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.
The variety of subjects covered by a PDC are diverse! The first four weekends are a broad overview of design principles, strategies and techniques. The 5 day campout will dive deeper into practical applications and community building. All together, the Whatcom PDC constitutes the 72+ Hour Permaculture Design Certification Course as originally designed by Permaculture co-founder, Bill Mollison. Students who complete the two-week curriculum earn the internationally recognized Permaculture Design Consultant Certification. To date, thousands of permaculture designers worldwide are certified through PDCs, and comprising a global network of educators and ecological activists. PDC grades around the world have brought permaculture design thinking into the full gambit of modern careers and living environments. They represent groups of committed people working together to change the way we view and design our landscapes and communities.
View the rough course schedule here. The order of topics in a course may change due to the presence of guest instructors, and emphasis on certain subjects may shift due to the needs and focus of the participants, such as urban or rural residents, ect. This course will not make you an expert in any of the individual subjects covered, although, in many cases we go into considerable depth. The point of the course is to introduce you to the relationships and synergies in the systems that make up everyday life. In a sense, permaculture creates an ecology made up of the many tools and concepts used to design sustainable communities. You will learn about tools and how to use them, and when. The PDC will continually demonstrate connections between you subjects leaving you with a whole systems design strategy. In a sense, permaculture creates an ecology made up of the many tools and concepts used to design sustainable communities.
Permaculture Design Process camp out week:
Building on the foundations presented in the first four weekends, knowledge and skills will be expanded and tied together. Leading to a final real life design exercise, mapping and placing elements within a holistic design.
Building
Solar Design
Water management
Ecosystem restoration
Climatic considerations
Eco-Village
Community Structures
Urban Design
Aquaculture
Animal Husbandry
Alternative Governance
Design groups will present to the class for critique and comment.
Optional on-site Camping with lunch and dinner during the last five days at Inspiration Farm. This will provide opportunities to immerse in the design process and partake in after hour activities.
Let us know if you would like help arranging local off-site lodging if camping is not a viable option for you.
Who Would Benefit From Attending This Course?
This course teaches you to observe at various levels such as cycles in nature, movements in history, practices across cultures, and patterns in social behavior. It also increase one’s awareness to learn how to interact harmoniously with nature to achieve your goals. The Permaculture Design Course jump starts the learning curve on all these fronts. Permaculture uses ecological principles to design sustainable human communities that are harmoniously woven into the environment, with the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems. Design professionals can add new qualifications to their resumes and offer improved services to their clients. Their designs tend to use fewer resources, work more efficiently, and are easier to maintain. Most participants find the course life-changing, and they form powerful new viewpoints and enhanced social networks.
– Homeowners, gardeners, and farmers learn to increase the value and productivity of their property and to create home and land environments that better support their own needs as well as nature’s.
– Real estate, construction, and development professionals are able to better address the public’s growing concern for the environment and to reduce resource use and impacts.
– Educators learn to integrate permaculture design into their curriculum in ways that have been proven to raise student performance.
– Planners and public officials find holistic solutions to land-use and resource issues, and will identify and solve bottlenecks and impediments to implementing their programs.
– Energy, water, and waste-systems workers will learn holistic management strategies for integrating their projects into the larger community.
The Permaculture Design Course is one of the few educational systems in the world of its size that allows so much freedom to students and teachers alike. The course material and presentation is structured to address different learning styles. Each topic expands and deepens our understanding of the previous topics, so the knowledge and understanding of the student is gradually built up. The permaculture design course teaches whole-systems thinking. Systems thinking focuses on the relationships among the parts, the features that emerge from these relationships.
Design Exercises help bring this into application and make corrections. Just as the course material is vast in its size and scope, the course presentation extends beyond the classroom teaching, design exercises and audio-visual sessions. Permaculture flows over to the meals shared, nature walks/garden visits, learning new practical skills and checking theoretical learning with experiments.
What does a Permaculture Design Certificate enable you to do?
With this certificate a graduate may confidently use the word ‘permaculture’ in the promotion of their work or business world wide. This might include:
Use the term Permaculture in your business
Permaculture design consulting
Landscaping and implementation of design
Teaching and facilitating groups.
Working with aid organizations
Managing a farm or other garden projects, large or small
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.
