Morag Gamble chats about sharing meals with neighbours on her weekly Simple Living segment on ABC Queensland Radio (Tuesday 27th June 2017) Host: Trevor Jackson.

The simple act of sharing meals together with neighbours is beneficial in so many ways:
- it opens conversations
- allows people to catch up and get to know new members of the neighbourhood
- it cultivates a sense of community
- it improves social cohesion
- builds friendships (not just acquaintances)
- improves health and well-being
- reduces loneliness and isolation
- increases feelings of happiness
- people begin to know and trust their neighbours and therefore feel safer
- helps people feel they are part of a neighbourhood and experience a sense of belonging - a connectedness.

However, twenty-five percent of Australians live alone and many families share only a couple of meals a week. Sharing meals still happens, but not as much as it could, or needs to. There is a lot of loneliness, isolation depression and disconnection in our communities.

Why not invite people in your neighbourhood to share a meal :
- bring a plate to share
- a progressive meal in your street
- a simple BBQ
- where? in your home, on the verge, close the cul-de-sac, in a community hall, in a community garden or local park, at school

Once people start coming together and knowing one another, all kinds of positive ripple effects can happen. Morag talks of many she has experienced.

Enjoy!

For more details and to access over 400 of Morag Gamble's simple living posts, visit Our Permaculture Life blog: www.our-permaculture-life.blogspot.com. You can also find more practical information and examples on Morag's YouTube channel www.youtube.com/c/ourpermaculturelife

Evan Raymond's Album

Eat Simply and Eat Together: Cultivating Community through Shared Meals

Morag Gamble (www.our-permaculture-life.blogspot.com.au) grows an abundance of food in her kitchen garden with few pest issues and does absolutely no spraying - or actually any active pest management.  She grows fresh, healthy food in no-fuss nature-inspired gardens.

It's a very peaceful way of gardening - being observer, diversifier, friend and collaborator. Morag creates cultivated ecologies that make good gardening easier.

Learn here about Morag's 'do-nothing' approach to pest management in edible landscape as she chats with Trevor Jackson on ABC Radio Queensland (ABC612) on 19 July 2017.

Read more on Morag's blog, http://our-permaculture-life.blogspot.com.au/2017/07/morags-seven-do-nothing-strategies-for.html

Edible Gardening and Wildlife: a nature-inspired approach

Listen in to Morag Gamble as she chats on ABC radio (612ABC) about how much money we really need to live well? What if we decided to work less and instead spend more time with our children/family/friends, in nature, doing things we loved, contributing to community projects, learning and sharing more?

From the Evening Show with Trevor Jackson, QLD ABC Radio 612 on 25 July 2017.

Work Less: Live More - How much money do we actually need?

Morag Gamble of Our Permaculture Life, explores what permaculture offers the next generation on the Simple Life, ABC Radio QLD on 1 August 2017.

Morag talks of how permaculture education connects the head, heart and hands - cultivating ecoliteracy, design thinking, and positive action. 

For over 2 decades Morag has designed and led permaculture education programs for all ages - from preschoolers, primary school age, high school and even university students (and adults too!).

Morag believes that permaculture thinking and skills are what the next generation need. Mentoring young people in applied systems thinking, practical skills for resilience, and collaborative design processes is the core of her work. Her goal is to inspire, show that another way is possible, bring hope and encourage them to say "Yes - that's what I want to be part of!" She cannot imagine anything more important she'd rather be doing.

Follow Morag's blog www.our-permaculture-life.blogspot.com and youtube channel too www.youtube.com/c/moraggambleourpermaculturelife

Permaculture for the next generation

In this Simple Life segment, Morag Gamble chats with Trevor Jackson about Sustainable Fashion on the Evening Show: ABC Radio QLD on 8 August 2017. 

What does it take to have a sustainable wardrobe? What is fast fashion and why do we need to reconsider this trend of consumable, disposable clothes? Every single item comes with a cost. What can we do differently? What are the things you need to consider? What are the principles of sustainable fashion. Join the growing movement and be part of change for good.

