Making a right livelihood in Permaculture! My first PDC with paying students!!

May 5 Upwey Permaculture Design Course
with Tamara and Ducky

I am so excited - and slightly afraid - I am running my first PDC with paying students!! 

It is starting May 5 - just before National Permaculture Day!

I finished my Upwey Tuesday Free PDC class last week. Here is our graduation day pic!

To qualify for graduation the students had to do two designs, one of an urban property and one of a village or community. The designs of presented on this final day were absolutely amazing.

I was so proud, and graduated nine terminal permies!!! 

I had so much help and inspiration from Taj Permapixie, Delvin Solkinson, Ali Ma, Robin Clayfield, Rosemary Morrow, Pete the Permie and Silvia Allen, Michelle Jones, Pepo Dib, Ed Adamthwaite and my friends in the Ultra Local Upwey Permaculture Group. Thank you so much! 

My students were incredibly supportive as well. The food they brought was wonderful! They were very good humored about my creative teaching methods and fell in love with Ducky (of course), bringing him worms and snails for snacks.  

Thanks to Lucy, Rob, Mary, Liz, Larry, Sarah, Brooke, Asha and Faye. What a great time I had!

I did Ducky and I a certificate - to remember the day :) Mum took this one for me Tuesday evening :)

Here are the details of the upcoming course! Hooray! 

Please share with your friends - help all of us earn a right livelihood in Permaculture Education!

Permaculture Design Certificate Course ~ PDC

with Tamara Griffiths and Ducky

and Melbourne’s new generation of permaculture teachers, all of which are being paid: 

Taj Permapixie (last semester of APT diploma of Permaculture), 

Pepo Dib, (Permaculture Mexico)

Mys Tee (The California Institute of Earth Art and Architecture - Cal-Earth),

Michelle Jones (Transition Sherbrooke, Friends of Upwey Tecoma Community Orchard and more), 

Sarah Gorman (Sustainability Victoria, and fellow Planetary Permaculture Pilgrim), 

Seila Hierk (Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program), 

Angelo Eliades (Forest Garden creator, permaculture educator and author), 

more guests will be announced soon…

Starts May 5

running over 12 saturdays at permaculture places around Melbourne

Cost

$400 concession

$600 waged
Couples - second person - friend, family or partner gets place for half price.  
I am committed to making permaculture sustainable for couples.  

The PDC is an internationally recognized, 72 hour course resulting in a Permaculture Design Certificate.

Moonrise Permaculture ~ Tamara Griffiths

Tamara@moonrisepermaculture.com.au

0407 45 7707

Teaching 2 free PDCs - 3 months on from the Permaculture Planetary Pilgrimage

The teaching journey has begun! 
I wrote this post 6 weeks ago - but didn't have time to post it, I've been so busy teaching!!! 

"Teaching a PDC, feel the fear and prepare like mad"

Tonight is the night! Taj and I are starting our first ever PDC class and we are stoked!!! We've been preparing like mad for the course that starts tonight (6.30 - 9.30) and for a second class that starts on Tuesday (10.00 - 5.00). Of course all the years leading up to tonight have been paving the way but the immediacy of the class has us putting our final consideration in the order of things tonight. Its actually very interesting running a 3 hour a day course and a 6 hour a day. The 3 hour course has to cover the same stuff as the 6 hour but the punctuation of highpoints is different. People have to say "Wow I learned something really important" in 3 hours rather than 6 - and getting to know each other in the group at the same time.  

In the planning stages of our teacher training extravaganza last November, I knew that the Planetary Permaculture Pilgrimage would kick my backside into finally teaching a Permaculture Design Course. Having come through it, I was galvanised to teach but I finally also had the confidence to jump in and go.  The next step to all these trainngs is to teach a pdc. Delvin has already taught full PDCs - he runs them over the space of a year and I realy love his model. I have decided to start with two courses runing in parallel: 3 hours on a thursday night and 6 hours on a tuesday starting at 10am - early enough for me!

And now:
I'm about 6 weeks into teaching two free PDCs, so 3 weeks off completion of the Tuesday class - but I am really starting to enjoy myself and am getting good feedback too. I had both classes come to learn with guest teachers yesterday, it was great!  Ed and Michelle are local permies and are part of our Ultra Local Upwey Permaculture Group. Almost all of us in the group live within walking distance of Upwey township - and where we have our classes. Ed taught a class on "Catch and Store Energy" and Michelle spent the rest of the day helping everyone learn about community, invisible structures and social mapping. I helped out with some scribing of the brainstorms and facilitating the group work late in the day. 

