Contact Us
to see about hosting this 4-day training in your area.
Further Details ... by Bill Wilson
Why This Training?
Our world cities and suburbs are drivers. Not only are they the major consumer of the worlds goods, thus driving our current world economies, they are also the collecting place of genius, creativity, science, the arts, education and more.
Our cities and suburbs have value and advantages, but they are also incredibly dependent upon support from the outside. Except for the air and sun, possibly water, almost every other need is generated and collected elsewhere and brought into the cities and suburbs, everything from food, to clothing, to building materials, to power, to transportation... everything.
Within the coming generation (coming years possibly) the imbalances we have created in the world economies, the supply systems and the natural world will become even more apparent, more immediate. There are stresses everywhere in our culture with peak oil, peak water, peak soil and climate change pushing us even more.
Bottom Line
The time has arrived for us as urban dwellers to build some resiliency back into our communities. As a culture we have become de-skilled on a monumental basis. 100 years ago everyone knew how to grow food - today it is likely less than 10% of us.
What we must have, to live securely, is good food, clean water and enough energy for heating and cooling (for ourselves, our homes, our food).
And whether we know it or not, we need each other too. We need community...
authentic community.
How Permaculture Fits In
Permaculture is a design approach to creating living systems that mimic the patterns found in nature. The idea is to integrate the surrounding natural areas with our homes, apartments and other buildings, to produce an abundance of food, shelter, energy and other services with a minimum of work.
Once a permaculturally designed system is set up and functioning, the effort involved to maintain it should feel more like recreation then work.
Who is this Training For?
This intensive was designed to make available to the everyday suburban or urban dweller a solid understanding of permaculture design and techniques so that they can implement this life enhancing knowledge to their immediate and local surroundings.
Vision
Even Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts are taught to leave a campsite in better condition than when they found it. As a culture, Imagine if every generation left their part of the world in better condition then when they found it.
Is it Possible?
This is not hard to do. This training will make that perfectly clear. We can create a culture and a way of living on this planet that is bountiful rather than consumptive, that creates healthy soil, water and air instead of pollution, that creates beauty everywhere instead of just a few places.
We can live in abundance while still improving the planet for future generations. That is what this training is all about. How do we learn to observe what is truly going on? How do we use the natural abundance that surround us to provide our needs? How do we do it in such a way as to create no pollution or waste.
We can create abundance, beauty and healthfulness everywhere on the planet and for everyone. It all comes down to desire and design.
Think of the amazing things we as humans have created with our science and technology in the last few generations. We can use the same creativity and passion to redesign the way we supply or food, water, clothing, buildings, education, healthcare, and more.
And even better, permaculture is relatively simple and based on common sense...it's not rocket science.
It is time for us as individuals to do this work..
to be the change
.
Bill Wilson Co-Founder of
Midwest Permaculture
o
4-Day Suburban-Urban
Permaculture Training Intensive Counts Towards PDC Certificate - Details
"Finally, there is a permaculture training that brings it all home. And we all got enough great ideas to be able to start right now. What an inspiring weekend." Claire Maitre - Co-Founder of Southeastern Michigan Permaculture Guild
Transforming our front lawns
with the use of
permaculture rain gardens.
Growing pumpkins on a
city rooftop
Converting traditional houses into carbon-free, off the grid, homes.
Growing sweet potato and
12 other vegetables
right on the concrete
Growing tomatoes from a
hanging bucket
Growing 25 pounds of potatoes from a single vertical box,
on an abandoned lot,
in the city of Chicago!
Growing spinach all winter long against the house in an insulated cold frame
Turning school parking lots into life supporting, educational,
child-friendly gardens.
Turning suburban backyards from grass...
into beautiful, bountiful food production.
This new training is a
foundational course in permaculture design with a practical bent.
It is for renters, apartment dwellers, home-owners and lot-owners alike.
It is for the suburban or city resident who wants to transform their immediate environment into something beautiful, productive, energy lean and functional.
It also counts towards attaining one's Permaculture Design Course Certificate if that is of interest.
Subjects Covered: - Foundations of permaculture design
- Harvesting the surrounding abundance
- Raising & preserving much of one's food
- Gardening on concrete, on roofs & in apartments
- Techniques for dramatically reducing energy use
- Generating income from one's home or lot
- Various & effective rainwater harvesting methods
- Beautiful, functional and edible landscape design
- Garden designs that increase production while reducing labor
- Simple neighborhood re-works that promote community
- What is at the heart of creating a
'permanent-culture'
- More..
<--- Read Here for More on the Training
Basic Training Outline
Although there will be plenty of overlap between all days, here is good idea of how the 4-days are divided up.
Basic Training Outline
Day 1: Foundations of Permaculture
Day 2: Our Permaculture Gardens
Day 3: Our Permaculture Homes
Day 4: Moving Ourselves & Our Communities
Toward 'Permanent-Cultures'
Training Features
Unless otherwise noted, these training run from a Thursday – Sunday (a long weekend) and will be filled with nuts, bolts, how-to's, insight, inspiration and know-how.
This is a educational intensive not a 'hands-on' training. About 65% of the time will be spent in the classroom covering the permaculture design principles and sharing example after example of how these are applied. There will be some time spent outside exploring patterns and features of the landscape as well as some actual permaculture design work. Each student will be involved in the brainstorming of several permaculture designs as well as working on a project of their own.
The goal of this intensive training is for students to come away with a new pair of permaculture eyes. A pair of eyes that can see an abundance of opportunities in any urban or suburban landscape.
