Presenters:

Ian Townsend (Owner Operator) & Monica Muurlink (Certified Soil Food Wb Technician) of Limberlost Compost

Ian Townsend (aka Townie) has lived on the Granite Belt all his life. His down-to-earth practical experiences as a farmer, earthmover, tree-lopping, woodchip, and light engineering (to name a few) morphed into a grounding passion for compost. As the owner/operator of Limberlost Compost, he has been experimenting with compost processes for the last 14 years. His life experiences have him well placed with trialling and fine tuning a compost process that works. Compost has transformed his life!

Monica Muurlink has lived on a property at Glen Aplin for the last 46 years. Having grown a fruit and vegetable garden organically for most of that time, her interest and curiosity in soil and human health and environmental concerns weaves a journey through Permaculture in the 1980s and resulted in graduating with a BA. of General Studies (Science) with Charles Sturt University in 2018. She is currently a certified Lab Technician with the Soil Food Web School in the US and aims to complete their consultant training program.

Townie and Monica collaborate closely to hone processes and improve consistency and quality of their compost. They aim to provide insight into biological processes that support progressive ecological sustainable farming practices. To that end, they will chatter on about soil biological health, its benefits, and why it is so important; give an overview of soil microbial diversity; and offer tips on producing a more sustainable soil system, whether in the backyard or broadacre. Townie will also describe the processes that Limberlost Compost uses to achieve their renowned product.