Redesigning Our Lives as if Caring for the Planet Matters
Peach Bounty
Working with Nature
Yielding Abundance

 

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Permaculture Design Certification (PDC) Course Schedule
2010

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Registration Open
Oct. 9-16
Stelle, IL

Suburban/Urban Emphasis

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Registration Open
Nov. 6-13
Grass Valley, CA

Standard PDC

&
Registration Open
Nov. 13-20

Also at Grass Valley
Hands-on Permaculture Work-Experience Week (Includes Instruction
in Permaculture Fundamentals)

 

Completed 2010
PDC Courses

Feb. 13-20
Stelle, IL

Focus: Small Scale Growing and Farming

Click to View Pictures

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June 22 - July 3
Stelle, IL

Special 12-Day PDC
Hunter/Gatherer &
Primitive Skills

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July 31 - Aug. 7
Madison, WI

Suburban/Urban
Emphasis

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Aug. 14-21
Columbiaville, MI

Standard PDC

 


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"I left this course feeling very inspired, energized and optimistic."

Vidya Chaitanya
Grass Valley, CA
Yoga Center Administrator

 

 

 

 

Design Course
Subject Areas

 

Principles and Ethics of Permaculture

Observations and Patterns

Soils, Plants, and Trees

Guilds and Polycultures

Water and Earthworks

Climates and Micro-climates

Succession

Eco-Building

Zone and Sector Analysis

Aquaculture

Planning the Homestead

Bio-Fuels

Economics

Niche Marketing

Urban and Suburban Permaculture

Garden Management

Small-Farm Strategies

Large-Farm Possibilities

International Implications

More….

 

A year Later...

"Bill, I am teaching backyard chicken classes all over the city. (I want to move into quail next.) I think of my PDC course very fondly and use my permaculture 'sense' for all types of projects. Thank you for continuing to put permaculture into the hands and minds of others."

Julia Young - 30
St. Louis Permaculturist & Educator
May 2008 Course

 

 

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 Home Page        Site Last Updated 8-26-10
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Permaculture Education and Training


So, what will it take to create truly permanent-cultures?

Welcome to Midwest Permaculture...

Becky Wilson of Midwest Permaculture
Rebecca Wilson

Co-Founders of
Midwest Permaculture

Bill Wilson

Bill Wilson of Midwest Permaculture

From our observation, It appears that we as the human species, in our western civilizations in particular, have created a culture that is mostly unaware of the damage it is doing to others and to the planet.

Like adolescents, our gaze is fixed upon too many of the distractions & entertainments of our 'made-up world' instead of observing the cause and effects that our way of living is having on the 'real world'.

The times are strongly encouraging our culture to wake up. They are asking us simply to observe the effects of our lifestyle choices, to step into our cultural adulthood, and with the wisdom of our emerging maturity, take the steps necessary to find a way to change what needs changing, heal what needs healing, and make the commitment to leave the planet in better condition when we leave it.

We are being strongly invited to take responsibility for creating more permanent-cultures (permaculture) upon the one world we all live upon.

The purpose of Midwest Permaculture is to support the transition of our society from a culture of consumption,
into a culture of creation.

 

And what can be created through the use of permaculture design?

  - We can revive our local economies and environments buy responsibly and beautifully growing most of our own food instead of shipping it in.
  - We
can build top soil and fertility while growing this food instead of losing it as happens with our industrial farming systems.
  - We can provide the homes, clothing, buildings and energy we need from mostly local sources without waste.
   - We
can transform our suburbs and city neighborhoods into sustainable and genuinely satisfying communities.
   - We can repair damaged lands and ecosystems;
   - W
e can create prosperity, resiliency and security wherever we live;
   - W
e can include (and employ) just about everyone in this 'job' of preserving and improving the quality of life on this planet;
   - A
nd, quite possibly, we can retard or reverse global warming.

Sound idealistic?  Seem improbable?  Maybe so. 

But it is none-the-less a possibility, a choice, that we as humans can move towards should we make this decision.

The intention of our permaculture trainings and education is to give our students the observational skills, the knowledge and the practical information to help them become a greater part of this global transition from an energy and resource consumptive culture towards a more permanent and satisfying one.

Thank you for your interest...

Becky and Bill Wilson

Click Here for More About Us and Midwest Permaculture

"Though the problems of the world
are increasingly complex,
the solutions remain embarrassingly simple."

                         Bill Mollison - Permaculture's Founder - Australia

 


Photos of our Permaculture Yard Transformation
Including Rain Gardens, Berms and Rain Tank

We are located in Stelle, IL, USA

Permaculture Rain Gardens in Wilson's Front Yard, Stelle, IL

There are a lot of pictures here - May take a minute to load.



About our Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) Courses...

"The instructors and hosts were truly wonderful.  The gifts that were shared this week have really filled me with hope and gratitude."
Lisa Armstrong -33-  Mom and Small Business Owner


"Bill, your training was the most transformational experience of my life. You engendered more hope for the planet and our future
than anything I have ever come across.
Plus, you let everyone enter at their own speed and in freedom."

Douglas Gabriel, PhD - 56 - Charter School Administrative Director - Detroit

Took his Permaculture Training 3 Years Ago...
"I still think of my design course experience nearly every day. It definitely changed my life for the better."
Dave McMillian - 55 - Pennsylvania
Mechanical Engineer
& New Homesteader

"An extraordinary design course.
Inspiring, helpful, professional, very informative. I felt we were given a strong knowledge base to start
our own Permaculture projects.
Thank you so much."

