Living Bees

The Permaculture Noosa Committee hopes to restore Living Bee’s in the future (formerly known as Permablitz or PET day). These are working bee’s to help establish or maintain a permaculture garden at a member’s property, particularly someone who is feeling overwhelmed by the task! This is a great hands-on way of learning Permaculture techniques in a social setting.

Coming up …

Helping hands are always welcome! You will learn so much, meet new people and contribute towards your eligibility for your own Living Bee!

About Living Bees

Find out more about how Living Bees are organised and if you are eligible to have one at your property HERE.

Suggest / Request A Living Bee

If you would like to apply to host a Living Bee at your place, please first check this important information about Living Bee criteria then contact us.

For further information email our Living Bees Coordinator at livingbees@permaculturenoosa.com.au .

We are very keen to continue our Living Bees again. Those who participated last year found it an extremely rewarding experience, and we helped many people get that extra boost they needed in their gardens.

If you would be interested in taking on the role of Living Bee Coordinator, please contact us at president@permaculturenoosa.com.au. 

Past Living Bees

October 23 at the Cooroy Community Permaculture Gardens (CCPG)

Subtropical plants set to grow strong thanks to Living Bee group.

The October Living Bee for Permaculture Noosa was put to the task of planting numerous seedlings, cuttings and seeds. Our productive shade-house at the Gardens grew for us some  annual varieties . Great Living soil for growing healthy plants now ready.

Other keen gardeners donated subtropical plants that will now feel at home as the warmer weather sets to play a big part in their productivity. With our CCPGarden’s having rain -water tanks to supplement moisture for all our plants, these varieties such as Aibika, Sambung, Akinawa Spinach and many heat tolerant species like Arrowroot will create a microclimate in the Food Forest.

I felt it very important to introduce these easy to grow and eat varieties to those who may be new to our changes in climate. It does take time for the weather patterns to be learnt here on the Sunshine Coast. A learning of these patterns by getting advice can be sourced from Permaculture Noosa members and attending the garden activities at the Cooroy Community Permaculture Gardens. Learning from those that have valuable knowledge makes new gardeners to our area able to get growing faster. Reinventing the wheel isn’t a longer journey then. Having a wet and then dry season and not knowing the start and finishing of these rain events gives us an added thought process.

Thank you to all those who attended Living Bee events throughout this year. We look forward to another year of Caring and Sharing all things Community in our Permaculture Noosa Group.
Smiles all round.
Valerie Wilson 2019

September Living Bee, Lake Macdonald (Latha Matters home)

August Living Bee at Morgan’s place at Nambour

Attended by many keen helpers, the morning was a productive one. Bruce and the boy’s had a bonding session way up the back of the block. Was a treat to view the group discussing as they did the talented art of pruning fruit trees. Attending was Dave Clarke who inspired those watching , his trim and laugh technique awesome. Amazing how a group can form and all will take a task as they have all a purpose. Others set to weeding pathways and mulching them. Others helped Eve to set the scene for a Summer planting spree.

Friendships have been made and a learning of Community helping others strengthened.

Thank you all who attended and we recognise the distance travelled. Our reward was to help those that feel sometimes a visible task can be a physical struggle.

Smile heaps…….Val Wilson. Living Bee Coordinator.

24 July Chris & Esther’s place, Cooroy.

Thanks Val for the photos.

June 2019
Queensland Garden Expo, Nambour

Thanks Val for the photos.

21 May 2019 
Caroline Walker, Nyes Cres, Buderim

24 April  2019
Cooroy Community Permaculture Gardens

Living Bee to re-shape a Mandala garden at CCPG.

With our task made visual by Sue Anderson at the Permaculture Garden in Cooroy, we will shuffle the bricks and create a beautiful space for the Community. Herbs from all over the world will call this Mandala home. Our energy with this task is needed. Planting is scheduled for a later date.


The Living Bee at the CCPGardens was a delight this morning. A team spirit set to work and followed Sue’s design to lock in  three circles. Keeping a close eye on the building clouds we were sprinkled on a bit . Watching the rain circle us we worked towards a big finish before the morning tea bell rang loudly. What a fun morning with each of us managing a section of the task to perform.

Yippee team and great supervision by Harvey the Dog. Thanks to the gentleman who captured us in our work clothes, he was playing badminton.
We all enjoyed a great shared morning tea . Special thanks to Sue for mixing up a yummy batch of scones. We had one left  but someone ate it just for good luck.

A quick note on Mandala revamp.
Hey!! Sometimes you just have to attend a task to reap all the rewards. A Mandala is going to give the CCPGarden visitors a lesson in how to grow herbs. Also allows us to learn who can make excellent scones for the morning tea afterwards…….thank you Sue for taking this task to a whole new level. You are the best scone maker……o, second to Martin from Country Noosa who bakes for biggest morning teas at the hall in Cooroy..

