Christine Moginie
Christine was born in Auckland 1956. Christine has always had a strong connection to Nature, art, storytelling, healing, and colour, from an early age. She saw and talked with the Nature Spirits as a child, and still does. Spirituality, meditation, philosophy, healing, natural herbs/remedies, gardening, Kindergarten teaching, adult education, art, art therapy, counselling and biography work, organic, permaculture, biodynamic gardening, and business studies have featured in Christines life to date.
Christine moved to Australia 1977 where she lived for 28yrs where she settled in Mittagong NSW 1982-2006. Met Anthroposophy in 1983 with involvement starting Eukarima Steiner School in Bowral NSW with Benjamin and Thanh Cherry. Attended and taught art at Parsifal College Orientation in Anthroposophy Course and Primary Teacher Training in Sydney 1983 – 1992, and Eukarima.
Christine then created her “Conversations in Colour” Artistic Psychotherapy Courses and practise in 1989 , and organised Biodynamic workshops at her property “Tya Boomajarril” Mittagong, NSW with Terry Forman, Hamish Mackay, and Brian Keats, 1989-2004. She also completed the Biodynamic Education Centre Certificate courses with Lynette West in 2004-2005.
Returning to Auckland NZ in 2007, Christine, was a Kindergarten assistant 2007-2008, and Board member at MPS 2012, while her daughter completed High School at Michael Park Steiner School.
Christine taught beginners Biodynamic Gardening courses for adults at Selwyn College Night Classes, Auckland 2008 -2010, and organised BD workshops with Peter Proctor and Rachel Pomeroy, Brian Keats, and Peter Bacchus, in Auckland 2010-2013 with Christine Reigger, and later Diane St Quentin and Lis Alington.
She set up Vortex Creative Wellbeing Centre and BD Community Garden 2010-12 in Ellerslie Auckland, and worked part time at Sunhill Garden Centre Auckland 2007-2012. Christine also taught the art and Goethean plant observation at Taruna BD Course with John Ridout and Su Hoskin in Cromwell in 2012.
Christine then went on to settle in Mangawhai 2013 and have organised BD workshops with Pauline Mann from 2012 to today as the Northern Kaipara BD Gardening Constellation, making Horn Manure 500 and CPP. Ongoing beginners BD gardening education workshops with interested groups and individuals to present day.
Christine joined the BDNZ Council in 2020.
Cameron Vawter
Cameron grew up between Indiana and Sydney Australia. His grandparents were farmers, and he enjoyed his summers baling hay, feeding hogs and chopping firewood. As a young adult, wanderlust introduced him to the wine industry. He quickly fell in love with the art of growing grapes and making wine as well as the community that springs up around it. What followed was a bachelor’s degree from UC Davis and then a 15+ year career working his way to Winemaker for Dana Estates in Napa Valley
Cameron’s daughters began their schooling in the Steiner system and around the same time, he was a founding member of the “BD Kids group” which was a group of fellow winemakers that decided to read Steiner’s lectures on Agriculture. This began a 20-year fascination with and appreciation for BD.
In 2015 Cameron and his family moved aboard their 43ft sailboat and began an adventure, arriving in NZ just before the pandemic. Deciding to stick around, Cameron joined the Seresin team as Vineyard Manager in 2022 with a desire to get his feet more firmly planted in the earth. He is fortunate to have the support of his family and a brilliant team around him that allows him time to help on the Council.
Jan Koberstein
Jans journey started with Biodynamics 24 years ago, when her and her late husband enrolled their 2 children in the Tauranga Waldorf Kindergarten. As Jan recalls, ” The parents automatically get involved in this beautiful creative education and the next thing you’re doing a 500 stir and learning so many wonderful things Rudolf Steiner gifted humanity”.
Jan found she resonated with Biodynamics; it went straight to her soul. She has attended many biodynamic workshops, completed the Applied Organic & Biodynamic Course in Hastings in 2009, and applied many BD preps to all of her gardens/land over the years. Jan even got to live her dream of growing & supplying biodynamic fruit & veges to her local farmers market.
Jan and her family, moved to the Kapiti Coast in 2005 to continue her kids Waldorf Education and still live in this region.
She has mostly been self-employed in various businesses over the last 30 years; because of this background, Jan finds herself bringing her business mindset to the BD Council and is looking forward to serving the Biodynamic community with her passion via strengthening communities and organising gatherings to keep biodynamics thriving.
Simon Neal
Simon grew up in Marlborough with a background in farming, which led to working in viticulture after leaving College. After several years, and gaining a tertiary qualification, this employment in the wine industry led to his introduction to Organic/Biodynamic farming when he took up a role with Huia Vineyards in the Summer of 2011/2012 and also a preparations workshop at Seresin Raupo Vineyard. From this moment on, he maintained a curiosity in biodynamics, and began organically growing the home garden.
Simon’s desire to work with Biodynamics took a major leap forward after a very inspiring pre-Christmas biodynamic gathering in December 2020 at Seresin with Su Hoskin and James Milton. In February 2021, Simon moved to Central Otago where I took up a role of Assistant Vineyard Manager with Burn Cottage Vineyards – a long standing producer of fine wines fully involved in biodynamic farming practice.
Now working with Peregrine Wines in their Bendigo vineyards who are just starting down a journey of Biodynamics, he looks forward to being involved in this journey in seasons to come. Simon also now actively applies biodynamic practices in the home garden, and he hope to improve on this with time.
With a diversity of experience, the heart, passion and drive for taking biodynamics forward and natural farming systems he is over the moon to be nominated to sit on the council of Biodynamics NZ and loves nothing more than helping others see the light of working with nature rather than against it.
I have three children; a Step daughter 25, and two boys 11 and 13 and happily married to my wife Vicky of 15years.
Murray Cook
Murray grew up in Australia’s Central Coast on a lifestyle block with parents (especially a mother), who passionately advocated for organics and instilled a strong belief in natural methods of gardening, and health remedies. It was this start to life that later flowed to pursuing a career in organic winegrowing. Biodynamics was often discussed in the world of wine and it was a brief encounter of some of the methods and lunar calendar workings in Burgundy in 2006 that triggered curiosity into biodynamics. Tasting some of the world’s great wines often revealed biodynamics were behind many of them.
When Murray and his wife, Rachael, purchased their own property in Marlborough in 2017, the land was immediately introduced to the preparations. They planted and established their own small vineyard in 2018, employing biodynamic methods from establishment. Since then, they’ve embarked on making their own 500 and CPP and the compost preparations with the help of the great people in the Marlborough Biodynamic group.
It’s the connectivity to the wonderful people in the BD community that has strengthened the desire to travel down this path.
Bridget Henderson
Bridget has been involved with biodynamics for over 20 years, having been first introduced to it at Shelly Beach Farm (the Pearce’s farm) in South Head, where she ended up living and working for a number of years.
Bridget is still currently based in Southhead, on a smaller farm certified organic with Organic Farm NZ. She is the regional chairperson for OFNZ and as part of her role, Bridget has been running a programme of workshops and field days to encourage the use of organic practices. Bridgets interest and enthusiasm for BD has had a resurgence of late and she has started running BD workshops and holding 500 stirs etc.
Bridget believes in a practical approach when it comes to sharing BD ideas and she is interested in finding ways to talk about BD and connect others with it in a meaningful way.
Biodynamics New Zealand Team
- Jayne Craig secretary@biodynamic.org.nz
- Jo Hayes operations@biodynamic.org.nz
- Joanne Turner (Demeter Secretary)
demeter@biodynamic.org.nz