Here are some pics of Ducky joining in - he has been great for breaking the ice and he helps us with our morning warm up - some of you will have seen the 'tricks' Ducky does when people throw their hands over their head, its silly, fun and I love it. 


Here he is helping us learn about patterns. We're using Robin Clayfield's pattern card deck. Create a niche and something will move in - Ducky moved into the middle of our starburst pattern to demonstrate how energy moves. I didn't even need to ask him!!


I've been using lots of creative ways to get heavy factual information across. Luckily these courses are free because it doesn't work every time and I've changed processes when I've seen it wasn't working with the group. 


I've discovered I'm much better at creating processes when I'm with other people - Robin Clayfield ran her course down here again and I went to two days - a very good reminder for me and I noticed how I like to create with others. I've had this one woman band thing in my mind for so long - like Bill Mollison and Rosemary Morrow, but really, teaching overseas will be much more sustainable and less lonely with other people.


I've noticed I have 'learning gaps' as well. Geoff Lawton's idea of getting the diagrams down pat was good advice. I need to work on getting them right, and using them to best effect.


I see this as the beginning of something incredible, and I just know where we'll be in 5 years! I very much enjoy co-facilitating, and I've had Taj a few times and again in a few weeks. I taught how to eat acorns after Taj and I found each other last year! Here is her blog: http://thepermapixie.blogspot.com.au/


I'd also love to hook up and do a PDC with my PPP cohorts - Ali Ma and Kathleen are both in New South Wales. It would be awesome to do a women's PDC with them - we are in early discussions on doing some stuff together. I feel truly grateful that I had these friends to do the PPP with - and to now have us all on the same page, passionate and throwing ourselves in. Support on the adventure is so important.


I can't say how happy I am to be teaching, my students are amazing and this is the happiest I've been for many, many years! I'm actually amazed I've managed to run 2 PDCs! I was pretty exhausted there for a month or so - I'm 6 weeks in on both classes and I've had huge support from my PC community.


The amount of commitment and effort the students have put into a free class has been extremely heartening. Mary in the Tuesday class has taken it upon herself to create a blog for the class notes! Love your work Mary! (Mary also made a valentines day card for me and ducky - so at least I got one!)
http://permieclass.wordpress.com/trees-tue-28-feb-12/


I'm starting a new PDC on the 21st April here in Upwey. Class size will be limited to 12.
I'm trying to keep costs reasonable so it is as accesssible as possible:

$800 business or government or corporate 
$600 waged 
$400 unwaged/concession with a concession card
Both scholarship places are already filled


Now that I have been teaching for 50 hours, I can apply to the Permaculture Research Institute for registration as a PRI teacher. See the links below.

http://permaculture.org.au/2011/10/19/the-pri-restarts-the-permaculture-teacher-registry/
http://permacultureglobal.com/pri_pdc_teacher_applications/page1
Resources for emerging permaculture teachers

http://permaculture.org.au/resources/

Planetary Permaculture Pilgrimage - Rosemary Morrow - days 4 and 5

Permaculture teacher training with Rosemary Morrow

Crystal Waters QLD

I first met Rosemary Morrow at the Australasian Permaculture Convergence in Sydney in 2008, and I have long said that is one of the two most beautiful people on the planet. The other one was a wonderful old Kija lady who befriended me in Halls Creek and has sadly passed on.

To be finally studying with Rowe has been a dream come true – and one I can thank my Canadian friend Delvin for - bringing permaculture teacher training front and centre in my life.

Rowe chooses to pass her knowledge on to the most disadvantaged – in prisons, refugee camps, war-torn, disease and famine riddled places like Ethiopia and Uganda, Malawi, East Timor, Albania, Vietnam after the war and Cambodia after the Khmer Rouge.

She truly lives the permaculture ethics: Care of the Earth, Care of people, andShare/distribute everything surplus to our needs. She is inspired by the “Alternaties to Violence Project” and non-violent resistance.

This last year she has been working with women in Afghanistan. With the war still raging and with armies pulling out she found it very difficult but is going back again next year. 

