2019

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Innovation Centre

Sippy Downs, Queensland Australia

‘SUSTAINABILITY FOR SURVIVAL’  PRESENTATION 

19th November, 2019 

Topics included Biosphere Interdependencies,

Food Sustainability, Reduce Waste & Landfill and 5G. 

FEEDBACK FROM ATTENDEES

Thank you for all the ideas and info.

Sounds like some changes are in order.

So  interesting.

Very informative.

Great – thanks Pia.

Keep up with the fight!

Very comprehensive presentation Pia.

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The MAPLE STREET CO-OP SOCIETY Ltd

PRESENTATION & WORKSHOP 

26th OCTOBER, 2019

FEEDBACK FROM ATTENDEES

Fantastic workshop

Very engaging and full of knowledge

Will be applying these techniques right away, thanks Pia

Perfect!

Fantastic

Loved every minute

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Nambour, Queensland Australia

 14th July, 2019

9.00am to 10.00am 

‘Harvesting and Drying Organic Herbs & Growing Your Own Tea’ PRESENTATION

(Cooks Garden)

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Maple Street CO-OP Maleny COMMUNITY GARDEN 

(Postponed due to wet weather conditions)

MALENY CO-OP COMMUNITY GARDEN 

Celebration and Official Opening of the Learning Shelter Saturday 23rd February 2019

(postponed due to Cylcone ‘OMA’) 

Presentation & Workshop: ‘Common Scents Organic Gardening’ 

10.30am to 11.45am 

 SCHEDULE  

10:00 -12:00

Kids and parents creative time – “Bush Critters” Workshop with Tracy Lewis

10:30 -11:45

“Common Scents Organic Gardening” Workshop with Pia Dowling

12:00 -13:00

Official Opening of the “Learning Shelter” by Maleny Independent School

13:00 -14:00

Picnic in the Garden…

14:00 -15:00

“Let’s talk about Native Bees!”

15:00 -16:00

Music in the Garden. A time to listen and relax, gift of creativity from some local musicians.

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2018

UNIVERSITY OF THE SUNSHINE COAST (SIPPY DOWNS CAMPUS), QUEENSLAND AUSTRALIA 

‘COMMON SCENTS’ ORGANIC GARDENING

PRESENTATION & WORKSHOP 

Saturday 1st September 2018

PRESENTATION 

Lecture Theatre 7 

9.30 am – 10.30 am

The ‘Common Scents Organic Gardening’ Presentation highlighted chemical free, water saving, time saving, cost saving and sustainable techniques.

OVERVIEW

1. What is Organic Gardening?
2. Benefits of Growing your Own Organic Produce
3. Current Composting & Gardening Methods
4. Site Characteristics
5. Garden Design
6. Keeping Chickens
7. Dog Patrol
8. Watering
9. Importance of  ‘Workers’  & ‘Warriors’
10. Plants Suitable for Growing in SE QLD (Sunshine Coast)
11. Tools & Equipment
12. Creating ‘Viable’ Soil

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK

If I may, I would like to congratulate you on today’s lecture – just brilliant!

Your enthusiasm is very infectious and you imparted your vast knowledge to productive gardening in a way that was easily understood by both novice and experienced gardeners alike.

I also like the way in which you structured the lecture.

I would certainly recommend such a lecture to my fellow-gardeners.

Excellent amount of information.

Quite scientific.

Enjoyed the practical ‘how to’ parts.

Highly appreciate the knowledge of kitchen scraps direct to garden.

WOW this is huge for me.

Thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you Pia.

Excellent information, shared in an easy way to understand format.

Informative. Use of overheads & microphones all able to see and hear.

Great learning, well delivered.

WORKSHOP

The ‘Moving Feast’ Garden

10.45 am – 12.00 noon

WORKSHOP at the ‘Moving Feast Garden’ highlighted  chemical free, water saving, time saving, cost saving and sustainable techniques including sorting kitchen scraps/leftovers, creating ‘viable’ soil followed by a ‘digging in’ demonstration and planting/watering techniques.

 PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK 

The sorting of scraps was very informative for retention.

Great to see the actual digging and planting. I’m keen to go home and revitalise my garden.

Fantastic format, presentation & info. Thank you

Good to see what you were talking about with ‘digging in’ method.

Very good.

Tools and equipment demonstrated so could easily be replicated at home. So much information. Excellent!

Thank you so much!

Excellent!