Apply Permaculture principles to real life Earth Care! Three month apprenticeship, June 15- Sept 15, 2023, living, working and learning on a permaculture farm in the beautiful Cascade Mountains. Curricula … Continue reading “Regenerative Earth Apprenticeship Program 2024”
The Whatcom Permaculture events bring together like-minded individuals who are interested in sustainability, agriculture, and community building. It’s a chance to meet others with similar interests, share knowledge, and collaborate on projects.
EVENTS AT INSPIRATION FARM 2023 Hi Everyone! Just wanted to take a moment to let you all know some of what we have planned for this year. Other events may pop up to fill in some gaps but here are the events we have on the books at this point.
Stay Tuned for the updated 2024 Whatcom PDC Schedule!
Our schedule will be posted closer to the start of the course, once we have firmed up guest presenters, ect. Thank you for your patience.
Here is the working schedule of the 2024 Whatcom Permaculture Design course. Subject to change
Day 1: Foundations of Permaculture Course overview and logistics; permaculture defined; observation skills; ethics and the basis of ecological design; permaculture principles, indicators of sustainability, and how to use them.
Day 2: Design for Pattern Literacy Designing from patterns to details; natural patterns as a design tool; the permaculture design process; methods of design; the Zone and Sector System.
Day 3: Thinking Like a Watershed The water cycle; Catching and storage water; designing tanks, cisterns, and other water storages. Roof-top water catchments
Day 4: The Path to Water Wisdom Ponds, swales, and key line design; water in the permaculture landscape; grey water and blackwater system design; aquaculture.
Day 5: Soil: The Living Skin of the Earth Soil structure and composition; soil ecology and nutrient flow; creating healthy soil; analyzing your soil; compost, nutrient teas, and mulches; cover crops and green manures; strategies for your own soil conditions.
Images From past courses
Day 6: A Revolution Disguised as Gardening How ecosystems work; the home garden; plants of many functions; polycultures; integrating animals and insects into the garden; pest management; wildlife habitat
Day 7: Food Forests, Guilds, and Ecosystems Trees and their many roles; designing plant communities; the orchard; food forest design; hedgerows, windbreaks, and shelter belts; Biomimicry. Design Teams.
Day 8: The Built Environment The functions of shelter; methods of green and natural building; designing shelter for climate and culture; living roofs; site selection; designing for disaster.
Day 9: Energy and Tools for Working Wisely Population, energy use, and Peak Oil; renewable energy strategies; appropriate technologies for heating and cooling, transportation, cooking, and construction.
Day 10: Thinking Globally: Permaculture for Different Climates and Densities Tropical, Dry land, and Temperate strategy review. Designing for urban, suburban, or rural situations.
Day 11: Green Economics, Right Livelihood and Community Building Money, finance, and local currency networks; permaculture in education; green business guilds and networks; building social capital. Community dynamics; intentional communities, eco-villages, and group decision-making processes.
Day 12: Putting it Together: The Design Project Presentations Group design project presentations; Where to from here? Finding your ecological niche.
“Workshop was beyond my wildest expectations! Loved it!” Mary, L.
“Attending the 2022 PDC or “permaculture camp” was the highlight of my year. From seed saving to soil health to tool care to design projects- the skills learned are invaluable to the times we are in. Plus you make incredible connections and friendships.” ~ E. Burke
My experience with the PDC was life changing! The course equips participants with tons of practical takeaways and skills for working with systems and building a resilient landscape, but the real value for me was the connections I made to a lovely and wholesome community throughout Whatcom county. This course was incredibly enriching, and did an excellent job of engaging all the interconnected topics, from nerdy soil life sessions, seed saving and building a shower out of hot compost to social emotional learning, sharing meals and conversations about how we can restore our relationship with the land. Really couldn’t recommend it enough, and the cook was amazing. ~ S. Kamkoff
“The 2022 Whatcom PDC was a transformative experience for me. The course provided an in-depth understanding of permaculture principles and their practical application, tailored to our local environment. Learning at both Inspiration Farm and Queen Mountain Homestead offered a unique, hands-on experience that was both educational and inspiring. The knowledge and connections I gained have been invaluable in my journey towards pursuing a sustainable career. This course, with these wonderful instructors, is a must for anyone passionate about permaculture and ecological stewardship.” ~Brent B. of Bellingham Foodscapes
“I appreciate getting to know you, appreciate you sharing your wealth of permaculture & scything knowledge and look forward to future connections.” ~Gary B.
“I just wanted to say thanks again for a really great workshop at your farm. The format worked very well, loved all the hands on. Please extend thanks to all the instructors they did a great job.” ~Mat P.