Sustainable Fashion

Morag Gamble explores what it means to slow down and shop sustainably on her Simple Life segment on the ABC Radio Evening Show with Trevor Jackson, 15 August 2017.

Australia has a huge consumer appetite, bigger than most countries. We are what the ACF calls, ecological 'bigfoots'. We need to change the way we shop, what we shop for, why we shop and where we shop. 

Everything we buy has a cost way beyond the ticket price. It's time to slow down, change the way we shop, find alternatives and inspire a shift at all levels. 

That we care to make a change is important. It's what makes a difference. We can no longer turn a blind eye to the environmental impact of our consumer culture, and also the devastating impact it is having on the wellbeing of the poorest people on earth. We are all connected and what we do matters.

Listen in for accessible ways to rethink our consumption.

It would be great to hear where you think change can be made.

Slow down and shop sustainably

Living a simple life is easier, and more fun, in community. In this podcast, Morag explores many ways living in community can bring greater connection, joy and richness to your life. She talks about how embracing the community economy, gift economy and local economy can bring so many benefits. This is a recording of Morag's weekly Simple Life segment recording live in conversation with Trevor Jackson on the evening show (ABC Radio QLD) on 19 September 2017.

Simple Life in Community

What does it take to live a simpler life? Where do you start? Morag shares five tips for making the choice to simplify. 

1. Live with intent: live consciously: give value to simplicity: make time to change
2. Want less: be happy with less: share or gift surplus: make a conscious choice to live with less.
3. Spend less: purchase quality items: avoid big stores : buy second hand : make things last
4. Grow food: eat local: choose simple food: eat together: zero waste: take lunch or a picnic.
5. Make time to do more 'real' things - grow, make, cook, do, explore, adventure, build ...unplug and really connect.

If you want change to happen, ask "If not me, then who? If not now, when?" 

Be the change you wish to see in the world. (Gandhi)

This is a recording of Morag Gamble speaking live on Queensland ABC Radio. Her weekly simple life segment is part of the Evening Show. This is the final 2017 show in this ABC Radio series.

Visit Morag's blog (http://our-permaculture-life.blogspot.com.au) for over 450 articles about simple living and Morag's youtube channel for over 45 practical clips on how to do it. https://www.youtube.com/c/moraggambleourpermaculturelife

Morag Gamble's 5 tips for living simply

I have spent most of my adult life living in ecovillages both here in Australia and around the world. It's a simple, sustainable, productive and rewarding way of life. I absolutely love it! 

I love ecovillages not just because they are a great way to live - for me and my family - but because they are about reimagining the future, and exploring, experimenting and sharing ideas with others.  

Listen here to my ABC radio Simple Life segment about ecovillages. I explore:
- What is an ecovillage?
- Why I choose to live in an ecovillage? 
- What are some of the challenges?
- What are some of the various ways they occur around the world?

Why I live in an ecovillage.

Morag Gamble of Our Permaculture Life talks live on ABC Radio's Evening Show about Food Forests.

Food forests are diverse gardens that combine trees, shrubs and vegetables to create a resilient, beautiful and abundant edible landscape. Vegetables and herbs thrive in this environment, and so do the fruit trees.  Listen for more information about what a food forest is, and some ideas of how to get started.

Food Forest with Morag Gamble on ABC 612 Evenings

Morag Gamble lives a simple life with her family in their owner-built ecohome in a UN award-winning ecovillage. She homeschools her young children, grows much of her own food, writes a blog, creates permaculture films on and is a sought-after permaculture educator and designer. For over 2 decades she has travelled the world teaching about and researching permaculture systems in 20 countries. She is an urban agriculture pioneer in Australia and cofounded Northey Street City Farm and the Australian City Farms and Community Gardens Network. She is a regular simple living correspondent on ABC radio.

Morag Gamble: Our Permaculture Life

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