A big thankyou to Val Wilson for supplying the above photos.

03 April 2019
Butter factory, Cooroy

Firstly, I would like to acknowledge the traditional owners of this area, the Gubbi Gubbi people. Their sharing of cultural knowledge, helping us to learn about connecting to the land, even if someone else holds the deed.

  • I would like to remember and respect the Dairy farmers that had a passion for their Primary industry and a dedication to tend their herds morning and night. Delivery cream to the now closed Butter factory.
  • I would like to thank my ancestors for passing down 3D vision for all things human, animal and earth.

Task at hand….to help the carer of this garden Stanley, uncover the overgrown, tiny garden to reveal it’s true beauty.
So, being aware and acknowledging life and respecting that all things have a job. We collected heaps of green mulch for the Cooroy Community Permaculture Gardens.

WE SAW.

A Carpet snake in the dense undergrowth clutching 5 eggs about to hatch. She will show them the safe corridor to reach the forest. Remembering to tell her young that some humans will interrupt their journey. ( Basically, to hide or be relocated).
A Honey Eater with small chicks in nest on back fence. Safe from cats and sourcing plenty of nectar near the library door.
A rare burrowing frog spotted, so no pulling of the weeds and finely chopping into small pieces back onto the soil. Vines finely chopped too for thick mulch layer and no tripping of Stanley.
A familiar Crotalaria found, we took some for mulch along with pop corn cassia and ice cream bean tree. We left some of the Crotalaria as the stripped moth was enjoying it’s caterpillar stage it longing to fly off. Small birds feast on them.
Six big green tree frogs nestled in the clump of ginger. They hop over to the pre-school water troughs on Tuesday nights as on Wednesday the Council comes to maintain this Precinct. The teachers will stop the spraying of fence line around the children????

So, after hearing my story Are your Patterns careful, mindful of others needs? Has your community got Names like Stanley?
Seeing Wonder in Nature makes us Smile heaps.
Always approach with care…Care of the Earth, Care of People and fair share.
Thanks to all those wonderful community members that attended in the patchy rain.

Thank you Latha, President Permaculture Noosa for stopping the roundup story, we cleared the edges for the mower person to easily navigate the task of cutting grass.
Living Bee co-ordinator Val Wilson.

A big thankyou to Val Wilson for supplying the above photos.

27 February 2019, Cooran

Place:  Tablelands Road, Cooran. Permaculture member: Fay Murphy.

The afternoon spent in a shade-house was attended by 13 energetic Permaculture members. The task was to chop and drop into the pathways all plants not invited to grow. Coffee grounds where then sprinkled to simply cause an overdose of nitrogen on all the cuttings. This also encourages worms to move into the pathways to work happily in the shade-house area.

Sawdust was then bought into the area by a relay of excited transformers who drastically changed the visual appearance of a once busy living shade-house to a calm view of a veggie garden about to be nurtured by Fay for the Winter growing season. Pathways were heavily filled with sawdust to push the cardboard down onto the greened walkways.

One of the long garden beds was mulched with wet newspaper and bales of straw where placed side by side to now be made into a straw bale garden. We sprinkled coffee grounds on the top, now allowing the nitrogen in the coffee to sink into the bales. We then wait for the next rain event to fully soak the straw. Fay is on tank water so knowing the rain events approaching help with this task. The straw  acts like a sponge, holding the moisture and allowing the microbes, worms and new seedlings to live and grow happily. The bales will need watering once the seedlings, seeds are planted but monitoring will be easier for Fay, who finds bending to the ground a bit hard to do.

A big thank you to all those who attended this Living Bee event. Your positive Energy has been placed into Fay’s garden and our love of all things Permaculture has been strengthened as a caring community….

Warm regards.  Val Wilson. Living Bee co-ordinator.

A big thankyou to Val Wilson for supplying the above photos.

02 December 2018
Caroline and Giles at Lake Macdonald

Permaculture Noosa was able to revamp a swale system left unattended by previous property owner.
Caroline and Giles will now be able to go forward after the PN group attended the living Bee on Sunday 2nd December.

Sheet-mulching was the task and resources from their newly purchased property where collected and used.
It was a very hot morning and an early start ( 8:30) got the task fast forwarded to complete at 10am. We all have been watching the signs from nature and knew a weather change was on it’s way. Two days after this locking in of moisture and nutrients down came some needed rain. Sometimes food production needs hot work done to be ready for the growing season.

A big thank you Caroline and Giles for asking for help to revamp your Food Forest swale.
Hospitality afterwards also, providing a light meal with others bringing a plate to share. A morning of learning and sharing, plus true blue sweat.

Living Bee will now have a recess for January and be back to helping other PN members in February.

Thank you. Val Wilson Living Bee co-ordinator.

A big thankyou to Val Wilson for supplying the above photos.