Permie of the Year MANDY MILBURN

“Mandy used her newfound permaculture knowledge and respect for nature to rediscover herself and all the things she has to offer”

Dedicated to building resilience and food security through respectful community connections, Pip’s 2021 Permie of the Year recipient personifies the three key ethics.

‘Open hearted’ is how the 2021 Pip Permie of the Year Award recipient Mandy Milburn describes herself and, when you look at where the 49-year-old has found herself after a relatively tumultuous life, it’s pretty hard to argue.

These days, Mandy leads the team running the Kununurra Community Garden located in the eastern reaches of Western Australia’s Kimberley ranges. Just 45 km from the Northern Territory border, it’s a relatively small and remote community and its hot, semi-arid climate is extreme. She co-launched the Kununurra Community Kitchen five years ago and recently merged the two under the same not-for-profit banner, and now uses both entities to support, influence and nurture real and positive change within her diverse community.

HEALING DESERT

A decade ago, however, Mandy was in a very different place. She’d spent the previous