Permaculture Essentials for the Pacific NW, 36 hour class
Build resilience, save money and energy, save water, and feed your family or community.
Come join our latest classes!
12 classes – $15 each (If all classes are paid in advance, course discounted to $160)
Permaculture is “Earth Care, People Care, and Return of Surplus,” combining traditional and innovative methods that are sustainable and energy saving, enriching to the soil and all life. Design a system to feed your family, or complete additional short classes to earn your certificate and work as a consultant.
Permaculture Essentials for the Pacific NW covers permaculture history and ethics and goes into depth on the core concepts for creating sustainable systems by observing connections and capturing energy. Explore the energy transactions of trees, the roles of fungi, and the many functions of living soil. Learn pH, mineral availability, and enriching your soil with worm beds, weeds as repair tools, and compost fixing strategies. Study landscape effects on climate and temperate climate design for your home and landscape from kitchen gardens to main crops and food forests. This course prepares you to design a sustainable system for your yard or small farm in the Pacific NW.
Saturdays, starting September 10th, 2016, 10am-1pm, @ Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Salem, 5090 Center St. NE, Salem, Oregon. Instructor, L. June, email nwperma at gmail dot com, or call 503-449-8077 for questions or registration
Abundance on a Dry Land: Water Crisis or Run-off Crisis? Harvesting Solutions
In California and other regions affected by drought, agriculture is suffering from a lack of water and farms are being abandoned at an alarming rate. Fortunately, some people have developed solutions to capture the rains that DO fall. In many dry regions around the world, land restoration helps water penetrate healthy soils and in turn increase crop yields.
Even in dry areas, water which typically might run off, can be harvested and stored in tanks, ponds and swales. By using swale systems, gabions, biodiversity, mulching, pioneer trees, animals both wild and domestic, check dams, fruit forests, keyline plows, compost teas and many other methods, it is possible to turn the soil into a large sponge, and design new productive landscapes.
Abundance on a Dry Land explores the work of Erik Ohlsen, Geoff Lawton and other growers, permaculture designers and educators, showing how intentional design can benefit both humans and nature. 52 mins.
Earth Care, People Care, Fair Share: Free Film and Lecture Series
Held in Salem every 4th Thursday @ 6:30pm (except November and December)
Salem 4th Thursday events include potluck & discussion
@ Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Salem, 5090 Center Street. NE, Salem
For more information email nwperma@gmail.com or call 503-449-8077
Build resilience, save money and energy, save water, and feed your family or community.
Come join our latest classes!
12 classes – $15 each (If all classes are paid in advance, course discounted to $160)
Permaculture is “Earth Care, People Care, and Return of Surplus,” combining traditional and innovative methods that are sustainable and energy saving, enriching to the soil and all life. Design a system to feed your family, or complete additional short classes to earn your certificate and work as a consultant.
Permaculture Essentials for the Pacific NW covers permaculture history and ethics and goes into depth on the core concepts for creating sustainable systems by observing connections and capturing energy. Explore the energy transactions of trees, the roles of fungi, and the many functions of living soil. Learn pH, mineral availability, and enriching your soil with worm beds, weeds as repair tools, and compost fixing strategies. Study landscape effects on climate and temperate climate design for your home and landscape from kitchen gardens to main crops and food forests. This course prepares you to design a sustainable system for your yard or small farm in the Pacific NW.
Wednesday evenings, starting June 8th, 2015, 6:30pm-9:30pm, @ First United Methodist Church, 1771 West Harvard, Roseburg, Oregon. Instructor, Diana Cason, call 941-735-0452, or 541-459-3938 for questions or registration
Design your own lower maintenance garden and reap the benefits for years to come
Permaculture Essentials for the Pacific NW
12 classes – $15 each (If all classes are paid in advance, course discounted to $160)
Permaculture is “Earth Care, People Care, and Return of Surplus,” combining traditional and innovative methods that are sustainable and energy saving, enriching to the soil and all life. Design a system to feed your family, or complete additional short classes to earn your certificate and work as a consultant.
Permaculture Essentials for the Pacific NW covers permaculture history and ethics and goes into depth on the core concepts for creating sustainable systems by observing connections and capturing energy. Explore the energy transactions of trees, the roles of fungi, and the many functions of living soil. Learn pH, mineral availability, and enriching your soil with worm beds, weeds as repair tools, and compost fixing strategies. Study landscape effects on climate and temperate climate design for your home and landscape from kitchen gardens to main crops and food forests. This course prepares you to design a sustainable system for your yard or small farm in the Pacific NW.
