COURSE OUTLINE
WORKSHOP ONE
Saturday 25 March 2023
9AM - 4PM
PERMACULTURE - AN INTRODUCTION
DESIGNING A SUSTAINABLE LIFE
Permaculture is a design system that offers sustainable solutions for growing and living. Learn about the principles and ethics that underpin this systems thinking approach. You will explore design techniques and gain practical solutions to implement the following permaculture principles in all aspects of life.
Use and value diversity
Catch and store energy
Integrate
Observe and interact
Use small slow solutions
Apply self-regulation and accept feedback
Design from pattern to details
Creatively use and respond to change
Use edges and value the marginal
Obtain a yield
Produce no waste
WORKSHOP TWO
Sunday 26 March 2023
9AM - 4PM
EDIBLE GARDEN DESIGN
+ TECHNIQUES FOR GROWING EDIBLE PLANT
GROW A HEALTHY EDIBLE GARDEN USING PERMACULTURE TECHNIQUES
Grow your own healthy organic food to avoid rising costs and disrupted supply chains.
Regardless if you have a tiny or large space, choosing the best site and layout is crucial to a healthy edible garden.
Learn techniques to quickly turn a hard neglected spot into a garden brimming with abundance!
In this workshop we’ll be covering:
Building a garden using what you have
No dig garden demonstration
Growing on trellises
Plant what where
Continuous harvests
Maximising natural energy
Placement for sun and water
Retrofitting existing gardens
Don't know what to plant when, or how? Get ready to sow seeds, take cuttings and multiply plants without spending a small fortune at the nursery. A planting schedule and succession plan will have you growing food and saving your own seeds in no time.
In this workshop we’ll ALSO be covering:
Propagation
Placement
Seasonal planting
Seed raising
Seed saving
Cuttings
Grafting
Planting schedules
Succession planting
WORKSHOP THREE
SATURDAY 29 APRIL 2023
9AM - 4PM
WATER
MANAGING A PRECIOUS RESOURCE
Good water management is essential to a productive, healthy garden. A working understanding of how to manage water will enable you to design living systems for people and the planet. Learn how to adapt to changing rainfall patterns and enjoy practical sessions on swales, ponds, grey water and how to slow down, spread, sink and store water in your landscape
In this workshop we’ll be covering:
The Hydrological System
Rainfall capture
Water in the landscape
Watering your plants
Designing water systems that rehabilitate degraded land
WORKSHOP FOUR
SATURDAY 27 MAY 2023
9AM - 4PM
SOIL - THE FOUNDATION
HOW SOIL IS MADE, HOW IT IS LOST AND HOW IT CAN BE REPAIRED
Soil is the foundation to good growing. It is crucial to be able to recognise and protect healthy soils. As well as looking after your soil, learn how to identify problems, take a soil sample and improve your soil using techniques such as mulching, composting, biochar, worm farms and animal tractors.
WORKSHOP FIVE
SATURDAY 24 JUNE 2023
9AM - 4PM
FOOD FORESTS + HABITATS FOR WILDLIFE
A NATURE BASED GROWING SYSTEM
Food forests are a wonderful way of layering plants to receive the best yields [Food forests are a diverse mix of edible plants that mimic natural ecosystems and patterns found in nature]. You will learn design skills and techniques such as plant placement, guilds, shelterbelts and microclimate adaptation. Practical examples of incorporating small animals into your design and how to use living mulch will get you geared up to start your very own food forest.
In this workshop we’ll be covering:
Guilds
How to design the 7 layers of your food forest
Small animals in Food Forests (husbandry)
Rootstocks and grafting (explanation)
Living mulch
Windbreaks/shelter belts
Microclimates - heat traps
Bees
Preserve, protect and rehabilitate wild spaces. Understand the crucial role wildlife plays in the landscape and how you can design gardens that encourage and protect them. Learn basic first aid for helping injured and orphaned wildlife.
In this workshop we’ll also be covering
Understanding the crucial role local wildlife plays in the landscape
preserving, protecting and rehabilitating wild spaces
sharing our gardens with wildlife
planting and designing to protect and encourage wildlife
wildlife corridors and the role they play
Basic first aid for helping injured/orphaned wildlife
What are keystone species?
WORKSHOP SIX
SATURDAY 29 JULY 2023
9AM - 4PM
MAKING THE MOST OF THE HARVEST
PROTECT AND PRESERVE THE BOUNTY
Did you know there are harmful bugs as well beneficial bugs in your garden? Learn how to encourage the good ones and the importance of diversity in your garden. Integrated pest management will ensure you protect your crops and enjoy a bountiful harvest. Learn how to preserve the surplus with cooking, pickles and ferments.
In this workshop we’ll be covering:
Integrated pest management and weeds
The importance of diversity
Identify good & bad garden visitors
Encourage natural predators
Protect your crops
Harvest your crops
Cook, preserve, ferment & share
WORKSHOP SEVEN
SATURDAY 26 AUGUST 2023
9AM - 4PM
LIVE THE LIFE + BUILD RESILIENCE
ETHICAL MONEY AND YOUR PERMACULTURE HOME
PLAN FOR A CHANGING CLIMATE
Would you like your lifestyle to be in step with your ethics? Learn easy strategies on how to turn your home into a resilient, healthy nest for you and your family. Decisions on how we use our money and resources can have a very real and lasting impact on the planet. Practical solutions on banking, insurance and superannuation so that you can feel confident that you are protecting people and the planet.
In this workshop we’ll be covering:
why money matters
Your permaculture home - your home, your choice - learn easy strategies
Retrofitting
Build resilience by learning how to prepare for and respond to disasters. Understanding how communities respond to natural disasters as they become more frequent and unpredictable. Explore what makes a community resilient and how to look after yourself and those around you in times of crisis.
In this workshop we’ll also be covering:
Future proof your home and community
Prepare for disaster
Understand the disaster cycle
Understand what makes a community resilient
Looking after yourself and those around you in times of crisis.
Self care
WORKSHOP EIGHT + NINE
Saturday 30 SEPTEMBER 2023
SATURDAY 28 OCTOBER 2023
[SATURDAY 25 NOVEMBER 2023 - back up]
9AM - 4PM
BRINGING YOUR PERMACULTURE DESIGN TOGETHER
DESIGN A PLAN FOR YOUR AND YOUR UNIQUE SITUATION
Put the permaculture jigsaw together - bring together all the permaculture design techniques into a workable plan. Inform your design thinking through patterns in nature and plan for a sustainable home, productive landscape and regenerative social actions . Be supported to present a final design and be awarded with a Permaculture Design Certificate.
In these workshops we’ll be covering:
Design techniques
Principles in design
Patterns in nature
Site and sector analysis
Finalising and presenting a permaculture plan
Planning across seasons and time
(PDC will be awarded upon completed design demonstrating knowledge in key permaculture principles and techniques)