Interested in Hosting a
Training in Your Own Town or City?
This 4-day intensive has been designed so that it can be taken to any city or suburb and at any time of year. We invite you to send us an email requesting more details and information.
Additional Training Information
Training Textbook (Included with Registration)
Gaia's Garden The
New Edition by Toby Hemenway
The text is mailed directly to students shortly after registering..
Gaia's Garden - The New Edition (2nd Edition)
When people ask us what book they should buy to get a good understanding of permaculture, we recommend this book by Toby Hemenway. Even though this 4-day permaculture intensive is not just about gardening, Toby does a great job on explaining the basics of permaculture, and in this new addition he has added more information about the urban landscape.
Gaia's Garden goes into great detail on specific permaculture techniques, such as: organizing your garden in to "zones", creating and maintaining your fertile soil, and explanations about companion planting and permaculture plant guilds. The book also contains many helpful charts and illustrations.
All students are asked to read the full text before the 4-day training begins. This will ensure a greater learning experience.
- - - - - -
Instructors
Lead Instructor
Bill Wilson
Bill holds two PDC Certificates and two Advanced Certificates (one in design the other in permaculture teaching).
He is Co-Founder of Midwest Permaculture with his wife Rebecca. They have lived the last 32 years in a sustainably oriented community, being intimately involved in it's daily life and various transitions.
Additional Trainers
Bill will be joined by several other experienced permaculturists and teachers, some in person and some over the internet from other locations. It is important to Bill and Midwest Permaculture that you speak directly to people who are doing the work and walking the talk.
Ashleigh B. of Detroit "My mind has been working overtime thinking about permaculture! I have learned so much this weekend. I will use it the rest of my life.
Thank You Bill and Everyone!!!"
Training Preparation
Shortly after registering for a training, students receive a welcome email while they are awaiting their textbook. Included in the email are some pre-training study materials and further details about the specific training and site.
Student's Internet Networking Site
Each training will also be provided a free networking site where you can connect with your fellow students. Share reading and homework thoughts, arrange transportation, look for discounted lodging and if you like, share a bit about yourself. Following the training, fellow students may also use this site to stay connected with one another if they so chose. Use of this networking site is totally optional. It's just a bonus of the training. To check out the public forums of the Midwest Permaculture Networking Site, goto: www.MidwestPermaculture.ning.com.
- - - - - -
Credit Towards PDC Certificate
To be clear, this is nota Permaculture Design Certification Course (PDC). If you are set on taking a full PDC training, this link will take you to our PDC Course information and schedule for these.
However, since much of the material in this training is also covered in a PDC, we have created a three step process where by credit is given towards one's PDC Certificate through Midwest Permaculture.
$200 Credit
Regardless, every student of this suburban/urban training receives a $200 credit toward any future Midwest Permaculture 8-Day PDC Course should they decide to take a full training instead of the 3-stage option.
- - - - - - - - -
Daily Schedule (9-6) & Lunch
Most intensives will run from a Thursday - Sunday, starting promptly at 9:00 a.m. and ending each day at 6:00 p.m. Lunch is often provided as part of your tuition and supplied from the local community, mostly organic, and whenever possible, prepared with locally raised foods. Coffee, tea and water are available throughout the day as well.
Lodging, Accommodations and/or Camping
Each student will make their own arrangements for lodging. Some training sites might offer low cost lodging or camping options. See the information for each individual training for more details at the bottom of this page.
Training Fee & Registration 4-Day Intensive:
$495 for most trainings.
Group Registrations (For Midwest Permaculture Trainings) 2 or more may register together and receive a $50 discount each. Invite additional family, friends or club members and everyone receives the same $50 discount up to the start of the course. Call Becky for either more information or to set up a group (815-256-2215).
Registration See individual training locations below.
Down-Payment / Training Reservation
Our simple e-commerce page is not set-up to handle partial or down-payments. If making a partial payment is an important factor in your ability to participate, please call Becky at 815-256-2215 to work out these arrangements.
Cancellation and Refund Policy
Should a student have to cancel their enrollment in a training up to 30-days before it begins, there is a full refund less $75 to cover our book costs and processing fees.
If a student cancels in the 30-day period before the training there will be a full refund less $150.
In both cases, the student keeps the book and access to all handouts.
There are no refunds for cancellations for withdrawals once the training begins. However, in certain circumstances we may extend partial credit towards a future training.
a
Continuing Support Following Training
Following this training, students are invited to become part of our growing network of graduates. On our Midwest Permaculture Networking site
there will be a separate and private section
for graduates of this
Suburban/Urban Permaculture Training.
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.
Still Have Questions?
You are welcome to email us here or call Becky at 815-256-2215. c
Please Note: This training was scheduled to be hosted at the Midwest Renewable Energy Association in Custer, WI, but due to various reasons this training has been moved to our home community of Stelle, IL.
Our appreciation to the MREA.
This is the exact same training
- Just a Different location -
Location
Stelle is our (Bill and Becky Wilson's) home town. Students will be able to see first hand how we are transforming our suburban home and get a flavor for neighborhood cooperation and sustainability.
Meals & Lodging
Three meals a day are included with the price of this training starting with dinner on Thursday through lunch the following Sunday. Lodging is also included in one of our friend's guest rooms or you may choose to camp for a reduced fee. (showers and bathroom included).
Price:$495
(includes book, lodging and meals) $425 for campers $ 50 off for second family member or friend.
.JPG)
.JPG)
.jpg)
.JPG)
.jpg)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.jpg)
