Permaculture and Creativity

In this episode of the Discover Permaculture: the Podcast, host Geoff Lawton and regular guests Eric and Ben sit down with a longtime friend of Geoff's and creative force, Addy Jones — a surfer, builder, recycler, wombat rescuer, and permaculture artist who somehow turns junkyard scraps into landscapes so beautiful they feel like sculpture.

Addy's life reads like an adventure novel: living on a remote island between Australia and Tasmania, shaping surfboards out of refrigerators, nursing orphaned wombats, restoring degraded land, helping save critters (animals), and building artistic permaculture systems from recycling yards to deserts.

This conversation is wild, funny, heartfelt, and packed with real design wisdom. It reminds you that creativity is one of the most powerful tools in permaculture — and that anyone can learn to see solutions hidden in plain sight.

Watch the video episode here.

Key Takeaways:

00:00 – 00:01:01: Geoff introduces Ben, Eric, and Addy — and sets the stage for a conversation about creativity, community, and long-term permaculture friendships.

00:01:02 – 00:03:37: A neighborly meeting in the 1990s turns into 30 years of shared work, surf, design, and mischief.

00:03:37 – 00:07:29: From Bill Mollison’s farm to international projects, Addy's hands-on creativity becomes a critical part of major permaculture builds.

00:07:29 – 00:10:26: Geoff reflects on bridging decades of permaculture experience with modern tools — and why every generation needs the other.

00:10:26 – 00:12:45: Addy explains how junk, scrap, and leftovers become high-value landscapes — and why resourcefulness is a design superpower.

00:15:01 – 00:17:12: Surf culture, permaculture, storytelling, and the unexpected rise of Eddie’s artistic reputation.

00:22:12 – 00:28:07: Adventures in wildlife rescue, the power of observation, and the grounded compassion driving Eddie’s work.

00:26:13 – 00:35:56: Eddie shares how experimenting with native oils began as wombat care — and ended up helping heal people as well. (One of the episode’s most surprising stories.)

00:48:08 – 00:49:51: Geoff explains why Eddie’s artistic, intuitive, slightly “sideways” approach is actually a perfect expression of permaculture design.

00:53:22 – 00:54:52: From messy earthworks to five-star landscapes — the mindset shift that unlocks beauty in any environment.

01:02:02 – End: Closing reflections on creativity, wildlife, food, and why the world gets better when we share what we know.