2010 Permaculture Design Course
MORE INFORMATION
What is a Permaculture Design Course?
A Permaculture Design Course is a series of classes based on an international curriculum.
Most courses have minimum of 72 hours instruction time. (The Tacoma course will
easily have over 100 hours of education). Participants who attend all classes and
complete a final project will get a Permaculture Design Certificate. The goal is
that students will come away with an overview of many sustainability techniques,
how they work together, how to prioritize strategies, and where to look for more
information in their own designs.
How Do I Register?
Our registrar is Patricia Menzies.
*Phone: 253-565-2599
*Email sustainabletacomapierce@gmail.com.
*Amount: $100 is required to hold a place in the class, but full payment is desired
as soon as possible.
You decide what amount in the sliding scale you can pay.
*Checks can be made out to Divine Earth Gardening Project.
*Mail to:
Permaculture Course
c/o Patricia Menzies
1004 Earnest S Brazill, # 8
Tacoma, WA 98405.
What are the dates and times?
Feb 19*, 20 & 21
Mar 12*, 13 & 14
Apr 16*, 17 & 18
May 7*, 8 & 9
Jun 18*, 19 & 20
Jul 16*, 17 & 18
Aug 20*, 21 & 22
Sep 10*, 11 & 12
* denotes just the evening lecture.
Friday evening lectures are from 7-9pm.
Saturday and Sunday class is from 10am-5pm (lunch will be provided).
We will possibly camp overnight on a field trip on the night of July 17.
The September dates may change if the State Permaculture Convergence announces it
will be the same weekend.
What events are open to the general public?
All Friday evening lectures will be open to the public. Permaculture course students
will attend at no additional cost, and others may attend by paying $10-$5 sliding
scale.
Click here for more info.
What is a Permaculture certificate?
Completion of a Permaculture Design Course, and full participation in the final
project, earns a Permaculture Design Certificate. This means that one can use the
word ‘Permaculture’ in your business and publicity. The Design Certificate
is the first step towards other work in the Permaculture community.
Who is teaching the class?
Kelda Miller is the lead teacher for the
class. She has trained at the
Bullocks Permaculture Homestead and teaches classes around the Puget Sound
and specifically Pierce County. She lives in Sumner.
Marisha Auerbach will co-teach some classes. She is based at Wild Thyme Farm in SW Washington and has been teaching permaculture classes throughout Cascadia and even internationally for years.
Carolyn Harttwill co-teach some classes. She took the Earth Activist Training years ago and has been inspiring sustainable, socially-just work in Tacoma since. Her home and yard are a great urban demonstration of water and waste conservation, as well as edibles.
Tom Mcguirewill co-teach some classes. He was trained in Permaculture at Lost Valley Educational Center and is continuing studies at Evergreen State College. He specializes in natural building and is active with the Pitch Pipe Infoshop.
Chris Chisolm will teach Earth Skills segments throughout the course. He and his wife Kim run Wolf Camp (for youth) and Wolf College (for adults), teaching earth skills for the naturalist, tracker, herbalist, scout, hunter and artisan. He has written the book Wolf Journey.
Friday evening guest presenters
For the full list see here
Guest Speakers
*Stew
FraserWill teach basic cartography and mapmaking skills. Also an african
drummer extraordinaire.
*CritterWill
teach mycology and how mushrooms can save the world.
*Dan
BorbaSubverting the dominant paradigm and harvesting the rain since 1999.
*Henry
Stanley, part of the
Trackers NW team, will teach
rocket stoves and /or rocket mass heaters, etc. Also a kayak-builder
extraordinaire.
*B
Hendrix will be teaching cob building, inspired by her extensive trainings
at the
Cob Cottage Company.
To Be Announced: Many local sustainability experts will teach modules on various
topics. Once we have confirmed them, names and topics will be posted here.
Food & Lodging
Lunch, Saturdays & Sundays: Lunch is included in the course fee and will be
provided to participants at the Waldorf School or wherever class will be held. Contact
Johnnie for more details (monkey. mermaid @ gmail. com)
Snacks, Saturday & Sunday: Tea and Coffee will be provided. Among course students
we will rotate responsibility for other snacks. This will be coordinated on the
first day of class.
Lodging, if course participants do not live in Tacoma and need lodging, we may be
able to provide it. Contact Michele (monkey. mermaid @ gmail. com)
Worktrade & Scholarships
Once we have made budget we may be able to offer worktrade and/or scholarship. Worktrade
is valued at $10/hr. Contact Carolyn ( hartt_ c @ yahoo.com). We will hold an interview
before any worktrade is offered. To pay at the lower end of the sliding scale ($650),
an interview is not necessary.
Course Expectations:
Participants are expected to be to class on time and to participate fully. If someone
needs to miss class they should talk with Kelda (kelda @ riseup. net) about making
up classwork and/or learning subject matter in another way. Students are also expected
to participate in a Design Team final project. This involves meetings with teammates
outside of given class time, and preparing extra material for a final presentation.
Cancellation Policy
To have a place held for the course, there will be a $100 non-refundable deposit.
If you cancel before February 13th, all monies over $100 will be returned to you.
If you cancel after February 13th or later
your payment is non-refundable. If we cancel the course, we will fully refund you.
