News

2022 PDC

We are excited to return to the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association Education center in Unity for a live, in-person Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) course. After two years of all Zoom all the time, hopefully we can agree that something substantive is lost when we’re not in “meatspace” together, face to face. There’s a lot to human communication that gets lost when it’s mediated through a screen, and we have always believed that in-person instruction is inherently superior.

We are hosting Maine’s PDC through the Maine Ecological Design School, our new educational imprint. The course will convene over a series of 5 weekends from May through August.

Permaculture is a holistic system of ecological design for regenerative land use and sustainable living. It’s about the design of healthy landscapes that produce an abundance of food, fuel, fiber and medicine for people, wildlife, and livestock. This 100-hour certification program will feature workshops, films, lectures, hands-on skill sharing, site visits and a capstone practicum with a live client or a design project of your choosing.

The Maine PDC convenes the weekend of May 21-22 and will continue over 4 (two and three day) weekends: June 11-12, July 8-10 and 29-31, and August 26-28.  Sliding scale tuition and solidarity pricing are available. Tuition range is $1250-$1875. To learn more and register visit maine-pdc.com.

Garden Tours 2021

Please join us for a few garden tours on Saturday August 21 from 10-2 and on Tuesday August 24 from 6-7:30pm. Attendance is free but registration is required so we can adequately plan logistics for an expected high turnout in a tight space. Register with The Resilience Hub for August 21 and register with MOFGA for August 24. Hillside gardens may be challenging for people with mobility issues. No dogs. Park on the side of the road or in the car park if you can find a spot. We are expecting high turnout and we will cycle small groups through the garden tour. If you miss a tour, stick around and we will repeat it.

We have been practicing permaculture design for clients since 2009 and began construction of our homestead in 2010. We are about 11 years into our co-evolutionary dance with this landscape and look forward to sharing our successes and failures. The aesthetic we are cultivating here is one of woodland ecosystem with a mix of trees and shrubs along with perennial meadow polycultures. Much of it is edible, medicinal or important for wildlife. It’s pretty much an edible jungle. We’re trying to demonstrate a vision of regenerative landscape management that takes us away from lawn and tillage agriculture and toward a perennial horticultural vision of hunting, gathering and gardening using the forest and other patterns in nature as our inspiration. Along the way the landscape has rewilded, and so have we to some degree. We’d love to tell you about it in unvarnished terms. See you then!

Resilience Hub event page for Sat Aug 21 10-2

MOFGA’s Gather and Grow: Tour Jesse’s Permaculture Gardens
August 24 @ 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm
Free
Join us for a tour of a permaculture homestead designed and built by Jesse Watson of Midcoast Permaculture Design.
Jesse’s tour will highlight the joys of eating wild meadow plants, his pollinator gardens, water catchment systems and the aesthetic of woodland and meadow ecosystems that he evokes in his spaces. We’ll also take a look at his perennial forest garden and annual plantings.
This event is free but registration is required.
REGISTER HERE.
Questions? Please email alibby@mofga.org

Summer PDC 2019

Be part of creating a better future. Change the way you see the world.

Join The Resilience Hub & Midcoast Permaculture as they surpass their 20th internationally-recognized Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) Course. This one-weekend-per-month format is ideal for anyone who would not typically be able to take two weeks off from life/work to take an “immersion” PDC.

Please take some time to review all the information about this course on our website before registering!  When you’re ready to register, click here.

Our summer Maine PDC this year returns to MOFGA’s Common Ground Education Center in Unity, Maine. The expansive campus and spacious buildings make for an ideal learning environment within traveling distance to many field trip sites.

Course Dates (Please mark your calendar!):

May 18-19

June 29-30

July 12, 13, 14

July 26, 27, 28

Aug 23, 24, 25

Before you register, make sure you check our Sliding Scale Tiered Pricing structure for the PDC Tuition. Based on your household size and income, you will either be TIER #1, #2 or #3 which affects the total price you will pay for the PDC.

The Resilience Hub is one of the most experienced permaculture design and education groups in the Northeast US, though there are many other great ones! We strive to achieve very high quality in our programs and are committed to continuous improvement.

PDC Overview and General Information – Course Topics, Learning Environment, Teaching Team, Testimonials

Choosing a PDC – Learning Outcomes, Who Should Attend, Time Commitments, Career Pathways & more

Course Logistics – Schedule & Flow, Food & Hospitality, Accommodation, Transportation, etc.

Enrollment & Registration Details – Course Costs, Sliding Scale, Work Study & Discounts, Attendance Policy, etc.

Our courses typically sell out so make sure you register and make a deposit to hold your space.