There has been a documentary made of her work in Afghanistan– a trailer is available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lttp3Fz8by0

I am in the process of writing up Rowe's course in great detail - to share it with as many people as possible. 

Delvin, Ali Ma and myself have all our joint blogs up on the Permaculture research institute website - Craig has put the under me as the author although they were written by Delvin, Ali Ma and myself.

http://permaculture.org.au/author/Tamara%20Griffiths

Some highlights of the final days

Ducky being used to brainstorm the inputs and outputs of ducks. Twice people said "meat" and I didn't write it down - which was amusing for us all but so true for me!! Ducky was never far from my thoughts during the pilgrimage and made many appearances :>

Rosemary encouraged Delvin to show us his design tokens - during the "teaching aids" section. They are fantastic for playing with design and everyone gets really involved!

Tamara as teaching aid for Ali Ma - I am a tree! The others jumped in to be mulch, a water tank and Rowe was the fluids inside the tree spiraling up and down!! After my ecosystem was removed however I could get no water and sadly fell over. A great was to teach ecosystems from Ali Ma!

Delvin's urban imagining - definitely going to use this process in Upwey!!!!!

Closing off intersections like they did in Portland with "City Repair" - watch out Upwey!!! Ha ha ha!!!

Even the wildlife joined in :)

The course with Rowe has left me irrevocably changed.  At the beginning of this journey I never imagined exactly how the teacher training would affect me. I had some broad expectations of learning and enjoying myself with amazing teachers and wonderful friends. I wondered how I would go getting up every morning for class. I worried I would wear myself out. It seems now that not only did I cope with a month of living out of a suitcase in strange places but it feels like I have reawakened after years of sleep. I have proven to myself that I am capable of study, teaching and deep friendship.

I have changed in other ways. I was unsure of my knowledge of the permaculture curriculum and my teaching methodology. With Rowe’s support and constant encouragement I have launched myself into my new life as a PDC teacher and let my community know I am running a free course as soon as we can choose some days to get started. When friends said I should charge money I told them of Rowe’s life of generosity and that I needed experience teaching so I could do work overseas as soon as possible. They would be my guinea pigs and provide a safe and loving environment for me to throw myself in the deep end.

Rowe treated us as colleagues and imparted her knowledge to us as fellow teachers. She gave us an opportunity to assimilate the information using many different methods. We started each day with a song, outside by the animals. We learned about Non violent communication, adult learners and why informal education is just as important as formal education, and more accessible. We had enormous amounts of freedom to approach study how ever we worked best. This doesn’t always suit everyone and we watched her lead as we participated in conflict resolution.

I am more peaceful. Life doesn’t need to be a constant battle against Monsanto and mining companies. It can be one where people matter, where family and friends come before the rage at the destruction of the planet. Looking at Rowe and her incredibly difficult and often lonely life I saw a deep conviction of working for peace, non-violence and compassion. It has given me an opportunity to think deeply about my relationships and examine how I am in the world.

When I walked with my dog this afternoon it was as though my little town had changed, I saw the trees differently, I felt the light breeze and I walked with a deep knowing that I was on the path I had searched for for so long and that I was going to be alright.

I feel sad writing this as this has been a miraculous journey and I miss my fellow “pilgrims” Delvin and Ali Ma. I also miss Rowe and Robin, two of the most supportive teachers and mentors a young woman could ask for.

Rowe has chosen to teach the earth’s most disadvantaged – for 27 years she has worked with in prisons, refugee camps, war-torn, disease and famine riddled places like Ethiopia and Uganda, Vietnam after the war and Cambodia after Pol Pot. This last year she has been working with women in an Afghanistan village. With the war still raging and with armies pulling out she found it very difficult but is going back again next year. She is the grandmother of the permaculture movement. She walks a path of peace and tolerance. 

Rowe had said that it hasn't been an easy life and very lonely at times. I hope I can work with her in the field as much as I can. I wonder what my life will be like. Hopefully I will be able to travel with a permaculture colleague and friend to these far flung places – I have learned it is very hard to be somewhere difficult without a friend to lean on. If I can achieve half of what she has I will have created a better world indeed.

Join the Planetary Permaculture Pilgrimage!

Delvin, Ali Ma, Kathleen and I are having an awesome time on the PPP!!

We've just been served an organic, homegrown Thai meal - gotta go and get some of that goodness!

