Rob and Michelle left the oil and gas industry in 2008 to launch Verge Permaculture and Adaptive Habitat. Leveraging 20 years of combined experience in engineering, project management, ecological design, and sustainable technologies, Rob and Michelle recently left their urban home in Calgary and are currently developing their dream homestead in Central Alberta.

Alain has spent the last decade working on local food projects, delivering school garden programs and developing community-based permaculture in the Seaway Valley of Eastern Ontario.

He and his family have since settled on a new rural homestead where they have designed and built a simple home and are developing their 10-acre parcel using the Building Your Permaculture Property process.

When he isn’t farming or collaborating on projects, he can usually be found in the kitchen preparing nutrient dense meals or paddling down a river somewhere. 

After pursuing international training and certifications in renewable energy and regenerative design, as well as a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Michelle, along with her husband and business partner Rob, began Verge Permaculture, now a globally-recognized and award-winning design, consulting, and education company. Since then, they’ve helped more than 1000 students and a growing number of clients to design and/or create integrated systems for shelter, energy, water, waste and food, all while supporting local economy and regenerating the land.

Their consulting firm, Adaptive Habitat is a property design & project management firm that creates resilient homes, acreages and farms for landowners, preserving tangible and enduring wealth by integrating innovative technology, engineered solutions and ecological design. She loves the complexity of working through holistic design challenges to create resilient, eco-sustainable homes, acreages and farms that produce their own energy and food, harvest water, cycle nutrients and restore the surrounding ecosystems. By integrating innovative technology with sound design, they engineer creative solutions that bring a positive benefit to the environments in which people live and thereby thrive.

Coupled with a deep connection to nature and a passion for growing nutrient-dense food, Michelle’s driving goal is to ensure that her work and actions leave this world a better place for future generations to inherit.

Dr Coombes is a Systems Thinker, Scientist, Engineer, Economist, Problem Solver and Policy Analyst, a Provider of alternative perspective and a designer of sustainable cities, projects and buildings.

Peter J. Coombes is a director of Urban Water Cycle Solutions and is currently an editor of the Urban Book of Australian Rainfall and Runoff and was awarded the 2018 GN Alexander medal by Engineers Australia for his contributions to hydrology and water resources.

Peter recently contributed to the inquiry into stormwater management held by the Senate of the Australian Parliament and inquiry into Australia’s water resources held by the Productivity Commission and was a chief scientist in the Victorian Government.

Peter has held senior academic positions at the University of Newcastle, Melbourne University and Swinburne University and has experience in change processes in government, development of government policy and managing complex engineering business collaborations. His professional and research interests include systems thinking and analysis, hydrology, water resources, economics, molecular sciences, water quality and public policy.