Logo primary
Logo secondary
PermEco Inc.
PermEco Inc.
Details
Commenced:
01/03/2012
Submitted:
25/03/2012
Last updated:
28/10/2020
Location:
93 Golden Gully Road, Kin Kin, QLD, AU
Phone:
0754854664
Website:
http://permeco.org
Climate zone:
Sub tropical





My Projects

(projects i'm involved in)

PermEco Inc.

PermEco Inc.

Kin Kin, AU


Followers
Alex Clifton Alex Raffier Amanda McLennan Andrew Mugford Angelo Branca Ann Cantelow Anthony Hofer Austin  Bowden-Kerby Bar Shermeister Bemnet Alemayehu Bekele Ben Hamley Ben Szegedi Benjamin Taheny Bernhard (Bernie) Wessels Bonnie Freibergs Brendan Taylor Calvin Lawrence Carolyn Payne-Gemmell Chloe Fox Chris Garcia Christopher Dunn Coralie Tate Crystal Rickerd Danes Dan Boulton Daniel McGough Daniel Morrison daniel rycen Daniele Longo david spicer Dean Hazelwood Denise Grant Diego Gutiérrez Doris, Sze-chit Cheung Eliza Brazel Fabian  Torres Fionn Quinlan Flordeliza Harris Gary Abshire Gemma Hurst Giuseppe Branca Gordon Williams Grant Van der Merwe Heli  Iso-Aho Henry Mauricio Neira Hubert de Kalbermatten Hunter Lydon Iraz Candas James Reid James Skene Jamie Somma Jeff Cardinale Jessica Robertson João Gonçalves Jody Wall Jon Holland Jon Millard Justin Bramhall Justin Jia Justin  Robertshaw Kenton Zerbin Kerri Paine Kerry Ann Ennett Kevin Evans Kevin Thien Kim BEST Lachlan Turner Laurent Schlup Leisa Cox Line Marie Elkjær Johansen Linnie Lamb Loretta Buckner Lori Morris Lorraine Ciarallo Louise Knight Lucia Gibson Luiz Pereira Madeleine Le-Fort Marcus Pan Marcwill Williams Mason Reynolds Matt Masters Megan Bridge Michael Bell Michael Brahier Michael mcroftjr@yahoo.com Mustafa Fatih Bakir Neil Silverhair Nicco Campo Penelope Kothe Phil Driver Philippa Loates Phoenix Blackdove Randy Monk Richard Larson Roman Eisenkoelbl Rose Barrowcliffe Roseli Fragoso de Mello Rosie Harding Salah Hammad Sam Burnett-Ragueneau Sasha Ivanovic Silas Brown Simon van der Klei Starr Brainard Steve Gardin Sylvain Procter Tahlea Skennerton Timothy McKenzie Tsimba Mabongot Virginia Huynh Virgínia Walton Wessel van Keulen yongo otieno Zia Parker Zoe McGrath

Back to PermEco Inc.

Tackling the Urban Challenge

Project: PermEco Inc.

Posted by Zaia Kendall almost 12 years ago

Challenges and ideas for gardening in an urban environment...

Maximising space on a balcony

Most people in the world today live in an urban environment. Although this comes with advantages such as closeness to facilities, community, markets etc., it also comes with challenges for those who would like to live more sustainably and are keen to become more self reliant and grow some of their own food. 

Practising permaculture, or even just gardening in an urban setting is challenging for a number of reasons like space limitations, rules and regulations, micro climates and contamination, to name just a few. And yet, permaculture can be practised very successfully in urban environments, as seen in Cuba for example. There are of course examples of urban houses that have all the latest technology to make it "sustainable", but this costs a lot of money (and let's not even go into the discussion about  what some of these technologies cost the environment...). Most people however, do not have the funds or the resources to refit their house. So, what to do if you are on a budget but still want to do something about growing some (healthy) food at home in your small apartment, unit, townhouse or other urban dwelling?

Vertical garden for small plants

Indoor, bench top and container gardening can be an excellent way to start and doesn't break the bank. Everyday items can be recycled to be made into plant pots and watering cans, and sprouting can be a very cheap and easy way to start on the bench top. Running some netting on an indoor wall and hanging some homemade plant pots from it (eg recycled milk containers) is a visually interesting way to have a herb and lettuce garden. Don't use your bath much? Fill it with soil and grow some food in it! Or fill it with water and create an indoor pond, with some fish and other water plants and animals (edible of course!). Have a small indoor worm farm. Have some rabbits or guinea pigs, catch their manure and make it part of your compost system (you can eat the animals too, should you be so inclined...)

