Discover Permaculture - The Podcast

What if pollution isn’t the end of the story but the beginning of regeneration? In this episode, host Geoff Lawton is joined by Sam Parker-Davis, Ben Missimer and Eric Seider for a grounded conversation on bioremediation – how living systems clean up humanity’s messes. This is a hopeful, practical conversation about resilience, confidence in nature, and why good biology wins in the end. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by pollution, toxicity, or environmental collapse—this episode offers a calm, grounded way forward.

Key Takeaways:

00:00 – 01:53 – Bioremediation uses living systems instead of high-energy machines to clean pollutio...

Compost isn’t just a pile — it’s the engine that drives soil fertility. In this conversation, Host Geoff Lawton and the regular crew, Sam, Eric, Ben are joined by guest Mohammed to unpack how compost really works, why biology matters more than recipes, and how the same principles apply from a backyard bin to large-scale farms. From hands-on composting stories to soil biology, bokashi, and scaling systems, this episode explores compost as a living process that feeds soil, plants, and people. If it once lived, it can live again.

Watch the video episode here.

Key ta...

Artificial intelligence is being called the biggest change in human history—bigger than the wheel. But what does it mean for those of us designing resilient futures? In this conversation, Host Geoff Lawton and regular guests Eric, Ben, and Sam wrestle with the knife’s edge of AI: its potential for abundance versus its risk of deepening inequality, war and ecological destruction. Along the way, they explore how permaculture design could harness AI to spread knowledge, the dangers of living in false realities, the resource drain behind the tech and why true wealth still comes from soil, water, and comm...

Host Geoff Lawton and guests Sam, Eric, and Ben sit down to unpack the evolution of the Greening the Desert project, Jordan — from the early days of dust, salt, and heat to the cool, shaded food forest it became. Together they share field stories, design insights, and the lessons learned while turning a degraded desert site into a living demonstration of regeneration. It’s a roundtable tour through one of the most iconic permaculture projects ever built.

Watch the video episode here.

Key Takeaways:

00:00 – 03:12: The project begins in the hardest conditions: Conflict, heat and ba...

What does real food security look like? It’s not stockpiling tins or waiting for governments to fix broken systems—it’s designing abundance right where you are. In this episode of Discover Permaculture: The Podcast, Host Geoff Lawton sits down with Sam Parker-Davies, Ben Missimer, and Eric Seider to explore how permaculture transforms anxiety about the future into empowered action.

Watch the video episode here.

Key Takeaways:

00:01:09 – 00:02:00: Food security isn’t about stockpiling tins; it’s about designing ecosystems that continuously produce abundance.

00:11:57 – 00:12:26: There’s a big difference between feeding people and nouri...

In this episode, host Geoff Lawton and guests Ben, Eric, and Sam explore what it really means to be responsible — for ourselves, our communities, and the Earth. They unpack how modern systems have stripped away our sense of agency and why permaculture offers a pathway back to empowerment. From personal energy audits to the illusion of technological choice, this episode challenges you to rethink your role in shaping the future. If you’ve ever felt powerless about the state of the world, this conversation will remind you how much power you still hold.

Watch the video episode here...

This episode takes a hard look at politics, power, and why the world feels so upside down right now. Host Geoff Lawton and the team jump from America’s political gridlock to the bold changes happening in Burkina Faso—and what it teaches us about leadership, resources, and real community empowerment. Instead of getting lost in the chaos, the crew keeps circling back to a simple truth: local action beats political promises every time. When people organise, grow food, and build resilient communities, they create real change—no matter what’s happening on the world stage. If you’re tired of t...

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 conv...

In this conversation, host Geoff Lawton along with regular guests Eric, Ben, and Sam trace the rise of chemical agriculture and how permaculture offers a healthier, sustainable alternative. From Geoff’s childhood revelations about farming in England to real-world examples in Australia, Mississippi, and California, this conversation explores the ecological, human, and social impacts of chemicals, and how thoughtful design can create abundance without them.

Watch the video episode here.

Key Takeaways:

00:00:00 – 00:00:12 – Geoff introduces the podcast and sets the topic: permaculture versus glyphosate, framing it as a contentious issue.

00:01:36 – 00:04:18 – Geoff shares a childhood...

In this first episode of Discover Permaculture: The Podcast, Host Geoff Lawton is joined by Ben Missimer, Eric Seider, and Sam Parker-Davies to explore how water shapes landscapes, communities, and even peace itself. Water is the lifeblood of every living system and the foundation of good permaculture design.  From the hidden rainmakers of the forest canopy to the power of LiDAR mapping and the revival of ancient aquifers, this conversation dives deep into how we can read, restore and regenerate the Earth through design.

Watch the video episode here.

Key Takeaways:

00:01:48 – 00:03:26: Water is the m...