I am a Tassie girl who grew up on the north west, playing in the bush, camping and riding horses. I studied Visual Art and had a career in teaching for many years before becoming a home maker. Since becoming a mother I have really questioned and explored my own sense of self and connection to how I choose to live. I started to spend more time in our garden. It was time away from the the world around me and it was a quiet place to breath. I would take Huon and just potter around, plant, dig, sit and just be. Being a home maker has been a valuable lesson in patience, trust and defining our needs and wants. Living on less has lead to me challenging the desire to consume and buy ‘life’ and becoming more involved in doing, creating our life. It’s the best lesson, I have learnt to live local, be community and listen to my elders.

My active involvement in my local community has grown alongside raising my son, ‘it takes a child to raise a village’ certainly has been my experience of wanting to be involved and connected to my neighbourhood. I am an active volunteer at the Starting Point Neighbourhood House Community gardens where I have been blessed to be mentored by Pete our local gardening guru. Learning how to be a community member has been humbling, I have learnt to listen, challenged my own assumptions and got my hands dirty. Community takes time, trust and a willingness to step outside of comfort zones. Often the fringes are where the growth begins.