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

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2009 Permaculture Design Certificate Courses in Maine
Please join us for this seminal course in permaculture - accessibly offered over four long weekends starting in May 2009. 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, gardeners, landscape professionals, planners, architects, engineers, tradespeople and community activists.

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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)

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Permaculture Design Certificate Courses in Maine

We are pleased to offer an official Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) Course here in Maine. The course will be based in Portland, Maine and will consist of the traditional 72-hour PDC course + more than 20 additional hours to ensure we cover regional examples and timely developments.

When:
Four x 3-day weekends (May 1/2/3, May 15/16/17, May 29/30/31, June 5/6/7)
Where: Various locations in and around Portland, Maine (locations being confirmed).
Cost: $1,125.00 which includes course and certification, all lunch meals + am/pm break refreshments, handouts and course materials on a CD, field trips and guest speakers. One work study position is available. Please contact the meetup organizer for details. Update: As of Feb 1, 2009 the work study position is filled.
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.

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

Please note that a 2-week version of this course with the Yeltons is also being offered in June 2009 at Newforest Institute in Brooks Maine. Please the flyer, syllabus and registration forms here.


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

Part Two:

Zones & Sectors

Viewing a Permaculture Property

Season Extension / Hoop Houses

Creating a Food Forest

Keyline and Swales

Animals in the Landscape

Plant Pathology

Intro to Green Building with Field Trips/Examples

Begin Visioning Process

Part Three:

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

Biodynamics & Planting Strategies

Herb Spiral and Pond Building

Renewable Energy

Green Remodeling Options/Examples

Affordable Green Building/Examples

Lawns vs. Food + Field Trip

Part Four:

Permaculture & Community "Invisible Structures"

Local Currency, CSA, Open Source, etc.

CSA Field Trip

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 Meetup and has been a student of permaculture and green building 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 working on 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 creating 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 energy efficiency company.