News & Events

From the Editor’s Desk – July 2019

Open Day – Sunday, 3 November 2019 It is with great excitement and relief that we have finally locked in the date for our first major launch event, the Ecovillage Open Day. We have pushed out the event a month later than previously stated for operational reasons but also feel ...

An arboretum for the Ecovillage

Here in WA’s South West, June and July correspond to the local indigenous season of Makuru, sometimes referred to as ‘the season of fertility’. Despite technically being winter, there are many ways one can obtain a valuable agricultural yield here during Makuru. At the Witchcliffe Ecovillage nursery, we are developing ...

Streets & Squares

Over the last couple of months, I’ve been progressing the design works of both the streetscapes and the Village Square. The acoustic and visual earth bunds along Bussell Highway have also been shaped up and planted. The native species mix we selected will relish the winter rains and will start ...

We’re celebrating a little milestone…

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Winter rains have begun

Winter rains are making the creeks run, filling the new Ecovillage dams and turning the paddocks into lush, green pastures. It’s a beautiful time of year…for gumboots.  ...

What is a sustainable material?

Deciding what is and isn’t a ’sustainable material’ isn’t as easy as it sounds. At first glance, the thermal qualities of a material (e.g. insulation value) would be the obvious place to start. However, things become complicated when you also consider the energy used to produce the material (embodied energy), ...

Six seasons of the South West

The Noongar people are the traditional owners of WA’s South West region, which is home to the Witchcliffe Ecovillage. The Noongar calendar has six seasons, which more accurately and holistically describe seasonal changes. The six seasons encompass more than just weather patterns, also taking into account changes occurring to flora, ...

Come fly with me

Andrew Jager, drone photography enthusiast and Sustainable Settlements' accountant, took these images last week of the Ecovillage site. They give a magnificent view of the construction works on the 'stingray' dam, demonstrating how it got its nickname, as well as showing maintenance work on the vineyard and the development of ...

Stage 1 update

Stage 1 is well underway with the construction of the two new dams nearing completion in readiness for filling by winter rains. This weather will make any further construction impossible until late spring when the ground dries and hardens enough to allow construction of services and roads to commence. Stage ...