Let’s build resilience, save money and energy, save water, and feed our communities now.
Come join one of our latest classes!
Monday evenings, starting September 28th, 2015, 6:30pm-9:30pm, @ Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Salem, 5090 Center St NE, Salem. Instructor, L. June, call 503-449-8077 for questions or registration
Presented by the NW Permaculture Institute. Our instructors and staff studied permaculture with world renowned permaculture designer & instructor, Geoff Lawton, of PRI, Australia, and his students. We offer classes at low rates, as well as free film and lecture series to further educate our students and the community. NWPI works with homeless and low income families to provide education to those who would otherwise be unable to take a permaculture course. Scholarships are available on a limited basis for those with financial need. Contact us for information on applying, or on donating to our scholarship fund, or to support our free film and lecture series, nwpermacultureinstitute.org
Concerned about Oregon’s drought and the future of farming?
Rising fuel prices are a wake up call for filmmaker, Rebecca Hosking, as she investigates how to turn her family’s farm in Devon into a low energy farm for the future. Going beyond mere alarm raising to present practical, ingenious solutions from pioneering farmers and gardeners, Rebecca shows that nature holds some surprising keys to abundance. Film 50 minutes.
After the film, Lichen June, Director of the NW Permaculture Institute, will speak and take questions about how permaculture saves energy, money, and time while growing nutrient dense food, dropping your water usage, reducing heating and cooling bills, and benefiting the environment around us rather than decreasing fertility and life in the landscape. Learn about the content taught in the local NW Permaculture Institute class, “Permaculture Essentials for the Pacific NW,” and how you can use that information to benefit your land and living space, or go on to become a permaculture designer.
Earth Care, People Care, Fair Share: Free Film and Lecture Series
Held in Salem every 4th Thursday @ 6:30pm (except November and December)
Salem 4th Thursday events include potluck & discussion
@ Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Salem, 5090 Center Street. NE, Salem
For more information: 503-449-8077
Here at the NW Permaculture Institute we are wishing you an abundant 2015 in education, fertile soil, and healthy home grown foods.
Earth Care, People Care, Fair Share: Free Film and Lecture Series presents our first films of 2015
January 20th @ 6:30pm – The Agro Rebel: Permaculture in the Salzburg Alps, 45 mins. How can Sepp Holzer farm fish, livestock, vegetables and herbs, a wide variety of fruits including lemons high in the Alps? No weeding, no watering, no annual plowing. The Agro Rebel explores the unusual, sustainable, energy and time saving, farming methods developed by Austrian farmer, Sepp Holzer. Film showing at Pringle Creek Community, 3911Village Center Drive SE, Salem. For more info call Diana Cason, 941-735-0452. Presented by NWPI with help from Pringle Creek Community.
January 22nd @ 6:30pm – The Greenhorns, 50 minutes. “Monoculture, monopoly, cheap food and poor diets – these are the consequences of an agricultural system gone awry, driven by policy and corporate control. Here we are, unhealthy. Re-orienting our food system is a project worth tackling, and these young farmers have chosen to become part of the solution, addressing the crisis they see by learning the skills needed, and starting the kinds of businesses that, one by one, can replace complicated, entrenched systems. Today’s young farmers are dynamic entrepreneurs, stewards of place. They are involved in local politics, partnering with others, inventing new social institutions, working with mentors, starting their careers as apprentices, borrowing money from the bank, putting in long hours, taking risks, innovating, experimenting. Farming with horses, with hacked tractors, with forgotten urban lots and Appalachian coal country. These young farmers have vision: a prosperous, satisfying, sustainable food system. It is ambitious, it will take work, but it wont be boring.”
Event includes finger food potluck and discussion, @ 6:30 pm, Thursday January 22nd at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Salem, 5090 Center Street NE, Salem. For more info call 503-449-8077. Presented by NWPI, with support from UUCS and Life Source Natural Foods.
In January we are starting a new section of our 36 hour class:
Permaculture Essentials for the Pacific NW
Permaculture is “Earth Care, People Care, and Return of Surplus,” combining traditional and innovative methods that are sustainable and energy saving, enriching to the soil and all life. Design a system to feed your family, or complete additional short classes to earn your certificate and work as a consultant.