We invite you to join us - we are having an amazing time and would love to fill the two classes with Robin and Rosemary and support them in their amazing journey of bringing permaculture teaching methodologies to the world!!!

Delvin, Ali Ma, Tamara and Robin loving the creative processes

Planetary Permaculture Pilgrimage

A once in a lifetime opportunity to do advanced study with many of the greatest teachers of permaculture. 

Australian Learning Adventure Information

Delvin and Tamara have finished Geoff Lawton’s teacher training and are enjoying Robin’s 6 day creative facilitation dynamic groups training.

We invite those dedicated to the path of teaching permaculture to join us on the next two courses being run at Crystal Waters Permaculture Village near Maleney in QLD.

Robin Clayfield - Creative Community Governance and Decision Making Workshop

Monday 21st November 2011

Crystal Waters Permaculture Village, Queensland

This one day intensive is for people involved in Community organizations and groups who would like more skills, ideas, tools and processes for making decisions and having discussions as a group. It brings in creativity, fun, team building and successful, interactive processes in a ‘Dynamic Group’ context.

Full Price $125 (Gov't/Corp/Business), Regular Price $110 (Workers), Low Income $95 (Students, Unemployed)

Robin Clayfield has taught over 30 PDC’s through the late eighties and nineties, created and taught Advanced Permaculture Creative Teachers Facilitation courses with Skye, and now co-trains the Cert IV in Training and Assessment course for Permaculture teachers and others in creative and sustainability industries. She co-wrote the book 'Teaching Permaculture Creatively'.

Contact Robin for registration and accommodation information on all Crystal Waters Courses: robin@earthcare.com.au   

www.dynamicgroups.com.au

Rosemary Morrow - Permaculture Design Certificate Teacher Training

Thursday 24th to Monday 28th November 2011

Crystal Waters Permaculture Village, Queensland

A five day course in teaching permaculture with strong emphasis on walking the talk - and the Ethics of permaculture.   It is important that participants have some idea of the scope of a PDC and what outcomes are important for their students.   After the first day it is very practical.

Course cost: $1300 full price, $650 for scholarship position.

Bunkhouse and camping options under $20.

Rosemary Morrow is a permaculture teacher now orienting herself to supporting younger permaculturists and especially in teacher training. She is convinced of everyone's right to know how to manage water and grow food when faced with climate change, and to buffer the more extreme effects.  She wrote Earth Users Guide to Permaculture as well as the companion book for Permaculture Teachers. 

Contact Robin for registration and accommodation information on all Crystal Waters Courses: robin@earthcare.com.au   

Planetary Permaculture Pilgrimage organized in collaboration with Tamara Griffiths and Delvin Solkinson

Delvin@cosm.org

Tamara@moonrisepermaculture.com.au

www.gaiacraft.com

http://tamaraandduckyhaveadventures.blogspot.com/

Planetary Permaculture Pilgrimage - Day 5

Friday!!

Talks to the class were planned for the day - it was much cooler and I had slept really well after a beautiful bath at a B & B near the Terania Creek. I took a moment in the bath to think about the last few years, the difficulties around leaving Bunyip, the sadness that stayed with me for so long and thought about whether my reason for leaving - to devote myself more fully to Permaculture education had come to pass. With some tears in the warm water I was clear that my journey was the one I had anticipated - I had learned so much in many situations, climates and with a huge variety of animals and people.

The link between my past and the future - in my 10 minute presentation to the class was me talking about the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires being a trigger for me leaving my wonderful life with Andrew and the animals. I spoke about the horror of nearly 200 people dying in bushfires across Victoria inspiring me to learn more about fire sector design and really drum it home to the class when doing cool humid climates. For a spot of humour I told a story about my family and sheep in iceland - sheep in tundra are in the designers manual - I'm not naming names but it includes a green pair of undies and a sheep thinking that the green was a tasty bit of grass :)

I'd like to say thanks to everyone who took part in the class, to all the teachers, cooks, assistants, workers and WOOFers at PRI (including the real woofers Blue Dog and Jackie).

What an amazing week and place to jump of onto the rest of the PILGRIMAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So here's some pics from my time at PRI:

Delvin enjoying the day

Carol gave an AMAZING talk on patterns. You rock Carol!

