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PDC Information Session

Whatcom Permaculture PDC info Session Recap

Are you interested in learning more about permaculture and the ways you can get involved with the Whatcom Permaculture community? Dive into the world of permaculture design and see what the Whatcom Permaculture Design course offers.

This Information session offers

  • Hear about the basics of permaculture and its benefits.
  • Learn about our upcoming events, including workshops, volunteer opportunities, and community meet-ups.
  • Discover the details about our Permaculture Design Course (PDC) and how to apply for a scholarship before the April 1st deadline.
  • Hear from some past students reflections
  • Ask questions and get personalized advice on how to start your permaculture journey.

We look forward to exploring the potential of living regeneratively together with you!

Ways to Get Involved with Whatcom Permaculture

Engaging with Whatcom Permaculture is a rewarding experience that contributes to both personal growth and community development. Here’s how you can get involved:

  1. Attend Introductory Workshops:

    • Sign up for workshops to learn about permaculture principles and techniques.
    • Workshops are hands-on and often include site visits to local projects.
  2. Volunteer:

  3. Enroll in a Permaculture Design Course (PDC):
    • Completing a PDC is a critical step for anyone serious about practicing permaculture.
    • These courses cover theory, principles, design processes, and practical applications.
  4. Join Local Community Groups:
    • Find and join local permaculture or gardening groups to share knowledge and resources.
    • Community groups often hold regular meetings, garden tours, and seed swaps.
  5. Participate in Community Projects:
    • Engage with existing permaculture projects or start a new one in your neighborhood.
    • Projects may include community gardens, food forests, and sustainable living initiatives.
  6. Practice at Home:

    • Apply permaculture principles in your own backyard or balcony garden.
    • Design your living space for sustainability, efficiency, and harmony with nature.
  7. Stay Informed:

    • Read books, watch documentaries, and stay updated with the latest in permaculture innovation.
    • Consider subscribing to our newsletter and blogs focused on permaculture.

To get started, check out the Whatcom Permaculture and Inspiration Farm’s websites for resources, upcoming events, and contact information. Reach out with your interests, and we can guide you to the best way to contribute to the local permaculture movement.

Join Whatcom Permaculture!

Stay in the loop and Join 68 others, in Whatcom County interested in Permaculture.

We will not share your info. with anyone. Only used to inform you of permaculture related events in Whatcom county. You may unsubscribe at any time.

Foundations of Permaculture

May 21, 2022 @ 8:00 am – May 22, 2022 @ 7:00 pm

Permaculture course weekends you can attend separately!

We will be offering certain modules of the course as a stand-alone workshops for people who are interested in specific topics but may not be able to commit to an entire course. 

Weekend #1  May 21st and 22nd $200

The first weekend will cover the Foundations of Permaculture overview and logistics of the whole course. This will be an introduction to the foundations of permaculture. If you decide you are interested in taking the whole course you may roll this fee into the cost of the course.

The first two information packed days we will cover permaculture defined; observation skills; ethics and the basis of ecological design; permaculture principles. We will include a comprehensive site tour with observation skill exercises while looking at indicators of sustainability, and how to use them. We will address whole systems thinking and how to look at fast track succession as it applies to design strategies.

Tickets

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Tickets are no longer available
$200.00 Weekend price

Brian Kerkvliet

360-319-2029

View Organizer Website

Inspiration Farm

617 E Laurel Rd
Bellingham, WA 98226 United States + Google Map
360-319-2029
View Venue Website

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Permaculture Course Update

As we move closer to the start of our Whatcom Hands On Permaculture Design Course, We wanted to share an update of how things are progressing. At this point the course is half full, with a half a dozen or so interested and thinking about it.

We would like to offer an incentive for people to sign up.

  • We are extending the early bird price of $1600 till May 1st, $200 off the regular price
  • Sign up a friend and get $100 off of your tuition.
  • Sign up as a couple and get a $200 discount

We are really looking forward to getting into the nuts and bolts of the class schedule. If we have not reached minimum enrollment by May 5th, we will strategically pivot to a slightly different format.  We would still continue to offer some of the course content, but as stand-alone workshops conducted throughout the Spring and Summer. 

Upcoming Events

Here are a few upcoming events if you are interested in meeting us or visiting a site prior to the course.  These are also great opportunities to meet other people in our area interested in Permaculture.  They are also a great chance to invite your friends who may be exploring some of these ideas ; )

Saturday, April 23rd-  9 – 2pm Whatcom Farm Expo Exhibition:  Free! Put on by the Whatcom Conservation District. Come visit us at this trade convention for our local Agricultural Community.  More information at their Website, Eventbrite, and Facebook event, pages.