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SUNSHINE COAST COUNCIL, QUEENSLAND AUSTRALIA 

LIBRARY PRESENTATIONS

JULY – AUGUST 2018

‘CREATING VIABLE SOIL’ 

Vivid and bountiful gardens are built from the ground up. Soil that is rich, dense and full of nutrition is the key. Join Pia Dowling, author of Common Scents Organic Gardening as she discusses how to turn your garden into a haven for plants.

NAMBOUR  LIBRARY

Saturday 4th August 2018 

10.00 am – 11.30 am

Very much enjoyed your practical, ‘keep it simple’ approach to creating 
viable soil.

Very well done, inspiring.

One of the best Power Point presentations – clear and colourful, easy to understand, thank you for a very interesting talk.

Very interesting, picked up many tips.

Very well done & most informative.

Great – very enlightening.

Lots of good information, good to encourage questions & answer them well.

MAROOCHYDORE  LIBRARY

Thursday 19th July 2018 

10.30 am – 12.00 noon

Good, commonsense information to help gardeners

Like the idea of keeping it simple.

Very informative, keen to learn more.

Great presentation, very easy to understand, made it sound simple, thank you!

Excellent presentation, very informative.

Sounds like a simple way of gardening.

Very informative, thank you!

Wonderful, lots of information, well rounded presentation, interactive, interesting.

Excellent!

Informative, interesting.

Brilliant! Thank you! Greatly appreciate you sharing your knowledge Pia, I’m inspired.

Excellent! Best presentation yet.

Excellent presentation, topics well covered & informative.

Very well presented, good time had.

Well presented, knowledgeable presenter, interesting.

Thanks for an innovative way to garden. You made it so simple.

Vibrant, passionate about her topic, very knowledgeable.

CALOUNDRA LIBRARY

Tuesday 17th July 2018 

10.00 am – 11.30 am

Really appreciated your work, overall a huge amount of work & I appreciate your efforts.

I am looking forward to incorporating what I have learnt into my new garden in early September.

Very professional & informative.

Fabulous PowerPoint, thoroughly enjoyed.

Well presented.

Very informative .

BEERWAH LIBRARY

Saturday 18th August 2018 

10.00 am – 11.30 am

Pia is very knowledgeable in the field and an awesome presenter. Many years of actual trials, learning from her own experience is obviously advantageous.

Thanks! Learnt a lot, so much content for me to go away & incorporate into my gardening and do further research on.

Very clear – lots of info.

Enjoyed it.

Very good.

Pia was informative, enaganging and adept at keeping on track with audidence participation. 

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Nambour Showgrounds

 Presenter  (‘Cooks Garden’ Stage)

Costa Giorgiardis ABC TV Series Presenter  ‘Gardening Australia’

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PRESENTATION & WORKSHOP

Maroochydore, Sunshine Coast QLD

PRESENTATION & WORKSHOP

‘Grow Your Own Organic Fruit, Vegetables, Herbs & Spices in Pots’

Thursday 23rd February 2017

9.30 am to 11.300 am

   

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK

Very interesting, learnt something, yes come back again please.

The presentation it was great!

Absolutely enjoyed the whole presentation from go to woe.

Learnt lots and keen to use the information that I learnt.

The presentation was  well done, it was a great morning, thank you. 

Very well presented. 

Excellent & informative.

Well presented and explained very well.

Absolutely tremendous, the hands on demo very informative.

We learnt many gardening hints & the value of quality soil products.

A very good presentation.

Excellent presentation. 

Very informative, enjoyed the dried herbs section.

Excellent presentation – easy to understand.

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2016

PRESENTATION & WORKSHOP #5

Eumundi, QLD 

Saturday 12th November 2016

9.00 am to 12.00 noon

‘Chemical-free, Water Saving, Time Saving, Cost Saving and Sustainable Techniques’.

OVERVIEW 

1. Tools & Equipment
2. Site Characteristic
3. Garden Layout
4. Keeping Chicken
5. Creating a ‘Viable’ Soil
6. Transplanting & Watering
7. Dog Patrol
8. Importance of ‘Workers’ (e.g pollinators & soil organisms) & ‘Warriors’ (e.g predatory insects, reptiles, spiders & birds).

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK

Very grounding, it was simple, made a lot of sense and reinforced the ground is so important.

Excellent!

Particularly enjoyed the practical demonstrations, especially the simplicity of composting/soil improving process.

Main thing is to get started. It really has built my confidence!

