People who make things happen…

Carolyn Nuttall — a note of farewell and thanks

WE WOULD SIT THERE on her verandah in the late afternoon, biscuits and cheese on the table, glass of wine in hand, looking over the galvanised iron roofs of Highgate Hill towards the buildings of the city not all that far away. I don’t recall what we talked about but it might have had to do with her decades-long work with children, schools and permaculture.

We would do this when I was up from Byron Bay where I lived then, and later when Fiona and I came up from Sydney. They were lazy afternoons and they are one of the fond memories that come to mind when I think of Carolyn Nuttall.

Past the banana trees, beyond the pawpaws… the path to Carolyn’s shack in her back garden. The Brisbane city skyline in the distance.

The news comes

It was late in the afternoon and a long way from Brisbane as I scrolled through the social media feed. Then I saw it. The announcement that is, the post announcing that Carolyn had left us. I showed it to Fiona. It was like something had just fallen out of our lives, which it had. Maybe you know the feeling. It was loss, for sure, but it was more than that. It was that someone we had known and respected for both her work with children in permaculture and as an easy-going and welcoming friend was no more. We had not seen Carolyn for some time, having left our apartment in Sydney for southern shores several years ago, but she was always there in memory.

Once, she visited us when we were living in a shack among the fruit trees in Keelah’s backyard near Manly Beach in Sydney. That is where I took that photo or her. When we were in other cities, Melbourne and Adelaide come to mind, we encountered Carolyn in bookshops. That was when we were all in town for some conference or community garden network gathering or permaculture convergence. They were surprising encounters of coincidence.

Other memories… Carolyn’s traditional Queenslander house of weatherboard and galvanised iron roof raised high above her backyard on tall poles, with her banana and pawpaw trees far below… her neat vegetable garden at street level in the front yard… and staying in her spare room or in the little shack in her backyard, the big tree casting a welcome shade over the outdoor table to make an oasis of coolness in Brisbane’s sticky heat in the hilly suburb that she called home — Highgate Hill. Visiting her there was also a journey into my own past when we passed by the red brick pile of the nearby high school I attended.

From the verandah high up on Carolyn’s house we would sit, sip wine and talk. Her house was a classic Queenslander designed for a hot and humid subtropical climate.

Carolyn’s front garden was a neat and compact arrangement of vegetables and herbs.

A true permaculture pioneer

For people who knew or encountered Carolyn it was her gentle personality that they will remember. For others it is her books which contributed much to the literature of the permaculture design system specifically, and to children’s education generally. We would sit in her office in her Brisbane home talking about publishing and education and other topics the memory of which has faded with the years.

I should note here too that Carolyn appeared as keynote speaker at community garden/school garden network conferences around the country, where she spoke about setting up gardens in schools to function as outdoor classrooms.

Carolyn’s contribution to education as a Brisbane primary school teacher at Seville Road State School in the Brisbane suburb of Holland Park was enabled through the school food garden she developed with her students as an outdoor classroom. It opened a new avenue for permaculture education and out of it came her first book, A Children’s’ Food Forest, a book that was critical to the surge of interest in using permaculture in school education in the 1990s. Developing this then-new strand in permaculture places Carolyn firmly in the realm of permaculture pioneers.

Carolyn’s first book opened a new avenue of application in permaculture design and education.

Carolyn’s following books are still valued by permaculture educators. Outdoor Classrooms: A Handbook for School Gardens which Carolyn co-authored with permaculture designer Janet Millington, and The Food Forest Resource Sheets followed A Children’s’ Food Forest.

On our last visit to Carolyn’s Highgate Hill home we stayed in the shack in her backyard. It was not some old dilapidated shack but a newish one among the trees of her steep backyard and neatly laid out in its internal compactness… small, comfortable and a reminder that you don’t need all that much to have a good life, even in the city.

What better place for dinner in Brisbane’s humid heat than at the table in the shade of a tree in front of Caroline’s little shack in the backyard.