Morgan Bay Zendo Applied Design course

Applied Permaculture Design for the Morgan Bay Zendo

This course is unique because:

  • It’s an exercise in applied permaculture design — learn by doing it!  The goals for this project are already clearly stated and we have a base map in hand.  This allow us to systematically work through a landscape analysis and design process using the Regrarians adaptation of the Scales of Permanence.
  • You will gain a systematic understanding for how to analyze the ecological context of your site, how to design, and what steps to take first during the installation phases
  • This is a home-scale application to a community center, incorporating multi-strata home gardening techniques to add resilience and perennial crops to the system.
  • Using Art of Hosting techniques, we will facilitate the design as it emerges out of the creativity of the group.
  • We will dive into a thorough treatment of the design process so that we can dispel the anxiety of not knowing where to start
  • 12 contact hours

The Zendo is located in the coastal town of Surry, Maine, and offers an opportunity for people to practice Buddhist meditation whatever their background or faith may be. Zendo practice includes elements from Zen, Ch’an and Vipassana schools of Buddhism.

In addition to the meditation hall itself, there is a complex of buildings, housing a meeting hall, kitchen, apartment, showers, and toilets. Four small cabins and a field for tent camping are located within a short distance of the main buildings and provide sleeping accommodations during retreats. A pond, moss garden, and wooded paths complement the facilities. Improvements are ongoing and are undertaken largely by volunteers.

The workshop will focus on design and implementation of edible perennial polycultures at the Zen center, using permaculture as the basis for our design. Permaculture is a design method and set of techniques for creating resilient human habitats while increasing ecosystem health. It is a synthesis of wise human behavior taken from both modern and ancient sources of inspiration.

Students often come away from our workshops with new ways of seeing, thinking, and acting in the world. We strive to give participants in our workshops a positive vision for the future and practical tools to make it so.

Topics to be covered include:

  • Designing for Resilience & Sustainability
  • Home/Garden/Farm Applications
  • Introduction to the food forest concept
  • Permaculture design methodology
  • Reading the landscape and data collection
  • Landscape analysis using the Scales of Permanence
  • Tree Crops & Perennial Food Systems
  • Installation and maintenance using instant succession
  • Dispel Feelings of Not Knowing ‘Where to Start’
  • Community engagement practices

This course is good for beginners and seasoned gardeners alike. Orchardists, nursery people, and gardeners interested in perennial crops will take a special interest in this alternative way of designing a perennial-based system.

Link to testimonials: http://resiliencehub.org/pdc-testimonials/

Registration and lodging information:

For tickets, click here.

The workshop will take place at the Morgan Bay Zendo located in the coastal town of Surry, Maine

Arrival is scheduled for Saturday morning June 23.  Class runs 9-5.

The course ends Sunday afternoon June 24.  Runs from 9-4.

The workshop fee of $250 per person includes tuition and one meal. Expected number of course participants: 10-15.

Regular Fee: $250

Intro to Permaculture on Hurricane Island

Learn the basics of Permaculture design on Hurricane Island–a Maine coast island retreat

Unique characteristics of this course:

  • Learn foundational practices of the design process including goal setting, observation exercises and base mapping considerations
  • Gain a systematic understanding for how to analyze the ecological context of your site, how to design, and what steps to take first during the installation phases
  • Retreat setting on an idyllic island on the coast of Midcoast Maine with meals catered for us.  Learn about off-grid electrical and composting waste systems.
  • Dive into a thorough treatment of the design process so that we can dispel the anxiety of not knowing where to start
  • Use the island camp as a thought experiment.  So we can be creative in our design ideas while we practice designing for resilience!
  • 12 contact hours

Spend 2 days on beautiful Hurricane Island gaining first-hand understanding of Permaculture design with Jesse Watson of Midcoast Permaculture Design. Participants will learn how to design their home gardens for resilience and sustainability.  Permaculture is a regenerative design system and set of techniques for creating resilient human habitats while increasing ecosystem health.  It is a synthesis of wise human behavior taken from both modern and ancient sources of inspiration.

