
Facilitator Bronwyn Davies

Merinda Davies-  is an artist using performance, movement, installation and conversation to ask how we might reorient ourselves towards deeper care and intimacy.

Her work is inspired by the environment, human and more-than-human social and ecological structures and the possibilities available to us in future imaginings. Her practice aims to find clarity and connection in the external world through deep listening, observation, and research into the emotional and physical states in our internal worlds. She grew up in Bundjalung Country, Northern NSW, and is currently living and creating on the land of the Yugambeh language group, in South East QLD.

Merinda's solo and collaborative work has most recently been commissioned by; Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane & Blue Mountains Cultural Centre (Imprints, 2020/2021), Outerspace (Umwelt Collective: m0ther.online, 2020), The Walls (Take your pleasure seriously, 2020, MIAMI/MIAMI international residency), Placemakers* GC (Fully Automated Human Touch, 2020)and City of Gold Coast (Conversations with the Forest, ongoing).

Guy Ritani (Ia/they/them) is a Takatāpui Māori artist, activist, permaculture teacher and designer based on Tamborine Mountain. Their creative energy is drawn towards regenerative arts that showcase and delight in the cultural, personal, contextual and abstract spaces we must inhabit to exist on our planet. Primarily a visual and movement based artist, Guy has exhibited works at the UN, received 'Best Visual Art' for an exhibition in Melbourne Fringe 2018, featuring installations in festivals, gala openings and showcases across Melbourne & New Zealand. They are currently working on a piece representing Pacific activist efforts against climate change for The Museum of Australian Democracy. Their work is based around systemic reciprocity and highly values works that build empathy, sympathy and understanding of our great mother ecosystem. Deeply passionate about ecology, Guy is pleased to be a part of the works 'In Consideration of Trees' by Bronwyn Davies.

Louise Bahnson- Head Coach & Founder of Little Green Patch.  Louise is a farmers daughter and grew up on farms across Denmark & Australia. She has been a gardener her whole life and can’t recall a time when she wasn’t growing vegetables in her garden. Her backyard on Tamborine Mountain, QLD, has been transformed from the humble monoculture lawn to a thriving food forest full of fruiting trees and vegetables all on a small 690 square meter block of land.

The entire block is organic and all fertilisers and amendments are natural and made from organic sources on site. Using principles based in biodynamics and regenerative urban agriculture, this garden is proof that you don’t need chemicals to successfully feed your family all year round.

Louise is also a huge Compost Nerd and genuinely believes that composting will save the world.

“I focus on building the biodiversity on our site and nurture the soil to be at its optimum health. For me it’s about encouraging as much wildlife into the garden because they ultimately are my pest controllers - the native frogs eat the caterpillars, the birds eat the unwanted insects and everything just finds it’s unique balance point to work harmoniously together.”

Louise has a Bachelor of Education (Hons) degree and has taught her entire adult life working in multiple settings including primary schools, high schools, tertiary education as well as private and corporate settings. She is a passionate life long learner and knows how to get the best out of her students.

Her motto in life is “be the change you want to see in the world,” and her hope is that one day, soon, the world will nurture its soils back to optimum health to promote healthy soils, healthy life and a healthy planet.

Martin Bannard- teacher activist