Permaculture Educators’ Course

The Permaculture Educators’ Course (Permaculture Teachers’ Training) is held at Friland eco-village in Denmark by Andy Goldring. It is an 8 day teacher training for permaculture educators. It takes you through learning and teaching theory, a lot of practice on microteach sessions, lots of games, fun, interaction, excursions and how to design and convene courses, how… Continue reading Permaculture Educators’ Course

Community Building with Playback Theatre

Playback theatre (PT) is a tool to share personal stories that are performed by PT actors. Audience and stage are at the same level and the link between them is the conductor/facilitator who creates a safe/welcoming atmosphere and invites people to share their stories. Main goal of PT is building community but is can be… Continue reading Community Building with Playback Theatre

Permaculture Course Formats

During the third of the seven EPT meetings held at Quinta do Vale da Lama in Algarve, Portugal, teachers from all over Europe extensively discussed various course formats for teaching Permaculture to beginners: Introduction to Permaculture Permaculture Design Certificate Courses (PDCs) Further Introductory Permaculture Opportunities There are also advanced training opportunities  for Permaculturalists (who have… Continue reading Permaculture Course Formats

Program of the York Introduction to Permaculture Course

York Introduction to Permaculture Course 17-18 April 2004 Tutor: Andy Goldring We will start promptly at 10am on both days, please try to arrive around 9.30 so we have time to settle in before we start. Bring food to share for lunch, magazines, books or other materials of interest, and warm clothes as we will… Continue reading Program of the York Introduction to Permaculture Course

Choosing Content (and Methods) for an “Introduction to Permaculture” Course

In this article I offer a “junior teacher’s” perspective to selecting content and methods for a two day introductory course. I also asked Graham Bell, one of the most experienced permaculture teachers, his take on designing a full Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) course. See a separate article with timetable, core curriculum and Graham Bell’s thoughts,… Continue reading Choosing Content (and Methods) for an “Introduction to Permaculture” Course

Teacher Resources: Course Checklist and Participant Questionnaire

Teachers, designing and preparing a course, may find these resources helpful: Andy Goldring, UK, shares a Checklist for things to prepare / think about for a course (download the PDF), including: Audio / Visual / IT Library & Information Materials & Resources Venue Checklist Personal Stuff Course-Specific Convenor Job Description Cultivate in Ireland issue a… Continue reading Teacher Resources: Course Checklist and Participant Questionnaire

An Exercise: Patterns

Shared by Graham Bell, from a recent PDC Handbook. Why are patterns important? They are easy to remember. They are portable and so can be used anywhere. They are universal so they fit changing circumstances. They are strong because they bind their elements together (‘geodesic strength’, tesselation). Patterns can be physical, behavioural or structural.

PDC Timetable and Thoughts by Graham Bell

Here you can find linked a sample timetable (in PDF) of a 12-day Permaculture Design Course, as delivered by Graham Bell at The Red Shed – Garden College, in Scotland over 6 weekends. Graham Bell also writes below about his ideas for a successful Permaculture course. He’s been teaching permaculture over 25 years. More info can… Continue reading PDC Timetable and Thoughts by Graham Bell

VAK Learning Styles Self-Assessment Questionnaire

This is a questionnaire for students to self-assess their learning styles. Contributed by Aranya and developed by Victoria Chislett VAK Learning Styles Self-Assessment Questionnaire Circle or tick the answer that most represents how you generally behave. (It’s best to complete the questionnaire before reading the accompanying explanation.) 1. When I operate new equipment I generally:… Continue reading VAK Learning Styles Self-Assessment Questionnaire

Micro-teach session: Abundance games

This post describes how to teach a game called “Resource Line” (and is a summary of a micro teach session with Mirka by Andrew Zionts at the Barcelona meeting). The lesson plan is as follows: Aims: To discover more about each other’s knowledge and skills. To create more beneficial connections between participants. To explore the… Continue reading Micro-teach session: Abundance games

A Book Review Exercise: “A Selection of Wise Words”

by Joel Rosenberg Context:  I’ve used this method with master level art & design & architecture students when running an intensive one week workshop called “Foraging and Gardening in the City” in Helsinki, Finland 2011-2013. This method can be used on a PDC too. Duration:  Part I. 30min. + Part II. 5min./student (12 students =… Continue reading A Book Review Exercise: “A Selection of Wise Words”

Winter School Outline

A Winter School is described in the linked file that is run in  12 sessions of 4 hours (excluding travel) spread over 6 weeks. Design exercises in different contexts allow students to hone design skills and learn meta skills. The file is a course outline – a work in progress with some obvious items lacking… Continue reading Winter School Outline

Permaculture in Brief

A presentation used as elevator pitch for audiences new to permaculture. File: Permacultuur in het kort 1 Language: Dutch Author: Leo Bakx Aardwerk, 2010 (CC: BY-SA) Time: 15 – 30 minutes plus Q&A time. Preceded or followed by a practical activity indoors or outdoors. Finished by pot-luck lunch, morning/afternoon tea or dinner – whatever is appropriate.… Continue reading Permaculture in Brief

An Introductory Permaculture Workshop

Objectives of the course/workshop: The course aims at introducing the permaculture design concept so that each participant, at the end of the course, has a very good grasp of it and some very solid base to start to deepen their knowledge about permaculture, either by self-study or by attending a PDC. The course does this… Continue reading An Introductory Permaculture Workshop