Permaculture Essentials for the Pacific NW covers permaculture history and ethics and goes into depth on the core concepts for creating sustainable systems by observing connections and capturing energy. Explore the energy transactions of trees, the roles of fungi, and the many functions of living soil. Learn pH, mineral availability, and enriching your soil with worm beds, weeds as repair tools, and compost fixing strategies. Study landscape effects on climate and temperate climate design for your home and landscape from balcony or kitchen gardens to main crops and food forests. This course prepares you to design a sustainable system for your yard or small farm in the Pacific NW.
Let’s build resilience, save money and energy, save water, and feed our communities now. Come join our latest class!
Classes will be three hours, 6:30-9:30 each Wednesday evening, held in Salem starting on January 28th. $15 per class. Space is limited, contact instructor, Diana Cason at 941-735-0452, to reserve your seat, or to ask for more information and location.
2015 – International Year of the Soils
There is little as important as the health and preservation of living soils. To learn more about the importance of soil and the relationship between soil and carbon, we recommend the following books:
Welcome to all of our new and returning students! We are glad to be sharing and supporting your learning journey. Everyone currently registered gets a hard copy of the 36 hour, 12 class breakdown from their instructor, however, we post here too for those of you who need to make up a class, or who just want to repeat a class and deepen your understanding of the core concepts. New students, if you have missed Class One, or any class session, call Instructor Diana Cason at 941-735-0452 to get details on how to attend a make up session. (Note: the Saturday classes have been changed to independent study schedules to meet the needs of our out of town students and are no longer meeting on Saturdays in NE Salem. We will be starting a new section of Permaculture Essentials for the Pacific NW in NE Salem in Early 2015.)
Class One
Tuesday 10/7/14 @ 6:30pm at Pringle Creek, and Friday 10/10/14 @ 6pm at Silverton Grange Class business and introductions, beginning Introduction to Permaculture Chapter, Key Problems, Permaculture Ethics, Definition, Sustainability, History
* Class Two
Tuesday 10/21/14 @ 6:30pm at Pringle Creek, and Friday 10/31/14 @ 6pm at Silverton Grange Permanent culture, urban, repair and aid work, Permaculture in society, Permaculture as holistic design, Introduction Concepts and Themes Chapter, Hierarchy of soil creation in natural systems
* Class Three
Tuesday 11/4/14 @ 6:30pm at Pringle Creek, and Friday 11/7/14 @ 6pm at Silverton Grange Elements – needs & products, The sun – source of energy, Characteristics of natural ecosystems, Weeds, Pioneers, Niches, Weeds – fast tracking recovery by design techniques, Diversity leads to stability, Connections between elements, Positioning elements, Use of natural resources, Energy, Edge opportunities, Capturing energy, Extending entropy
* Class Four
Friday 11/14/14 @ 6pm at Silverton Grange, and Tuesday 11/18/14 @6;30pm at Pringle Creek Categories of resources, Dispersal of yield over time, Diversity of plants, Perennial food advantages, Diversity and security, Yield and energy inputs, Niches, Introduction to Methods Chapter, Analysis: design by listing characteristics of components, Slope, orientation, Zone analysis, Sector analysis, Designing with zones, Zonal placement, Sectors, Outside energies effect on site
* Class Five
Tuesday 12/2/14 @ 6:30 at Pringle Creek, and Friday 12/5/14 @ 6pm at Silverton Grange Listing possibilities, selection of random assemblies, Connecting elements, Simple efficiencies, Observation, Introduction to Pattern Chapter, Patterns in nature, Pattern forms, Fibonacci sequence, Formation of pattern, Working with nature and patterns, Scale and order of size, Order and form, Edge areas
* Class Six
Tuesday 12/16/14 @ 6:30pm at Pringle Creek, and Friday 12/19/14 @ 6pm at Silverton Grange Edge effect, Working with pattern design events, Looking for existing patterns, Translating pattern form, Re-patterning a river, Wind patterns, Pattern used for passing on knowledge, Pattern for productive form, The herb spiral, Traditional use of pattern, Re-patterning society, The pit garden banana circle, Edge to space relationships
* Class Seven
Tuesday 1/6/15 @ 6:30pm at Pringle Creek, and Friday 1/9/15 @ 6pm at Silverton Grange Introduction to Climatic Factors Chapter, Using local knowledge, Temperate climate, Orographic effect, Maritime effect, Continental effect, Rain shadow, Micro climate, Landscape effects on climate, Climate analogues, Characteristics of temperate climate zone, Orographic features, Humid landscape profile, Flatlands, Wetlands, Water – stop, spread and soak