“Thanks for all your effort in putting the Permaculture Design Certification course together. It was an exceptional learning experience. I marvel at how much you guys know and how enthusiastically the material was presented. Your guest presenters were outstanding and gave the course a welcomed perspective. I believe the hands-on experience such as making a thermophilic compost pile, constructing a cob rocket stove, planting a food forest, harvesting rye grain and kale seed, were invaluable to the course’s effectiveness. Brian’s home-made machines, ( e.g. the bucket grain thresher, the solar dehydrator, etc.) are a continuing challenge to all of us to be creative. Overall, the presentation reflected your deep respect for natural processes and dedication to making a positive contribution to our world. I’d recommend the course to anyone interested in permaculture or just wanting to learn about lifestyle possibilities available to us all.” ~Kevin
“I feel this class has met my expectations and can see it exceeding them as it continues. I really look forward to the upcoming modules and guest instructors.” ~Steve W.
“The best class I have ever taken by far.” -Cody J.
“Really superb! From my two years of reading about Permaculture I thought doing an in person PDC would be life-changing. You guys met and exceeded my expectations. This experience will stay with me forever!” ~Brian D.
“I spent 6 blessed-fantastic-very full days at Inspiration Farm exploring and learning about permaculture… studying: energy systems, design principles, nature’s patterns, ecosystems, climates, nitrogen & carbon cycles, biodynamics, the wild world of mushrooms, topography, base map creation, forest ecology, guilds, earthworks, soil building, water/rain & grey water systems, composting systems, sacred geometry and sooooo much more with a great bunch of fun, playful, wise & passionate human-beings. Tons of gratitude and thanks to Brian Kerkvliet, Dave Boehnlein, Paul Kearsley, Larry Dobson, all at Inspiration Farm and the many pioneers that keep this fire burning!” ~Stephanie
“Attended permaculture workshop and it was the perfect mixture of lecture and hands on experience. Beautiful and productive landscaping. I learned a lot!” ~Marnie W.
“Permaculture, a design system that reconciles human communities with the ecological imperatives of a living planet.” ~Ben H.
“I think Brian is a permaculture genius. He has taught me so much. This is an incredible place and it keeps getting better all the time.”
~Larry D.
“I Can’t recommend Brian enough. A real wizard when it comes to intelligent, sustainable design and he is the gold standard for water management!” ~Terri K.
Brian has a wide breadth of practical knowledge on how to partner with natural systems to bring forth stability and abundance. He has been co-stewarding Inspiration Farm, along with his wife Alexandra, since 1994. They use both biodynamic and Permaculture practices at inspiration Farm. Brian has taught permaculture at WWU and other PDC venues and events since 2009. Having completed several Permaculture Design Certifications, he consults, installs projects and teaches workshops. Inspiration Farm is a showcase for many aspects of designing a living resilient system that provides for most of the food fiber and medicine needed to live a happy healthy life while restoring the ecosystem. His enthusiasm to share this with a wider audience shows in all that he does.
Co-steward of Inspiration Farm. Alexandra has a BA in Org. Communication from ASU. She completed her PDC at the Bullock farm in 2006. Brian and Alexandra have 2 beautiful daughters that were born and raised on the Farm. (Now grown)
Their kids did 4-H for many years. 4-H was a fun journey of learning for the whole family. Alexandra hand milked Buttercup their sweet Jersey cow for about 11 years. She won first place at the NWWA Fair hand milking contest in 2014! Over the years they have had lots of different farm animals including chickens, turkeys, rabbits, goats, and cows, sheep, and pigs. Alexandra heads up the animal husbandry section of Inspiration Farm.
Alexandra has passions for animals and plants and more recently, lots and lots of flowers especially dahlias! She has yet to meet a flower she doesn’t like!
Alexandra is also the office and finance manager for the farm and other endeavors. If you want to find her smiling, go to the flower garden!
Alexandra King
Paul Kearsley of Queen Mtn. Homestead
Paul Kearsley is an experienced designer, educator and illustrator. He cut his Permaculture teeth at the Bullock’s Permaculture Homestead back in 2007. Since then he has worked with Terra Phoenix Design doing permaculture masterplanning locally and internationally. He holds a B.S. in Industrial Design and an MA in Environmental Education and teaches as a Senior Instructor in Western Washington University’s Design and Industrial Design programs. He is the illustrator of Practical Permaculture as well as other publications. He has taught Permaculture Design introductory courses, PDC’s and advanced PDC courses within WWU and the wider Pacific Northwest throughout the last 15 years.