Friend, colleague, author, teacher. Carolyn Nuttall was all of these. She was a calm and smart woman who went about her permaculture work and her life with an enviable ease. From her comfortable home on the hill Carolyn participated in the cultural life of the city, the galleries and the events that make big city life enjoyable. She lived modestly but she lived well, a woman content with her place and her life.

I wish, Carolyn, that we could have visited you in more recent times. You are still here, though, as a friend and colleague in memory. So, thanks for your friendship and your contribution. It is a privilege to have known you.

Tributes flowed…

Following the announcement, tributes flowed in on social media…

Permaculture Australia…

• Some people leave a treasure trove of good foot prints behind when they leave us. Rest easy Carolyn.
• Sadly missed. She really was the pioneer in introducing permaculture into primary school gardens.
• Oh no! So sad to hear this news, thank you Russ Grayson for sharing.
• Vale Carolyn Nuttall may you RIP and what a legacy you have left.
• Vale Carolyn Nuttall. I am so glad i met you.

Retrosuburbia…

• I will remember her with fondness.
• Sad news. Her book was a real inspiration! Wish i could find it.
• Hannah Moloney: A wonderful human. The only memories I have of her are of her incredible generosity in sharing her time and knowledge with me.
• She sounds like she had a warm and gentle impact on you both Russ. Sad to hear.
• A true inspiration
• Permaculture Education Institiue: Farewell Carolyn. My deepest condolences to her family and loved ones. I was inspired by Carolyn’s work when I was just starting as a permaculture teacher many decades ago and grateful for her support when we were getting Northey St City Farm up and running. I’m also grateful she shared her accessible permaculture education approaches in her books-highly recommended reading. Thank you Carolyn.

Russ Grayson facebook…

• I was lucky enough to have had Miss Nuttall as a teacher at Holland Park State School, back in the 80s, and even luckier to have reconnected with her as an adult. She was a wonderful teacher who brought out the best in us and built confidence and creativity; she impacted my life in multiple positive and lasting ways. I am so very sad to hear of her passing, and will remember her with love and gratitude. What a privilege to have known her.
• That is such sad news…. I was hoping to see her again in person. I just spoke to her late last year and she was sounding so positive. RIP Carolyn Nuttall.
• Very sad news as Carolyn has been an extremely close friend of my wife Jan throughout their adult lives and will be greatly missed by both of us. RIP Carolyn Nuttall.
• Carolyn worked with my late husband (in a bookshop) in Hull when she was living in the UK, many years ago. In later years, she stayed with us here in York and I enjoyed meeting her very much. I will remember her passion for education, her curiosity, her knowledge and her kindness.
• So very sad to hear this. Carolyn became a firm friend in 1978 when I lived in the house in Rosary Crescent which became her long time home. I wish I had visited her more often from Melbourne and can’t believe I will never see her again. RIP Carolyn Nuttall.
• OMG. Good Bye. Rip.
• Had the pleasure of meeting Carolyn when she came to deliver an inspiring Children’s Permaculture in Schools workshop in London. A gentle and kind soul. My heartfelt condolences to her family and friends. RIP.
• I am very sad to hear of Carol’s passing. She was a truly amazing woman. We spent some happy times discussing china and drinking tea.
• Sleep well Carolyn Nuttall and thank you for your contributions in the Permaculture for Children Manual and Programs. You will always be remembered by us who had a privilege to meet you in person. Farewell and condolences to your family and friends.
• My heart ached to read this message. Dear Carolyn…you were a true inspiration…
• I’m grateful to have met you, the co-author of Outdoor Classrooms and invited you to Finland, UK and Slovenia to share your knowledge and experiences with us—it was a dream come true. Such a special, life time experience to have been trained by you. Thank you so much for your contributions to children and permaculture as well as your heart-felt stories. I will always remember your kindness and your passion for education. My deepest condolences to her family and friends.
• Sad news indeed. I’m privileged to have known her. Lots of treasured memories going back to 1974 (from # 12 and 16 Rossary Crescent). RIP my friend. Sincere condolences to Julie, Susan, and the other family members.