Topics include:

  • Designing for Resilience & Sustainability
  • Permaculture Design Methodology
  • Goal Articulation
  • Analysis Techniques and Options
  • Tree Crops & Perennial Food Systems
  • Home/Garden/Farm Applications
  • Reading the Landscape and Data Collection
  • Real Life Examples and Strategies
  • Dispel Feelings of Not Knowing ‘Where to Start’

**Please plan to depart from Hurricane’s mainland office (19 Commercial St, Rockland, ME) for transport out to Hurricane Island on the first day of your program. The boat will depart from the mainland at 5pm on the June 8, 2018. Please plan to arrive at least 30 minutes before departure time. Your return transport will depart Hurricane Island at 3:30pm on the last day of the program, returning you to the mainland around 4:30pm. PLEASE PLAN ACCORDINGLY. More information is provided upon registration. Please reach out with questions to registration@hurricaneisland.net or 207 867 6050.**

Where & When: Weekend of June 8-10, 2018 on Hurricane Island

Cost: $425 for 3 days.  Includes all transportation to/from the island, food, housing, course materials, access to staff and facilities.  12 contact hours. Limited to 15 participants

Facilitated by Jesse Watson of Midcoast Permaculture Design, the Midcoast’s premier edible landscape design firm

Students often come away from our courses with new ways of seeing, thinking and acting in the world.  We strive to give participants in our courses a positive vision for the future and practical tools to make it so.  Register at the link below!

Co-sponsored by:  Midcoast Permaculture Design and Hurricane Island

Link to testimonials: http://resiliencehub.org/pdc-testimonials/

For more information please email programs@hurricaneisland.net or midcoastpermaculture@gmail.com

 

Food Forest Design Intensive with Maine Farmland Trust

This weekend workshop will be an exercise in applied permaculture design to a working farm called Rolling Acres in Jefferson.  We will host a workshop that facilitates the design of a food forest whose products will be used to help supply a food bank program called Veggies for All.

This course is unique because:

  • It’s an exercise in applied permaculture design — learn by doing it!  The goals for this project are already clearly stated and we have a base map in hand.  This allow us to systematically work through a landscape analysis and design process using the Regrarians adaptation of the Scales of Permanence.
  • This is a farm-scale application to an existing farming operation, incorporating agroforestry techniques to add resilience and perennial crops to the system.
  • Using Art of Hosting techniques, we will facilitate the design as it emerges out of the creativity of the group.
  •  We are considering permaculture as concept art applied to landscape design and land management planning to tie into the arts programming that also happens at the Fiore Arts Center. 
  • 12 contact hours

While many of us think of fields and forests as separate places, food forests are systems that combine the production goals of agriculture with the layered and dynamic patterns we see in the forest. Explore this concept and practice its applications with Maine Farmland Trust and Jesse Watson of Midcoast Permaculture Design during a weekend Food Forest Design Intensive, May 4-6, 2018 at the Joseph A. Fiore Art Center at Rolling Acres Farm in Jefferson.

The Fiore Art Center and Veggies For All, both programs of MFT, have been working together for the past two years to envision a collaboration which would bring back active farming to Rolling Acres Farm, while simultaneously allowing for possible diversification of Veggies For All.

The workshop will focus on design and implementation of a hypothetical “food bank food forest” at the art center, using permaculture as the basis for our design. Permaculture is a design method and set of techniques for creating resilient human habitats while increasing ecosystem health. It is a synthesis of wise human behavior taken from both modern and ancient sources of inspiration.

Students often come away from our workshops with new ways of seeing, thinking, and acting in the world.  We strive to give participants in our workshops a positive vision for the future and practical tools to make it so.

Topics to be covered include:

  • Introduction to the food forest concept
  • Permaculture design methodology
  • Reading the landscape and data collection
  • Landscape analysis using the Scales of Permanence
  • Perennial polyculture design
  • Agroforestry farm practices
  • Keyline patterning
  • Installation and maintenance using instant succession
  • Community engagement practices

This course is good for beginners and seasoned gardeners alike. Orchardists, nursery people, and farmers interested in perennial crops will take a special interest in this alternative way of designing a perennial-based system.

Link to testimonials: http://resiliencehub.org/pdc-testimonials/

Registration and lodging information:

The workshop will take place at the Joseph A. Fiore Art Center at Rolling Acres Farm, located at 152 Punk Point Rd. in Jefferson. For pictures of the location and rooms: https://www.mainefarmlandtrust.org/public-outreach-new/jaf-art-center/

Arrival is scheduled for Friday evening: 4-5:30 pm.

The course ends Sunday afternoon at 4 pm.

The workshop fee of $335 per person includes tuition, lodging in shared rooms, as well as all meals (except for our Friday evening potluck). Expected number of course participants: 10-18.

Regular Fee: $335

MFT members receive a 10% discount off the Regular Fee. 

The scholarship positions for this course have been filled. Please contact anna@mainefarmlandtrust.org to inquire about alternatives.

For more information, contact Anna Witholt Abaldo, co-director of the Fiore Art Center by e-mail at anna@mainefarmlandtrust.org or call  207-338-6575, ext. 112.

Permaculture at Camden Adult Ed Spring 2018

Beginning in March, we are returning to the Camden Adult Education program to offer an 8 hour lecture and discussion series introducing permaculture design.  This is a super affordable class to get an introduction to permaculture design and how to apply it in your life and garden!

