Permaculture Design Certification Course
With Andrew Millison and Marisha Auerbach
Portland, OR

Every Saturday: October 2 - December 17, 2010

Attend all 11 Saturdays for a Permaculture Design Certificate, OR take the 4-day introduction: 10/2, 10/9, 10/16 & 10/23.

***** Offered in cooperation with a local Portland School, Master Gardeners, and Oregon State University, this course aims to reach folks with diverse interests, busy lifestyles, and families. The extended format offers time for digesting the material and incorporating it into your life. It is possible to receive extended education credit from Oregon State University for this course. The full course contains all the necessary curriculum to receive an internationally recognized Certificate of Permaculture Design.****

This Saturday course caters to diverse learning styles by blending hands-on skills with discussion, design projects, group exercises, games, and presentations from prominent local experts and practitioners.

You can participate in the entire course to earn a Certificate of Permaculture Design. Alternatively, you may attend the first 4 sessions as an introduction and drop in on any other class or presentation. If you do not attend every session, you can earn the certification by attending the classes that you missed during next year's course.

Permaculture for Master Gardeners highlights horticultural solutions to the issues of our time, from soil improvement, to maximizing landscape productivity, to designing for healthy water management. Permaculture design is a method of planning that works at all scales from garden to farm and village to city. It is an ethically based holistic design system that uses principles derived from ecosystems, native peoples, and proven strategies to create sustainable settlements and organizations.

Rooted in agriculture and horticulture, permaculture design is interdisciplinary, touching on many subjects including regional planning, ecology, animal husbandry, appropriate technology, architecture, and international development.

Pricing: Please register by Sept.1

September 17 - 19
South Seattle Community College, Seattle, WA

This year we are forging an exciting new pathway in an urban setting by converging at South Seattle Community College. Camping and home stays will be available. With an 87 acre campus and cabins at nearby Camp Long, this will be an experience of an oasis in the city. Not only are the SSCC gardens and meadows waiting for us, you will find warm and fuzzy interior spaces as well.

Mark Lakeman, activist architect and urban placemaking guru, will be our keynote speaker this year! Mark has been an instigator of Portland's City Repair and the annual Village Building Convergence there. Other presenters include: Michael Pilarski, Jenny Pell, Marisha Auerbach, Jonathan Scherch, Kelda Miller, Nala Wala, Rick Valley, Chuck Estin, Josho Somine, Dave Boehnlein, Albert Postema, Deston Denniston, Paul Wheaton, Tom Allen, Laura Sweany, and Art Donnelly.

The Cascadia region's Transition Towns initiatives will be integrating their own summit into the Convergence. SCALLOPS (Sustainable Communities ALL Over Puget Sound) will hold a presence as well. We are very pleased to be making this year's NW Convergence a truly regional event!

We are building this event as we go. We welcome with open arms all those interested in permaculture, as well as those working in permaculture. Tickets for the 2010 Convergence are $65 through August 1, $85 August 2 through Sept 15, and $100 at the door. Many work trade and volunteer opportunities are available. As in years past, we are asking you to pitch in and do your part to help by volunteering for a couple of hours during the event and bringing your fabulous homegrown food to share.

Check out: http://nwpermaculture.org for registration and other details.

December 2 - December 15
Lost Valley Education Center
Dexter, OR (near Eugene, OR)

Permaculture offers a positive response to the uncertainties of the future. It is a method of design that offers ways for you to create permanent culture by conscious, sustainable use of resources in all aspects of living. The time to plan for a resilient and prosperous future is now.

Course Topics Include:

• Permaculture Ethics & Principles
• Mapping & Design Exercises
• Natural Cycles & Pattern Recognition
• Observation & Site Analysis
• Garden Design & Establishment
• Useful Plants & Planting Strategies
• Water Harvesting, Management, & Conservation
• Soil Building & Ecology
• Animals in the System
• Forests, Agroforestry, & Tree Crops
• Eco-Building & Appropriate Technology
• Urban Permaculture & Village Design
• Cooperative Economics

For instructor bios, visit: http://www.lostvalley.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=132

To register, contact Marisha Auerbach (360) 273-7117 or queenbee@herbnwisdom.com
Register now to reserve your space in this inspiring and informative course!