Jamie Durie on the ‘passion project that’s more important than my privacy’

“If ever I decide to do a television show about building my own family eco-home, remind me this was a bad idea,” says Jamie Durie. Fifteen days out from the completion of a multi-level, off-grid waterfront house in Avalon on Sydney’s northern beaches, surrounded by a garden of native plants, including an 80-tonne rooftop oasis, and sporting a geothermal heated infinity pool, the landscape designer reflects on the project that has been five years in the making.

For the first time in his career, which took off in 2000 with Nine’s Backyard Blitz and has seen him conquer US television, beginning with The Oprah Winfrey Show, Durie is launching his most personal series yet, Growing Home with Jamie Durie.

Jamie Durie with his son, Nash, wife, Ameka Jane, and daughter, Beau.

“Normally, I would never dream of doing this,” says Durie, who was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for services to the environment in 2012. “But this is a passion project, and more important than my privacy. I’ve been in the sustainability space for almost 30 years. I did my first biodegradable washing detergent ad for Planet Ark in 1993. This is the show I’ve always wanted to make. I think my entire career has prepared me for this event.”

While the series showcases sustainable building and energy technology, Durie’s relationship with his fiancée, Australian singer-songwriter Ameka Jane, is shown in intimate detail, including a home video of the birth of their youngest son, Nash. Ameka Jane is brutally honest about the challenges of living through an ambitious build on camera alongside her high-energy husband. She calls him crazy, exhausting, “an ox”, and says he is more trouble than baby Nash.

“She’s pretty rough on me,” says Durie, laughing. “But that’s what creates a great partnership, right? You don’t want to be with someone who gives you lip service. So my girl tells it how it is. And she’s been an incredible force throughout this process because I’ve been under enormous stress. We’ve had to delay this thing going to air at least three times because of building and council delays, and our neighbours lodging complaints. It’s been a minefield of fires that I’ve had to put out.”

In September 2021, a Sydney tabloid newspaper ran a story about a dispute over the number of trees being removed from the property under the headline “Nature Stripper”, a reference to Durie’s former life as a member of exotic male revue Manpower.

Jamie Durie’s new show follows the construction of his dream eco-home on Sydney’s northern beaches.

“It’s a fantastic headline,” Durie concedes. “But I found it incredibly damaging to everything I’ve stood for. No one had actually read the tree report. The fact that I was taking down 17 trees is absolutely true, but 14 of them were environmental weeds – African olive and privet. And then one of the neighbours called A Current Affair on me. When they watch this show, they’ll understand how vigilant we’ve been in protecting the environment and putting forward all the best practices that we can.”

Native bees and birds have already returned to the area, including a family of endangered osprey nesting on top of a crane, which can be viewed on Durie’s YouTube channel, Growing Home Osprey Livestream.

Durie acknowledges that eco-building can be the preserve of the wealthy.

“But by exposing these techniques, materials, and eco initiatives on a free-to-air network, in a prime-time spot, you create more exposure,” he says. “And by creating more awareness, you create more demand. And when mums and dads of Australia start making enquiries about where they can find these products, prices will come down because competition will start, and it will become more accessible. That’s my mission. Sustainable building shouldn’t be an elitist practice.”

Despite having built countless gardens for other people, this is the first time Durie has created his own. At one point in the series, he pauses amid the construction mayhem to note that this is where his soul can rest, with his new family.

“Having two young children has brought it home,” he says. “What kind of environment are we leaving behind for them? We’ve got to clean up our act.”

Growing Home With Jamie Durie premieres on Friday, October 25, on Seven, at 8.30pm.

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