Join us in the beautiful Hawkes Bay for an incredible weekend celebrating the potent biodynamic community and the agriculture course birthed 100 years ago. 

During Organic week Aotearoa (May 1-7th) we invite you to join us in the beautiful Hawkes Bay for an incredible weekend, celebrating the biodynamic community and the Agriculture Course birthed 100 years ago.

The Soil, Soul, Social Centennial celebration promises to be an exciting and vibrant event, as the weekend brings people together to celebrate 100 years of Biodynamics.

The focus will be on the many incredible Biodynamic pioneers we have here in New Zealand and our keynote speaker will be Ueli Hurter, the co-head of the Agriculture Section at the Goetheanum. Ueli has been involved with the Agriculture Section since 1994 and has formerly served as President of the Swiss Demeter association and as Swiss spokesman to Demeter International.

We are thrilled to share our other keynote speakers Veda Austin and Ian Trousdell. Veda is a water researcher, public speaker, mother, artist and author. Veda has dedicated the last 10 years observing and photographing the life of water. She believes that water is fluid intelligence, observing itself through every living organism on the planet and in the Universe. Ian has a rich and diverse career spanning both Waldorf education and water treatment technology, Ian brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the table. Ian is the Chief Development Officer at Flowform International and will be speaking on Elemental realities in Nature.

In addition to the talks and discussions we have planned,  there will also be fantastic workshops and hands on activities to get involved in, delicious food and drink, time to socialise with like minded people – plus a few extra surprises that have been planned!

The Soil/Soul/Social Centennial celebration is open to all and will be held at Taruna College, in Havelock North.

Taruna College is the home of holistic adult education, with a homestead, hall and classrooms, surrounded by beautiful gardens and trees.  It was created by two remarkable Hawke’s Bay women. Life-long friends and partners, Ruth Nelson and Edna Burbury, who were early pioneers of Rudolf Steiner Education in New Zealand. It is a wonderful warm and inviting space to hold our centennial celebrations.

Biodynamics New Zealand will be hosting two full days of ticketed events at Taruna. There will be plenty of interesting and inspiring talks, a variety of  practical and fun workshops to choose from, a site visit and tour of Weleda gardens, a combined Queens of Spades 500 stir, BD Pioneers Panel discussion and a commemorative tree planting.  We will wrap the weekend up with the Jack of Clubs canapés, wine, and music on Sunday evening (canapés and drinks included in ticket price).

There will be an option to purchase a separate ticket to the King and Queen of Diamonds two course dinner served with biodynamic wines at St Georges Restaurant on Saturday 4th May.

~ Full Programme ~

Saturday 4th – Sunday 5th May

Taruna College, Hawkes Bay

Rolling: Pauline Mann exhibiting Artworks & Sculpture

Saturday 4th May

7.15am – 8.15am Optional Open First Class Mantra Lesson – with Lesley Waite

8.15am – 8.45am Registration Coffee & Tarts

9.00am Coffee and Introduction

9.30am – 11.00am Veda Austin workshop – Water Crystallization

11.10am -11.30am Morning tea

11.30am -1.00pm Ian Trousdell – Elemental realities in Nature

1.15pm – 2.15pm Lunch

2.15pm – 3.00pm Choose a Workshop

Artistic interactions with Preparation Botanicals with Maggie Farr

Rongōa Māori, Wairua, and Beyond with Taherama Tamatea

Energetic Preparations with Glen Atkinson

Baby steps into Biodynamics with Simon Neal

Festivals on a Biodynamic Farm with Ineke Mulder

The Inner Path of the Farmer with Hans Mulder

3.00pm Afternoon tea

3.15pm -5.00pm Choose an Experience

Explore the Biodynamic Difference of Taste with Gill Bacchus

or

Site Visit to Weleda: Guided Garden Walk and making preparation 500 for the future of biodynamics

6.00pm – 8.00pm King & Queen of Diamonds Two Course Dinner with Biodynamic wine at St Georges Restaurant- Separate Pre Booked Ticketed Event

Sunday 5th May

7.00 – 8.30am Registration

8.00am Foundation Stone meditation: Spoken by Robyn Hewetson

8.45am Welcome and Introduction

9.00am – 10.00am Healthy Soil, Soul & Social, Ueli Hurter, Goetheanum Agricultural section leader, Biodynamics Worldwide, Research for the future

10.10am -10.40am Morning tea

10.45am – 12.45pm BDNZ Elders and Q&A Panel with Ueli Hurter: 100 years overview of Biodynamic and Agriculture Lectures. Experienced biodynamic practitioners will share their individual and collective journeys with biodynamics in New Zealand over the past 84 years.

12.45 – 1.45pm Lunch

1.50pm – 3.20pm Weaving the New Zealand impulse through preparation 500. Preparation 500 combined stir led by Monique and Su. We welcome you to bring a contribution of your own finished 500.

3.20pm rolling afternoon tea

3.25pm -3.55pm  Tree planting for 100 years of biodynamics and placing of stone 100 yrs tile on Taruna grounds.

4.00pm – 4.30pm Close and Farewell, Powhiri and verse.

5.00pm – 7.00pm Jack of Clubs Canapés: Welcome drink, canapés and music at the Gin Distillery. Included in general admission price. Extra drinks purchased separately.

* Programme subject to change.

Purchase Tickets

Keynote Speaker – Ueli Hurter

We’re honoured to have Ueli Hurter as the keynote speaker for the 2024 Soil ~ Soul ~ Social Centenary Celebrations.

Ueli Hurter, the co-head of the Agriculture Section at the Goetheanum, will be our keynote speaker on the morning of Sunday 5th of May.

Ueli has been involved with the Agriculture Section since 1994 and has formerly served as President of the Swiss Demeter association and as Swiss spokesman to Demeter International. A native to Switzerland, he completed agricultural apprenticeships in Switzerland, Germany and France. Alongside his work as leader of the Section for Agriculture, he is co-manager of the enterprise Ferme de L’Aubier, a Demeter certied farm with mixed culture and on-farm cheese dairy, bio-hotel, bio-restaurant and eco-living quarters. He is also the co-founder of the initiative “Sowing the future”. He has authored Biodynamic Preparations Around the World: Insightful Case Studies from Six Continents  https://www.amazon.com/Biodynamic-Preparations-Around-World-Insightful-ebook/dp/B0BTTVBB3H?ref_=ast_author_mpb)  which is available for kindle download.

We are very excited for Ueli to share his knowledge with our New Zealand Biodynamics community, his insights will greatly influence our own biodynamics practices and approaches.