Awesome seeing the ‘live at home’ version giving evidential proof of system.

Very interesting and demonstrations made it easier to comprehend the techniques.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

It was great to visit your property & see the result of your teachings.

Great day. Also loved morning tea – delish. 

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SUNSHINE COAST COUNCIL 

LIBRARY PRESENTATIONS

Queensland Australia 

October – November 2016

BEERWAH LIBRARY

Saturday 5th November 2016 

10.00 am – 11.30 am

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK

Great information for amateur gardeners.

Great!

Beautiful!

NAMBOUR LIBRARY

Tuesday 25th October 2016 

10.00 am – 11.30 am

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK

Excellent & convincing of the issues.

I am sold with your ideas/recommendations.

It was very professional.

Very informative, thank you.

Very interesting, covered basics of principles that I can incorporate.

It was great.

Excellent – tons of useful information.

Beautifully expressed verbally and with photographs.

Great interaction with audience.

Very well presented & informative.

Busted some of my practices>leading to change.

Very well presented & good explanations.

Very interesting and useful information.

KAWANA LIBRARY

Monday 24th October 2016 

10.00 am – 11.30 am

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK

Very surprising & informative.

Excellent explanation of how natural gardening works.

Great presentation overall.

Good understandable slides.

Fast paced – not boring. 

Want to learn more and want to attend another future lecture by Pia. 

MAROOCHYDORE LIBRARY

[Booked Out]

Saturday 22nd October 2016 

10.30 am – 12 noon

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK

Excellent delivery, easy to understand.

Very interesting.

Very informative – encouraging to find out more.

Very good, enjoyed your presentation.

Interesting, raised more questions making me realise I need to do a lot more research.

Great photos, liked the anecdotes.

Thanks so much for chatting with kids – really positive & food for thought.

Really good!

Loved it!

CALOUNDRA LIBRARY [BOOKED OUT]

Saturday 15th October 2016 

10.00 am – 11.30 am

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK

Enjoyed the presentation very much.

It’s the 3rd library session over 18 months I’ve heard you speak plus a workshop & you still have more for me to learn.

Very interesting – opened my mind to new ideas. Inspired me to utlise more of our garden for food.

Great overview & highlighted all aspects.

Professional, interesting, informative & inspiring. 

Terrific, lots of info, diagrams etc.

Most useful, invaluable & inspiring info.

Very informative!

Great!

Obviously knows her stuff! Shares her knowledge easily and entertainingly!

This was the 3rd session and 1 workshop I have attended led by Pia and I am still learning heaps! 

COOLUM LIBRARY

Tuesday 11th October 2016 

10.00 am – 11.30 am

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK

Thank you, I will definitely stop using newspaper in the veggie garden & not water as much.

Very clear, precise & direct information.

Kept my attention all the way through.

Very useful & informative.

Nice clear and simple presentation. Not too technical or complicated  – easy to grasp the basics. Quiet eye opening, thank you.

Enjoyable – good knowledgeable presentations, lots to think about when setting up my garden.

Informative, knowledgeable, thought provoking, inspiring.

Very interesting – I’m going to love my bugs!

Interesting & full of info.

MALENY LIBRARY

Saturday 8th October 2016 

10.00 am – 11.30 am

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK

Excellent! A lot of material content to cover.

You know your material content very thoroughly and well experienced.

You have a lot of enthusiasm.

The group seemed to really enjoy it.

Good talk!

I learnt so much from today from now on I will be using all the ideas of Pia’s.

Fabulous!

Very informative.

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NOOSA COUNCIL

LIBRARY PRESENTATIONS

September 2016 

NOOSAVILLE LIBRARY [BOOKED OUT]

Saturday 24th September 2016 

10.00 am – 11.30 am

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK

Packed with wonderful advice.

Super interesting.

Presentation is first class.

Most informative.

Very interesting and most informative.

Thank you, informative and inspiring.

Great info.

COOROY LIBRARY  [BOOKED OUT]

Saturday 3rd September 2016 

10.00 am – 11.30 am

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK

Great – very informative!

Very informative & wide-ranging, effective slides.

Very knowledgeable – interesting especially the organic.

Very informative & kept all attentive with questions.

Very informative – enjoyed the organic aspect.

Very informative & interesting, really enjoyed it, thank you very much Pia!

Great, thank you!

Great presentation, clear, concise and inspirational.

Very comprehensive, thank you.

Very informative & entertaining.

A very full and informative session, a lot learned, great foundation.