Sam and Alex firing up the rocket stove that heats our showers!

more pics coming soon!!!!!!!!

planetary Permaculture Pilgrimage - Day 3 to 4

Planetary Permaculture Pilgrimage - Day 3 to 4

Hello beautiful people!

My camera is on the blink so this blog is mainly words... but Delvin has been taking pics - and day 5 will be almost entirely pics!

The afternoon of day 3 saw everybody giving a 5 minute presentation. I chose animals - birds, insects, mammals etc. We broke into small groups shared out the topics. The people who were newer to permaculture chose first and then Alex and I took the rest. I had animal husbandry, animals essential to diversity and I tried really hard to stick to Geoff's suggestion of breaking it down minute by minute to hit a start, a mid point and a close, and to make people laugh once, get serious once, and tell a story. I told a story about Smithy, the boar I looked after last year at Bill and Lisa Mollison's farm, a very friendly large black pig who fathered the piglets I also looked after and who used to push me into the electric fence when wanting a scratch.

Day 4 started with Geoff excitedly telling us that our blog was up on PRI website, Delvin and I were so stoked!

Geoff showed us the World Wide Permaculture Network - connecting permies everywhere. It showed us projects, people, climates. I felt strongly that it was time to put a larger profile up of myself and the places I have done projects after asking the appropriate permissions.

Geoff spoke about the master plan sites – that become a PRI in that area. Two of the people in the course are setting up a site together in Victoria, about an hour from Melbourne. One thing that struck me about this is that I hope they and the local Melbourne permaculture network could get to know each other in a positive way, and a wish that it was possible to build a bridge between all the different styles of people within the movement.

We looked at curriculum in the afternoon. Geoff went through all the different teachers notes he's used over time - he showed us Scott Pitman's notes – who is at PRI USA - which come from the 1983 teacher notes that Bill Mollison wrote. They are wonderfully simplified, a distillation written just beforet the designers manual came out.

Geoff told us he'd mind-mapped the whole manual - these things are on the resources page on the pri website. He also told us about a class he taught with men who in a refugee camp and he needed to write on butchers paper and put them all up on the wall. He also said that when he is teaching an into to Permaculture he uses the chapters from Intro to permaculture. That afternoon we again broke into groups to brainstorm curriculum and put all of that info into a 90 minute timeframe for a class. I didn’t hear what we were supposed to do and Geoff was unavailable for me to ask questions so we slightly buggered up – but we still got to apportion the time for each topic area into percentage. 

It was really really hot that day - a precursor to a storm coming - so Delvin and I stayed in a B & B that night - so we didn't have to pack up in the rain and a treat for us to get through the first week. Thanks Delvin!

Love to all out there - and more soon xxx

Planetary Permaculture Pilgrimage - Day 3!

Hi Folks!

No watching ourselves on film tonight so I'm able to blog this evening! Its been a great day, lots of good stuff and some bug pics coming later. Some of us are hanging out in the student common room skyping or emailing, Delvin and I blogging the PPP- and doing some collaboration for the PRI web page - and the frogs are croaking right outside the window.

So today - some highlights - Nadia came in to talk to us about teaching in the middle east - cross cultural issues - and gender. In the past Nadia has run women's courses but has also translated when Geoff was teaching - with mixed students. In the muslim culture, the women prefer to sit behind the men - where they can not be stared at or oggled, sometimes they even prefer to be behind a curtain. Some will speak up, others will pass questions forward on paper. I had lots of questions about gender and teaching - being a woman teacher myself and expecting to have mixed classes, though I'd love to teach women only classes too.

The awesome Nadia Lawton - bedouin woman and permaculture teacher extraordinaire

The afternoon was taken up with student presentations - this time a five minute one on topics from the PDC - using Geoff's must hit points. Geoff stressed the beginning, hitting the mid point and getting a good close. We divided up into chosen topics - Soil, Climatic factors, Plants, Animals and Trees and forests. I chose animals and gave my talk on animal husbandry, animal input/output and animals being essential to diversity. I felt much more relaxed today, I even sat down to write on the board - about pigs, oak trees, bugs and guilds. People have improved out of site, and it was like a mini PDC with all the 5 minute presentations covering the topics above.

Delvin with Latifa and Blue Dog, both desperate to get in for a swim.

