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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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Autumn 2016 events

Autumn Greetings!2016-Fair-Web-Banner-760px

This weekend is the Common Ground Fair at the MOFGA fairgrounds, and we wanted to invite you to connect with us during this 25K+ person/day event!  (A lofty goal, i know).

I’ll be volunteering with Maine-Wabanaki REACH at their table in the Social and Political Action area.  I’ll be helping them set up and will be there Friday morning. Come say hi and learn about indigenous solidarity projects in Maine. See their website for more: http://mainewabanakireach.org/REACH-horizPlusTag-rgb-min

We’ll be presenting Saturday and Sunday at noon both days at the Hayloft tent by the Fedco table. Saturday will be on Earthworks and Water Management, Sunday will be on Perennial Polyculture Design. We’re excited to try an analog format with handouts (instead of a slideshow that no one can see on account of the bright day). We’ll try painting pictures in your mind rather than showing you images on a screen.  Come check us out and say hi!
http://mofga.org/TheFair/ScheduleofEvents/tabid/106/Default.aspx

As we enter Fall and Winter, these are the seasons for designing and planning.  If you have considered getting a consultation and doing a design, now is the time to do it.  Don’t put it off till next Spring or it might be too late.  And don’t forget that in permaculture design, the MidCoastPerm LogoColorlast thing we design into the system is plants.  So beware of the Spring itch to buy a ton of plants without knowing where they’ll go.  (Although to be completely honest, it’s something we all do on occasion…)

We also have two courses coming up this winter in the Boston area.  If you know anyone who might be interested, pass this along!
Basic Permaculture Design Certificate course (starts in Jan ’17):
http://www.meetup.com/maine-permaculture/events/231255432/
Advanced PDC offered to all who have completed a Basic course (starts in Nov ’16):
http://www.meetup.com/maine-permaculture/events/231254843/

See you at the Fair!
Excelsior

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Intro to Permaculture half day workshop September 3

Saturday September 3th 2016, Permaculture Workshop at the Deer Isle Hostel.

Learn how to design ecological and edible landscapes and resilient home sites using whole system planning and patterns from nature. In this Introduction to Permaculture workshop we will discuss the history, principles and benefits of permaculture. We will go over a permaculture site design process and introduce some concepts and practices around site analysis and assessment. The day will be part theory, part practice, with an observation exercise around the homestead and a mapping exercise.

MidCoastPerm LogoColorJesse Watson operates Midcoast Permaculture Design. He has been doing permaculture land planning and installation for residential and farm clients since 2009. He has been teaching summer Permaculture Design Certification classes at MOFGA since 2012 with the Resilience Hub. 10am-3pm.

This event is hosted by the Deer Isle Hostel in Deer Isle, ME.  Lunch included. $50. Early registration recommended. Scholarships available. Sponsored by MOFGA. All participants are welcome, and encouraged, to stay at the Hostel the night prior to the workshop.  To register, please contact Anneli at the Deer Isle Hostel https://deerislehostel.wordpress.com/reservations/

Midcoast Permaculture events Spring 2016

Spring Greetings All!

Spring has come early this year even as winter threatens to dust us with snow periodically.  The birds are singing, the coltsfoot and crocus are blooming, and we are seeing emergence everywhere.  Spring is a good time for people to consider their goals for the year and how they might make adjustments to design and management.  Spring is a great time to consider, for example, how to manage the water flowing across your landscape and how to design plant systems to make advantageous use of that water.

If you’ve been wondering about 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!