Thank you so much for donating your time. I found the session very informative as we are at the beginner stage and will plan to build an appropriate coop and enclosure soon. You have made that part easy to define what is important & what works!

Excellent slides and content.

Board range of topics covered – all relevant!

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ORGANIC GARDENING

PRESENTATION & WORKSHOP #4

EUMUNDI, Queensland

Saturday 27th August, 2016

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK

Very interesting points made about composting and watering.

The workshop also made me think about more variety in my garden.

Very engaging and helpful.

Very informative.

Great time & resource saving tips.

Good balance of interaction – talk & demo time.

Good mix of subjects – soil to transplanting, seed saving, herbs, dogs & chickens. Lovely!

Loved it! Great demo’s. Better than library.

Liked the overall format – with particular interest in simplicity of methods, seed saving & propagation, emphasis on diversity, integration of chickens & dogs.

Love the ‘live demo’ of the processes that you use, very enjoyable overall thank you.

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ORGANIC GARDENING

PRESENTATION & WORKSHOP #3

EUMUNDI, Queensland

Saturday 2nd July, 2016

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK

All well explained.

We’ll have a go with your interesting concept.

Very interesting, I didn’t realise it was so easy.

Very informative, good presentation.

Well-arranged so we can get through a good amount in a limited time.

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ORGANIC GARDENING

PRESENTATION & WORKSHOP #2

EUMUNDI, Queensland

Saturday 23rd April, 2016

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK

Great!

Great system, simplicity & time efficient.

There is beauty in simplicity, very enlightening. 

A lot of very valuable, practical, scientifically based information that really works!

Wonderful – thank you again and I look forward to more presentations.

Very informative. Looking forward to practicing new techniques. Timing good, no problem with access, delicious morning tea, great day- thank you.

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ORGANIC GARDENING

PRESENTATION & WORKSHOP #1

EUMUNDI, Queensland

Saturday 9th April, 2016

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK

It was a very enriching way to spend a precious Saturday morning, thank you!

Please keep up your sessions at local libraries to spread the word to others.

Fantastic material. A revolution in my thinking. Loved the refreshments also.

Great communication covering so many aspects, really valuable.

Very informative.

Well presented in a practical way, change of gardening practices now ahead.

I really enjoyed the workshop & it will definitely help me plant our garden when we move in a few months.

Very interesting…complete novice…now have a starting point.

Very informative & interesting workshop. Of particular interest was the direct soil composting method.

Wonderful, very practical & clearly explained. It was very valuable to see your garden.

The Green Magazine, 16th March 2016

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SUNSHINE COAST COUNCIL 

LIBRARY PRESENTATIONS 

July – August 2016

KAWANA LIBRARY [BOOKED OUT]

Saturday 13th August 2016 

10.00 am – 11.30 am

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK

Very informative, thank you!

A good pace, easy to follow.

Well presented, looking forward to seeing your next presentation.

A lot of information to digest, it was very informative and the presenter was happy to answer questions during session.

Very good.

Very enlightening and engaging, thank you.

A good range of information from an excellent presenter.

Great overview of the process and plants etc.  

Very enjoyable talk.

Clear.

Great depth of knowledge.

MALENY LIBRARY [BOOKED OUT]

Friday 12th August 2016 

10.00 am – 11.30 am

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK

Great presentation thanks.

Lots of good practical ideas.

Great!

Learnt so much.

Excellent – great info very thorough.

Learnt heaps!

Excellent  – it will prompt me to do more in my garden.

Well presented, interesting.

Brilliant.

Efficient & quick just like your methods! Thank you.

I’m inspired to get going quite differently.

Interesting, lots of info eg drying, pulverising.

Very well presented & well explained.

Enthusiastic about the subject.

CALOUNDRA LIBRARY [BOOKED OUT]

Saturday 6th August 2016 

10.00 am – 11.30 am

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK

Most informative, inspiring really. I like the emphasis on easy, simplistic, natural and organic. Great presentation, thanks.

Very thorough.

I thoroughly enjoyed the content.

Very good.

Thorough & interesting.

The slide show was very valuable.

Very interesting & informative.

Very good – particularly info on soil.

Excellent & inspiring.  

Very informative.

Inspiring.

Really valuable emphasising organic & natural.

Great.

Has inspired me to progress with trying to develop a proper garden.

Learnt a lot about natural gardening.

Loved it!

