Gary Donaldson (and his partner Jan) began small-scale farming in South Australia in 1976.

They bred rabbits, goats and several breeds of poultry and waterfowl. They reared broiler chickens and pigs, hand milked two cows, grew olives and owned the obligatory 20hp grey "Fergie" tractor.

Among the pioneers of Australia's fledgling game bird industry, they designed and built much of the equipment used in the breeding and rearing of game birds and other small livestock.

Gary began to write general farming articles for FARM magazine (now the Australian Farm Journal) in the mid 1980's. In the late 1990's, he wrote business development articles for Australian Horticulture and for the national journal of the Apple and Pear industry.

In 1997, Gary and Jan relocated to Queensland where they started their own small business consultancy and resumed backyard food production.

In 2007, Gary published The Urban Aquaponics Manual.......a how-to for backyard farmers who aspire to producing their own freshwater fish, vegetables and herbs.

Gary and Jan are developing Creek Street Micro Farm as a showcase of backyard food production strategies.