Wendy Crist and Molly Brown will be hosting a Permaculture Garden series from March 27 through July 24.
Using feedback from last year’s first series of classes, Crist says she has reworked the curriculum to address varying degrees of gardening experience and knowledge. More time will be devoted to lecture as well as an opportunity to put principles to work in a local Dunsmuir garden.
In the words of Penny Livingston, a permaculture designer and practitioner, “Permaculture is a design science that is rooted in the observation of natural systems.”
Topics for the series include: evaluating and choosing a site for the garden, soil evaluation and improvement, determining what to grow, where and when, hybrid, versus open-pollinated seeds, companion and polyculture plantings, composting and water conservation.
Crist received a Permaculture Designer Certificate in the fall of 2008 at the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center.
Brown is co-author with Joanna Macy of the book, “Coming Back to Life, Practices to Reconnect Our Lives, Our World,” first published in 1998. She brings a focus on “deep ecology,” a fostering “of deeper and more harmonious relationships between place, self, community and the natural world.”
The basics of permaculture – “Earth Care, People Care, Fair Share” – will be interspersed throughout all classes.
“Our primary purpose behind these events is to continue the conversation within our communities about sustainable living,” said Crist. “This is new to many of us, and our intention is to learn together and offer more and more opportunities for building vibrant and viable communities that are linked to the natural world.”
The all-day classes will be held one Saturday each month and will include three and a half hours of lecture in the morning, a long lunch break, and at least two hours in the afternoon of practicum, in the Von Hein garden, demonstrating and implementing principles covered in the morning lecture.
Tuition is $20 per class or $85 for the five-class series, up front. A sliding scale will be offered to those who can’t afford the $20.
The lecture portion of each class will be held at the Yoga Studio in Dunsmuir. All monies will go toward the support and sustenance of this venture.
Last year’s classes were offered by Crist and her permaculture partner and friend Beki Filipello, who also received a Permaculture Designer Certificate in 2008. Crist said the sudden loss of Filipello in September 2009 was a crushing blow, but she feels Filipello cheering her on from on high.
Anyone interested in the upcoming garden series can e-mail Crist at: gilcrist7@att.net or call 235-4963.
Dunsmuir, Calif. —