NAMBOUR LIBRARY

Saturday 30th July 2016 

10.00 am – 11.30 am

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK

Excellent.

Fantastic.

Helping people ‘unlearn’ key things!

Very good.

Great PowerPoint.

Great Content.

Terrific.

Very interesting.

Learnt some new things.

Thoroughly enjoyed it, will definitely go further with what I have learned.

Keep up the excellent work Pia !!!

MAROOCHYDORE LIBRARY [BOOKED OUT]

Saturday 23rd July 2016 

10.30 am – 12.00 noon

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK

Great session!

Very informative.

Excellent and very informative.

Excellent!

Great, thank you, lots to work on.

Good & informative.

It was great!!!

Great presentation – full of great tips & inspiring information.

Very good.

Useful information – thanks – also good motivation to start planting again.

Good presentation, well thought out.

Really enjoyed it – very informative.

Thank you, very informative, learnt lots, easy listening presenter.

Great presentation, I’ve leaned a lot, wouldn’t use newspaper in the compost bin anymore!!

Very interesting.

Good info.

Very informative, well presented, able to ask lots of questions.

BEERWAH LIBRARY [BOOKED OUT]

Wednesday 13th July 2016 

1.00 pm – 2.30 pm

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK

Interesting.

Informative.

Excellent.

A lot of info.

Well presented from basics to end product, thank you.

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NOOSA COUNCIL 

LIBRARY PRESENTATIONS

JUNE 2016

COOROY LIBRARY

Saturday 18th June 

9.30am to 11.00am

PARTICIPANT  FEEDBACK

Interesting and thought provoking.

Very informative.

Very knowledgeable.

Great, enthusiasm, detail.

I had read/heard much of it before but you made it very real, practical and possible.

 Excellent.

Photographs told the story.

The Presenter rated 9/10 (x2) & 10/10 (x2) & Session Content rated 9/10 (x2) & 10/10 (x2).

NOOSAVILLE LIBRARY

Saturday 4th June 2016

10.00 am to 11.30 am

PARTICIPANT  FEEDBACK

Very concise & clearly given.

Great common sense & enthusiasm.

Very professional & informative.

I’ll try to incorporate some of the suggestions about watering, use of newspapers, direct planting.

Excellent, learnt a lot.

The Presenter 9/10 & The Session Content 9/10.

Well organised and presented.

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SUNSHINE COAST COUNCIL

LIBRARY PRESENTATIONS

Queensland Australia

‘VIABLE SOIL HEALTH’ 

February – March 2016

NAMBOUR LIBRARY [BOOKED OUT]

Tuesday 22^nd March 2016

10.00 am to 11.30 am

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK

Very comprehensive and lots of confirmation of what I’m trying to do.

Beautiful voice.

Interesting and easy to understand.

Well presented.

Most informative.

Very good.

Thoroughly enjoyed your presentation.

Thank you for all your efforts with diagrams etc.

Very professional.

Excellent presentation which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Very informative.

Very enjoyable and interesting.

Brilliant – thank you so much.

Just keep spreading the word.

Very well prepared, good knowledge base, terrific PowerPoint accompaniment.

Very knowledgeable and happy to share her knowledge.

MALENY LIBRARY [BOOKED OUT]

Saturday 19^th March 2016

10.00 am to 11.30 am

    

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK

Quite theoretical, very knowledgeable.

Good level of content around soil theory.

Good info.

Informative.

Excellent.

Very interesting & well presented.

Clear and well delivered.

 Maintained interest and very good explanations.

Encouraged me to not fall back on purchasing non-organic products.

Very thorough.

I learned a lot.

The concepts are real good.

Very pleasant, have us in real will to speak up our ideas, thoughts, guesses.

Good clear concise speaker.

Factual content.

Very full content.

Very good content knowledge.

CALOUNDRA LIBRARY [BOOKED OUT]

Saturday 12^th March 2016

10.00 am to 11.30 am

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK

Very interesting & enlightening.

Very engaging content.

Good presentation.

Slides were great & informative.

Very informative, sometimes challenging.

Thanks for sharing.

Lots of info to listen to & try to learn from your experience/knowledge.

Interesting to listen to.

Informative.

Great.

Excellent- enjoyed it and learned a lot.

Very informative slide show and clear explanations.

Keep doing what you are doing. Great fun.

MAROOCHYDORE LIBRARY 

Saturday 5^th March 2016

10.30 am to 12 noon

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK

Very well presented – informative.