Peter Lynch - 50 - New York Architect

 

18-Part YouTube Series on Permaculture... Click Here

View...On Our Site  -or-  On YouTube

 

- - - Current Highlights - - -

 

"This is 'the' permaculture training for everyone interested in permaculture but not needing PDC certification.
It is brilliant, useful, inspiring & practical...!"

Student from Detroit 4-day
April 2010

4-Day Suburban/Urban
Permaculture Training Intensive

Aug. 26.-29 -- Stelle, IL
Learn what to do with your own home, yard and community space. (Counts Towards PDC Certification too)
View Picture Summary
Detroit 4-Day Training - April 2010

 

Option to our 8-Day PDC Courses
3-Stage Permaculture Certification Process

 

Have you Been to our Permaculture Networking Site Yet?
Permaculture Banner
Click on Image above to Network with Permaculture Folks from all over.




"Bill - I can't tell you how much of an impact the PDC Course
has made in our lives. We live permaculture.
All the best to you and Becky."

Mark Klein -
June 2010 - Chicago
Graduate of Permaculture Design Course - Summer 2008

 

 Quick Access to our Other YouTube Videos
        Over time, we will continue to post informative and useful videos
            that clearly demonstrate simple permaculture applications .

To View What we Have Thus Far:
Click on small arrows < left or right > of screen and then move cursor over the picture
to view a short listing of posted videos. (One video automatically begins to load.)
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Permaculture Photo Summaries

A Quick Reference to the Permaculture Pictures on our website

8-Day PDC Training in Detroit
Charter School Trains Teachers and Staff
Charter school in Detroit planning to use permaculture as a foundations piece in their educational curriculum and teaching approach.
BKB Detroit

4-Day Suburban/Urban Training Intensive
April 2010 - Detroit
June 09 - Purdue University
These picture summaries take the viewer through our first two 4-Day Suburban/Urban Trainings. The 4-Day has been designed to give the suburban and urban dweller the essential permaculture tools they need to get started in their own back yards, small plots, apartments and communities.

'Bill & Friends Most Excellent Adventure'
July 09 - Michigan Speaking Tour

Join me as I make my way around S.E. Michigan for a 4-day speaking tour. Included are pictures from several WalkAbouts we did as well as some great photos and ideas for implementing permaculture in one's own backyard or community... Bill Wilson

Suburban / Urban Permaculture
Oct. 07, Design Certification Course

This picture summary takes the viewer through one of our 8-day courses which includes a look at the sustainably-oriented community of Stelle, IL, two permaculture suburban homes, and at several permaculture sites found within the city limits of Chicago, IL.

Chicago Bee Hives

Rural/Suburban Permaculture
Aug. 2007 Design Course

View permaculture pictures of a small farm that made $25,000 by harvesting the wild plants around them, a greenhouse operation that raises hundreds of pounds of tilapia fish, and a couple of suburban permaculture homes.

Nowicki's Suburban Permaculture Home, Downers Grove, Illinois

Suburban Permaculture
Our Permaculture Home Transformation
Bill & Becky Wilson - Stelle, Illinois

View photos of our progress over the next couple of years as we transform our traditional and somewhat plain suburban house into a permaculture home.

Permaculture Rain Gardens, Bill & Becky Wilson home in Stelle, Illinois

Bill Mollison and Geoff Lawton
A Design Course Diary

Dispatches from Australia, Jan. 08
By Julie Pagliaro

One of our webinar students decided to take her full design course from Bill and Geoff.  View her email and photos as she works her way through a two week design course delivered by the very man who originated the concept of 'permaculture'.

Bill Mollison Permaculture Founder


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Continuing Support Following PDC Graduation
Students who have completed a Midwest Permaculture design course are then invited to become part of our growing network of graduates. There are three ways we attempt to support our students:

  • We have a separate networking website where all graduates can connect, share ideas and look for some assistance.
  • We hosted occasional reunions for graduates and their families .
  • Graduates may audit any future 72-hour certification courses at half price (provided space is available).

Our objective is to support our students for as long as they need it or want it, and to encourage them to support each other.

Already A Permaculture Design Course Graduate?
We offer a 33% discount to students who have already graduated from another recognized course (from anywhere in the world) who wish to take a Midwest Permaculture course as a refresher. Please email for details.

Free Monthly Emails

If you would like to be kept abreast of the permaculture seminars and full design courses that Midwest Permaculture hosts, as well as other interesting tidbits related to permaculture from around the world, you are invited to subscribe to the 'Friends of Midwest Permaculture' email list.  We only send out something about once a month and you may unsubscribe at any time.  We sincerely appreciate it when others keep our email address private so we never give or sell our email list to others.

View Sample     -or-     Click here to Receive Free Email Updates


Midwest Permaculture extends its gratitude to Bill Mollison and David Holmgren for their gift of “Permaculture”.  Their lifelong work and inspiration is laying a path towards a sustainable and compassionate world.                           

  Bill & Becky Wilson
(Co-Founders of Midwest Permaculture)

Bill Mollison Bill Mollison

Permaculture Ouroboros

Permaculture Ouroboros

David Holmgren
David Holmgren


"Though the problems of the world are increasingly complex,
the solutions remain embarrassingly simple."

Bill Mollison

 

 

 

 
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