permaculture design certificate - day twelve - the finale!

Phew the twelfth and final day of the permaculture design certificate (and yes I made it! I'm now licensed to use the word 'permaculture' in what I may do and say and join in the greater worldwide permy network - something I think will increase in importance considering the direction my work is taking....)




Today it was time to present our group designs as the final part of the PDC.....


Our design trio consisted of myself, Massi (a young italian guy currently staying/working at a local organic vege garden) and Gayle (a public servant, vegan and active member of the ACT Greens - and it was her Yass garden we attempted to redesign.)

Here's our draft working design (worked on the previous day...).....

its rough and ready - (time was a premium - we only had roughly 6 hours from brief to completed drawing) but our 'collage approach' (yep I introduced the non-arty folk to the joys of collage...) gave us an idea of where we were going to against Gayle's wish list ....


 Here's our final drawing.....

 

Then we had to give a 20 min presentation explaining our design choices.... (I almost did a nervous up-chuck waiting for our turn!) Certificates were dispensed, contacts gathered, and then it was over..... well at least the course was over.... the real journey in permaculture is now about to begin.

Prior to undertaking the course I had already considered myself amongst the enlightened converted but as the course progressed I felt myself undergoing an enormous paradigm shift. Permaculture is simultaneously practical and esoterically philosophical... it is all-encompassing, engaging all the senses and involving the micro- to macro-scale. I had anticipated permaculture becoming an active ingredient in my artworks and practice - at least in terms of this project, but quite frankly the PDC has blown that simple 'ambition' completely out of the water - permaculture will be, from this time onward, the foundation upon which I will conduct myself in the world.

The ethical basis of permaculture: Care for the Earth, Care for People, Fair Share - is really so straight forward that its hard to figure out why the whole world hasn't turned permy already....

 

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permaculture design certificate - day eleven...

Day 11.... the second last day..... and night! (yep it was dinner and party night - always an important aspect of the course)

During the day it was all about getting going on our mini group design projects that were to be presented the following day - but there was also more theory units to undertake.... With John leading the group the focus was on intentional communities (like bend - bega eco neighbourhood development - which John played an instrumental role... he had a lot of valuable experience to impart) and on planning for disaster.

Later in the evening my kiddies came to visit and have dinner with the group - they had a ball running around the place and even more fun when the evening's entertainment (everyone was asked to contribute a litte something to the night's entertainment.... so we had Damon as master of ceremonies (and player of mighty fine blues and roots.... he stepped in between acts with little ditties..... including his 'permaculture' song..... funnnneeee!), Cam juggled, Mog showed pics of her arty-work, John sang an old redgum classic, Dan showed off his yogic balancing tricks, Peti gave a slide show of her lovely rock home, Penny, (a wwoofer who helped to feed us over the 2 weeks) with her most beautific unaccompanied voice, sang a C14th sacred tune, Dean (caretaker of 'the crossing') recited one of his poems, Eric sang and played guitar, and me? I read the Margaret Wild/ Ron Brooks classic children's picture book, 'Fox'......

and a good time was had by all.... (I was too busy enjoying myself to take pics!)



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permaculture design certificate - day ten...

Day ten (only two to go after this one!) Arron and Dan gave us more strategies for creating community gardens .....

(that's Aaron sitting and Dan pointing)

And also a bit about what the sort of elements for consideration in a community garden....

  

 I'm hoping that sometime soon I'll be able to arrange for the pair to visit the local school (Cobargo Public School) to assist them with both their garden structure and integrated learning as well as how to use the school garden as a tool for community reconnection..... there is an immense need for the sort of skills this pair hold.....

(ps I found all their diagrams and constructed illustrative bits and bobs an interesting in their own right....)

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permaculture design certificate - day nine...