You may have simplified our lives – new house, starting gardening etc.

Wonderful Presentation thank you, answered a lot of questions.

Clear, easy to grasp.

Very informative, thank you.

Enjoyed it & would be very interested to see the workshop.

Clear, good, lots of info.

Good general overview.

KAWANA LIBRARY

Thursday 3rd  March 2016

10.00 am to 11.30 am

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK

I thought the presentation was very interesting and worthwhile.

Great presenter, very knowledgeable.

Able to impart information to audience, friendly nature.

Very good – very interesting.

I haven’t gone over that information for a very long time – so good to refresh.

BEERWAH LIBRARY

Saturday 27^th February 2016

10.00 am to 11.30 am

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK

Speaker knew her topic.

Great info, learnt so much.

Excellent in every way, clarity of content and structure.

Understanding of what constitutes the makeup of soil.

Everything, her knowledge, well done.

Great information.

Openness to questions.

Science of soil.

Learnt a lot of the science.

Practical info given & scientific background.

Understanding soils, easy to understand, quite interesting.

The dramatic before & after photos and the info.

I am slowly absorbing and digesting, is causing me to ask questions of some gardening practices I have already.

100% would consider coming to a similar event in the future.

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2015

The INSPIRATION GARDEN Inc. Morningside Brisbane QLD

One Thousand Incredible Edible Gardens’ in collaboration with Nancy Kent

PRESENTATION & WORKSHOP #4

Saturday 31st October, 2015

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK

Everything organised into 4 pillars.
The information presented inspired me to garden more.
Good clear information, easy to understand.

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BRISBANE CITY COUNCIL

LIBRARY PRESENTATION 

Chermside Library

North Regional Business Centre, 960 Gympie Road, Chermside Brisbane QUEENSLAND 4032

‘WORKERS’ & ‘WARRIORS’

Sunday 9th August, 2015

When growing your own fruit, vegetables, herbs and spices, discover the importance of attracting ‘workers’ (pollinators) and ‘warriors’ (predatory insects, spiders, reptiles & birds) into your garden to maintain a natural ecological balance and eliminate the need for pesticides.

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PRESENTATION & WORKSHOP

‘TO INSPIRE LOCAL HOME BASED FOOD SYSTEMS BY SHARING AND LEARNING TOGETHER’

Boonah, Queensland

Saturday 8th August 2015 

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The INSPIRATION GARDEN Inc. Morningside Brisbane QLD

One Thousand Incredible Edible Gardens’ in collaboration with Nancy Kent

PRESENTATION & WORKSHOP #3

Saturday 27th June, 2015 

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BRISBANE BIODIVERSITY SEMINAR

‘Birds, Bees and Backyards’

[The seminars are an initiative of Brisbane City Council’s Community Conservation Partnership Program]. 

Tuesday 17th March 2015

Downfall Creek Bushland Centre, Brisbane Queensland.

Speaker: Pia Dowling

Presentation: Pia Dowling will be talking about ways we can be empowered by growing our own food organically at home. Pia breaks the misconception about the idea of ‘pests’ in our gardens and prefers to use the terms ‘workers’ and ‘warriors’. She believes all the bugs, spiders, birds and lizards in her garden have an important function. She uses organic chemical-free techniques and has created an ecological balance that allows the produce to remain available for harvest.

About the Speaker : Pia DOWLING (MBA) is a Brisbane-based Author of four organic gardening books including ‘CommonScents Organic Gardening’ (presentation and launch at the Queensland Museum, South Bank, Brisbane Australia), ‘Grow and Brew Your own Organic Coffee’, ‘Grow and Brew Your Own Organic Tea(Green & Herbal)’ and ‘Grow Your Own Organic Herbs and Spices’ that focus on time, cost and water saving, chemical-free and sustainable techniques.

Speaker: Tim Heard

Presentation: Tim will be speaking about native bees and attracting them to your garden.

About the Speaker: Tim has been keeping Australian native stingless bees for nearly 30 years. He transferred his first hive from a cut down tree into a wooden box in 1985. He now has over 300 hives which have been obtained through rescuing threatened wild hives and splitting existing hives. Tim continues to develop new hive designs and techniques that allow better splitting and extraction of sugarbag and wax. He has been giving seminars and workshops on native bees since 1995 and is an Entomologist by profession.

