A LIMITED AMOUNT OF GRANT FUNDING NOW AVAILABLE FOR THIS COURSE - FOR QUALIFIED RESIDENTS OF SE PA, thanks to the SE AG Partnership!
(Please see DETAILS/requirements below - limited opportunity, first come-first served, email [masked] for info/application)

THE CURRICULUM
Course work includes > 72 hours of Instruction in Permaculture based on the material in the Permaculture Designer's Manual (Mollison): theory, hands-on practicum, team design exercises, final presentation (the infamous Talent Show and celebration) and so much more.

PERMACULTURE IS BEYOND SUSTAINABLE!

Additionally, participants will have an opportunity to learn:

-Beekeeping basics
-Biodynamic Farming
-Small Plot (Intensive) Farming/Gardening
-Edible Forest Gardening
-Orchard care
-Coppice/pollard agroforestry & coppice crafts/uses
-wild foods/edible & medicinal weeds - id and prep.
-food storage techniques
- food fermentation
-Mycoremediation (Mycotechnology) techniques- using mushrooms to regenerate degraded urban sites & conventionally farmed ag land
-Ecological Restoration: proj. design, maintenance
-Forest stewardship and best management practices
-Trail design/building/maintenance
-Limnology (in-land water systems) managing ponds/lakes, streams...
-Water harvesting
- rain gardens, bioswales
-Designing a Children's Permaculture Garden
-Organic farming
-Compost and Compost Tea
-Building Equitable Communities
-Designing school garden to lunch programs
-Appropriate Technology (rocket stoves/rocket mass heaters, biodigestors, tractorinos, passive solar design) & computer tools useful in Permaculture Design
-Siting a building/settlement
- choosing a property
-Making and using low cost Effective Microorganisms and Compost tea
-Vermiculture

and more!

COURSE DATES
Oct. 30
Nov. 13
Nov. 27
Dec. 11
Dec. 18
Jan. 8
Jan. 29
Feb. 12
Feb 26
Mar. 11

Note: This course may also be attended for less rigorous non-certification (see FEE Section below for more information).

LOCATION
The 450 + acres biodynamically farmed campus of the Kimberton Waldorf School - Chester Co. PA (approx. 25 miles outside the city of Philadelphia)

Additional Hands-On training opportunities also be available.

TIME 9:00 am to approx. 5:00 pm each session

CERTIFICATION Certificates are issued after satisfactory completion of the Permaculture Design Course requirements - certificate is conferred through the Eastern Pennsylvania Permaculture Guild teachers. (cost for additional Certificate = $20.00) Requirements include: * Attendance & Participation is design team exercises, presentations * Participation in the Talent Show (it's a lot of fun anyway - you will be glad you did!) * Satisfactory completion of the final design project * All Payment Agreements met in full... (please read our refund policy)

TUITION/FEES

$200 non-refundable deposit required to hold a space, due before Oct. 18, 2011.

Payment options (all options require $200 non-refundable deposit, please contact us if you have questions):
1. pay in full on/before Oct. 30 for a 5% discount
2. pay 1/2 of course fees (less deposit) by Nov. 20 & balance payable on/before Jan.5, 2012

Meals, Lodging & Transportation not included.
* SLIDING SCALE $825.00 - $975.00 for full course!

In the spirit of the Permaculture commitment to the ethic of People Care, we offer a sliding fee scale - You decide what amount within the sliding scale you can pay. This is an honor system - please honor it:) Remember that those with the ability to pay the full fee are helping to fund others who cannot- even more people care!

* NON-CERTIFICATE OPTION: Those wishing to participate in an individual session/sessions of the course have the option of paying per day @ the rate of $90/day - note: you will NOT receive assignments/NOT qualify for the Certificate

* 10% Discount for teachers
* 10% Discount for 2 or more from the same household registering together (couples, family...)
* in rare circumstances we may consider payment of fees in barter/service, and/or allow installments but please remember there are expenses associated with offering the course which include: venues, teachers, guest teachers, supplies...so this is not always possible.

PAYMENT IN CASH, CHECK or MONEY ORDER- once you have registered here, we will contact you with details (payment address...)

SPONSORSHIP Support our Permaculture Scholarship Fund! Gifts-in-kind and scholarship fund donations are welcome and honored. Please Consider sponsoring a Permaculture Design Certificate course participant. Those wishing to participate in the course, but lack available funding are encouraged to seek out sponsors (health food stores, environmental groups, holistic health care professionals - you won't know unless you ask them!)

Work-trade may be available on a very LIMITED basis for a partial fee reduction- please contact Melissa if you are interested in exploring this option.

What to Bring/Wear... Water bottle, sun protection, rain-gear (if warranted), appropriate footwear/weather appropriate clothing, a notebook, camera, a packed lunch/snacks and your readiness to learn. Please refrain from wearing perfumes or fragrances, as it may inadvertently attract insects or affect other participants with sensitivities.