Day Nine we got to meet 2 great young(ish) guys working in community gardens/ school gardens in the Illawarra - Aaron Sorenson and Dan Deighton. Both work together on permaculture projects that create strong communities around food production. Aaron set up and remains committed to 'the garden' - a community food forest garden in North Wollongong PCYC (check either the garden blog or happy earth website to see a bit more from the boys)... both Aaron and Dan completed a PDC with John (and only recently too I hear...) and have returned to offer some of their experience in working with communities to establish gardens or other communal projects....

 

here's aaron and dan's 'leguminous vine time line' for planning and implementing a community project..... (it was the group's job to work on the task order)

all in all a very full day!

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road trip (again!) ... PDC day 8

Day eight of twelve in the permaculture design certificate and it was time to hit the road (again) and visit some inspiring permaculture gardens in Brogo and Bega (wellllll Tarraganda which is just out of Bega) .....

First up was Claude and Helene Marmaux's garden at Brogo....

and then it was off - further down the same road to John's (all hail our leader) place....

this is the house that john built - mudbrick and passive solar (with solar array on the roof) on the left is the chook area (with fruit too) straight ahead is the relaxing area (pond, cob oven, grape vine.... all good!) and down the hill is the vege garden and pome fruit covered orchard. It's a terrific set up with soooo many special touches and clever thinking everywhere

So after yet another great communal lunch this time at john's we got our convoy on the road again - off to Bega (about 20kms down the highway) to check out Bend (an intentional eco-village right in Bega township..... an amazing endeavour - go have a look at the link and you'll see what I mean - it's the first of it's kind in the state.... corrrrr! I feel like waving my little far south coast flag right now!) and after seeing all that's going on (building building building) we headed a few minutes out of town to Tarraganda and Anneke Van Tholen's seedy haven (it's ok - she'll be pleased I refer to her and her place as seedy - Anneke is the force behind the Bega Seedsavers Network!)

seeds in the making....




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permaculture design certificate - day seven...

After a day's rest it was time to get right back to things.... with a day focusing more intensively on Zone 1 (the kitchen/vege garden/compost/worm/daily visited places) and Zone 2 (the orchard/ chook place) and touching on Zone 3 ideas. Lead by Karen McCann and Julie Davies, it was a rapid-fire yet surprisingly comprehensive day..... that even included rapid group designing and a little bit of angst-ridden (on my part) individual designing.

here we are inside what will soon be a shower block here at 'the crossing'.... designing large scale with chalk on the floor (it will soon be tiled over - so we could go to town all over the floor (and in our groups case - wall) of the construction site....

permaculture design certificate - day six...

Permaculture design certificate day six - microclimates, eco-building design, and keyline....


Keyline is one of those semi- mysterious yet commonsense, practical things that has become more associated with and integrated in permaculture courses. Keyline originated in the 1950s with P.A. Yeomans who developed a system of design principles and techniques to sustainably harvest, move and use and keep water in a landscape. It's a complex, wholistic and essential system of land management involving dam/water storage, swales, contour ploughing and more....

In most permaculture courses keyline is taught hands on - in the sandpit....

there's nothing like getting your fingers in a pile of sand to start to understand keyline.....

I found keyline a fascinating and exciting subject - and something I know that I will be looking into in greater detail in the future.... but I expect it may seem off-topic for the research I'm currently undertaking - I suspect I will be arguing otherwise - just as through my work I am essentially questioning the site and shape of knowledge, using the book as symbol and subject..... I am equally interested in knowledge of land(site) and usage so keyline both challenges and builds upon my experience on and with land.... what we 'know' about land and how we 'know' it mirrors that of any subject...

who knows - maybe this is the germination of a divergent branch in my practice..... 'keyline as art'......

hmmmmm

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permaculture design certificate - day five...

Day five of the PDC and we were back at the crossing learning all about water and patterns in nature and learning read the landscape...

As well as leading discussions on water, Phil Gall shared his ideas about really looking deeply (with all the senses) at the land.

 (above Phil is talking about the nature of indigenous grasses - and how they differ from introduced grasses...)

hard to miss the monitor lizard in the landscape! 