We prefer full payment as soon as possible, but tuition is due by at least February 20th, unless you have made other arrangements. Payment must be paid in full to receive certification at completion of course.
Where will class be held?
Friday night talks will *usually* be at
King’s Books (218 St. Helens Ave). On September 10 we will be at a
different location, to be decided.
Saturday and Sunday class will be held at the Tacoma Waldorf School (3315 S 19th
St.)
Every weekend we will have hands-on projects and field trips, so it is important
to look for email updates.
What will I learn?
2/20 & 2/21Permaculture Ethics & Principles are the basis of
the design system. You’ll learn what this foundation is, how these principles
are observed in nature, and how they apply to our lives and designs. We’ll
be teaching a plethora of observation techniques that open the senses to important
details.
3/13Reading the Landscape, Mapmaking are first steps in understanding the earth we live on and finding clues to how to best interact with it. In addition to the other observation skills, you’ll now learn bird language and microclimate assesment. You’ll learn how to visually portray nature’s patterns by learning map-making skills and doing base maps of different areas.
3/14Permaculture Design organizes information into different methodologies that help you plan, place, and prioritize elements into most efficient uses. Many playful games teach how to connect resources and expand creative possibilities within our designs and our lives. We’ll also look at indigenous models of land management.
4/17Soils, Compost, Nutrients, Mycology. Broken, contaminated soils are all around us and affect the food we eat and the abundance of our ecosystems. You’ll learn soil analysis and many soil-building and remediation strategies that are the first step in building your permaculture ecosystem. There’ll be a strong focus on mycoremediation and in cultivating mushrooms, as fungi do incredible work in the soil.
4/18Living in the Forest. Before we plan gardens we first look to native plants and animals, and the ecosystem components that protect and enhance them. We’ll teach wildcrafting of foods and medicines, about the abundant ‘non-timber forest products’ in this region, and how to sustainably harvest wood from a productive forest.
5/8Gardens & Plant Propagation. Permaculture gardens usually have self-seeding, perennial, year-round, self-maintaining, polyculture elements of abundance. You’ll learn the best plants and techniques for this climate, as well as many strategies of plant propagation to get you started: seed-starting techniques, taking cuttings, saving seed, and setting up your own plant nursery.
5/9Food Forests are the permaculture version of an orchard. We increase plant connections to diversify and increase harvest, which additionally lessons work for the gardener. We’ll teach the structure of a ‘guild’, how to create analog ecosystems and well-functioning food forests, and how to maintain and reproduce trees and shrubs.
6/19Water Stewardship in the home and landscape are a vital part of a good design. You’ll learn a set of water-harvesting and water-purifying approaches, from simple to complex, and learn how to prioritize them into your own designs. You’ll also learn components of wetland and aquaculture systems that are integral to permaculture systems in the Puget Sound region.
6/20‘Waste’ is often an over-abundance of a resource in the wrong place. We’ll teach how to adjust the cycle so resources can be used safely and without causing pollution. We’ll demonstrate both home projects and municipal projects to wisely use stormwater, clearwater, greywater, and even discuss humanure techniques.
7/17Animals. Our food forests would not be complete without many small and big animal helpers. You’ll learn how to integrate livestock, chickens, beneficial insects, bees, and even wildlife into your garden ecosystem, in a way that is mutually beneficial to all. You’ll also learn tracking and hunting basics, and best practices for deterring unwanted critters from upsetting the balance of ecosystem and harvest.
7/18 or 8/21Appropriate Technologies allow us to live sustainably while still enjoying a high quality of life. You’ll learn how to reduce your energy output and how to incorporate many ‘passive’ technologies into your home. Then you’ll learn basics of solar, wind, and microhydro technologies, as well as fuels. We’ll also learn primitive fire-building and how to build efficient wood-burning rocket stoves.
7/18 or 8/21Natural Building and creating affordable, renewable, non-toxic shelters is another element which adds to a healthy sustainable lifestyle. We’ll start with primitive/survival structures and then explore and practice with cobb, straw bale, passive solar, cordwood, and many techniques that work well in our region. We’ll also focus on which techniques can be used for retrofitting already existing houses and structures, so that you can begin to reduce costs and energy output in the place where you now live.
8/22Community Building strategies are essential to being able to create sustainable lifestyles. You’ll learn existing retrofit models for redesigning sustainable neighborhoods, villages, and cities. Additionally, we’ll teach different land access models such as land trusts, cohousing, ecovillages, ‘commons’, community farms, etc. You’ll also learn about alternative economics (barter, timedollars, LETS, potlatch/gift economies) as well as different right livelihood strategies that exist in this area and how you can get involved.
9/11, presentations, Design Teams are the completing project to demonstrate your understanding of permaculture design. Participants work in teams to map out, research, design, and prioritize recommendations for a specific piece of land in Tacoma. These recommendations are often used by clients and municipalities alike; the presentations are open to the public, and the projects chosen will likely shape the direction of Sustainable Tacoma Pierce’s next steps in Tacoma.
9/12Permaculture Phase II What happens after a Permaculture Design Course and what projects are going on within the movement? We’ll celebrate our success thus far and gear up for a Tacoma full of permaculture practitioners.