Practical Permaculture Fundamentals: a PDC-Style Course

Welcome to the inaugural year of the only permaculture design course in Orlando!

This course, Practical Permaculture Fundamentals, is designed to train a new cohort of permaculture thinkers to bring the principles and practices of permaculture into their lives and communities. It provides an in-depth look into the permaculture design thinking process and gives you the tools you need to begin designing and implementing permaculture projects at your own home or within your community.

While this course will focus on urban and suburban design techniques, the principles and design and pattern thinking can be used for designing at any scale and in any context.

The mission of this course is to help create a local cultural emergence and transition that embodies regeneration and permaculture ethics.

The course will include 36 hours of classroom time, 9 hours of hands-on learning, and 9 hours of guided design work. You will be trained as a permaculture ambassador who can occupy needed roles in the just transition.

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

-Understand and explain the 12 permaculture principles and 4 permaculture ethics

-Implement simple changes in their lives and homes to create more abundance and alignment with nature

-Become an ambassador for our living planet

-Confidently think of themselves as nature-based designers and problem-solvers

-Implement common permaculture systems from food forestry to composting

-Understand the basics of social permaculture

-Utilize techniques from design thinking, agroforestry and biomimicry to create holistic designs

Logistics

Practical Permaculture Fundamentals will take place at locations throughout Orlando from March-August. Each month will include two Saturdays. The first will be primarily lecture-based and the second will be a hands-on project day. With COVID in mind, the course is limited to 10 students.

March 20 & 27: Introduction to Permaculture

April 17 & 25*: Pattern Literacy and Design Fundamentals

May 15 & 22: Ecology, Guilds, and Permaculture Elements

June 19 & 26: The Built Environment and Appropriate Technology

July 17 & 24: Social Permaculture Theory and Methods

August 21 & 28: Sustainable Homesites

*The second class in April will take place on Sunday due to Earth Day,

Worktrade, Scholarship and Payment Plans

There is one worktrade and one scholarship available. The worktrade position will likely involve helping with Orlando Permaculture’s regular monthly meetings. If this sounds like something that is up your alley, or if you have a different idea, email Eliot at EliotKersgaard@gmail.com with some information about what they would be excited to contribute and why. The scholarship application is found here.

For more information, please visit our website, OrlandoPermaculture.org. Complete course information, including topics for each session, will be found on the website after the official launch on January 11.

Payment plans may be available if needed. Please inquire at EliotKersgaard@gmail.com if you would like to pay for the course in installments.

Your Teachers:

Your teachers are the organizers of Orlando Permaculture, a 501(c)3 nonprofit founded in 2014. The three primary teachers are Caitlin Fogarty, Eliot Kersgaard and Jeff Trapani. Additional guest instructors will be announced.

Caitlin Fogarty:

Caitlin Fogarty is a permaculture landscape designer, mycophile, plant geek and system thinker born and raised in Central Florida. Since 2016 she has been Program Director for Orlando Permaculture, co-creating community resilience through sharing knowledge about permaculture and eating many divine homegrown potluck meals in the process. She is also founder and lead designer for Regenerative Designs, a permaculture-inspired landscape company. She holds a permaculture design certificate from Andrew Mollison and Marisha Auerbach and ecological design certificates with Eric Toenesmeier and Verge Permaculture’s Adaptive Habitat Program.

Her deepest desire is to help facilitate a great transition where people and the other inhabitants of our Earth are equally supported and able to live full, regenerative and healthy lives.

To learn more about her design work, follow along here: Regenerative Designs | Facebook.

Eliot Kersgaard:

Eliot Kersgaard is a writer, teacher and problem-solver from Denver, Colorado. He has been teaching permaculture, design thinking, and biomimicry since 2014. He has a Biomimicry Design Certificate from the US EPA and a Permaculture Design Certificate from Boulder Permaculture. He has worked with organizations including the Permaculture Action Network, Myra Makes, Solutions Voyage, Infinite Zion Farms, Frontline Farming, and many more. He has a particular interest in the intersections between physics, psychology and ecology. Get inside his head by reading his work on Medium.

Jeff Trapani:

Jeff Trapani is the Program & Education Director for Orlando Permaculture. He also works as a Soil Advocate for Kiss the Ground and is an active member of the Bionutrient Food Association.

Over the past 6 years, Jeff has transformed his small yard in an Orlando suburb into an edible/medicinal garden with solar, rainwater collection, solar and biogas cooking systems. His goal is helping people design and implement affordable and attractive home models of sustainability with a focus on energy and resource efficiency.

Jeff uses his Nature Hacker Instagram and YouTube accounts to help people become more resilient using simple, natural solutions. Learn more about him using the links below:

Instagram: nature_hacker

You Tube: http://bit.do/naturehacker

About Orlando Permaculture

Orlando Permaculture is a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to growing minds, community, and food. We meet every month on the second Tuesday for events focused on building community, sharing food and plants, and teaching the basics of permaculture. In addition, Orlando Permaculture hosts action days at members’ homes and in the greater community. Learn more on Facebook or the Orlando Permaculture website.

COVID Policy

This course will take place both indoors and outdoors. While indoors, masks will be required and spacing between attendees not of the same household will be greater than 6 feet. While outside, we will maintain 6 feet of distance or use masks if in close contact group activities.