Welcome to Earthcare Education Aotearoa!
Our mission (kaupapa) is:
Recreating Right Relationship with ALL Communities – respecting ALL life as sacred
Facilitating sustainable human settlements, where culture embraces nature
Restoring ecosystems whilst establishing food security
Earthcare’s objectives are:
1. to provide and promote education in environmental awareness, sustainable land use and responsible resource management.
2. to promote a wholistic approach to education by teaching the principles and practices of cooperation, community participation and sustainable culture.
3. to promote, conduct and publish research and educational materials on sustainable systems.
Earthcare often partners other organisations with compatible aims in delivering facilitation, education, design or consultancy services.
Earthcare Education have developed a set of Financial Principles, download the PDF here.
Institute of Earthcare Education Aotearoa is a non-profit Trust dedicated to the ethics and principles of sustainability and Permaculture.

Robina McCurdy
Robina has been engaged in community development, organic growing, permaculture design and tutoring on a global scale for the past 25 years.
She is the founder of the Institute of Earthcare Education Aotearoa, co-founder of Tui Land Trust & Community in Golden Bay, NZ and pioneer ofthe S.E.E.D (Schools Environmental Education & Development) programme in South Africa and Brazil.
She has developed a range of environmental education resources and participatory processes for collectivedecision-making and action – most notably ‘Grounding Vision, EmpoweringCulture’, a community facilitation manual, and ‘Grow It!’, a Home Gardencoaching series.
Robina has taught & applied her powerful community-building methods with households, neighborhoods, schools, farms, ecovillages & bioregions, in Aotearoa/New Zealand and many countries overseas.
Over the past few years she worked as the designer & co-ordinator of the Victory Community Health Gardens in Nelson and a permaculture educator with Project Lyttelton’s ‘Harbour Basin Food Resilience’ project in Christchurch. Since spring 2012, she has spent most of her time in a voluntary capacity, creating, directing and managing Earthcare’s ‘Localising Food’ project.
Robina has been engaged in community development, organic growing, permaculture design and tutoring on a global scale for the past 25 years.
She is the founder of the Institute of Earthcare Education Aotearoa, co-founder of Tui Land Trust & Community in Golden Bay, NZ and pioneer ofthe S.E.E.D (Schools Environmental Education & Development) programme in South Africa and Brazil.
She has developed a range of environmental education resources and participatory processes for collectivedecision-making and action – most notably ‘Grounding Vision, EmpoweringCulture’, a community facilitation manual, and ‘Grow It!’, a Home Gardencoaching series.
Robina has taught & applied her powerful community-building methods with households, neighborhoods, schools, farms, ecovillages & bioregions, in Aotearoa/New Zealand and many countries overseas.
Over the past few years she worked as the designer & co-ordinator of the Victory Community Health Gardens in Nelson and a permaculture educator with Project Lyttelton’s ‘Harbour Basin Food Resilience’ project in Christchurch. Since spring 2012, she has spent most of her time in a voluntary capacity, creating, directing and managing Earthcare’s ‘Localising Food’ project.


Inna Alex
Inna is a trained Environmental Planner and Landscape Architect. Living at Tui Community, she aims to integrate her Permaculture knowledge by co-ordinating and co-teaching some of Earthcare’s Permaculture Education Programmes, living actively in intentional community, teaching yoga and tending the garden.
Inna is our course administrator and does her best to facilitate everyone’s registrations. Her main focus in teaching on the PDC at Tui is Deep Ecology, as she is passionate about facilitating access to and sustenance of our internal motivation and capacities to heal our world.
Inna is a trained Environmental Planner and Landscape Architect. Living at Tui Community, she aims to integrate her Permaculture knowledge by co-ordinating and co-teaching some of Earthcare’s Permaculture Education Programmes, living actively in intentional community, teaching yoga and tending the garden.
Inna is our course administrator and does her best to facilitate everyone’s registrations. Her main focus in teaching on the PDC at Tui is Deep Ecology, as she is passionate about facilitating access to and sustenance of our internal motivation and capacities to heal our world.
Guenther Andraschko
Guenther is an experienced Permaculture educator and consultant and landscape & lifestyle block designer. He has over 25 years experience in designing and creating outdoor environments utilising permaculture and regenerative principles, both in New Zealand and Australia and in a diversity of environments. He brings a wealth of practical knowledge and experience and enjoys supporting others to realise their own permaculture projects and aspirations.
Guenther is an experienced Permaculture educator and consultant and landscape & lifestyle block designer. He has over 25 years experience in designing and creating outdoor environments utilising permaculture and regenerative principles, both in New Zealand and Australia and in a diversity of environments. He brings a wealth of practical knowledge and experience and enjoys supporting others to realise their own permaculture projects and aspirations.


Sungee Heijneman
Sungee’s life is oriented around Permaculture, Yoga, Chi Gong, breathwork, appropriate technology, nature connection, healing, community, organic growing and holistic living.
He graduated with a Dip. Multimedia Producer from the SAE Institute Amsterdam in 2001. Since then he has worked globally as a Web Designer and Webmaster.
Sungee completed his Permaculture Design Certificate in 2010 with Earthcare Education Aotearoa.
After years of traveling, Sungee decided to settle in Tropical North QLD, Australia and graduated as a Rapid Transformational Therapist (RTT), as well as a Soma Breath Instructor.
He now works with clients and gives weekly classes at a little retreat centre in Kuranda, where he is also communally creating an abundant food forest.
Next to working with people to make a difference, Sungee still loves working on projects which make a difference.
He created Earthcare's and Localising Food Project’s websites and is our webmaster.
His current websites are https://geewhiz.me (web design) and http://highvibrational.me
Sungee’s life is oriented around Permaculture, Yoga, Chi Gong, breathwork, appropriate technology, nature connection, healing, community, organic growing and holistic living.
He graduated with a Dip. Multimedia Producer from the SAE Institute Amsterdam in 2001. Since then he has worked globally as a Web Designer and Webmaster.
Sungee completed his Permaculture Design Certificate in 2010 with Earthcare Education Aotearoa.
After years of traveling, Sungee decided to settle in Tropical North QLD, Australia and graduated as a Rapid Transformational Therapist (RTT), as well as a Soma Breath Instructor.
He now works with clients and gives weekly classes at a little retreat centre in Kuranda, where he is also communally creating an abundant food forest.
Next to working with people to make a difference, Sungee still loves working on projects which make a difference.
His current websites are https://geewhiz.me (web design) and http://highvibrational.me