Dinner was very welcome after the hot afternoon here in the tropics, I enjoyed my food sitting talking with Delvin and others on the decking for the dam. It turns out both our dads are hard core athiests and I shared my stories about my dad inviting Jehova Witnesses in to try and convert them to athiests. A few of my classmates jumped in to the lovely warm water, fully clothed for modesty and had a great time. We stood around enjoying the frivolity and splashing and I found out that Helene had seen Ducky on this blogs last year and did this pose for him :)

This ones for you Ducky!

I took the opportunity of my camera working to go for a walk around the zone 1 and 2 gardens and food forest. I headed over to say Hi to the ducks - and a small one came up - to tell me that she and her friend had missed out on being put away for the night - so I let them in and had a chat to the ducks for a while.  I noticed some cool lichen growing on a citrus tree and notice a mother bug laying her eggs. She let me take a few pics, but the light really wasn't good enough for really good pics - you'll have to bear with me - some are a bit fuzzy but they have some awesome info in them.

It was quite an animal day today - lunch I spotted a brown snake in the grass and tonight the yellow tailed black cockies squarked in the trees near the camp ground - and I heard some baby birds among the adults. I also got an email of Ducky enjoying himself down with Lynn, my wonderful ducksitter.

PPP Blog day 2

PPP Day 2 blog

Blogging this morning begins with the yellow tail black cockatoos calling and waiting for the breakfast coffee to come out…

Day two started with Geoff, Nadia, Tim and the interns killing an 8 month old calf. I didn’t attend, I’ve seen sheep killed and I always cry. That was in 2007 in Tassie when Geoff and Nadia did a practical fortnight down at Bill and Lisa Mollison’s farm in Tassie. I felt embarrassed that I was crying, as no one else was, but geoff and bill both pulled me aside privately and told me that whenever indigenous people kill an animal they shed a tear of reverence for its life. That made me feel better.  The interns felt much the same as me – that if we eat meat we have a responsibility to know where that meat comes from and to know that it has had an ethical life and the best death we can give it. It was in stark contrast to what was exposed on the Four Corners program earlier this year – where cattle exported to Indonesia watched while the cow in front of them was slaughtered, without stunning before their throats were cut and other horrific violence. The Live Export trade ceased briefly due to the public outcry but it was resumed with new rules that are designed to supposedly protect the cattle from this. I don’t think it goes far enough and want live export banned – something I continue to work on.

Ethical treatment of animals is one of the reasons I practice and teach permaculture. A chicken deserves to be used for its natural labour – scratching, poo-ing, collecting bugs and basically doing the work of the gardener in a chicken tractor vegie bed system. Ethical eggs and potentially ethical meat is better than a short life in battery cages or a barn full of chickens with no access even to sunlight outside.

So – there are things I am against – but permaculture is about positive action – and so I act in a positive way to stop the cruelty of the factory farming of animals of unthinking consumption. 

The Hex - our classroom, made of strawbale and designed for the sub tropics!

Ok, on to the classes! Geoff took us through teaching techniques in the morning – beginning at the end of the PDC with the final night party – where students do a performance for their classmates. It is a raucous occasion, I’ve been to one and I love it. It is an emotional and transformational night but demonstrates that we can still be self sufficient in fun.

Hooray!! Coffee has just arrived!!!!! With pikelets – Yummy. Blog will be getting better directly!

Geoff has “must touch points” on each topic over a 90 minute lecture. He tells 2 stories, 2 analogies, 2 laughs and 2 almost tears moments. He also ran us through some blackboard diagram and timing techniques – and developing a repotoire of symbols for explaining concepts and designs. He reminded us of mapping and sunside depending which hemisphere we are in, and drawing contours and plans. He explained an interactive game he used to do with students using a zone map, plasticine animals and building a design.  

Then! We found out we had to do a 3 minute presentation from one of the chapters in the Designers Manual. I am pretty good at thinking on my feet but I chose a familiar topic – arid strategies - using my childhood home as an example of sites. I went ok, but I had a big pause in the middle – but picked it up again. People did much better at their presentations than yesterday, I had improved too, getting more eye contact in. In the evening we looked over the film with our classmates again. I have to say I felt very supported after what I had considered a bomb! They liked the hook of my stories but would have preferred just one topic in the 3 minutes. This morning Geoff said I was ok, but wanted me to round out the topic more – rather than being site specific. We have a 5 minute presentation today and I'm hoping to make some improvements using the comments from every one.