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

Spring Permaculture Events

Free Library Presentations

Wednesday, April 13, 6:30, Waldoboro public library.  Perennial Polyculture Design presentation.
http://www.waldoborolibrary.org/

Thursday, May 5, 6:00, Thomaston public library.  Perennial Polyculture Design.
http://www.thomaston.lib.me.us/events.html

Plus more in the works…

Upcoming Permaculture classes & events

Techniques for Multi-Stakeholder Permaculture Projects.
Thursday, April 7, 2016.  9:30 AM to 3:30 PM.  Resilience Hub, Portland.  Price $39.
http://www.meetup.com/maine-permaculture/events/229215726/

Apple Tree Pruning Workshop
Sat, Apr 9 from 9am-noon.  In Union.  Fee: $15.  FMI and to register: Pruning, 596-2040 or rebecca@knox-lincoln.org
http://www.knox-lincoln.org/rejuvenation-pruning/

Webinar: Successful Permaculture Event Design & Hosting. 
Friday, April 22, 2016.  3:00 PM to 4:15 PM.  Online, hosted by the Resilience Hub.  Price $15
http://www.meetup.com/maine-permaculture/events/229215528/

Wabanaki REACH Ally Workshop: Rockland
Saturday, April 16, 2016
.  9:30 am – 4:00 pm.  Free, registration required.

While not a permaculture course per se, this workshop clearly demonstrates the permaculture ethic of PeopleCare.  This workshop is designed for non-Native people. It provides an opportunity to reflect on our shared history and future with Native people. It includes: a very brief history of US government relationships with Native people; awareness of white privilege; and ally responsibilities.

Space is limited and registration is required, so please register by emailing Barbara@mainewabanakireach.org or calling 951-4874. Questions are welcome.

Annual Permaculture PLANT Swap!
Saturday, May 7, 2016
   10:00 AM to 12:00 PM.  Resilience Hub, Portland.  Space may be limited so please take your RSVP seriously.
http://www.meetup.com/maine-permaculture/events/227303268/

2016 Maine Permaculture Design Certification Course – weekend format
Starts the weekend of June 3, 2016.  Hosted at MOFGA in Unity.  $250 deposit to hold your spot.  Space is limited.  Typically sells out.
https://www.facebook.com/events/242673236064848/
http://www.meetup.com/maine-permaculture/events/226906731/

Save the date for Maine Permaculture Day
Saturday, August 20, 2016
  9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.  Locations throughout the state.  More info to be announced.  http://www.meetup.com/maine-permaculture/events/229613619/

…and while this course is far afield, we will be there and we have a healthy Maine contingent organizing a caravan.
Regrarians 10-Day Regenerative Ag Farm Planning Course w/Darren Doherty
Saturday, August 6, 2016  to Monday, August 15, 2016 in Essex, NY

This is a 10-day intensive on the Regrarians farm-scale land management design platform.  This is a professional development training geared for farmers, landscape designers, and land management professionals.
FMI http://www.meetup.com/maine-permaculture/events/228835576/ & https://www.facebook.com/events/871791996251974/

Intro to Permaculture half day workshop in Deer Isle

 

September 5th  Permaculture workshop
with Jesse Watson of Midcoast Permaculture Design.

Learn how to design ecological and edible landscapes and resilient home sites using whole system planning and patterns from nature. In this Introduction to Permaculture workshop we will discuss the history, principles and benefits of permaculture design. We will go over a permaculture site design process and introduce some concepts and practices around site analysis and assessment. The day will be part theory, part practice, with an observation exercise around the homestead and a mapping/drawing exercise.

When:  10am-3pm.  September 5th.

Where:  Deer Isle Hostel, Deer Isle Maine.

Cost:  $50.  Lunch included.  Early registration recommended.  Scholarships available. Sponsored by MOFGA. All participants are welcome, and encouraged, to stay at the Hostel the night prior to the workshop. $25 with communal dinner.  To register, contact Anneli at info@deerislehostel.com or call 207-348-2308

What participants should bring:
pad, pencil, clipboard
water bottle
drinking vessel for coffee/tea
weather-appropriate clothing & gear

Jesse Watson operates Midcoast Permaculture Design. He has been doing permaculture land planning and installation for residential and farm clients since 2009. He has been teaching summer Permaculture Design Certification classes at MOFGA since 2012 with the Resilience Hub. 

 

Orchard concept detail

Orchard concept detail