* Class Eight
Tuesday 1/20/15 @ 6:30pm at Pringle Creek, and Friday 1/23/15 @ 6pm at Silverton Grange Introduction to Trees Chapter, Temperature effects, How a tree interacts with rain, Fungi Relationships, Forests, Legumes as support species
* Class Nine
Tuesday 2/3/15 @ 6:30pm at Pringle Creek, and Friday 2/6/15 @ 6pm at Silverton Grange Fruit tree care, function and interaction, Collapsing soil fertility
* Class Ten
TBA Compost, Chemical agriculture, pH, acid vs. alkaline soils, pH of soil and mineral availability to plants, Role of weeds, Ants, Soil fertilizer
* Class Eleven
TBA Perfect compost, Fixing problems with compost, Introduction to Temperate Climate Design Chapter, House design, Energy use, Garden design
* Class Twelve
TBA
Zone 2 food forest, Zone 2 main crop, Zone 3 design, Zone 4 farm forestry, Terraces and raised beds
Two Tuesdays per month, Starting Oct 7th, 2014, 6:30-9:30pm, @ Pringle Creek Community, 3911Village Center Drive SE, Salem. Instructor, Diana Cason, call 941-735-0452
Two Fridays per month, Starting Oct 10th, 2014, 6-9pm @ Silverton Grange #748, 201 Division Street, Silverton. Instructor, Diana Cason, call 941-735-0452
Permaculture Essentials for the Pacific NW, 36 hr. class, only $5 per hour, schedules vary by location.
Permaculture is “Earth Care, People Care, and Return of Surplus,” combining traditional and innovative methods that are sustainable and energy saving, enriching to the soil and all life. Design a system to feed your family, or complete additional short classes to earn your certificate and work as a consultant.
Permaculture Essentials for the Pacific NW covers permaculture history and ethics and goes into depth on the core concepts for creating sustainable systems by observing connections and capturing energy. Explore the energy transactions of trees, the roles of fungi, and the many functions of living soil. Learn pH, mineral availability, and enriching your soil with worm beds, weeds as repair tools, and compost fixing strategies. Study landscape effects on climate and temperate climate design for your home and landscape from balcony or kitchen gardens to main crops and food forests. This course prepares you to design a sustainable system for your yard or small farm in the Pacific NW.
Let’s build resilience, save money and energy, save water, and feed our communities now. Come join one of our latest classes!
Saturdays, starting Oct 4th, 2014, 10am to 2pm, @ Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Salem, 5090 Center St NE, Salem. Instructor, L. June, call 503-449-8077 for questions or registration
Two Tuesdays per month, Starting Oct 7th, 2014, 6:30-9:30pm, @ Pringle Creek Community, 3911Village Center Drive SE, Salem. Instructor, Diana Cason, call 941-735-0452
Two Fridays per month, Starting Oct 10th, 2014, 6-9pm @ Silverton Grange #748, 201 DivisionStreet, Silverton. Instructor, Diana Cason, call 941-735-0452
For more information call, 503-449-8077, or visit nwpermacultureinstitute.org
Presented by the NW Permaculture Institute. Our instructors and staff studied permaculture with world renowned permaculture designer & instructor, Geoff Lawton, of PRI, Australia, and his students. We present classes at low rates, as well as free film and lecture series to further educate our students and the community.
Join us on June 26th for a finger food potluck and an extraordinary film. How can Sepp Holzer farm fish, livestock, vegetables and herbs, a wide variety of fruits including lemons high in the Alps? No weeding, no watering, no annual plowing. The Agro Rebel explores the unusual, sustainable, energy and time saving, farming methods developed by Austrian farmer, Sepp Holzer. Come join us for food, film and discussion. Questions? Call 503-449-8077
Earth Care, People Care, Fair Share: Free Film and Lecture Series, presents, The Agro Rebel: Permaculture in the Salzburg Alps, film 45 mins. Finger food potluck and discussion. Thursday, June 26th @ 6:30pm. Showing at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Salem, 5090 Center Street NE, Salem, 97317
Special Thanks to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Salem for the use of the beautiful space, and to Life Source Natural Foods for the potluck beverages. Additional thanks to Marion Polk Food Share and the Straub Environmental Learning Center for helping to promote our events.
A new PDC starts this Saturday. Below is a list of class subjects by date. You can pick to attend individual classes that match your interests, or take the full course and become a Permaculture Designer. Call if you have questions: 503-449-8077
*
Permaculture Design Certificate Course Syllabus, Summer 2014
Saturdays 10am – 2pm, bring brown bag lunch. In the event of class cancellation, all class dates will move forward one date.