Speaker: Ann Ellerman

Presentation: The Wahminda Grove Bushcare Group is in the process of rehabilitating the upper reaches of Kedron Brook where it runs through Brisbane Forest Park. This section has good natural values but is threatened by garden rubbish dumping and the impact of stormwater. The group is working strategically on removal of weeds where the bushland adjoins a residential area, as well as planting to fill gaps in the riparian vegetation. Ann will talk about the groups approach to bushcare, the challenges they have faced over the years and the positive outcomes of working to restore this section of Kedron Brook.

About the Speaker: Ann is the Group Leader of the Wahminda Grove Bushcare Group. Both Ann and her husband Lyn have been involved in bushcare for many years. They have been the group Leaders for Wahminda Grove Bushcare site for 8 years. Ann is very passionate about bush care and through careful planning and great management the group is achieving great results!

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IPSWICH PLANT EXPO

GUEST SPEAKER & PRESENTATION 

8th – 9th March 2015 

GROW AND EAT STAGE

Sunday 8th March 2015

TIME	SPEAKER	TOPIC
9am – 10am	Shane Sadkowsky	The benefits of vertical gardens
10am – 11am	Costa Georgiadis	How to use all the greens in your garden – dumplings filled with seasonal greens
11am – 12pm	Valerie Rence and Noel Burdette – Heart of Spice	Sri Lankan cooking with spices
12pm – 1pm	Pia Dowling	Creating  ‘viable’ soil and transplanting
1pm – 2pm	Valerie Rence and Noel Burdette – Heart of Spice	Sri Lankan cooking with spices

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The INSPIRATION GARDEN Inc. Morningside Brisbane QLD

One Thousand Incredible Edible Gardens’ in collaboration with Nancy Kent

PRESENTATION & WORKSHOP #2

 Saturday 28th February, 2015

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK 

Learning Pia’s method of composting. Very informative, soil preparation, watering technique, diversity of plants in a small area to help with warriors (i.e. predatory insects, spiders, reptiles & birds).

Friendly and sound information. Demonstration to create a live soil.

The practical side and the detailed information presented.

Explaining the process of composting straight into the garden and the benefits of pot soil, companion & multiple planting.

Sorting food scraps & watering new plants.

Pests are not pests (i.e. Workers & Warriors).

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ACTIVE and HEALTHY LIFE/G.O.L.D PROGRAM INITIATIVE WORKSHOP

Brisbane City Council, Queensland Australia

‘GROW YOUR OWN ORGANIC HERBS AND SPICES’

Saturday 7th February 2015

Pia Dowling, author of  ‘Grow Your Own Organic Herbs and Spices’ will focus on time, cost and water-saving chemical free sustainable techniques including planting, harvesting, drying, storing and propagation for a variety of home-grown herbs and spices.

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK

Very knowledgeable/great ideas.
Practical applications that were provided.
Learning what is best to grow in pots.
Seeing the results of the theory.
Presentations of different herbs, spices, demonstration of garden preparation & theory of herbs & spices.

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2014

The INSPIRATION GARDEN Inc. Morningside Brisbane QLD

One Thousand Incredible Edible Gardens’ in collaboration with Nancy Kent

PRESENTATION & WORKSHOP #1

Saturday 18th October 2014 

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK

I learnt so much and really enjoyed the day. Thank you so very much for sharing your wisdom. (Catherine)

Pia Dowling is a excellent person to share this vision with. (Nancy Kent) 

Good on you passionate people!(Sophie Munns)

 Loved our amazing day! Great learning! (Dani Pinto)

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‘THE FUTURE OF FOOD IN BRISBANE AND THE WORLD’ CONVENTION

Guest Speaker

Saturday 31st May 2014 

The Future of Food in Brisbane and the World connected people from very diverse areas of the future food production. An exciting and informative day with:

• high-profile, knowledgeable and inspiration speakers,
• an audience of activists and experts from all areas,
• sharing ideas and participating in a motivated, positive and results-focused culture.

Pia Dowling talked about ways we can be empowered by growing our own food organically at home. Pia’s kitchen garden is an inspiration to any busy urban dweller. Although she is involved in a range of management roles, she grows, cares for and harvests a huge variety of plants and vegetables using a range of simple techniques and natural systems.

Pia breaks the misconception about the idea of ‘pests’ in our gardens and prefers to use the terms ‘workers’ and ‘warriors’. She believes all the bugs, spiders, birds and lizards in her garden have an important function. She uses organic chemical-free techniques and has created an ecological balance that allows the produce to remain available for harvest.

