What is Permaculture?
Permaculture helps to foster a deeper appreciation for and a more profound relationship with ourselves and this planet. It helps foster a more connected, more integrated feeling as a human being, deepening joy and strength in life.
While most often thought of in terms of growing food, in actuality, permaculture is a practical method of developing harmonious, efficient and productive systems that can be used by anyone, anywhere, in any capacity. It is a holistic design philosophy, a way of looking at the world, and a technical framework to do so.
Through observation and careful thinking about needs, outputs and how we use resources, both material and non-material, it is possible to see harmonious connections and get much more by doing and using much less. Permaculture encourages resourcefulness and self-reliance. Training in this philosophy can free up valuable time and energy by teaching us how to be much more productive and efficient with much less effort.
"Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted & thoughtful observation rather than protracted & thoughtless labour; of looking at plants & animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single-product system." - Bill Mollison
Permaculture Design Course (PDC)
Join us for our 9-day Permaculture Design Certification Immersion Course in the hills of Mulmur!
Aug 16 to 25, 2019
Special Lead Instructor - Mark Krawczyk!
Apply early - spaces are limited to preserve the integrity of the experience.
Course fee includes instruction, catered meals and optional camping.
Course Fee Schedule
Early Bird Price $1,650 (Ends May 31)
Discount Price $1,750 (Ends June 30)
Regular Price $1,850 (July 1 to 20)
Early Bird
Pricing Ends
May 31
WORLD CLASS INSTRUCTION
CATERED MEALS EACH DAY
OPTIONAL CAMPING
Ask about our referral discount to save $50!
Frequently Asked Questions
For nearly two decades, Mark Krawczyk has been honing his skills as a permaculture designer and educator. In 2001, Mark completed his Bachelor's degree in environmental studies. Subsequently, he spent more than three years as intern and apprentice with leaders in the fields of agroforestry, natural building, green woodworking, and ecological forestry, helping to ground his practice in applied ecology.
Mark has set roots in Vermont where he founded Keyline Vermont LLC , his design, education and consulting firm, along with the grassroots community non-profit Burlington Permaculture.
He has taught more than two dozen Permaculture Design Courses throughout the northeastern United States, including several at Ben Falk's Whole Systems Design. Mark has also provided design and consulting services to scores of clients throughout North America and beyond. He holds Diplomas in Applied Permaculture, Education, and Site Design from both the Permaculture Association UK and the Permaculture Institute of North America.
For the past five years, Mark and his partner have been building their farm and homestead from the ground up in New Haven, Vermont, further honing their skills and grounding their designs and course content in reality.
Ben Caesar was born and raised in Elmira, Ontario. He learned of permaculture and forest gardening through a friend, and got hooked immediately. He has been experimenting with perennial edibles for many years, and opened Fiddlehead Nursery in 2012. He manages (and eats from) an ever-expanding demonstration garden to showcase some of the best plants for edible landscapes. He’s always trying out new edible plants, and is passionate about the idea of gardens that mimic the diversity and structure of natural ecosystems as they build soil and produce food.
In the winter, Ben makes his living as a carpenter. When he’s not building things or growing plants, he can be found walking in the woods or paddling local rivers. He lives near Kimberley with his partner and daughter.
Scott has been the farm manager at Althaea Herb Farm since its inception in 2007. Scott has completed programs at the Dominion Herbal College, the North East School of Botanical Medicine and the North American Institute of Medical Herbalism. He has been studying herbalism and the human body since 2003. He teaches workshops and leads field walks on the virtues of local plants, herbal preparations and basic botany.
Passionate about the outdoors since his first memory, Skeet grew up immersed in nature - fishing and playing among the river valleys and lakes of Ontario - which fostered a deep connection to the diverse habitats and abundance of wildlife in this province from an early age.
Fueled by that connection, Skeet dedicated himself to Preserving the Ways of the Wild and becoming instrumental in helping others also connect deeply to the natural world and the communities that support them. He holds a diploma in Ecosystem Management from Sir Sandford Fleming College, has trained with Tom Brown Jr and the Tracker School and accredits much of his success to the solid foundations established through the Kamana Naturalist Training Program and the deep Nature Connection mentoring services, tools and resources offered through the 8 Shields Institute.
Skeet has worked as both mentor and consultant and has personally educated and assisted over 150 landowners & conservation organizations restore native habitat on over 5000 acres of land throughout southern Ontario. He has collaborated with First Nations communities in both Canada and the USA, helping to co-create nature connection programming that is culturally relevant to the people and places from those communities.
In 2008, he founded Sticks and Stones Wilderness School to provide various programs, skills workshops, apprenticeship opportunities, inter-generational gatherings and mentoring services. Skeet is one of the co-founders of the Headwaters Earth Skills Gathering (HG) enabling hundreds of people each spring to connect around skills, stewardship and community. In collaboration with other organizations throughout the world, Skeet has helped to bring the Bird Language Leaders project (BLL) to Ontario and was part of the original stakeholder team that enabled the Art of Mentoring (AOM) to arrive in Ontario.
Residing in Muskoka, with his wife and two children, the Sutherlands enjoy tending the wild places where they live, the permaculture farm at the center of camp and sharing the atmosphere and stories from this work with others, as a way to grow connection and empower ecological and cultural stewardship as a way of life.
