Toolbox for Sustainability: An Introduction to Permaculture – that’s what brought about 30 people, including teenagers, families with children, and grandparents, to Powell House from August 1st to 3rd. The conference was led by Ethan Roland, a graduate of the PoHo youth program, a permaculture designer (http://www.appleseedpermaculture.com/), and a wonderful teacher. What an inspiring weekend!
We talked about the fundamental ethics of permaculture: care for the land, care for people, and sharing of resources, and were introduced to some of the underlying design principles of this elegant, subtle, and sophisticated approach to doing more with less. The weekend was packed full of valuable and interesting information, chances for group discussion, and finally an application of what we learned as we planted a permaculture garden on the edge of the field behind the ACC on Sunday morning.
We very soon discovered that in one weekend it would be impossible to explore every aspect of permaculture or all the places where these principles could be applied in the garden and beyond, so we focused on Ethan’s particular specialty: edible forest gardens. We learned that this low-maintenance type of garden is not only healing to the land, but also provides abundant and varied foods and other valuable materials for the gardener, and is beautiful, lush, diverse and adaptable. The way that these gardens operate in a simple, self-evident, and yet complex way to provide so much was incredibly inspiring.
Throughout the weekend we discussed many different theoretical tools and ideas, and on Sunday morning we got our hands dirty! Along the stream bank of the Bacon Brook that runs between Pitt Hall and the back field, the whole conference came together to plant two edible forest garden beds that will soon provide food for Powell House. In a bed of sheet mulch we planted pawpaws, a relative of tropical fruit trees that is hardy in our area and produces an abundance of large, soft fruit. To support these trees, protect the soil, and provide berries, we planted several varieties of currants and gooseberries. Finally, as all purpose helpful plants for both the garden and the gardener, we planted water celery and both dwarf and regular comfrey. From a weedy patch, in two hours we transformed the stream bank into a useful and beautiful edible forest garden that will need hardly any maintenance.
If we weren’t convinced of the ease and practicality of planting our own permaculture gardens by Saturday evening, by the end of Sunday, we were all enthusiastically planning our own backyard gardens over lunch and on the way home. Hopefully there will be more to come, with additional permaculture workshops or even a full permaculture design certification course at Powell House next summer!
-- Elizabeth Hanka and Santha Cooke (weekend participants and newly-fledged permaculturists)
We talked about the fundamental ethics of permaculture: care for the land, care for people, and sharing of resources, and were introduced to some of the underlying design principles of this elegant, subtle, and sophisticated approach to doing more with less. The weekend was packed full of valuable and interesting information, chances for group discussion, and finally an application of what we learned as we planted a permaculture garden on the edge of the field behind the ACC on Sunday morning.
We very soon discovered that in one weekend it would be impossible to explore every aspect of permaculture or all the places where these principles could be applied in the garden and beyond, so we focused on Ethan’s particular specialty: edible forest gardens. We learned that this low-maintenance type of garden is not only healing to the land, but also provides abundant and varied foods and other valuable materials for the gardener, and is beautiful, lush, diverse and adaptable. The way that these gardens operate in a simple, self-evident, and yet complex way to provide so much was incredibly inspiring.
Throughout the weekend we discussed many different theoretical tools and ideas, and on Sunday morning we got our hands dirty! Along the stream bank of the Bacon Brook that runs between Pitt Hall and the back field, the whole conference came together to plant two edible forest garden beds that will soon provide food for Powell House. In a bed of sheet mulch we planted pawpaws, a relative of tropical fruit trees that is hardy in our area and produces an abundance of large, soft fruit. To support these trees, protect the soil, and provide berries, we planted several varieties of currants and gooseberries. Finally, as all purpose helpful plants for both the garden and the gardener, we planted water celery and both dwarf and regular comfrey. From a weedy patch, in two hours we transformed the stream bank into a useful and beautiful edible forest garden that will need hardly any maintenance.
If we weren’t convinced of the ease and practicality of planting our own permaculture gardens by Saturday evening, by the end of Sunday, we were all enthusiastically planning our own backyard gardens over lunch and on the way home. Hopefully there will be more to come, with additional permaculture workshops or even a full permaculture design certification course at Powell House next summer!
-- Elizabeth Hanka and Santha Cooke (weekend participants and newly-fledged permaculturists)
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