“As Bill and Becky said at the PDC, if we wish to create a more compassionate and sustainable world (a more permanent-culture) we need to live it and share it.” Tim… Continue reading “PDC Graduate Series – Tim Wadle”
Ian is Graduate of:
PDC Course #60 – Oct. 2015, Grass Valley, CA
Teacher Training #7, July 2016 in Stelle, IL
Kate is Graduate of:
PDC Course #4 – Oct. 2007
at Midwest Permaculture, Stelle, IL
We teach the fundamentals of plant guild design at every Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) course we host.
Here is our Upcoming Schedule
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 Bryce Ruddock Integrated Forest Gardening Bryce is Midwest Permaculture’s Official ‘Plant Guy’. When we have questions about plants or need detailed design work for clients, he’s our go-to guy and wonderful to work with as well. |
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Now that we’ve wrapped up our last course in 2012, it’s time to look forward to our offerings in the coming year. Our first course of 2013 is our Stelle Winter PDC, with a focus on creating productive growing spaces from kitchen gardens to small farms.
We see this as part of an evolving pattern for our Stelle courses, one for every season.
Being in the midst of the winter season, with the short days and cold weather it brings, makes it a different experience than our other courses. At the same time this gives the students an opportunity to meet with farmers that would have less time during the rest of the year, like the folks at Spence Farm or our friends from Fox Hollow Farm.
We think this course is great for food growers, farmers that have downtime in January, students who have the month off, gardeners that want to head into the season with a new outlook, or anyone else who is otherwise occupied the rest of the year.
Also this course will have a few seats with at a discount, available to students and retirees.
For more information check out our Winter PDC course page or download the course flyer.
Update by Bill Wilson – March 2018
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Worm towers are just one of many techniques that permaculture designers might use to totally transform their home or piece of property. Join us sometime for a deep and inspiring look into Permaculture. |
The empty insides of an installed worm tower.
How to Use
Above is the empty worm tower as it was installed into the ground at Midwest Permaculture in Stelle, IL. We then put in some wet straw for bedding, a handful of composting worms (red wigglers) and a days worth of kitchen scraps. For the next couple of weeks we added our daily kitchen scraps until it was full. Thereafter, the contents would slowing sink down as the worms enjoyed their feast, turning scraps into pure worm castings. About once a week there would be enough room to add another days worth of kitchen scraps. If someone had 7 towers they could top-off one per day.
Is taking a Permaculture Course Worth It? When I think back on my own experiences of taking a Permaculture Design Course (PDC) and look at the knowledge, skills and path that I am now on as a result, I would have to say that taking a permaculture course is absolutely a worthwhile experience. It has propelled me to where I am today and I would highly recommend it to most anyone.
Hugelkultured Swale Digging at Stelle PDC
First it’s useful to step back for a moment and look at the larger picture. When we take the systems that are available in the mainstream today for providing for ourselves , we can easily recognize that they are not caring for the planet, people, or the future. In fact, the situation is getting worse. These systems which manifest as the standard strategies for providing for oneself — such as going to college, getting a job, buying a house, driving a car and even shopping for necessary items — are breaking down. The price of college far outpaces inflation and for most isn’t an option without taking on crushing student debt. The economy is shedding jobs, manufacturing has followed cheap labor across the seas, government and business are paring down to the bone, and millions are unemployed and have given up looking for work. The housing market has crashed and threatens to collapse much further with the inventory of empty homes that no one can afford. The price of owning a car is climbing, with gasoline alone tripling in price in the last decade. Long supply chains, easily disrupted, bring us all the things around us, most of it is unnecessary junk or designed to fail in less than two years. The quality and safety of our food is highly doubtful. And the list goes on.
What is needed is not to trash the systems that are still providing for us, but instead to enable each person to establish other systems capable of taking up the slack, ensure that they are ethical, resilient, robust, and that most of all they meet the needs of people without being a detriment to the planet or the future. This is where the Permaculture Design Course comes in.
Continue reading “Is taking a Permaculture Course Worth It?”