  

or the termite mound

 

 but its important to look very closely at all aspects of a scene - from macro to micro... (here beside the termite mound we found white ants in decomposing wood.... are these the same as the species in the mound?....well it remained undecided - correct identification of various ant species is quite difficult without a microscope -or so I was told - the thing I took away from the exercise is: never assume.... look, look again, and more and deeper.....)



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permaculture design certificate - day four...

Day four permaculture design certificate and we were out and about taking in the local (permy) sites. that meant a visit to four places, in various stages of permaculture implementation - from old timers like Chris and Bev... to stalwarts Bill and Carol.... the legendary Harry Black and then off to a new venture in Tilba Tilba....

Chris and Bev Frank's place (just up the road from 'the crossing')...

Chris and Bev have been pioneers in the district in numerous fields - mohair, meat rabbits, free range meat chickens... but perhaps this doggie is their greatest legacy - Chris and Bev are noted maremma sheepdog breeders (there's one helping out the group now...)

It was so lovely to visit the farm - I have been here years ago (waaaaaay back in the 1990s) and have known the Franks family since the 1970s. Chris speaks with great passion for the land and life on the farm... he's the real deal and a real character!


After a nice cuppa it was time to get the group on the road again....

Into Bermagui township and Bill and Carol Broadhead's 'urban' permaculture vegie garden....

Bill is another tremendous character... and another face from the past - waaaaaay back in the early 1980s, when Bill moved to the area with his family, he was my judo instructor (during my brief flirtation with the sport). Gosh this was turning out to be a trip down memory lane!

Bill is passionate about growing your own food free of icky stuff (pesticides, herbicides), and creatively responding to climate change and all the challenges ahead. His garden was an absolute inspiration (and I scored an invitation to return anytime to gather some seeds/cuttings/grand tales)

(ps that's our intrepid permy course leader above - John Champagne.... )

At Fairhaven (just a few kms out of Bermagui) Harry Black, a retired scientist and explorer (for lack of a better way of describing this extraordinary man), established a sub-tropical orchard in the 1980s.... Harry's garden is a thing of wonder - with custard apples, bananas, sapotes, and many other subtropical species that it's thought impossible to grow on the far south coast of NSW....

I meet Harry in the early 1990s - he was a constant at little markets around the area - I always seemed to be heading home with fruits of all types (he also grew amazing heritage-variety tomatoes). And the tales he told of some of his adventures (Harry ventured to the Antartic twice and led expeditions to the Himalayas) made every trip to the tiny markets he frequented an adventure....

Harry passed away in July.... so I found the sight of his hats on their pegs really quite poignant....

Harry's house and garden will be sold sometime in the next year and his amazing orchard may be lost forever (already many of the stone fruit in the orchard have died in the extended dry period.... and without supervision and loving attention its survival is on the line) Harry's family has given permission for folk (like the local permaculture peeps) to collect matter from the orchard to graft/strike new stock to at least keep some of his genetics in the area should the orchard be 'dozed under...

ahhhh me


Last stop for the day was a new and developing garden beside the highway at Tilba Tilba....

don't you just love the view to Najanuga - the rock formation in the background there.....


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permaculture design certificate - day three...

Day three began with a detour for me - off to moruya (60kms up the road from sams creek) to drop off 'scientia inflammatus' which has been shortlisted for the basil sellers art prize, then I quickly headed off to 'the crossing' to catch up with the gang.

Today it was all about practicalities - trees, shelterbelts, soil, and COMPOST! we all got down and dirty making a nice stack of collected material into a big compost mound - using layers of dried grass, woodchips, straw (dry carbon material); weeds, vege scraps (wet stuff!); acacia clippings (from black wattle which are a rich nitrogen source); rotted cow manure and some sprinkles of wood ash from the fires (for a little bit of potash). after stacking up the layers the pile was thoroughly watered then covered with a plastic tarp. In a couple of days the whole pile will be turned....

(this is hugh - our compost and tree man for the day - throwing more green stuff on the pile -
with a few friendly faces of other permy participants in the background)

permaculture design certificate - day two...

