About Midwest Permaculture 

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

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Through our permaculture trainings, we guide our students in how to develop the observational skills, the knowledge, and the practical information to create sustainable landscapes and communities — to develop more permanent cultures.  We explore how we can consciously provide all of the goods and services we need while also develping ways to leave the planet in better condition than when we arrived on it.

If each successive generation left the planet in better condition, we would be living in a more ideal world today.  Permaculture is committed to finding ways to live abundantly well while also caring for the total environment.

Midwest Permaculture appears to be the culmination of our life’s work — of everything we hold dear and have been working on for the past 30 years.  We are Becky and Bill Wilson and have lived in the small, and somewhat unique community, of Stelle, IL, over this time. (see below) What gets us out of bed in the morning is the desire to do our part to create a world, or a culture, that we know is possible. A culture that cares for people and the planet as one in the same. In our small town, the two of us have started or been involved in numerous cooperatives and have served in just about every capacity possible – school committees, community government, event coordinators, community planners, not-for-profit board members, gardeners, teachers, and more. The experience and insights about life, people and community that we have gained from this volunteer service has far outweighed our time and energy invested. For us, the fundamental questions have always been,,, Is there not a way that we as humans, all humans, can live abundantly well on this planet without polluting, consuming or degrading it? And can we find a way to peacefully coexist while we co-create this culture? Through our life work and as importantly, through our study of permaculture, we have answered these questions for ourselves with a resounding YES…!!! It is this clarity that motivated us to start Midwest Permaculture in 2006. The two of us have also become involved in the inspiring Transition Town Initiative which comes out of the permaculture movement. We feel that the Transition Town approach to relocalization is the people piece of permaculture.

Bill Wilson (Certifying Instructor)   Rebecca Wilson

15 years ago we were introduced to The Permaculture Activist Magazine (thank you Peter Bane and Keith Johnson) and in it Becky read an article about a woman who made the decision to never let a leaf, a twig, a branch or any grass clippings leave her property.  That was her organic matter, her ‘carbon’ store, and she was going to turn all of it into humus to help nurture her soil to be able to grow more healthy food.  Becky took this to heart and for 15 years, nothing has left our property.

Over the last 3-4 years we have begun to transform our lot into a permaculture home.  We feel that we are still in the early stages of this but thought others might learn from our own experience.

Here are some photos of our Permaculture Yard Transformation including Rain Gardens, Berms and Rain Tank

We welcome you to our website and to what Midwest Permaculture might provide to you. 

It is our experience that by the time a person has begun to look into permaculture, at what it is, and at what its possibilities are, that person has already gone through some measure of meaningful transition in their own life.

The culture we are surrounded by does not reward someone for looking into alternatives to the status quo. You are probably someone who is willing to look outside the box, ask the more difficult questions, and are willing to look at the unpopular solutions.  In your family or circles, you are likely to be the ‘odd one’, the ‘black sheep’, the ‘tree hugger’.

If this is the case… Welcome… We thank you for being who you are.

Bill & Becky Wilson

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 Some of our Favorite Quotes…

“The significant problems we face today
cannot be solved
at the same level of thinking we were at
when we created them.”

Albert Einstein

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“For what is the use of a house,
If you haven’t got a tolerable planet to put it on?”

Henry David Thoreau

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“Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads.”

Henry David Thoreau

May the peace that comes from working with the creative energy of all be with you always.
Best of luck in whatever you do…

Bill & Rebecca Wilson – Creators of Midwest Permaculture

P. S. We have four children (all sons – and all grown now) and two young grandchildren. It has been a delight to raise our family in the arms of the supportive community of Stelle.  It has definitely been a base for understanding just what a permanent-culture (permaculture) is all about.  The work of Midwest Permaculture is in honor of our friends, family, and neighbors.