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Permaculture Re-skilling Workshops

Forest Path "What Permaculturalists are doing is the most important activity that any group is doing on the planet"
~Dr. David Suzuki

The word permaculture was coined by Bill Mollison and David in the mid-1970's to describe an integrated, evolving system of perennial or self-perpetuating species useful to humans.

A more current definition of permaculture, is 'Consciously designed landscapes which mimic the patterns and relationships found in nature, while yielding an abundance of food, fiber and energy for provision of local needs. People, their buildings and the ways in which they organize themselves are central to permaculture. Thus the permaculture vision of permanent or sustainable agriculture has evolved to one of permanent or sustainable culture. Earth

This two-part evening series teaches the skills necessary to become confident in basic Permaculture Principles and Practices. Between time in the nature and classroom you will learn how make a wide variety of nature practices. Learn how to identify and see patterns of sustainability on our nature~earth walks.

"You can fix all the world's problems, in a garden. You can solve them all in a garden. You can solve all your pollution problems, and all your supply line needs in a garden. And most people today actually don't know that, and that makes most people very insecure."
~Geoff Lawton, Permaculture Designer and Teacher

At the end of the series, you will have the beginnings of seeing how to become part of the change by becoming part of the solution. as well as the knowledge to expand it on their own. The curriculum will focus on the following areas:

Permaculture Principles: The Essence of Permaculture
We will explore the ethics and 12 design principles behind the diversity and creativity of permaculture.

Sustainability through Permaculture: Learn how to create sustainable, productive, and beautiful human environments using natural ecosystems as models. Permaculture is an evolving and expanding design system for ecological living, integrating plants, people, and planetary communities.

The Vision: Even Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts are taught to leave a campsite in better shape than how they found it. As a culture, just imagine if every generation left their part of the world in better shape then when they found it.

Hands Holding Earth Sustainable landscapes are life filled places that not only provide food for humans, they are habitats for wildlife, carbon sequestering, biodiversity, natural soil building gardens of fruit, berries and nuts, perennial and annual vegetables and herbs. These many-layered gardens are beautiful, resilient and self-renewing. With the emphasis on the whole system as an interrelated organism, interconnectedness is the key to a healthy, dynamic garden. Let nature be the model we use to design landscape. The vision is to maintain the benefits of a natural ecosystem while increasing the amount of food produced aiming towards sustainability, productivity and low maintenance.

Is It Possible? This is not hard to do. This series will make that perfectly clear. We can create a culture and a way of living on this planet that is bountiful rather than consumptive, that creates healthy soil, water and air instead of pollution, that creates beauty everywhere.

We can live in abundance while still improving the planet for future generations. That is what the primary focus is of this series. How do we learn to observe what is truly going on? How do we use the natural abundance that surround us to provide our needs? How do we do it in such a way as to create no pollution or waste? We can create abundance, beauty and healthfulness everywhere on the planet and for everyone. It all comes down to desire and design.

"It is time for all of us to make changes about how we live our lives and to follow a path of the heart. By following our intuition and inspiration we encourage our own acts of heartfelt genius and boldness. This makes us feel alive and vital, gives us a great purpose and harnesses parts of ourselves we may have neglected or didn't even know we had. We no longer feel overwhelmed by the way the Earth's resources are managed, but recognize that change is in our hands, yours and mine, the hands of extraordinary people who have made a leap of understanding and are determined to make a difference. We become part of the change by becoming part of the solution."  ~Glennie Kindred ‘Earth Wisdom'

An article written by one of our students and her experience
The Living Centre: Permaculture in Canada

Permaculture Practicum: Principles & Practices
(Reskilling Spring Series)

Permaculture Principles

"Permaculture is defined as consciously designed landscapes which mimic the patterns and relationships found in nature, while yielding an abundance of food, fiber and energy for the provision of local needs…more precisely I see Permaculture as the use of systems thinking and design principles that provide the organizing framework for implementing the above vision."

