Maine Permaculture Design Certificate Course

Directory:
About Us
Permaculture Design Certificate Course
Advanced Permaculture Design Certificate Course
Permaculture Resources & Links (Under Construction)
What Does a Portland Permaculture Meetup Member Do?
Directory of Permaculture Designers in Maine

---

2010 Permaculture Design Certificate Course in Portland Maine

Please join us for this seminal course in permaculture - accessibly offered over three long weekends starting in May 2010. Become fully versed in the core ethics and principles of permaculture and learn how incorporating it into your life and your community will create abundance and resilience in these times of energy, environmental and economic uncertainty.

This course is recommended for home-owners and renters, gardeners, landscape professionals, planners, architects, engineers, tradespeople, community activists and anyone interested in changing "how we organize ourselves" in the landscape.

Expected Outcomes:

• Gain a thorough understanding of permaculture origins, ethics, principles and methodologies.
  
• Enhance your ability to build soil, capture water, reduce energy consumption, generate energy, grow and store food, read the landscape and create edible perennial ecosystems.
  
• Become a resource for your family and neighborhood, building resilience at the personal, household and community levels.
  
• Learn how to transform even challenging properties into healthy, hi-yielding, low energy systems of abundance.
  

---

Past students are recommending the Permaculture Design Certificate Course course because...

“Everyone should familiarize themselves with permaculture principles & techniques given the local & global changes that are underway.”

“It's what we have to do! We all need to enter this scary future more prepared than we are and this course will steer you in the direction of sustainability... and it's fun.” (Russ Van Deursen)

“It is tremendous and life altering and revolutionarily simple in it's brilliance and because you discover the tools within you to create the change that you know must happen in this great big beautiful injured world.” (Sarah Bostick)

“It will change your outlook on life. And once you've been awakened, there's no desire to go back to the way things were.”

"It will change how you see yourself in the world. It is a necessary class for anyone looking to "rebuild our communities" (self, family, towns, earth) in a healthy manner."

“Many of us seek to improve our World but few of us have the practical skills needed to manifest the desired outcome. Taking the Permaculture Design Course I learned not only specific skill sets but had the amazing experience of working with other people from all walks of life who share this common goal. Charles, Julia, and Lisa were inspirational expert instructors who took the time to ensure each student's progress while providing the very best course material.” (Kiarna Boyd)

"Overall, to say this permaculture class was great falls vastly short. It's like the language we have can't contain my feelings regarding the class. It was a paradigm-shifting spiritual type of event. This class on permaculture landscape design gave my life positive new meaning and direction. A positive solution-oriented Path to follow that looks at the destruction we have wrought on this planet full in the face, and doesn't shy away from the immensity of it, but like aikido, uses the same forces that create destruction to heal and recreate balance, beauty, health, community. This class was the perfect mix of people who magically came together at the right time. It was the stuff legends are made of when you reflect back on your life when you're near the end." (Jesse Watson)

---

Permaculture Design Certificate Course Details

The course will be based in Portland, Maine and will consist of the traditional 72-hour PDC course + 20 to 30 additional hours to ensure we cover regional examples and timely developments.

When:
Three x 4-day weekends (May 6,7,8,9 | May 27, 28, 29, 30 | June 17, 18, 19, 20)
Where: Various locations in and around Portland, Maine (locations being confirmed).
Cost: $1,125.00 which includes course and certification, all lunch meals, coffee, tea + am/pm break refreshments, handouts, course materials on a CD, field trips and guest speakers. $250 Deposit holds your spot.

One work study position is available. Please contact the meetup organizer for details.

Also, (available to any student) reduce the cost of your course tuition by helping get more people trained. For every enrolled student that you refer, receive $50 off your total tuition for this course.

Class Size: 15-18 students
What: This course is comprised of lecture, hands-on exercises, guest speakers, field trips, readings/homework, video, discussion and student design projects. There will be pre-work before the course and some required reading between course weekends. Students must attend all sessions and complete the group design project in order to receive their certificates.

Course Flyer: http://files.meetup.c...
Registration Form: http://files.meetup.c...


Preliminary Syllabus

Part One:

Big Picture / Permaculture in Context

Permaculture Ethics & Principles

Patterns in Nature

Reading the Landscape

Intro to Site Assessment

Soils & Soil Health

Composting & Worm Bins

Sheet Mulching

Building Your Permaculture Toolkit

"Synergistic Garden" & Masanobu Fukuoka

Zones & Sectors

Viewing a Permaculture Property

Season Extension / Hoop Houses

Part Two

Creating a Food Forest

Keyline and Swales

Animals in the Landscape

Plant Pathology

Intro to Green Building with Field Trips/Examples

Begin Visioning Process

Water in the Landscape (Water Collection, Ponds, Flowforms, Greywater, etc.)

Biodynamics & Planting Strategies

Herb Spiral and Pond Building

Part Three

Renewable Energy

Green Remodeling Options/Examples

Affordable Green Building/Examples

Lawns vs. Food + Field Trip

Permaculture & Community "Invisible Structures"

Local Currency, CSA, Open Source, etc.

"Broadacre" Permaculture Lessons

More Design Considerations + Review

Slow Food

International Permaculture Connections

Design Practicum + Presentations

Carrying Permaculture Forward

Instructors

Charles & Julia Yelton, of Humastacia Permaculture Gardens in Whitefield, Maine are international permaculture designers and teachers. They have traveled and lectured on permaculture topics throughout the world. Formerly of Crystal Waters permaculture village in Queensland Australia, they have gone on to practice and teach for over 15 years in Asia, Europe and North America, most recently designing and implementing comprehensive permaculture gardens in Cyprus. They are the Co-Directors of The Permaculture Center at Newforest Institute in Brooks, Maine and have been named 2008 Still Water Fellows by the University of Maine, Orono.

Lisa Fernandes is the organizer and founding member of the Portland Maine Permaculture and has been a student of permaculture and green design since 1992. She is a certified team trainer and group facilitator and owned a training & consulting business for several years. She studied political science (undergraduate) and environmental history (graduate) before designing & implementing municipal waste reduction & recycling programs (with a focus on organic waste recycling). Lisa is also a gardener, certified Master Composter and has studied medicinal plants for nearly twenty years. She has worked in the public, private and non-profit sectors and currently brings her varied experience to developing & delivering permaculture training events and permaculture designs for local clients. She currently serves on the Cape Farm Alliance and is active in the Eat Local Foods Coalition. She is a principal in Resilient Homes, an ecological design and solar hot water company and Director of The Pattern Factory design studio at Newforest Institute.

David Whitten has been involved in alternative energy and alternative building technologies since 1993. He installed his first solar hot water system (a Solar Shower) on the roof of his Westphalia VW Bus in 1994. He’s been a convert ever since! More recently David has been working on his Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Design from the Boston Architectural College. In the fall of 2008 he installed his self-designed solar hot water system on his family’s house, is a certified Maine Solar Energy Installer and is a principal in Resilient Homes, an ecological design and solar hot water company. David has over twenty years of experience in construction-related industries.