Pia has written several books, including Common Scents Organic Gardening, which includes a variety of beautiful photos of the various fauna and flora participating in her kitchen garden system. Thank you to our participants who supported Pia in purchasing her book. We also have one copy of her book available in our prize draw.

Popular Organic Gardening Author to speak at the Future of Food Convention!

http://sharewhale.com/wp/

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GARDEN CITY LIBRARY

Brisbane, QLD

12th April 2014

An interactive presentation ‘Grow and Brew Your Own Organic Tea & Coffee’ based on the books ‘Grow and Brew Your Own Organic Tea [Green & Herbal]’ and ‘Grow and Brew Your Own Organic Coffee (Coffea arabica)’  was held on 12th April 2014 at the Garden City Library, Westfield Shopping Centre, Upper Mt Gravatt, Brisbane  Queensland Australia.

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK

Great to know about growing tea & coffee in my garden and making a nice tea myself.

Practical information/aspects.

Very knowledgeable & engaging speaker.

Explained very well.

Enjoyed tea & coffee info-set.

PowerPoint presentation – excellent.

This was excellent.

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CARINDALE LIBRARY

Brisbane,Queensland

7th March 2014

An interactive presentation ‘Tea Chat’ based on the book ‘Grow and Brew Your Own Organic Tea [Green & Herbal]’ was held on 7th March 2014 at the Carindale Library, Westfield Shopping Centre, Brisbane Queensland Australia.

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK

Pia is really passionate and knows her information well.

Bright, lively and informed speaker with good variety of examples.

Very well presented, very interesting and very practical.

Interesting speaker.

Obvious competency of the speaker.

Very informative in all aspects.

Information was well presented.

Pia was very approachable.

I thought your presentation at the (Westfield Carindale) library  was excellent (Nancy Kent).

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ORGANIC GARDENING

PRESENTATION & WORKSHOP 

27th February 2014

An interactive DIY presentation was held at Bunnings Stafford, Brisbane Queensland Australia on 27th February 2014, focusing on creating and maintaining  small and large gardens.

FEEDBACK FROM THE BUNNINGS ACTIVITIES ORGANISER 

 I would like to thank you for your very informative Garden Workshop presentation.

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK

You are enthusiastic and a very knowledgeable presenter.

Clearly explained especially helpful for novices in gardening.

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2013

ORGANIC GARDENING

PRESENTATION & WORKSHOP

21st September 2013

An interactive DIY presentation was held at Bunnings Stafford, Brisbane Queensland Australia on 21st September 2013, focusing on creating a ‘viable’ soil and transplanting techniques.

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK

100% of participants ‘strongly agreed’ that the:

• presenter was knowledgeable about the information presented,
• presenter was an engaging speaker, and
• content met (their) expectations.

The ‘best aspects of this event’ included:

• Knowledgeable presenter and helpful in answering questions
• The theory & practical demonstrations were excellent!
• The presenter delivered the seminar in a friendly and bright manner
• Learning when to plant the right veggies at the right season
• How easy to grow organic plants

100% of attendees would ‘consider coming to a similar event in the future’.

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CARINDALE LIBRARY

Brisbane,Queensland

1st March 2013

An interactive presentation was held at  Carindale Library, Westfield Shopping Centre, Brisbane Queensland Australia on 1st March 2013.

The presentation was based on the book ‘Common Scents Organic Gardening – Garden’ focusing on key techniques for creating and maintaining a sustainable kitchen garden.

PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK

Useful and practical information.

So informative and educational.

The best aspect of this event was the knowledge of the speaker.

Engaging and informative speaker.

The speaker’s knowledge of her subject.

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QUEENSLAND MUSEUM

EXHIBITIONS, PUBLIC PROGRAMS & EVENTS 

 South Bank Brisbane, Queensland Australia 

23rd February 2013

Pia Dowling introduced a new book on Organic/Sustainable Backyard Gardening complemented by insect displays [Board of the Queensland Museum Annual Report 2012-13 Open Data].

A Presentation accompanying the Book Launch of the book ‘Common Scents Organic Gardening – Techniques for Creating and Maintaining a Sustainable Kitchen Garden’  held at the Queensland Museum, South Bank Brisbane Australia on 23rd February 2013 exceeded expectations.

Colour photographs of some the one hundred species of garden insects, reptiles, spiders and birds as well as some of the fruit, vegetables and herbs in flower were also on display.

I wish to thank all who attended including acknowledgement of the following: