[Pil-pc-oceania] Tribute to my dad

[Fern Rainbow]

My dad's service, a celebration of his life will be held at the Warrnambool
Special Developmental School hall this Thursday, February 28th at 5pm.
I'd like to thank the many permies on this listserv who have emailed me
their support & help during the last few weeks.  As none of you know dad,
I'd like to post some info and photos of my dad.
Firstly, this is my contribution and what I'll be reading out, near the end
of his service.  I'll post the full service and photos in the coming weeks.


Tribute to my dad ­ Peter Thomas Ockerby
 
Dad was an environmentalist, scientist and teacher.
He was part of a research team at the University of Toronto in the early
1960¹s looking into the declining aquatic life in the Great Lakes.  They
were studying the water currents.  When their research pointed to pollution
due to the heated waste-water being pumped from the nearby Nuclear power
plant, all their research and funding disappeared.
 
Dad then obtained his teaching qualifications and started teaching science
in Canada.  Deeply concerned about environmental issues, he tried to teach
what was then called ³the hot-house effect² but was reprimanded for teaching
this theory.  [He was also not allowed to teach Hubbard's peak oil theory, a
well known but controversial scientific paper in the 1960¹s]
 
After his mother died, Dad moved back to Australia and started teaching at
Melbourne Boys High (the school that he was educated at).  Dad was a very
patient and well-liked teacher.  He liked teaching at nice small secondary
schools in rural areas and stayed teaching full time until his retirement at
60 years of age.
 
In 1969 he met then married my mum the year after.  They were both avid
organic gardeners and shared their love of nature and care of the
environment.  Really they were permaculturists before the word
³Permaculture² existed, and we always had a menagerie of animals that helped
our edible jungle-like garden grow and vice-versa.
>From the early 70¹s, they started to look for land to share nature with
like-minded people and to bring up their children with a free and healthy
lifestyle.  In 1974 they were part of the formation of ³Irun-ilam-baluk², a
land co-operative in the Strathbogie ranges based on Peter Cook¹s design of
Moora Moora co-operative.  There they started building their self-sufficient
home out in the bush.  They were full of ideals, hopes and dreams.
But working on the co-operative, building their home and living out of a
caravan with five children in a harsh environment created strains within my
parent¹s relationship. Their break up started in 1975 and ended with a
divorce in 1982.   Although they spent my childhood apart, I have fond
memories of visiting dad; going yabbying, visiting the butterfly house at
Melbourne zoo and dad reading ³The hobbit² to me when I was sick and in bed.
 
My parents got back together again when I was 15 and had Davin, my younger
brother who is autistic.  For the past 15 years while my parents have
dedicated their lives to looking after Davin, they have maintained an edible
garden and implemented energy efficient designs and systems within their
urban home.  In the past two years, since moving to a smaller home they have
been retrofitting it; putting on solar panels, tiling the floor to create a
heat bank, putting in a water tank, edible garden and fruit trees, with
plans for a greywater system and chook house.
 
Dad always said to just put him in the compost when he died and mum & dad
hadn¹t discussed anything else.  But dad had seen the 100% recycled
cardboard eco-coffins in Choice magazine last year and had thought it to be
such a good idea.  Dad would¹ve wanted his departure to be as low as impact
upon the earth as possible.
 
He wanted a safe and secure future for his children and for earth¹s
biodiversity.  He wanted the Victorian state government to extend the ban on
GM crops and for all GM ingredients to be labelled on our food. He wanted
Australia to be GM-free.
On this final day before the GM moratorium is set to be lifted in Victoria,
we hope that somehow dad¹s wishes will be granted and that premier John
Brumby will rethink the state governments decision to lift the ban.
 
My parent¹s love of nature and care of the environment has been imparted to
me, not only by my nature name ³Fern Rainbow², that they gave to me, but
also imprinted in my knowledge, ethics and lifestyle and for this I am
eternally grateful.  Thank you dad.  You are in my heart and forever will
be.    
 
 
Music-----Big Yellow Taxi,
                       Both sides now, ------Joni Mitchell