Small area propagation

Other challenges encountered are for example portability in a rental environment, so you can take everything with you should you move. Permanent changes can also (usually) not be made in a rental environment. Making your own compost and propagating is also an art that may seem daunting to some. Watering methods and re-use of water is another issue to think about. And then, which plants grow well in containers and which don't?

Anne Gibson, founder of greenjourney.com.au and the themicrogardener.com will share her experiences, knowledge and ideas with us in our Urban Permaculture course. She will help students on their way to creating some form of urban garden for themselves, and perhaps to inspire others to do so too!

This course will focus on implementing Permaculture principles in a variety of urban contexts including balcony and high rise gardens; courtyards and compact suburban blocks; community and allotment gardens; rental properties; and nature strip verge gardens. It covers the many challenges of growing in these urban spaces and practical solutions to design high yield, low cost/low energy/minimal maintenance edible landscapes.

Productive container gardens

Participants will learn about a variety of ways to grow food both inside the home and outdoors to take advantage of different micro climates; container gardening including portable options; solutions for those with special needs; vertical structures to maximise space including herb spirals; sprouting and seed raising; designing out problems; plant and seed selection; container challenged crops;  recycling nutrients indoors and out; watering, fertilising and maintenance; sourcing local materials economically; potting and seed raising mixes; small scale propagation techniques; mini compost systems; how to plant for a continual harvest; intensive growing methods; growing fruit trees in small spaces; self-reliance, reusing materials and making your own supplies.

The course includes practical hands-on learning activities and an urban garden tour of local properties. The content is ideal for people seeking to maximise food production and become more self-reliant; those involved in community gardens and shared residential spaces; people wanting to develop a consultancy business in urban Permaculture; and government, community groups or organisations seeking to implement low cost urban food solutions.

Click here to book!

Comments (0)

You must be logged in to comment.

Courses Taught Here!
Project Badges
Rural Community Aid Demonstration Educational Master plan
Administrators
Tom Kendall - Admin Zaia Kendall - Admin
Team Members

Report PermEco Inc.

Reason:

or cancel

Hide PermEco Inc.

Reason:

or cancel

Hide Tackling the Urban Challenge

Reason:

or cancel

Legend of Badges

Note: The various badges displayed in people profiles are largely honesty-based self-proclamations by the individuals themselves. There are reporting functions users can use if they know of blatant misrepresentation (for both people and projects). Legitimacy, competency and reputation for all people and projects can be evidenced and/or developed through their providing regular updates on permaculture work they’re involved in, before/after photographs, etc. A spirit of objective nurturing of both people and projects through knowledge/encouragement/inspiration/resource sharing is the aim of the Worldwide Permaculture Network.

Member

Member

A member is a permaculturist who has never taken a PDC course. These cannot become PDC teachers. Members may be novice or highly experienced permaculturists or anywhere in between. Watch their updates for evaluation.

Male memberFemale member

Permaculture Matchmaker

One of these badges will show if you select your gender and the "I'm single, looking for a permaculture partner" option in your profile.

unverified

PDC

People who claim to have taken a Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) course somewhere in the world.

verified

PDC Verified

People who have entered an email address for the teacher of their PDC course, and have had their PDC status verified by that teacher. Watch their updates for evaluation.

pri_verified

PRI PDC

People who’ve taken a Permaculture Research Institute PDC somewhere in the world.

pdc_teacher

PDC Teacher

People who claim to teach some version of PDC somewhere in the world.

pri_teacher

PRI Teacher

With the exception of the ‘Member’ who has never taken a PDC, all of the above can apply to become a PRI PDC Teacher. PRI PDC Teachers are those who the PRI recognise, through a vetting board, as determined and competent to teach the full 72-hour course as developed by Permaculture founder Bill Mollison – covering all the topics of The Designers’ Manual as well as possible (i.e. not cherry picking only aspects the teacher feels most interested or competent in). Such teachers also commit to focussing on the design science, and not including subjective spiritual/metaphysical elements. The reason these items are not included in the PDC curriculum is because they are “belief” based. Permaculture Design education concerns itself with teaching good design based on strategies and techniques which are scientifically provable.

PRI PDC Teachers may be given teaching and/or consultancy offerings as they become available as the network grows.

pri_teacher

Aid Worker

The individual with this badge is indicating they are, have, or would like to be involved in permaculture aid work. As such, the individual may or may not have permaculture aid worker experience. Watch their updates for evaluation.

pri_teacher

Consultant

The individual with this badge is indicating they are, have, or would like to do paid permaculture design consultancy work. As such, the individual may or may not have permaculture consultancy experience. Watch their updates for evaluation.

community

Community Project

Community projects are projects that help develop sustainable community interaction and increase localised resiliency.

Report Tackling the Urban Challenge

Reason:

or cancel