At home, he co-stewards Queen Mountain Homestead, an 8-acre peri-urban homestead in Bellingham with his extended family. He fills his time working on the farm; adventuring and learning with his kids and niece and nephew; and drawing, drawing, drawing. His other passions include salvaging lumber, arranging flowers, foraging in the woods, smelling things, repairing stuff and cooking for his friends and family.
Paul Kearsley
Jane Campbell of Queen Mtn. Homestead
Jane grew up shaped by the forests, wetlands, and beaches of the Salish Sea’s coast; and, the worldview of her therapist parents. As an adult, her curiosities led her to study Earth Sciences and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Victoria; landscaping and market farming after; and, then, permaculture. In 2010, she began three profoundly joyful years living and apprenticing at the Bullock’s Permaculture Homestead, where, she likes to say, she learned how to learn. Since “graduating” from the Bullock’s, Jane has owned and operated the Bellingham based landscaping company Beauty Land & Tree Care LLC; taught and mentored in gardens & orchards throughout Whatcom County and the Puget Sound; engaged in civic activism; and, most importantly, become a parent two vibrant kids. She lives on and co-stewards Queen Mountain Homestead with her extended family and friends.
Some of Jane’s current obsessions include: being in trees, pruning, seasonal food preparation and preservation, woodcarving, neighborhood disaster preparedness, listening, writing, and recently, rock setting.
Jane Campbell
Elizabeth Chace (Counselor, MA, LMHCA) of Queen Mtn. Homestead
Elizabeth (Liz) is a licensed mental health counselor practicing in Bellingham, WA since 2014. Her work is informed by systems thinking and attachment theory- the notion that we are at our core relational beings, hardwired for compassion, love, and community. She is passionate about healing and strengthening relationships within ourselves, between loved ones, and with the broader world, and is excited to bring her knowledge and expertise to the Whatcom PDC again in 2024!
Liz grew up playing homestead with her little sister, Jane, in the backyards and greenbelts of suburban Vancouver, B.C.. She has been growing her own food since 2005, gradually converting more and more of her lawn into kale, tomatoes, eggs, sauerkraut, and more KALE! Liz and Jane, and their families have been playing homestead for real at Queen Mountain since 2016.
Elizabeth is mom to 2 amazing teens and partner to Ryan. She also enjoys: civic activism, her cats, being silly, her Queen Mountain sour dough bread, reading, and playing music with Ryan and their band at music venues around Bellingham.
Elizabeth Chace
Guest Presenters
Caitlin Leck
Caitlin Leck is a mother, activist-farmer, and strategist-facilitator who believes permaculture design can act as a mechanism of de-colonial action. She has helped guide the Orcas Community Participatory Agriculture program since its inception in 2014, and is working with a stellar group of local food advocates to design and implement a Food System Plan for San Juan County. She serves on the SJC Agricultural Resources Committee, Orcas Food Co-op Board, and Orcas Women’s Coalition Steering Committee, and operates her Eastsound-based edible landscaping company. If Caitlin had her druthers, she would clone herself and spend long days in a hammock, reading Octavia Butler in the dappled shade of an apple tree. Caitlin is honored to live on Orcas Island, which since time immemorial has been and continues to be stewarded by Coast Salish Peoples, with her family and beloved community.
Caitlin Leck
Additional special guest presenters being announced shortly!
A Free gathering time for People interested in Permaculture from Whatcom county to come together and discuss ideas Feel free to leave you comments below or send us a message.
Looking for ideas for a topic we may cover at this months meeting. Here are some thoughts. Seed saving, plant propagation, fall bed prep. or other topics.
What is the plant of the month?
Don’t forget something for the sharing table.
Come join other folks interested in permaculture for an informal discussion. How can we move Permaculture forward here in Whatcom county. How can we as a community form guilds of different skill sets, aid in promoting permaculture related events and work within our community to install permaculture systems such as food forests, lending libraries, speakers forums and cooperative nurseries. Come bring your idea to share!
How can we showcase permaculture?
Open homes, gardens and farms, films, community gardens, educational workshops, permablitzes (garden makeovers) and more. It’s an opportunity to experience permaculture and meet its practitioners. Visitors can see these myriad initiatives, ask questions and decide for themselves whether the permaculture design system has relevance to the challenges we face and to creating communities that are resilient in the face of undesirable and unforeseeable impacts.