Friday, April 29 –  4 – 6pm Permaculture Meet-up at Inspiration Farm: Free! Come meet and chat with our local Permaculture Community.  We can share ideas, plants, books or tools. 

Sunday, May 1st – 2 – 5pm  International Permaculture Day: Free! We are hosting a Plant sale/swap as well as a site tour.  Bring plants to share or a little bit of cash for purchasing and join us.

Saturday, May 14 – 10 – 4pm Food Forest & Permaculture Guild Plants $40 Workshop at Inspiration Farm.

Permaculture course weekends you can attend separately!

We will be offering certain modules of the course as a stand-alone workshops for people who are interested in specific topics but may not be able to commit to an entire course.  The cost will be $200 per weekend.  Please share these opportunities with anybody you know who may be interested.  Thanks. 

Weekend #1  May 21st and 22nd $200

The first weekend will cover the Foundations of Permaculture overview and logistics of the whole course. This will be an introduction to the foundations of permaculture. If you decide you are interested in taking the whole course you may roll this fee into the total cost of the course.

The first two information packed days we will cover permaculture defined; observation skills; ethics and the basis of ecological design; permaculture principles. We will include a comprehensive site tour with observation skill exercises while looking at indicators of sustainability, and how to use them. We will address whole systems thinking and how to look at fast track succession as it applies to design strategies.

Weekend #2  June 4th and 5th $200

The second weekend we will look at Designing within a Pattern Literacy Context. We will also be joined by the renowned permaculture designer and practitioner Doug Bullock. As we look at topography, geology, climate and microclimates Designing from patterns to details using natural patterns as a design tool. Looking at the overview of the permaculture design process and methods of design using the Zone and Sector System.

Day two we will go into the Roles of Trees and Plants. How do these elements relate to developing a stable system. Polyculture plants and their many functions. Methods for propagation, care and the yields they offer back to the system.  Strategic design of plant communities for the orchard food forest system including; hedgerows, windbreaks, shelter belts and the home garden.

Weekend #3  June 18th and 19th $200

This third weekend will focus on  Soil and Water. On Saturday, we will explore the complex, living, breathing edge between the earth and the sky.  By exploring the dynamic Soil Food Web, we will learn about both the geological and ecological relationships which best facilitate plant growth.  Sunday will explore Water Systems and provide a practical and accessible approach to this most critical infrastructure.  We will look at Residential Irrigation systems that connect the garden to the home.  We will also explore Domestic Plumbing systems such as the kitchen sink, toilet and grey water irrigation.  We’ll learn how to troubleshoot simple problems that homeowners and renters may encounter in everyday life.

Weekend #4  July 9th and 10th $200

This Fourth weekend will focus on  Social Relations and Practical Tools. We will also be joined by the renowned permaculture designer Penny Livingston.  On Saturday we will explore awesome Community Projects happening within the scope of Permaculture Design.  We will also investigate social relationships between ourselves, each other and our larger consumer culture as well as how to design in the Human Landscape.  On Sunday, we will learn How to Use and Care for Tools.  Both hand tools and power tools are an essential part of any land-based work.  We will cover the basic tool kit, trade-specific kits, power tools, safety and maintenance.

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Upcoming Permaculture Events 2022

As we enter the new year, we are excited to offer paths towards abundant solutions.

We have been quietly hibernating during the past few years of Covid but feel it is time to reboot and get this information out to people who need it. With all the issues facing us at this time we feel we compelled to share solutions that help people learn positive ways to move forward in their own life.

Collectively we are facing so many challenges; from supply chain issues, drought, flood, fires, inflation, healthcare crisis, to ecosystem degradation and social collapse. There are tools in the Permaculture tool box that can solve all these issues.

We would like to invite you to take check out the offerings for this year, and look forward to sharing solutions to the problems of our time.

“Though the problems of the world are increasingly complex,

the solutions remain embarrassingly simple.”

― Bill Mollison founder of Permaculture

Hands on Permaculture Design Certificate Course Event! May through July, Learn the skills to work with nature to create integrated Permaculture systems of abundance and productivity! Early bird price ends soon. Find out more »

Permaculture Tour and Meet-Up Feb 25 Inspiration farm, Free!

