Introduction to Permaculture Design Course (4 days)

Many of us want to live more sustainably, but with so many 'green' options and such busy lives it can be really hard to know where to start. Permaculture offers us an approach that helps us to identify the best tools and techniques for each of our own unique circumstances. This course covers the key principles of permaculture and how we can apply them in redesigning our homes and gardens to be both more sustainable and abundant. You'll learn about green building, energy efficiency, Permaculture gardening and much more.

This is course is designed to introduce permaculture principles but with an emphasis on supporting participants with designing their own homes and gardens.

We use group work, discussions, video, slide shows, observation and practical activities as learning methods. These are supportive of different learning styles and for people with learning challenges. Our courses are not just about imparting information to the students, there is plenty of knowledge out there, the important thing is knowing how to use this and feeling confident to do so.

Empowerment is the essence of the course. We will be using practical and theoretical teaching methods to create a fun, lively and inclusive experience. As a group we will benefit from collaborative learning and from having fun together. We don't expect any previous permaculture knowledge and recognise that everyone has their own unique skills, knowledge and areas of interest to bring.

Day One - Permaculture Basics:

• Permaculture ethics
• Principles of attitude
• Principles of ecology
• Energy efficient planning tools

Day Two - The Permaculture Garden:

• Soil basics
• The Soil food web
• Permaculture gardening factors & techniques
• Building soil and fertility
• Fruit tress and forest gardens

Day Three- The Permaculture Home:

• Buildings & structures: materials, energy efficiency
• Retrofitting homes
• Water harvesting and conservation
• Real wealth and wiser money

Day Four - The Permaculture Design Process*:

• The permaculture design process
• Site observations & client needs
• Tools & methods for data analysis
• Getting ideas down on paper
• Sharing initial design ideas to develop later at home

Permaculture Island is a family run smallholding that offers education and demonstrations of sustainable living and community services. Situated behind Reeth Bay in Niton and covering 1.6 acres, our house is of solar passive design, and insulated with straw bales. The smallholding is off-grid, water and electricity is gathered internally, wood fuel is sourced on-site and locally. Reducing dependence upon central products and services inevitably preserves more amenities available in the public domain. The progression of successful self reliance naturally leads to trade of resources, for example; we import local garden organic matter, and export education and surplus crops.  Our resilience to provide amenities in unpredictable times, is perhaps our greatest asset from a community perspective. The interest and support we receive from the public motivates further research and development, we encourage political organisations and council recommendations to protect and maintain the public amenities on offer.   

Our garden is managed using Forest Garden methods where mostly perennial crops and trees are mixed in such a way to imitate the pattern of a young woodland. Food production is simpler, compared with conventional crops and methods, requiring less labour. Fertility is raised or maintained with the application of mulches, organic matter is placed directly on the soil and not dug in. From 2013 we have offered local residents a garden drop off service for people that cant compost at home or access central facilities.  Mulch is transported around the site using a modified electric golf buggy, there is no such thing as waste, just resources in the wrong place.  The path to regenerative and eventually sustainable habitats is to recognise natural patterns and form directives that co-operate and complement how natural systems work. Albert Einstein once said “We cant solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them”. For nearly 20 years we have applied ecological principles to positively influence our surroundings so that separate elements are linked in such a way to draw integrated benefits. Designing civilised or wild habitats, as a whole system requires an innovation of “joined up” thinking, the potential for social and environmental reform is significant.  Public support for sustainable services is gathering popularity, we have noticed the shift and are currently trying to accommodate the interest. Each Sunday we provide a free open garden, where visitors can experience demonstrations and learn from information signs how the site is run, all visitors must arrive on foot.  The homestead is under continuous development and with ever changing and evolving ground research in practice; work is consistently in progress to develop more efficient and productive systems.

For more details about the venue contact Lucy and Gavin.

This 4 day course will run from 9.30am (please arrive by 9.00am for a prompt start) on Friday 10th May to 4.30pm on Monday 13th May. We'll have an hour for lunch, plus tea breaks during the mornings and afternoons.