Welcome to this exclusive membership learning email series.
As part of your Permaculture Association membership we will send you a series of educational emails every few weeks, themed around the 12 Holmgren principles of permaculture. This is an opportunity to deepen your knowledge, discover new aspects of the design process, and learn useful practical solutions. Please feel free to reply to any of the emails with feedback.
This is permaculture
We think you'll already have at least a basic understanding about what permaculture is. We've created a webpage that you can share with others to introduce them to permaculture too.
People around the world are inspired by permaculture to design solutions. We can challenge systems locally and on wider scales.
The prime directive of permaculture as stated by co-founder Bill Mollison is that “the only ethical decision is to take responsibility for our own existence and that of our children. Make it now.”
Observation is key to permaculture. Permaculture is a result of observing nature to understand what makes ecosystems productive and healthy. Developing good observation skills is essential if we want to create well-functioning permaculture designs.
By observing natural and social patterns we are able to use them in our design work at whatever scale - this relates to Bill Mollison's philosophy of 'work with nature, not against'. We have to know how nature works if we want to be able to work with it.
Getting to know your soil
By identifying and understanding your soil before you begin growing in it you can ensure you'll be able to work with it appropriately.
You can conduct simple soil surveys to identify texture (hand manipulation), soil type (jam jar test), pH (litmus paper).
Find inspiration in nature
An evolving team at Biomimicry Institute has been developing and curating content. At asknature.org you'll find inspiration from biological structures, processes, and systems that already thrive in balance with Earth’s complex systems.
For example, how can we gain ideas from nature for retrofitting our homes, buildings, and communities to lighten our environmental footprint?
Identifying trees in the landscape
What method do you use to identify trees? What can trees tell us about the landscape?
This video series by Patrick Whitefield is sure to teach you more.
Celebrating the cycles of the year
Tuning into nature we can begin to understand that there is order to the chaos, with rhythms, patterns and cycles.
"The old seasonal festivals of this land offer a framework within which we can connect to the Earth, ourselves and each other." Read Celebrating the Wheel of the Year.
"This is a self-scoring test on basic environmental perception of place. It favors people who live in the country over city dwellers, and scores can be adjusted accordingly. Most questions, however, are of such a basic nature that undue allowances are not necessary."