For more information please go to:

http://allsortsacre.ca/education/permaculture-design-certificate-course/

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” - Albert Einstein

Everyday we hear about the problems that are in the world today. Climate change, oceans rising, food shortages; the list goes on and on. It is easy to feel helpless with all this bad news. What can one person do to help? More than you may think, and right in your own home.

Permaculture design focuses on solutions that are based in nature, working with nature, and beneficial for nature. But it isn’t JUST gardening – it’s a way of seeing the world and going beyond self sufficiency to community resiliency.

It doesn’t matter where you live –  an apartment,  house, farm, or cottage, all aspects of life can be improved with permaculture – from garden design to business structures. We will be exploring them all…

The key is seeing how all of them work together.

Through hands-on real-life situations, you will learn how to use permaculture in practical ways – landscape and garden design, handling livestock, to economic realities of a new economy.

This 9 month, 100+ hour course takes place over several weekends during the year. You will experience the natural cycle for all seasons. The extended length of the course, and on-line component, allows you to take what you have learned, apply it to your life, and get feedback from others in your permaculture community. It covers all of the standard PDC material set out by Bill Mollison, and extends it to cover areas that are relevant to our climate and living situations.

What you will learn in the course:

April-20/21: Introduction to Permaculture:
Saturday is spent immersing yourself in the philosophy of permaculture.. Like building a house, the foundational principles and ethics support everything else. You will have a grasp of how the principles apply to not just your own life, but also in your wider community.

Sunday will be focused on practical application. Learning about how the principles and ethics relate to ecology and agriculture. You will begin designing on the ground in real-life situations.

Saturday

• Permaculture History, Ethics & Principles

Sunday

• $100 Food Forest
• Ecology & Permaculture
• Team Design activity

May-18/19: Wholistic observation:

Observation isn’t just about looking. Saturday is all about expanding your senses to see the world in new ways, and how those skills can be applied to the landscape and yourself.

On Sunday we will be exploring the design process, learn landscape drawing conventions, as well as being out on the land. Skills from Saturday will be directly transferred to your first client. We will also be doing a skill building activity.

Saturday

• Wholistic Observation and Creativity
• Natural patterns
• Reading the landscape
• The design process
• Design drawing basics

 Sunday

• Field Trip: go to design client 1
• Agroforestry
• Hedgerows &  Woodlands
• Foraging
• Begin team design activity 1
• Skill Building

June-15/16: Layouts & Landscapes:

Saturday we begin reading the landscape. You’ll learn how to use various tools to make the job easier and more effective.

Sunday is all about the plants. Different types of forest gardening, soil health, and composting will all be covered, as well as how they all work together.

Saturday

• Land survey/layout – Andrew Macdonald of Arborvitae  Ecological Landscapes
• Site analysis
• Water
• Climate/landform
• Vegetation: annual & perennial
• Microclimates
• Skill Building

 Sunday

• Team design client 1-update
• Site assessment
• Forest gardening
• Food webs
• Soil food web
• Composting
• Skill Building

July-20/21: House & Home:
Saturday we focus on our immediate house and home. Ingrid connects house, home, and heart. As an architect and natural builder, Ingrid has a deep understanding of the importance that home, both inside and out, in our lives.

Sunday is your first client presentation. To celebrate your success we will be going on a field trip to see another property!

Saturday

• Buildings/technology – Ingrid Cryns BES, B Arch, OAA, CBT of soma earth natural building & design
• Building for Sustainability and Beyond
• Energy Systems, and Efficiencies
• Designing for People

Sunday

• Presentation: team presentations to client 1
• Field Trip: TBD
• Skill Building: TBD

August-17/18: Animals- Domestic & Wild:

Saturday is all about farm animals. Dr. Robwill cover animal needs and considerations from large to small. You will then get up close and personal with the animals at All Sorts Acre.

Sunday will be getting out into the woods. Learning how wild animals from tiny, to large fit into a permaculture landscape. Both urban and rural environments will be looked at.

Saturday

• Animal care & husbandry-Dr. Rob Swackhammer of Main Street Animal Hospital
• Animal Life cycles
• Feeding
• Forage options
• Laws
• Resources
• Skill Building

 Sunday

• Field Trip: go to design client 2
• Wildlife & Tracking
• Animal life cycles – wild & domestic
• Population ecology – beneficial wildlife
• Population ecology
• Begin team design activity 2

September-21/22: Permaculture & Community, Economy, and People:

Saturday we will be going on a field trip. Martin is a permaculture designer and teacher from England and has been involved in many community permaculture projects. He is the founder of Conestogo River Local Food Co-op and as well as a keystone in his local food movement. He and his family live in a straw bale house they built themselves.

Sunday is a work day. Putting pen to paper and applying your knowledge and skill to your second project and participating in some skill building.

Saturday

• Field Trip: Martin Tamlyn of Conestogo River Local Food Co-op: Straw bale house construction visit, local lunch at the Co-op
• Permaculture in your community
• Personal permaculture
• Economics and permaculture
• Social permaculture

Sunday

• Team design client 2-updates
• Skill Building Activity

October-19/20: Presentations and integration:
This weekend has an optional component. Saturday is presentation day for client  2. A potluck lunch will follow, and then you will be introduced to you final project.

Sunday we will be doing a skill building project, but it is an optional component.

Saturday

• Presentation: team presentations to client 2
• Introduce individual design project

Sunday

• Optional Skill Building Activity

November-16/17: Skill Building:

November is all skill building. Saturday we will be doing a seasonally appropriate  activity. Sunday will be a continuation, but it is an optional component.

Saturday

• Skill Building Activity

Sunday

• Optional Skill Building Activity

December-21:Celebrate:

A solstice presentation and party! Final presentations to the group. After we will celebrate with a potluck and finally a graduation ceremony.

Saturday

• Individual project presentations to group
• Solstice potluck party
• Graduation!

Other things you may encounter:All Sorts Acre is a working micro-farm, so you will be exposed to the seasons and cycles of farming. Some of the things you may be a part of include: meat birds, laying hens, raising chicks, planting the garden, wild food harvesting, canning, herb preparation, honey harvesting, and fibre processing to name a few.

For more information please go to:

http://allsortsacre.ca/education/permaculture-design-certificate-course/