Day two - a bright and sunny spring morning and less stressful day (I've almost got a couple of names to faces....)

Today we rapidly moved through basics of ecology (and it WAS really basic); map reading (again - very very basic stuff - fortunately I know my time in the scouting movement has given me a bit better overview); methods of design (as applied to permaculture); and climate (in quite a bit of detail for local - meaning bega valley conditions)

view from just outside our room down toward some raised beds in construction, then onto the vege garden.....
further down the hill is stone fruit and onto the river flats and tidal river (myrtle creek) at the bottom of the hill

One of the most valuable, specifically permaculture aspects taken on board today had to do with creative thinking and zone and sector analysis.

 The idea of analysing and designing for zones is paramount in permaculture and is worth explaining  - albeit basically here - zones start with the house and move from the most intensive usage area to least intensive.... like this...

Zone 0 = the house and people living in it

Zone 1 = the vegetable garden, compost area, small livestock (eg chooks, ducks)... this is the area that will be visited everyday (or many times each day)

Zone 2 = the food forest orchard, poultry area... (the chicken shed is often sited between zone 1 & 2), ducks, geese grazing area

Zone 3 = cropping or commercial area (maybe fruit trees, corn, potatoes, etc... whatever grows well in the region), larger animals (goats, sheep, cattle, alpaca)

Zone 4 = forest cropping (woodlot, furniture trees), shelterbelt, windbreaks, fire retardant hedges, fooder crops (for animals), other useful plants (eg dye plants, fungi)

Zone 5 = natural systems = areas left untouched to protect wildlife, waterways and land

Already I'm rethinking personal garden/farm set ups (and I have been aware of permaculture zones previously).... and I'm thinking about how this same idea of zoning may apply to other systems or modes of thinking/creating.....


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permaculture design certificate - day one

 Day One of the Permaculture Design Certificate course kicked off in misty weather at The Crossing out the back of Bermagui...

 this is our 'classroom' for the next couple of weeks of intensive study

 here it is from down the bank - the whole crossing site is constantly in flux and right now the whole place is really moving through a big change - here is evidence both of a new pergola extension for this learning centre..... the folks are about to install a commercial kitchen so there's lots of bits and bobs about the place for that project as well.... oh and then there's the paving happening on the other side... and the garden work... bush regeneration... and so much more everywhere you turn!


On day one, aside from the obligatory meet and greet we covered a definition of the term 'permaculture' (although the word stems originally from a contraction of the words 'permanent' and 'agriculture'  there are multiple ways of describing, defining and undertaking permaculture); we also moved through the 3 ethics of permaculture: care for the earth, care for people, fair share; and then spent the time working through the 12 basic principles:

1. observe and interact
2. catch and store energy
3. obtain a yeild
4. apply self-regulation and accept feedback
5. use and value natural resources and services
6. produce no waste
7. design from patterns to detail
8. integrate rather than segregate
9. use small and slow solutions
10. use and value diversity
11. use edge and value the marginal
12. use and respond to change creatively

 all today we listened to the resident gander honking warnings to all interlopers -
his girls are sitting on eggs and company is NOT welcome!

I  have read quite a bit about permaculture prior to setting off to this course - and have dwelt on these 12 principles as part of my initial MFA lit review - but its quite a different thing to be approaching this in a group and as part of a certificate course. I'm looking forward to really getting into the nitty gritty over the coming days.....

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permaculture design certificate

In 2 days time I'm commencing a 72hr Permaculture Design Certificate course. This has been something I've longed to do for many years now - longer indeed than I've held many academically inclined arty aspirations....  I have previously identified permaculture as an active component in my present MFA project but I know that it is much more than something to be attached to a single project or indeed solely to arts practice. So I'm quite confident that the course will influence much more than this present project - just as I'm equally unsure in what ways my arts practice/ MFA project may be influenced by what I glean from the certificate course.

Hopefully (time allowing) I'll post a few thoughts and pics as the course unfolds....



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