June 14th – Class 1
Introduction to permaculture. Human past-present-future. Permaculture design philosophy. Holistic thinking. Key problems: soil erosion-deforestation-pollution. Ethics of permaculture: Earth care, People care, Return of surplus. Definitions of permaculture. Sustainability outcomes. History of permaculture. Permanent culture. Urban permaculture. Permaculture repair. Permaculture aid work. Permaculture in society. Permaculture as an holistic design. Introduction to Concepts and Themes. Sustainable systems. Hierarchy of soil creation in natural systems.
June 21st – Class 2
Concepts and Themes cont. Elements. Needs and products. The sun – the source of energy. Characteristics of natural ecosystems. Weeds-pioneers-niches. Weeds-fast tracking recovery by design techniques. Diversity leads to stability. Connections between elements. Positioning of elements. Use of natural resources. Energy, Edge opportunities. Capturing energy and extending entropy. Categories of resources. Dispersal of yield over time. Diversity of plants. Perennial food advantages. Diversity and security. Yield and energy inputs. Niches. Mollisonian permaculture principals.
June 28th – Class 3
Introduction to Methods. Analysis: design by listing characteristics of components. Slope. Orientation. Zone analysis. Sector analysis. Designing with zones. Zonal placement. Sectors. Outside energies effect on site. Listing possibilities. Selection of random assemblies.
July 5th – Class 4
Methods cont. Connecting elements. Simple efficiencies. Observation. Introduction to Pattern. Patterns in nature. Pattern forms. Fibonacci sequence. Formation of pattern. Working with nature and patterns. Scale and order of size. Order and form. Edge areas. Edge effect. Working with pattern design events.
July 12th – Class 5
Pattern cont. Looking for existing patterns. Translating pattern form. Re-patterning a river. Wind patterns. Pattern used for passing on knowledge. Pattern for productive form – the herbal spiral. Traditional use of pattern. Re-patterning society. The pit garden – banana circle. Edge to space relationships. Introduction to Climatic Factors. Using local knowledge. Broad climate zones: temperate, tropical, drylands. Orographic effect. Maritime effect. Continental effect. Rain shadow. Micro climate.
July 19th – Class 6
Climatic Factors cont. Landscape effects on climate. Climate analogues. Characteristics of major climate zones. Orographic features. Major landscape profiles: humid and arid. Minor landscape profiles: volcanic, high island, low island, flatlands, wetlands, coasts and estuaries. Fungal relationships.
July 26th – Class 7
Introduction to Trees. Temperature effects. How a tree interacts with rain. Fungi. Forests. Legumes as support species. Introduction to Water. Water storage on earth. Recharging landscape with water. Building a dam/pond. Valley dams. Building a keyway. Putting a pipe in a dam wall. Spillways. Calculating catchment. Types of dams/ponds. Position of dams in landscape. Duties of water. Sealing a dam. Approach to water.
August 2nd – Class 8
Introduction to soils. Collapsing soil fertility. Compost. Chemical agriculture. pH testing – acid vs. alkaline soils. pH of soil and availability of minerals to plants. Role of weeds. Ants. Soil fertilizer. Berkley method of 18 day compost. Fixing problems with compost.
August 9th – Class 9
Soils cont. Compost tea. Bio fertilizer. Mineralizing soils by feeding livestock. Worm farms. Introduction to earthworks. Water: stop-spread-and soak. Planning. Measuring. Timing. Terraces. Conture banks. Measuring with an A Frame. Surveying. Water pressure on soil particles. Cover crops. Transit level. Machines used in earthworks.
August 16th – Class 10
Earthworks examples. Introduction to climate design. Climate comparisons. House design: humid tropics. cool to cold humid climates, drylands. Energy use in the different climates. Garden design in the different climates.
August 23rd – Class 11
Climate design cont. Zone 2 food forest comparisons across climates. Comparing zone 2 main crop gardens. Comparisons of zone 3 across climates, Zone 4 comparisons in design over climates in farm forestry. Aquaculture example.
August 30th – Class 12
Introduction to Aquaculture. Productive elements. Chain of life in water design. Pond design. Shallow aquaculture. Food for fish. Aquaponics.
September 6th – Class 13
Introduction to Strategies of an Alternate Global Nation. Invisible structures. Ethical basis. Establishing community structures. Establishing a permaculture community group. Bioregional resilience. Definition of culture from the environment we live in. Community land development. Money economy. Money and finance. Setting up not for profit permaculture institutes.
NW Permaculture Institute 