~" David Holmgren ‘Pathways to Sustainability' 2004

7 three-hour sessions
Thursday evenings,
May 28 -July 19, 2012
Time - 6:30 - 9:30pm
$40. per evening or
$250 for the Spring Series

21 hours of quality instruction from qualified teachers
Inspiring and Engaging Instructions, Demonstrations and Visual Presentations
A copy of Bill Mollison's "An Introduction To Permaculture" An Edited Transcript of a PDC
The Series includes handouts, and a Permaculture DVD Adobe Reader
Essence of Permaculture Manual

7 Topics of Focus - A Living Systems Approach

1. Permaculture Principles & Practices

Creating the new story - guidelines for sustainable living
Applying the Elements of Design in your own backyard
Integrating the new science of Living Systems & Indigenous wisdom

2 - Earth: The Soil Food Web

Designing pathways for Re-localization
Building soil fertility
Incorporating local foods - how & where

3 - Water Sustainability to offset Climate Change

Understanding the dynamics of a fluid system
Crafting water catchment - the how to's
Practicing sheet mulching
Creating HugelKulturs

4 - Sun: Efficient Passive Energy Systems

Harnessing & re-charging the inner solar battery
Creating hot spots to extend your growing system
Reducing your energy bill
Building cold frames & mini greenhouses

5 - Air: Tapping into the Power of Flow Through

Circulating this vital energy source of Wind Power
Tapping into open systems that can self-stabilize, regenerate & evolve
Knowing art & rhythms of self renewal
Creating tranquil micro-climates for all to flourish

6 - Ether/Space: Integration - The Web of Life

Bringing it all together - Shelter, Food, Water, Waste & Energy
Designing your very own sustainable landscape
Reclaiming your roots as an integral part of a larger living system

7 - Going Forth: Maintaining Energy and Enthusiasm

Create empowered choices, lives & societies
Envisioning ones future differently & building Earth Community.
Getting motivated to join with others in healing our world

The 12 permaculture design principles are thinking tools, that when used together, allow us to creatively re-design our environment and our behavior in a world of less energy and resources. Each principle can be thought of as a door that opens into whole systems thinking, providing a different perspective that can be understood at varying levels of depth and application.

A Permaculture Forest Garden is an integrated perennial polyculture of multipurpose species that mimic the structure and function of a natural forest ecosystem. The principles of permaculture are being implemented to design and establish a sustainable garden. To create a low input, high output system that benefits and the environment, providing a great range of products.

This series is being offered to be inspiring and filled with practical information on the vision, ecology, design, and stewardship of perennial polycultures of multipurpose plants in small-scale settings.

Permaculture Practicum: Principles & Practices
(Reskilling Fall Series)

Permaculture Flower

"Is it all worth it? If we do our best to heal the Earth and make our place in her a sustainable one, is there a good chance that we will succeed?…to my mind that's the wrong question. Even if we could answer it – and we can never know anything about the future for certain, it would beg the question How do I want to live my life? So my answer to the question..is that I want to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem". 
~Patrick Whitefield 'Earth Care Manual'

7 three-hour sessions
Thursday evenings,
Oct. 11 - Nov. 22, 2012
Time - 6:30 - 9:30pm
$40. per evening or $250 for the Fall Series

21 hours of quality instruction from qualified teachers
Inspiring and Engaging Instructions, Demonstrations and Visual Presentations
A copy of Bill Mollison's "An Introduction To Permaculture" An Edited Transcript of a PDC
The Series includes handouts, and a Permaculture DVD Adobe Reader
Essence of Permaculture Manual

7 Topics of Focus

The Skills of a Self-Sufficient Permaculture Gardener

1 - Oct. 11 - Creating Microclimates: Extending the Growing Season
2 - Oct. 18 - Seeds for the Fall-Winter Season
3 - Oct. 25 - Planning & Planting the Winter Harvest
4 - Nov. 1 - The Outdoor Garden: Crop Protection
5 - Nov. 8 - The Covered Garden: Building the Magic Box
6 - Nov. 15 - The Underground Garden: Root Cellars & Indoor Harvesting
7 - Nov. 22 - Practices for Permaculture in Winter

Deep Ecology - Deep Organic Forest Gardening Design Practices

This is a educational experience both a 'hands-on' training as well as deepening the theory. About 50% of the time will be spent in the classroom covering the permaculture design principles and sharing example after example of how these are applied. There will be time spent outside exploring patterns and features of the landscape as well as some actual permaculture design work. Each student will be involved in the brainstorming of several permaculture designs as well as working on their own project. Shantree Teaching

The goal of this training is for you to come away with a new pair of permaculture eyes. A pair of eyes that can see an abundance of opportunities in any urban or suburban landscape or setting.

