Permaculture fundamentally changed the way I viewed the world.
While I had grown up on a farm growing my own food, composting and interacting with the land around me. I still felt helpless when it came to the big problems in the world:
Climate change,
Biodiversity loss,
Pollution,
Soil loss,
Peak oil,
Financial collapse,
The Apathy that goes along with the overwhelm we all sometimes feel when we watch too much of the bad news around us.
But then I started seeing this Permaculture thing pop up and it intrigued me to think that:
"All of the worlds problems could be solved in the garden".
Could it really be that simple? I felt drawn to learn more and completed my Permaculture Design Course in 2015. After a week in Invermere BC with Verge Permaculture I knew that I had stumbled upon something amazing.
I walked into that course expecting to learn how to make pretty designs for peoples yards and gardens, but walked out with the knowledge that Humans can be a force for good and that we have as much power to destroy this planet we call home as we do to regenerate it into an abundant and thriving home that supports us.
I learned that if you don't design the life you want someone else always will. That individual action multiplied was the only way that this world was going to move forward. That the problems of the world were not something that we were going to protest our way out of, but action was.
I started looking at the Natural world differently too. Not only was the forest, or my garden, or that little bug or ant something interesting to look at, it was showing me the way that the earth had evolved over millennia to have abundant and self sustaining abundance and that there were patterns to look at and learn from.
No longer did the garden look like the place where you just worked and worked, it was a place where you could learn and implement natural systems so that the work was done for you. I realized that Humans are a part of the natural world and always have been. That we get to decide our impact on it.
There is always so much to learn, but I am hoping that I can share some insight into how I went from feeling helpless to help solve the problems with the world, to feeling a great sense of hope in the action that I myself can take to make the world a better place for all to live in.
Feeling helpless and focusing only on the negative has been proven to put a person into a freeze or flight state, which results in no positive action being completed. However if we can look at the possibility of a better future and look into the future with hope instead of worry, we can actually take action and make some amazing things happen.
The workshop will go through an overview of Permaculture Ethics and Principles for design.. These Ethics and Principles form the basis of design system for creating sustainable human environments.
By the end of the workshop you will leave with:
A sense of hope for the future and your part in it.
Confidence in your ability to grow an abundance of food
Confidence to design your yard and garden to work for you instead of you working for it.
While we cannot cover all there is to know about Permaculture in 3 hours this workshop will point you in the right direction.
You may have never heard of Permaculture, but it could just be the life changing insight you are looking for to take your life, yard and garden to something you are excited about!
Permaculture is a design system that was created based upon the ethics of People care, Earth Care and Fair Share. And based upon principles that have been observed throughout the natural world that create abundance!
Coming up on April 8, 2023 I will be hosting the Backyard Introduction to Permaculture from 9am to 2pm at Little Red River Park just north of Prince Albert.
So join me at Little Red where we will take some time outside to observe nature and then spend a bit of time in the classroom looking at different ways that Permaculture can help you!
Spots are limited, book your spot today.