Permaculture is a design system and set of techniques for creating resilient human habitats and healthy ecosystems. It is modeled on ecological principles and offers a design methodology for water, access, shelter, food production, culture and economics. In this abbreviated course students will gain a strong foundation for applying permaculture ethics and design principles. We will cover topics including: a permaculture design process, forest gardens and perennial polycultures, water management, earthworks, pattern literacy, and workflow management. We will also visit a local demonstration site in the spring to see permaculture in action! Registration $35. 4 weeks 6:00-8:00 p.m. Begins Tues 3/6 and runs through Tues 3/27.

Click here to register today!

Forest Garden tour this weekend!

This Saturday, April 29 we will be hosting a forest garden walk and talk.

We’ve been foraging in the forest garden just about every day this week!  This is a great time of year for perennial vegetables because they start yielding so early.  We’ll make a gluten free fritatta as a snack for the garden tour this Saturday with ingredients sourced from the garden.  One of my favorite spring greens is stinging nettles.  They’re a little challenging to harvest, but once you cook them up, they are positively gourmet!

Here’s a quick reminder about some upcoming events:

Spring Permaculture Garden tour – this Saturday April 29, 10-1.  Free to all.  You’re invited to a garden tour of our homestead where we’ll talk about the goals for our site, the design, some of the challenges and successes we’ve seen over the years.  Feel free to bring a gluten free snack to share, but not required.  Kids are welcome, dogs are not.  We’ve been dividing and potting up some of our plants and we’ll have a selection of perennial vegetables and ecosystem plants for sale.  It’s still on the early side for a garden tour, so we may repeat this event in a few weeks.  Send us an email if you’d like to come so we know how many to expect.

Intro to Permaculture on Hurricane Island.  May 13-14.  Don’t forget about the Intro to Permaculture course coming up on Hurricane Island in May!  It will be a great way to get an in-depth introduction to the permaculture design method in an off-grid setting for the weekend on a beautiful island in Penobscot Bay.  Check out this flyer for that as well, and you can register for that class here: http://www.hurricaneisland.net/permaculture/

Looking forward to it!

Excelsior!

Hurricane flyer-2017

Spring 2017 Hurricane Island course

Check out the details for this upcoming 12 hour Intro to Permaculture course on Hurricane Island!  We will engage the eyes, ears and hands in this dynamic course to give participants and in-depth introduction to permaculture design and how to apply it to garden and small farm design.  We are bringing permaculture to island communities by teaming up with Hurricane Island Foundation and bringing it to that island.  We will live in an off-grid community while studying the design of resilient biological and technical systems.  Help spread the word and register today!

Hurricane flyer-2017

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Winter 2017 Announcements

Mid Winter Greetings everyone!

As we pour over seed catalogs huddled next to the stove, now is a good time to begin dreaming and scheming for our gardens this coming year.  And the best way to begin the garden is with good design.  The way to do that is to first consider the goals for the year and any adjustments you might make to design and management.  Of course, sustainability and resilience is on everyone’s mind these days, and permaculture offers a unique approach to design to achieve just that.

If you’ve been wondering how permaculture might be able to help with your landscape’s design challenge, now is the perfect time of year to contact us for consultations and design projects!  Remember that “well begun is half done.”  So before you go and buy lots of trees and shrubs make sure to do a thorough goal setting and design process, site preparations and earthworks.  To ensure the success of your investments in plant stock you’ll want to “plan, prepare, then plant.”

With that, here are a number of permaculture related events of interest.  Some are here in the Midcoast and some are elsewhere.  Some are free and some have fees.  Take a look, tell us what you think, and keep in touch!

Food Sovereignty vote in Rockland January 9 6p.  6-6:15 is reserved for public comments (limited to 5 minutes each) so you can come and voice your support.

Free Presentations
Blue Hill Grange talk Jan 18, 6p
Brunswick land trust presentation Jan 29 2p
Vose library presentation in Union. Mar 9 7p

Upcoming Permaculture Classes600_282251032
Boston winter PDC (one weekend a month, starts Jan 14-15).  $250 deposit to hold your spot. We have space for 1-2 more people so tell your Boston friends to act quick and register before this course sells out!

Introduction to Permaculture lecture series.  Camden adult ed.  4 week course starts Jan 25, $35.

Hurricane island Intro Course May 13-14.  More details soon.
Summer PDC Freeport.  Details here or here
Farm-scale PDC details forthcoming (likely next fall-winter)

Here are some testimonials from our past courses.

Also, save the date for the Permaculture Association of the Northeast winter retreat at D Acres Feb 24-26

 

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