Permaculture Courses Practicing People Care

We're excited to announce that the Permaculture Institute of Eastern Ontario, in collaboration with Sustainable Living Ottawa East (SLOE), will host an introductory course and an 84-hour "Permaculture Design Course" in Ottawa in 2011. Applying the permaculture ethic of people care, we're doing our best to make both courses accessible to a wider audience and to benefit the larger community.

permaculture class

From April 29 to May 1, Sébastien Bacharach and I will teach the introductory course in Ottawa East. This weekend module on "Ecological Design and Gardening" will include the permaculture ethics, principles, and the basic design process, as well as sheet mulching, chop and drop, and the basics of forest gardening. The class will be held at the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre and the hands-on work will take place in collaboration with the Ottawa Children's Garden on Main Street, a project established by SLOE and community members.

To help make the introductory course more financially accessible, three work exchange positions are available, with a course fee of $60 each. All are welcome to apply for work exchange; applications are due by March 1. Work exchange students will be selected based on a combination of financial need and how this course could benefit them and their community.

The hours and cost of this introductory module can also be applied as credit towards the 84-hour "Permaculture Design Course" (PDC) being offered in Ottawa this fall by the Permaculture Institute of Eastern Ontario (PIEO). As part of the effort to make the PDC accessible to more people, it will be held over four weekends in Ottawa, with an additional online and in-community component (PDC's are traditionally taught as two-week residential intensives). Work exchange will also be available.

Although both courses will be taught mainly in English, Sébastien and I can both answer questions and offer clarification in French.

Our teaching team for the fall PDC course includes Sébastien and myself, along with ecological designer and teacher Douglas Barnes from Tweed, and Trent Rhode, co-founder and chair of Transition Peterborough. Collectively, our PIEO teaching team has worked on permaculture sites and projects in: Eastern North America, Western North America, Australia, Japan, France, India and Haiti. Our expertise includes: organic gardening, composting, green building, alternative economic systems, permaculture design applied to land-based and social systems, and experiential permaculture education.

We are delighted to offer these courses to the wider Eastern Ontario community and look forward to connecting with you in the garden, in the classroom and beyond!

To inquire about work exchange or to register, please contact: bonitaford[at]gmail[dot]com.

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Comments

Hi there, This looks great! Will something similar come to Toronto? Or are there and two week courses (where stuents stay on site) coming up near Toronto in the Fall? Thanks!Jess

Hi Jess,At the moment, we have no courses planned for Toronto and I don't know of any residential permaculture courses offered in that area this fall.  I believe Whole Village in Caledon is currently hosting a PDC which finishes on July 30.  If you join our mailing list (see the box on the homepage), you'll receive updates about our upcoming offerings and if we decide to host anything in the GTA.Thanks and happy summer,Bonita

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