GRANT FUNDING INFORMATION:
Permaculture Design Certificate Course
Open to Southeast PA Residents
Funding is available for Southeast PA residents to help offset costs to attend the Permaculture Design Certificate Course to take place at the Kimberton Waldorf School.
The financial assistance covers 70% of the conference registration costs ($682.50). Approved applicants will be responsible for $292.50 (the 30% balance of registration costs). 
Applicantsmust be currently employed and be willing to provide their social security number, a training release, and apost-conference evaluation form, all requirements for utilizing PA Dept. of Labor & Industry grant funds. Additionally, in the post-training evaluation applicants must be able to describe how receiving this course certificate enabled them to improve their skill set and/or enable them to receive a salary increase or improvement in business profitability.
Students receiving a funding award must complete the certificate course. Failure to complete the course, will result in a revocation of the award. The student will then be responsible for paying outstanding costs ($682.50).

This assistance is being made available by the Southeast PA Agriculture Industry Partnership, an initiative of the Chester County Workforce Investment Board and the Chester County Economic Development Council with grant funds received from the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry.

PLEASE EMAIL:
Melissa at [masked] FOR MORE INFO/ TO APPLY for these funds.You will be sent out forms which must be submitted to the funding agency for approval.

Course Facilitators: Melissa Miles is a Permaculture Designer, Environmental Biologist and Conservation Planner. Melissa's experience in Natural Resources and Conservation Planning includes > 15 yrs. in restoration ecology, managing nature preserves & conservation easements, providing conservation planning services to municipalities, land owners and farmers and providing conservation related educational programming to the general public and designing permaculture systems (on various scales). Additionally, Melissa has studied Biogeochemistry and Green Building & Sustainable Design at the graduate level, and has worked as an Environmental Engineer, Horse Farm Manager and has been managing Two Miles Micro-Farm (an urban micro-farm located in Montgomery Co. PA, selling organically grown produce at local farm markets/restaurants) for the past several seasons. Melissa will also be teaching the "Sustainable Living Series" of courses at the Bucks County Community College.

Additional instructors will be helping to facilitate by sharing with us their particular areas of expertise during the course sessions.

Recommended (not required) texts: * Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture. Toby Hemenway. Chelsea Green, 2001 and 2010 * Permaculture Designer's Manual. Bill Mollison. Tagari Publishing * Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability. David Holmgren. Holmgren Design Services Publishing, 2002.


What other participants of EPPG PDC have said about the course:

Permaculture is changing my life! Not only is it giving me what I need to improve and regenerate landscapes, it is improving and regenerating my life. The principles and ethics, tools and techniques are transferable and applicable to my work as a teacher and to my relationships with others.

Permaculture provides a wonderful way of being in the world. "If you are interested in growing your own food and improving your land, no matter what size land you own, this course is for you. You will come away with a complete mind-shift in how plants grow and interact in our environment and learn more about God's design for life. Melissa is an energetic instructor and willing to answer a hundred questions if that is what you have. I am so glad I made the commitment and did the coursework because now I have a plan for our property and can help others too." Permaculture is a design for Life! Food is the essence of life and Permaculture is the essence of being self reliant with a huge accent on self sustaining agriculture. Purpose driven knowledge is one of the best experiences to have. I had such an experience when I took the certificate course in Permaculture with Melissa Miles. Each and every session, Melissa created a compelling environment for my learning experience. The accent was always on improving the situation at hand. We the class came up with all of the possibilities and was able to implement the improvements. The hands on agriculture section are only one aspect of Permaculture.

The in depth course also included aquaculture, biogas, transition towns and oh so much more. Melissa'a references make class a blast of fun! As an Environmental Biologist, Conservationist and Planner, Melissa Miles has a personal drive to share her wisdom.
Wisdom is delivered via Melissa's poignant humor.

As director of the Easter Pennsylvania Permaculture Guild, Melissa has managed to grow the Guild to a crazy huge number… meeting her own expectations of what is possible. In my personal experience, after I have picked Melissa's brain about things that confused me, I was able to see the forest for the trees. Forest gardening can be profoundly simple. When concepts and methods are taught by Melissa, Permaculture becomes compelling. I never fail to be amazed by her in-depth answers as her memory and recall are truly amazing. Melissa lives Permaculture. The work/ study are forthright and simple. Reading proceeds field work.

Then there is the camaraderie of the class to consider... Sharing of thoughts, food, experiences as well as knowledge is the class culture. You would probably agree with me >>> in most classroom situations, students, at least one, watch the clock and are ready to run. Funny, but that never happened in my class. We would go all day and still be so entertained, that “time” became the second thought, not the first. New self realizations came with each session. And now I am a lot closer to designing for my life as well as helping clients in my re-design business. I am sad to see my course end … however I am happy to say I am an active member of the [Eastern] Pennsylvania Permaculture Guild.