Intro to Permaculture Design(Short Course) in Standish

Do you have an interest in sustainability, resilience, local food, and taking positive action for your school, neighborhood, or community? We are very happy to be offering this popular Permaculture Design Short Course at St. Joe's College in Standish. This course is open to any member of the public. The lead instructor for this short course is Rachel Lyn Rumson.

If, after taking this Intro to Permaculture Short Course, you are interested in proceeding to the full Permaculture Design Course (PDC), your full fee for this event will be applied toward the PDC fee. This is an affordable and accessible way to get your feet wet and decide if you would like to learn more about the potential for permaculture design. Two Wednesdays from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm (January 29 and February 5th) - You are signing up for both Wednesdays, approximately 12 contact hours. Participants in this Intro to Permaculture Design Short Course will meet two times to work through a real design process. With our "client" (who will have completed a questionnaire in advance), we will co-create a draft permaculture design based on their specific goals and the assets and challenges of their site.

You will come away with a strong foundation for understanding and applying permaculture ethics and design principles. You will have a framework and a process for approaching a property from a permaculture perspective. You will feel confident about taking strides on your own property, if applicable, and will dispel that feeling of not knowing "where to start." You will understand much more about permaculture as a design approach.

Space is limited to 12 people. St Joe's students and staff are encouraged to participate.

Some student comments from the last iteration of this seminar:

“To my beginner's mind, the challenge elements of this property seemed to be overwhelming and complicated, but in the end Lisa began to bring together aspects of the property's challenges and assets and a design began to synthesize that was manageable and cohesive."

"I am impressed with the way the course was taught. It is great fun getting together in a small group like that and learning new things."

“It was excellent!!! I left the gathering thrilled and excited by all I'd learned."

“It was a great experience to walk through the initial analysis phase of a permaculture design. I came away with a better understanding of how to approach permaculture design and some of the questions to ask. ”

“It was superb. Much more than I could have reasonably expected. I'm very excited. ”

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More Details:

By signing up for this event you are signing up for all three Saturday mornings; about 12 contact hours plus brief readings in between each session.

Topics Include:

Permaculture Background, Ethics and Design Principles

Design Process and Goals Articulation

Pattern Literacy (Hands-on)

Reading the Landscape and Data Gathering (Hands-on)

Real Life Examples / Strategies

Analysis Techniques and Options (Hands-on)

Integrating Energy + Shelter Concepts

Data Synthesis + Site analysis

Creation of Draft Design

Please wear weather-appropriate footwear and dress in layers. We won't be outside a lot but we will make a couple of short trips around the subject property. Please bring a notebook.

Handouts and copies of all presentations will be provided. Lunch will be potluck so please bring a beverage or hearty dish to share. Please bring a plate, bowl, utensils, napkin (less waste). A large selection of permaculture-related resources will be on display for reference and inspiration.