Basic Training Outline
Stage 1: Foundations of Permaculture
Stage 2: Our Permaculture Gardens
Stage 3: Our Permaculture Homes
Stage 4: Recreating Ourselves and Our Communities

Who can Benefit from Permaculture? Plant Study

This weekly series was designed to make available to the everyday suburban or urban dweller a solid understanding of permaculture design and techniques so that they can implement this life enhancing knowledge to their immediate and local surroundings.

By the end of this training, you will possess the following knowledge and skills:

What you will Learn: Permaculture Theory

Herb Walk

Embracing the Soil Community
Principles of Pruning and Tree Health
Guild Assemblies
Elements of Cultivated Ecologies
Modifying Sunlight and Capturing Solar Gain
Raising & Preserving much of one's food 
Techniques for Dramatically Reducing Energy Use 
Beautiful, Functional and Edible Landscape Design 
Garden Designs that Increase Production
What is at the Heart of Creating a 'Permanent-Culture'

Hands–on-Learning
Practical Permaculture Experience

Lorenna's Garden Bliss

Building Soil Fertility
Observation and Landscape Analysis
Plant Identification recognizing Plant families
Hands-on Pruning Practices
Harvesting the Surrounding Abundance
Exercise in Sheet Mulch Bed Preparation
Tools and their Energy Implications
Garden Design, Establishment, and Methods
Short Design Exercise in Creativity

The Weekly Flow

An individual can one evening session the spring or fall evening series or take the two-part series as a complete training course.

Recommended Reading for the Course

Permaculture: Principles & Pathways Beyond Sustainability (HolmgrenDesign Services, 2009)
Permaculture: A Designers Manual(Bill Mollison, Tagari Publications)
Introduction to Permaculture: (Bill Mollison, Tagari Publications)

Certificate

A Certificate of Completion will be issued upon completing the two-part series training.

"Eden was a garden, not a farm." ~Toby Hemenway

Shantree Kacera, D.N., Ph.D. and Lorenna Kacera are founders and directors of The Living Centre and Living Arts Institute. Together they blend their over 35 years each, of experience to offer programs that support individuals in the practice of conscious living.

Through The Sevenfold Path of Peace, Ayurvedic Teachings, and a Local-Live-Plant-Food-based lifestyle they support those with a passion to live healthier, happier and more spiritually fulfilled lives.

Lorenna and Shantree are internationally celebrated visionaries, authors, educators, nutritional researchers and world peace workers.

Shantree is an certified Permaculture Educator, Ayurvedic Live-Food Nutritionist, Therapeutic andShamanic Herbalist and Constitutional Iridology Educator with 35 years experience in the Natural Healing Arts. He is the founder and co-director of The Living Centre (1983) and Living Arts Institute.

Since the mid 1980's Shantree has been applying permaculture practices. Creating his own unique approach to how does Permaculture work in Canada. After 30 years he is now sharing this with his students and apprentices who come to study Forest Gardening and Permaculture.

Shantree's laboratory ~ spiritually, emotionally, and physically ~ is the forest garden, from which spring ideas about shifting world paradigm through rethinking how we live our lives and how to regenerate our gardens. To learn how to live intimately with all our relations that live in our bioregion.

Lorenna Bousquet-Kacera is a Certified Permaculture Educator with a specialty in evolutionary regeneration at the personal, ecological and spiritual levels. She is the founder of Shamanu: Earth Wisdom Teachings, practices that support an earth-based cosmology, teaching visionary and practical solutions for personal and social change.

Her 35 years of training in the field of inner permaculture and deep ecology provides individuals with the skills to reconnect with the 'original instructions' revealed to us from nature.