Hope to see you there!
EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE BELLINGHAM’s PERMACULTURE DESIGN CERTIFICATION COURSE for 2022!
THE COURSE IS HOSTED AT QUEEN MOUNTAIN HOMESTEAD, AND A WEEK CAMP INTENSIVE AT ONE OF WHATCOM’S PREMIER PERMACULTURE SITES ‘INSPIRATION FARM’.
DATES FOR THE COURSE ARE:
4 weekends, May – July and a 5 day Design Intensive Campin July.
4 Weekends – May 21,22, June 4,5 & 18,19 July 9,10
Camp out Design Intensive – July 18,19,20,21,22
13 days total, 9am – 6pm Daily
PERMACULTURE COURSE OUTLINE:
Learn the skills to work with nature to create integrated Permaculture systems of abundance and productivity! Food, Soil, Shelter, Energy, Water and a lot more: Design strategies and methods for truly sustainable, regenerative human integration with that natural systems and our ecosystem.
Curriculum Includes: Permaculture Ethics and Design Principles, Pattern Recognition, Climate Factors and Weather, Water Management, Grey water, Soil, Trees, Earthworks, Bioremediation, Surveying and Mapping, Reading the Landscape. Class format includes lectures, discussions, hands-on activities and videos.
Permaculture Design Process camp out week:
Building on the foundation presented the first weekend sessions, knowledge and skills will be expanded and tied together. Leading to a final real life design exercise, mapping and placing elements within a holistic design. Including: Shelter Building, Solar Design, Climatic considerations, Community Structures, Urban Design, Animal Husbandry, Alternative Governance.
Design groups will present to the class for critique and comment. Optional on-site Camping with some meals will be available the last five days at Inspiration Farm. This will provide opportunities to immerse in the design process and partake in after hour activities. Amazing meals will be provided for the week long design intensive camp out. Prepared using locally sourced organic ingredients.
Locations: Local Bellingham permaculture models Queen Mountain Homestead and Inspiration Farm, one of the premier Northwest permaculture and biodynamic farms.
More outstanding guest presenters still to be announced
We will be Covid Safe.
Practicing all state protocols and guidelines for gatherings of our size.
This may be adjusted as situations change.
What Does PERMACULTURE DESIGN CERTIFICATION (PDC) Curriculum Cover?
The curriculum covers a wide variety of subjects. The weekends are stand-alone with the first 4 sessions being a broad overview of design principles and strategies and the last week focusing on their practical application. The two weeks constitute the 72-Hour Design Permaculture Certification Course as designed by Permaculture co-founder, Bill Mollison. Participants who complete the full two-week curriculum earn the internationally recognized Permaculture Design Consultant Certification. To date, thousands of permaculture designers worldwide have been certified through this course, and now comprise a global network of educators and ecological activists who influence major corporations, individuals creating new business alternatives, and groups of committed people working together to change the way we view and design into our landscapes.
The order of topics in a course may change due to the presence of guest instructors, and emphasis on certain subjects may shift due to the needs and focus of the participants, such as urban or rural residents, city planners, farmers, and so on. This course will not make you an expert in any of the individual subjects covered, although in many cases we go into considerable depth. The point of the course is to introduce you to the relationships and synergies among the disciplines that permaculture connects. In a sense, permaculture creates an ecology made up of the many tools and concepts used to design sustainable communities. You will learn what these tools are and how to decide which to use, and when. The course will show you how these subjects connect leaving you with a whole systems design strategy to work with.
More information can be found at these links. Some of this information is subject to change as we continue to organize everything.
Extended Early Bird price, Sign up before May 1st. just $1600!
Cost: Full price $1800, after May 1st
Includes all materials, Camping, field trips and some amazing local meals.
A few partial scholarships are available, contact us for more details.
Cancellation Policy
A refund will be issued less $100 administrative fee up to 60 days before course. After 60 days a full refund will be given if you fill your spot. If you do not fill your spot, 50% refund up to 30 days, no refunds after 30 days before course. Hardships like family emergencies, etc. will be considered on a case-by-case basis. We reserve the right to cancel class with full refund given less transaction fees.
Choose deposit or full price from the drop down menu above.
To Pay BY Check: Please make payable to Inspiration Farmand mail, or drop it by 619 E Laurel Rd Bellingham Wa. 98226. This saves us from having to pay the transaction fee, thank you!
