During the week we will cover all 12 Permaculture Principals by moving through the property with a Permaculture Designer and getting hands on experience. The following principles will be taught and discussed:

1.Observe and interact: This principle encourages us to take the time to observe a situation before applying a solution. Through observation, we are able to understand the patterns and relationships between various elements of the situation.

For example, before establishing a garden we need to think about:

Soil (type, ph, drainage, analyses)

What is currently thriving

Are there birds, frog, insect & other wildlife observed in this area

How much sun, wind, shade, water

How is the area affected during storms or droughts

What do I intend planting here & what do I need

What weeds are present

2.Catch and store energy: This principle deals with the capture and storage of energy.

Learning techniques to design landscapes and structures to maximize energy capture (eg water and sun).

3. Obtain a yield: This principle can be seen as a directive to always make sure a system is providing definitive benefits.

4.Apply self-regulation and accept feedback: This principle requires us to be open, to see and accept both the reality of the result of our actions (or inactions) and listen to and consider criticism from others.

Self-regulation is something natural systems do without “thinking.” They must change to match the reality around them, and we can model our behaviour on that natural feedback loop.

Also, the first word is “apply,” so it’s not just a matter or observing or listening, it’s taking action. Small and slow solutions are encouraged.

Self-regulation requires us to see what is in front of us and not what we wish for.

5.Use and value renewable resources and services: This principle encourages us to use nature’s abundance.

Using biological resources means that they are inherently regenerative.

Biological resources use energy from the sun to make more of themselves and thus they do not become a waste product.

6.Produce no waste: This principle brings together traditional values of frugality and care for material goods, the modern concern about pollution, and the “more radical” perspective that sees wastes as resources and opportunities.

7.Design from patterns to details: The patterns found in the natural world are a source of inspiration for permaculture. 'Pattern thinking' can be used in a wide variety of situations.

Permaculture aims to help you think about the overall pattern for a project by using a variety of design methods. The principles themselves are all about helping to do this. Its about looking at the 'big picture' first.

8.Integrate rather than segregate: This principle focuses more closely on the different types of relationships that draw elements together in more closely integrated systems, and on improved methods of designing communities of plants, animals and people to gain benefits from these relationships.

Eg Plant in polycultures, intermixed groupings of plants, instead of in monocultures. Include animals with plantings, like chickens.

9.Use small and slow solutions: making compost instead of buying ready-made fertilisers, using beneficial insects and birds to manage other insect pests instead of chemical sprays and supporting growers at farmers’ markets

10.Use and value diversity : Diversity is nature’s way of building resilience and ensuring that all of its creatures have an abundance of what they require to keep them healthy and continue the cycle of life.

Each plant and creature has its place and task in the web of life and if one is missing the system is weaker for it.

11.Use edges and value the marginal: The place where two eco-systems or habitats meet (e.g. woodland and meadow) is generally more productive and richer in the variety of species present than either habitat on its own.

12. Creatively use and respond to change: planning and designing for known changes. For example, seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter are predictable and can be planned for, and incorporated into our designs, management and action plans. How eco-systems change over time - in ecology this is called 'succession' is also predictable, at least overall.

By understanding how ecosystems change over time, we can accelerate the process and create productive ecosystems faster than is usual in nature. Forest gardens are an example of this, where all the layers of the forest are put in all in one go, rather than over many years.

Please note that the Permaculture Designer will likely be the owner of the property in which they have created the Permaculture garden / farm / forest.

Depending on the flow of the property and the children’s interest and questions, the 12 permaculture steps may be swapped around and not flowing in the exact Monday - Friday order as listed here.

We also encourage our students to be fully immersed in the conversation, hands on opportunities and teachings by not asking them to fill in a notebook as they walk around. Instead they will be given a blank workbook that they can choose to fill in with notes during breaks if they wish.