After pursuing international training and certifications in renewable energy and regenerative design, as well as a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Michelle Avis, along with her husband and business partner Rob, began Verge Permaculture in 2010, now a globally-recognized and award-winning design, consulting, and education company. She loves the complexity of working through holistic design challenges to create resilient, eco-sustainable homes, acreages and farms that produce their own energy and food, harvest water, cycle nutrients and restore the surrounding ecosystems. By integrating innovative technology with sound design, her goal is to engineer creative solutions that bring a positive benefit to the environments in which people live and thereby thrive. A frequent instructor in Verge’s programming, she is also the co-author of two books, Essential Rainwater Harvesting and Building Your Permaculture Property. Coupled with a deep connection to nature and a passion for growing nutrient-dense food, Michelle’s driving goal is to ensure that her work and actions leave this world a better place for future generations to inherit. Dr. Peter Coombes is a Systems Thinker, Scientist, Engineer, Economist, Problem Solver and Policy Analyst, a Provider of alternative perspective and a designer of sustainable cities, projects and buildings. He is a director of Urban Water Cycle Solutions and is currently an editor of the Urban Book of Australian Rainfall and Runoff and was awarded the 2018 GN Alexander medal by Engineers Australia for his contributions to hydrology and water resources. Peter recently contributed to the inquiry into stormwater management held by the Senate of the Australian Parliament and inquiry into Australia’s water resources held by the Productivity Commission and was a chief scientist in the Victorian Government. He has held senior academic positions at the University of Newcastle, Melbourne University and Swinburne University and has experience in change processes in government, development of government policy and managing complex engineering business collaborations. His professional and research interests include systems thinking and analysis, hydrology, water resources, economics, molecular sciences, water quality and public policy.   The Rainwater Harvesting Masterclass starts on Jan 25th here: https://vergepermaculture.ca/rainwaterharvestingcourse   Urban Water Cycle Solutions:  https://urbanwatercyclesolutions.com/   Food Forest Abundance: Website: https://foodforestabundance.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FoodForestAbundance Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foodforestabundance/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/FFAbundance LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/food-forest-abundance/   The Jim Gale Show Podcast: https://linktr.ee/jimgaleshow   Sponsored by The Weston A. Price Foundation: https://www.westonaprice.org