Course Information Coming Soon
Fall 2023
Permaculture Design Course (PDC)
based in the Shenandoah Valley
ABOUT
Permaculture is an ethically based design approach to creating sustainable human communities. Although rooted in agriculture, Permaculture design also touches on ecological restoration, community development, urban planning, energy systems, and architecture.
This Permaculture Design Course (PDC) is geared towards serious homesteading and commercial Permaculture farming in the Mid-Atlantic, while leaving plenty of room for the hobbyist and the simply curious. This is an opportunity to learn Permaculture Design from professional farmers who are doing the work!
We base our courses in hands-on, practical Permaculture, and we focus on demystifying foundational concepts to give our students the confidence and skills to jump right into their own projects. We work to hone design skills as a group and as individuals, and we also really lean in to social Permaculture, giving students important framework for success in their communities.
Permaculture is an ethically based design approach to creating sustainable human communities. Although rooted in agriculture, Permaculture design also touches on ecological restoration, community development, urban planning, energy systems, and architecture.
This Permaculture Design Course (PDC) is geared towards serious homesteading and commercial Permaculture farming in the Mid-Atlantic, while leaving plenty of room for the hobbyist and the simply curious. This is an opportunity to learn Permaculture Design from professional farmers who are doing the work!
We base our courses in hands-on, practical Permaculture, and we focus on demystifying foundational concepts to give our students the confidence and skills to jump right into their own projects. We work to hone design skills as a group and as individuals, and we also really lean in to social Permaculture, giving students important framework for success in their communities.
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COURSE LOCATION
This course will be held in the greater Shenandoah Valley area. We will be traveling quite a bit for field trips on course weekends, with the full schedule to be announced around June. We will likely spend 1 course weekend in the greater Charlottesville area, so be prepared to travel a bit. For interested parties, we will help facilitate carpool organization for the group. COVID We will follow CDC guidelines and protocols in regards to COVID. Hand sanitizer and masks will be available for student use. COURSE DATES & TIMES Course Dates Coming Soon Course hours are 9AM - 6PM each day, with some variance depending on curriculum, location, weather, etc. Plan for 9-6, though, and you'll be notified well in advance of any schedule tweaks. SCHOLARSHIP: 1 Full scholarship is available for this course. To apply: Send an essay demonstrating need, current work/context/ability, and vision for your future in Permaculture to Emilie at ShenPermInstitute@gmail.com by July 15th. Include your name and contact information. Optional - include a photo of you doing something you love. Omitting the photo will not affect your application. Decisions will be made by August 1. FOOD Heavy snacks, coffee, tea, and kombucha will be provided. Students will be responsible for providing their own lunches. If there is a serious COVID outbreak at the time of the course dates, shared foods may be limited. |
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COURSE INSTRUCTORS This course will be taught by SPI's core teaching team of Emilie Tweardy, Ryan Blosser, and Trevor Piersol. All three are professional farmers and experienced Permaculture deisgners/educators. This Fall's course will be their 13th course teaching together! Click Here To Learn More About SPI's Teaching Team. COURSE STRUCTURE Our days will run from 9 - 6pm, with an hour off for lunch midday. The course will be taught, in Permaculture fashion, by moving from patterns to details. We will learn foundations and core concepts first, drilling down into the details as we move along. Each day we will spend time both indoors and outdoors as we focus on observational skills and hands-on activities. Field trips and farm tours help cement concepts and allow on-the-ground learning to take place in real time. Typical days will see us both indoors and out, often at multiple locations. WHO SHOULD TAKE THE COURSE Anyone interested in developing a productive, efficient, and ecologically sustainable landscape, including backyard gardens, farms, homesteads, and communities. Permaculture Design applies to projects of all sizes and scales! This course will benefit the novice and the seasoned practitioner alike and is open to all regardless of experience. We have had students from many walks of life, including college students, extension agents, professional designers, homesteaders, soon-to-be retirees looking to plan their projects, apartment dwelling professionals, master gardeners, "just curious" folks and more. If you're uncertain where you fit into a course like this, please reach out to us at shenperminstitute@gmail.com. Whoever you are, there's a place for you in our Permaculture Design Course. |
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COURSE HIGHLIGHTS
-Tour regenerative farming operations in the area. -Learn hands-on skills on real working farms -Mushroom production and log inoculation workshop -Discussion of broadscale skills such as keyline design and silvopasture establishment. -Herbal Medicine and Fermentation demos and hands-on sessions -A deep focus on the "human sector" of design, and opportunities to hone your communication, client interview, and presentation skills -Participate in a group permaculture design project -Connect to a thriving community of permaculture designers and homesteaders -SPI's special Permaculture curriculum is tailored specifically to the Mid-Atlantic bio-region FIELD TRIPS & GUEST TEACHERS This course will be packed with field trips to regional permaculture projects and hands-on guest workshops. Students often tell us that these are some of their favorite parts of the course. Details TBD. PERKS Students receive a free custom t-shirt printed by a regional screen printer. Students receive free plant materials to take home to start their own projects. This varies seasonally, but previous examples include: Elderberry cuttings. Comfrey cuttings. Pawpaw seeds. Scion wood for grafting. Students will create and take home some sort of mushroom product. This could be an inoculated log, bucket, cardboard roll, etc. We will facilitate a seed swap during the course so that students may learn about new varieties and share their own seeds with the group. There will be a potluck on one of the Saturday evenings that students are invited (optionally) to attend. This is always a hi-light. The Shenandoah Permaculture Alumni Network is active, expansive, and growing all the time. You'll be one of many regional Permaculturists who share skills, knowledge, stories, labor and resources to build community and get the good work done! For more information contact Jamaica Gayle at PDC@shenandoahpermaculture.com |
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CURRICULUM OVERVIEW
Below are some, but not all, of the topics covered in the course:
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