The absolute best thing about this job is the people we work with.  Here's a few of the crew...

Dan Palmer – VEG Director and Manager of Implementation, Poultry Systems and VEG Beds

Dan has two Permaculture Design Certificates, a BA and Masters Degree in Social Science, and a PhD in Systems Thinking.  His teachers and mentors include permaculture founders Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, as well as Geoff Lawton, Darren Doherty, Rick Coleman, and Rosemary Morrow, the last of whom he spent seven months teaching and implementing permaculture in Ethiopia and Uganda.  He's completed an Advanced Permaculture course with David Holmgren and short courses with Elaine Ingham, Joel Salatin, Kirk Gadzia and Graeme George.  Co-founder of the permablitz movement, Dan contributes regularly to permaculture and organic gardening publications and courses in Australia and New Zealand.  Dan lives and grows a lot of his food in Yarraville with his partner Amanda and daughter Ciela, who is named after the sky.  Dan and Amanda are developing a 7-acre permaculture property in NZ with Dan's folks to which they will some day abscond.

Adam Grubb – VEG Director and Manager of Design and Education

Adam is a recovering computer geek and writer on global energy issues, coming to permaculture after years spent in a technological wilderness.  In 2003 he was the founding editor of the energy news clearinghouse Energy Bulletin which became the globe's most popular website about peak oil.  He took a Permaculture Design Certificate in 2004 and his teachers and mentors have included luminaries such as David Holmgren, Bill Mollison, Darren Doherty, Geoff Lawton and Graeme George.  He visited Kinsale, Ireland in 2005 and helped promote and develop the ideas that became the Transition Towns concept.  He turned up to the first permablitz in 2006 in time for a beer and BBQ, but Dan lets him say he was a 'co-founder'.  He's been a caretaker of David Holmgren and Su Dennett's Melliodora property in Hepburn Springs and collaborated with David on his Future Scenarios work. As well as directing VEG he helps organise the global permablitz network, writes and does regular radio appearances, keeps bees, and lives in a beautiful garden in Brunswick with his girlfriend and by his own estimation around 5 quadrillion other beasties and friendly microbes.

Simon Marshall – Implementation Team Leader

Simon is a qualified horticulturalist and arborist and has been working in the landscape and gardening industry for about 10 years. Simon specialises in pruning and planting design as well as hard landscaping, irrigation and ponds. He has been working in Melbourne's northern suburbs for the last 4 years designing and planting food and rainwater harvesting gardens.  Simon has an Advanced Diploma in Horticulture and Arboriculture and a Permaculture Design Certificate.  He currently lives on a huge, one-acre block in Ivanhoe with his partner Maxine, daughter Rosie and a lot of very happy chickens.

Nathan Edwards – Implementation Team Leader

Nathan has been a professional musician (he still does this in his spare time - fresh food, healthy living and saving the world are all well and good, but how's it supposed to compete with the funk?). As one of the four founders of VEG he is an experienced permaculture designer and has also been employed by the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Gardens Project at a Northcote Primary School. Nathan completed his first Permaculture Design Certificate at Crystal Waters Permaculture eco-village in 1999 and  his second in 2006 with Bill Mollison and Geoff Lawton in Melbourne. He is currently owner building and developing his 10 acre property in Castlemaine along permaculture principles.

Leanda Smith – Office Manager

Leanda has a Bachelor of Music performance and is Double Bassist by trade, however is a bit of an admin whiz, having worked for various arts organisations she is now here at VEG. Her desire to eat fresh pure food drove her to her garden and many books and then discovered permaculture and VEG. In between VEG, teaching music, performing with Orchestra Victoria and maintaining her little veggie patch she dreams of one day owning her own patch of dirt and being self sufficient.

Kim Glasgow – Garden Maintenance & Sustainability Educator

Kim spends much of her time blissfully lost among the fruit trees, vegies, chooks and ducks in her permaculture garden in outer-east Melbourne.  She has a social work degree (counselling techniques now applied to her wayward poultry and dogs) and has completed a PDC with Bill Mollison and Geoff Lawton.  She's spent a year managing a permaculture project in Uganda.  Her life is enriched by messing around in the garden, challenging herself to live more simply and sharing this good life with others.  Kim enjoys teaching and learning about how to grow organic food. She's one of our favourite people in the world, with one of the best gardens, and we're so glad to have her teaching courses and as a garden mentor for our clients.  See her garden featured on Channel 7's Guide to the Goodlife.

Will Pullin - VEG Installer

Will has cycled around Australia, worked on a sailing boat in the Mediterranean Sea and volunteered on a Permaculture project in Africa. His love for eating fresh food and dedication towards self-sufficiency and the human-powered concept are driven by his triathlon and cycle commuting lifestyle. His passion for life and life long learning show through his willingness of character and unstoppable enthusiasm.  Will has a degree in Industrial Design and has done 2 PDCs, and anticipates more studies in Permaculture in the future.

Paul Miragliotta - VEG Installer

Paul has a Bachelor of Science in medical imaging. Following a long sojourn WWOOFing in Italy, Paul completed a PDC with Bill Mollison and Geoff Lawton in Melbourne. Now he: works with the site development team at the South Melbourne Commons; captains the Dirty Dozen Garden Club for Apples and Jam; still takes X-rays; and on weekends—pretends to be a tradie at tafe while undertaking certificate II in carpentry; and just who is behind posting all those silly-but-vaguely-permaculture-related videos on YouTube under the name GardeningRomeros?; and there are the first class VEG installations to take care of. And also please note: he can handle being called a garden geek—it no longer offends.  (Here he is pictured on Vasili's Garden.)

Lex Richards - VEG Installer

Lex was brought up on the Australian Outward Bound base camp with his three siblings, one dog, 9 horses, 6+ guinea pigs, 7.5+ chooks, 55+ staff members, 500+ sleeping bags and one massive ropes course.  Since 2006, after completing his cert IV master training certificate, Lex has been working as a personal trainer in the fitness industry.  Then in 2008 Lex began travelling Australia WWOOFing and experiencing many different kinds of areas, people and farms.  He completed a Permaculture Design Certificate in Tasmania that year and began working with FIMBY (Food In My Back Yard).  Now based in Melbourne, he has been working with VEG in since 2010.  Lex is currently studying a Diploma in Sustainable Landscape Design at Swinburne Uni and manages a natives nursery for the Tree Project.  With his fluffy sidekick Sassy, Lex likes to keep the boys on their toes by still applying his physical training skills and making them do all sorts of wacky warm ups and exercises.  Lex is furthering his studies in as many areas possible that are aligned to his dream of being involved in a homesteading farm/healing/adventure hub in the future.