One of the purposes of this permaculture webinar series is to open important and complementary doors of study to our students–our Webinar Series students and our PDC Course students as well.  These links support that. You will find many practical tools as well as meaningful concepts to consider.  We are exposed to large amounts of permaculture related information constantly and we feel that our job is to sort through it on behalf of our students to bring you the most useful and relevant pieces.  Our intent is to save you time and money by bringing you key pieces.

Most all of these are direct links to the original article or resource we found on the internet.

• 150 Question Study Guide These are questions we formulated to help students anchor key information from Rosemary Morrow’s book, The Earth User’s Guide to Permaculture.  These are for self-study purposes. We do no require nor ask for written answers to be  turned in.

• Site Data & Design Project Collection Exercise Mentioned in webinar #5 Reading the Landscape and Methods of Design at 9:40

• Plant Guilds eBooklet

History

• Tasmanian Roots – Story of Mollison & Holmgren  (by Russ Grayson and Steve Payne – New Internationalist Magazine)  A foundational history of how permaculture began.

• What is Permaculture  (by Bill Mollison) What is Permaculture in the words of one of the co-creators himself.

Permaculture Principles, Patterns & Methodologies

• The Essence of Permaculture.pdf  (by David Holmgren – Co-founder of Permaculture)  A 24 page pamphlet on his 12-design principles.

• Adapting Zones and Sectors for the City (by Bart Anderson, Resilience.org)  Using a standard permaculture tool as a pattern for the urban environment where most people live.

• Photo of neuron in the eye – Photo of the galaxy – Similar patterns, both large and small, in the universe. Could all of life be nothing more that the repetition of the same patterns?

• Scientist look to Sunflowers for Solar Panel Design (Earth Sky Website) Biomimicry

Soil – Water – Gardening

• High Plains Aquifer Dwindles – New York Times, May 2013 – “Most of the creeks and rivers that once veined the land have dried up as 60 years of pumping have pulled groundwater levels down by scores and even hundreds of feet. And when the groundwater runs out, it is gone for good. Refilling the aquifer would require hundreds, if not thousands, of years of rains.”

• How to design your Herb Spiral.pdf– From our PDC Grad Student, Ryan Barrett (SlowDownFarm.com) created this two page instruction sheet on a classic permaculture design for creating microclimates.

• The Magical Soils of El Dorado – Terra Preta  (by Karen Carmichael-Timson, Cornell.edu and Permaculture Magazine)  Can we pull Co2 out of the atmosphere, convert it into pure carbon, and then support the capture and storage nutrients in the soil?

• A Quiet Push to Grow Crops Under Cover of Trees (by Jim Robbins of The New York Times)  More and more people are looking into perennial and polycultural agriculture (woody agriculture or agroforestry)

• Rising Acidity in the Ocean: The Other CO2 Problem (Scientific American) CO2 is not just a challenge for our atmosphere, but for our oceans as well.

• Building Community Gardens Manual – AERO (Helena, MT. A 62 page .PDF)  For those of you who may be getting into community gardening, we found this manual exceedingly well done.

• Rain Gardens – A How-to Manual for Homeowners  (University of Wis.)  Again, a very clear and helpful manual on creating beautiful landscapes that hold water.  Now, just add perennial foods and herbs to make them even more useful.

• Calculating Area and Volume of Ponds A handy tool to have if/when you need it.  Another helpful piece of data:  1-inch of rain that falls on an acre of land is the equivalent of 27,154+ gallons of water.  We look at 10 ways to capture that water during the PDC course.

Trees – Plants – Animals

• Dynamic Accumulators – Soil Indicator Weeds- Very interesting and useful information from the Oregon Biodynamic Group.

• Best Vegetables to Grow in the Shade – Vegetable List  (Mother Earth News – Colleen Vanderlinden)  This question comes up so often we thought you should have a simple list and a useful understanding of techniques to grow some plants in limited-direct sunlight.

• How to Build a Geodesic Chook Dome – (Milkwood Permaculture)  A similar dome design to the one we built for our chickens.  Works great in an open area…not in an orchard with low branches.

• Woody Agriculture – On the Road to a New Paradigm  (Phillip Rutter)  A renaissance man when it comes to food security, an economically viable future for farmers, and environmental care. Phil has been doing original and pioneering work in the growing and breeding of hazelnut and chestnut for over 30 years.

Renewable Energy – Green Building

• German Village Achieves Energy Independence… And Then Some – (BioCycle Magazine) An example of how towns and cities can take the lead in creating permanent-cultures. We do not have to wait for leadership of state or federal programs or officials.

• Thermal Mass Rocket Stoves on our Minds… – Wanted to be sure you see this blog Post on our Website.

• Rocket Mass Heater – A helpful cross diagram for the understanding of how a thermal mass rocket stove works.  (Ernie & Erica Wisner)  (Note: D is missing & E is not completely correct.)

• Emergency Sandbag Shelter (Training Guide) – A three page summary of how to build a superadobe dome from our friends at Cal-Earth.

Social Permaculture

• Conserving Community – (Wendell Berry) We wanted to be sure that everyone was exposed to Wendell and his thoughts–a deep thinking and compassionate man.  He as written volumes.

• A Permaculture Love Story – Their Trip to Bountifuly – (New York Times) – Eric Tonesmeier and Jonathan Bates tell the story of how they came to write “Paradise Lot” and how a couple of plant nurds finally found their partners. A fun and inspiring read.

• Women Farmers Ready to Beat Climate Change (inter Press Service -By Keya Acharya) This movement in India was started by a Bill Mollison PDC Grad from early 1980.

• Teachings from Bapu Kuti (Mark DeKay)  We found this on the web and found it deeply thoughtful.  It’s clear and Mahatma Ghandi thought like a permaculturist– Care of People, Place and Fair Systems.

• Good Karma Gardens – (LAYOGA Magazine) Swami Omkarananda is a PDC Grad of ours and started this practial but inspiring garden project in Los Angeles.

• The Cooperative Way to a Stronger Economy  (by Sarah van Gelder for yes! Magazine )  Co-ops—just like people—can get more done together than anyone can do alone. They come in many forms, and are more common than you might imagine.

• Economics of Happiness: The New Economy (by John De Graaf and Linda Sechrist for Natural Awakenings Magazine)  A great look at what really makes us happy and feeling secure.

• A Deliciously Resourceful Town Aims for Total Food Self-Sufficiency Within 7 Years  (By Vincent Graff, dailymail.co.uk -Wake Up World website)  Another example of how towns and cities can take the lead in creating permanent-cultures. We do not have to wait for leadership of state or federal programs or officials.

• 8 Forms of Capital (Ethan Roland, Appleseed Permaculture) A refreshing, brilliant and different way to view our resources and wealth.

• 10 Practical Tools for Building a Resilient Local Economy – A short-clear list from one of our PDC Grads, Rev. Peter Rood, and his associate Joanne Poyourow, author of Legacy: A Story of Hope for a Time of Environmental Crisis.

Reference – Extras

• Case Study: Jordan Valley Permaculture ProJect, Jordan – Results of ‘Greening the Desert’ Project – Geoff Lawton