A Free gathering time for People interested in Permaculture from Whatcom county to come together and discuss ideas. Agenda– Tour, talk, swap plants seeds, books. After the tour we invite you to stay for an informal discussion. How can we move…
Find out more »

Circle of Permes

Great Grafting / Propagation Gathering March 12th, $20

Create your own Fruit Nursery Stock. Fruit Tree Grafting and Propagation from Cuttings. Pruning season is upon us! Remember to save scion wood for the Grafting Gathering! You can learn how to collect scion wood here. Bring Apple, Pear, Plum…
Find out more »

Practical Permaculture Immersion Weekend March 19th & 20th, $150

A fun filled Permaculture Immersion Weekend. We will illustrate practical ways to design an integrated living system that that partners with nature and is self regulating, abundant and resilient. Whether you are on an urban lot or a farm homestead,… Find out more »

Scythes the Cutting Edge! April  9th, $40

Sell the weed eater and use a scythe! Maintain your body, not your machines. Learn the sharper points of this elegant tool. Thought to be old school, but better blades and an ergonomic set up makes them one of the most efficient tools out there. Find out more »

PERMACULTURE DAY TOUR & PLANT SALE / SWAP May 1st, Free!

We will celebrate International Permaculture Day May 1st 2022!

A day to showcase permaculture around the world.  An opportunity to experience permaculture and meet its practitioners. Visitors can see first hand an established permaculture system and ask questions. See how…
Find out more »

Food Forest & Permaculture Guild Plants May 14, $40

Plant a garden, eat for a year, plant a Food Forest Guild, eat for decades! This hands on workshop shares design elements necessary for a perennial food forest. Learn about fruit and nut trees as well as supper food berries… Find out more »

Permaculture Design Certificate Course, May through July, $1500

Hands on Event! Learn the skills to work with nature to create integrated Permaculture systems of abundance and productivity! Find out more »

4 weekends and a five day camp out.

  • Weekends May 21,22, June 4,5 & 18,19, July 9,10
  • Camp out design session July 18,19,20,21,22 –
  • 13 days total, Daily Time: 9am – 6pm

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Spring Guild Walk, 2021

We love Spring and all the smells, colors and aliveness it brings.

In an effort to share this with all of you I will do a series of live video session as well as post some of my observations here for you to enjoy and ponder.

Despite the whole COVID event that is playing out, nature is abundant, resilient and relentless in her determination to move forward.

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Whatcom PDC Covid-19 Update

Greetings Resilient Whatcom PDC 2020 Students and Friends our Hands-on PDC has been postponed, However…

At this juncture we are excited to offer you several new choices to get your Permaculture Design Certificate.

1) If you would like to get your PDC certification now via an online course we offer you the opportunity to enroll at Oregon State University world class PDC. They have offered to open this up to our students at a discount as a result of Covid-19 affecting many face to face courses. 

OSU offers the full course content taught by two of our top Cascadia colleagues, Marisha Auerbach and Andrew Millison, along with many guest experts. This class has been offered by OSU for the past 8 years and is PINA certified. They will partner with us so that we can act as your local mentors helping guide you through the 10 week self paced course. Our students will receive weekly support and guidance from Brian and Bruce!

To find more information and to enroll in OSU’s online PDC program, the link is here.

When you register for the OSU PDC please make sure to use the promo code BKPerm and you will receive a 5% discount. About $45 off the regular price. We will start our group by May 1 so please register before then and let us know.

If you decide to do the OSU course we could plan to do an optional hands-on workshop in the future. This would flush out your competency in permaculture design skills. There would be an addition cost.

We hope to offer this Hands-On, in-person PDC course in the future so that you may get the full experience. The dates are obviously yet to be determined. Stay posted for more on this.
If you would like a refund of your course tuition we are happy to offer you a refund. 

We hope to be able to provide some free content and information that will give some tools and things you can do right now as well as information to get your gardens and nursery production going in order to create some resilience for the near future. Sign up to receive notifications for events here.

We can also offer some virtual consultations and mentorships while still practicing physical distancing.

Thank you for bearing with this process. We hope you find a path that works for you at this time. If you have any questions don’t be afraid to ask.

Wishing you all health, insight and resilience during this time of reflection and interconnection.

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PDC 2020 Posters are Ready!

We are so excited that the new posters are finished. Paul Kersley put them together with his wonderful illustrations and sense of design they came together great!

We will have some printed posters available for local people to put up in addition to the collectable hand bills. Let us know if you have a place to put them up and we will get you some. If you need a stash of hand bill to hand out to interested groups of people we can get that to you too. We also have the posters and hand bills available for folks to download. You can use them to send out to your social networks or share with friends who may be interested in this incredible opportunity to take a local PDC with world class instructors.

  • Spread the word

Download a print formatted PDF of the Poster and Hand Bills to print and post in your area.

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