P3 Permaculture

372 Old Pinevale Rd. RR#5! Antigonish Co., Nova Scotia ! B2G 2L3! T 1.902.318.8878 In the Field! T 1.902.783.2992 At the Farm! E Consultation@P3permaculture.ca

P3 Permaculture Design: Transition to a sustainable future.! Class Syllabus ! ! Taught by: ! Graham Calder, Instructor of Permaculture Design Certification at P3 Permaculture Design.! ! Course Overview: ! ! Class Description: This course will examine the current global paradigm with special focus on agricultural, economic and social systems and their role in the sustainable transition of our society. The course will focus on the design science of Permaculture which is based in the observation of natural ecosystems and ancient cultures. Utilizing the principles derived from these observations students will be taught how to implement food security, community development, social enterprises, social economies and many other elements essential for our sustainability.

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Students will be taught a broad application of these principles ranging from, urban gardening to broad acre agriculture; natural building to energy efficient construction; micro climate design to large scale land rehabilitation; community development to sustainable urban planing models; and financial and social systems. Topics to include public health, environment, community development, economics, and food policy. The course will include discussion with grassroots activists, academics, and government officials and will focus on developing an initial food policy prospectus for Concordia.! ! This course will span seven weeks or 72 hours with a selection of multidisciplinary complementary courses. It is intended to provide a survey of contemporary agrarian and food system issues and to evaluate and propagate the food security initiatives at concordia. The course will be complemented by a Practicum on Organic Urban and Broad acre Farming with the loyola farm project and (potentially) Ferm du caria in sennaville, which will provide a basic understanding of garden design, soil rehabilitation, agroforestry, alternative energy, urban and broad acre design strategies.

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courses on Regenerative Design should also be offered in the future, which should focus on ! establishing community-scale self organizing regenerative systems that are interdisciplinary, ranging from local food, energy and housing. Internships should be established with the Concordia Volunteer abroad program, The World Agroforestry Program, The Permaculture Research Institute of Canada, Australia, and Jordan. ! ! Course Goal: To facilitate the creation of a knowledge-base for establishing long term solutions to the diversity of challenges faced within our society and abroad, including food production and poverty, health and environment, economic and social challenges which confront sustainable development and regenerative design in our communities

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Course Objectives: The course will seek to: ! a) Explore and develop Practical knowledge and tools required to understand and design holistic regenerative systems with respect to food production, social and community development.! b) Establish a skill-set for critical thinking and evaluation of current systems in order to facilitate knowledge exchange through problem based solution generation. ! c) Apply the system of holistic regenerative design to the realisation of multilateral food and energy security for Concordia, focused on transitioning the university and community toward regenerative design system that leads development of social, economic and environmental sustainability. ! ! Course Structure: (To be finalized)! The course will include three primary areas of focus: ! Systems observation and understanding: discovering the methods and principles behind natural systems and learning their application as a core element to grassroots innovation, social ! economy, collaborative community development, foods systems and international aid.! Evaluation the keystone elements of change in our society: What are the key opportunities and weaknesses and how do we design for their integration and redesign in order to facilitate self organizing revolution of our current system of planetary interaction. Ground work: Developing and establishing examples of regenerative design and collaborative community resilience. Including food systems, knowledge exchange, accessibility to resource and skill share.! ! Each class meeting could include three sections: ! Multi-Media/Documentary Film: The first will include a brief (10-15 minute) clip ! from the film PolyCultures to provide some larger context about food system !
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issues in Northeast Ohio as they relate to health, environment, community, and ! local economy. ! Lecture: The second section will focus on a lecture that provides more detailed ! background on a topic related to community food system development. Several ! lectures will be provided by community partners of the New Agrarian Center who ! are working through a variety of levels (grassroots to policy) to develop a more ! just and sustainable regional food system in Northeast Ohio. ! Q&A/Discussion: The third section will include question and answers about the ! film and lectures and discussion about some of the themes that are addressed. ! ! Readings/Multi-media ! Course Expectations: ! ! Success in the course will be based on: ! a) Consistent attendance at all class meetings. Course Assignments: ! ! Schedule of Topics, Readings, and Assignments ! ! PART I: Processes of Change ! ! SOCIAL ENTERPRISE ! PolyCultures film clip: City Fresh: Connecting City and Country ! ! FOOD POLICY ! PolyCultures film clip: Access to Healthy Food- Nourishing Urban Neighborhoods ! Guest Speakers: Jennifer Scofield, Cleveland Department of Public Health ! Matt Russell, Case Western Healthy Corner Store Initiative ! Readings: ! Closing the Food Gap, Mark Winne, xxi-xxii, pgs 85-148 ! Masi, Brad. Food, Community, Health, and the New Economy. Summary documents for ! the Cleveland/Cuyahoga County Food Policy Coalition. ! Roberts, Jane. Alliances, Coalitions, and Partnerships. Pgs 11-36 ! ! PART II: The Nodal Points ! ! The Intersection of Policy, Environment, and Health ! PolyCultures film clip: Conventional Agriculture- Farming with Oil ! Readings: Closing the Food Gap, pgs. 3-34 & pgs. 69-81 !
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Soil Not Oil, Vandana Shiva, pgs. 95-102 ! Full-Circle Learning- Report on distributed composting systems ! Guest Speakers: Casey Hoy, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center ! ! Cities as Drivers for Regional Food Systems ! PolyCultures film clip: Ecological Agriculture- Farming with Nature ! ! Readings: Cities Growing Smaller. Kent State University. Pgs. 1-16; 47-64; 73-101 ! Closing the Food Gap, pgs. 50-68 ! ! Guest Speakers: Morgan Taggart, Ohio State University Extension- Cuyahoga County ! Maurice Small, City Fresh Organizer ! ! Local Foods in Hard Times- Green Jobs and Food Infrastructure ! PolyCultures film clip: Sustainable Business- Investing in Community ! ! Guest Speakers: Tracie Haynes, Community Food Animator ! ! Readings: Van Jones, the Green Collar Economy pgs. 35-77 ! Feasibility study for Misslers Grocery Store Conversion ! ! PART III: Systemic Change ! ! Natures Economy and the Human Economy ! PolyCultures film clip: Economics and Innovation: Valuing Local Farmers ! ! Readings: ! Masi, Brad. Proceedings of First Annual Food Congress of 2003 ! Winne, Mark. Closing the Food Gap, pgs. 149-193 ! ! Community and the Renewal of Place ! PolyCultures film clip: Urban Agriculture: Growing Where We Live ! Organization of Community Food Congress for presentation of policy briefs. ! ! Readings: No readings assigned for last day

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Resources!

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Beaver State Permaculture! Oregon State University's Permaculture Program, Corvaillis, OR! http://www.beaverstatepermaculture.com/! http://extension.oregonstate.edu/mg/! School of living! http://www.schooloiving.org/permaculture.htm! Aliance for sustainable communities! http://www.sustainlv.org/index.cfm?organization_id=11&section_id=319! Heathcote Community! http://www.heathcote.org/cms/content/permaculture-education!

! ! Montreal courses! ! !

RHA french! http://permaculturefrancophone.org/2010/02/15/cours-de-design-en-permaculture-40min-de-montreal/! P3 Permaculture Design! www.p3permaculture.ca!

! Acredited Permaculture ! ! ! ! ! !

Gaia University! http://www.gaiauniversity.org/! The Food Forest permaculture farm and learning centre! http://www.foodforest.com.au/! Permaculture international limited! http://www.permacultureinternational.org/apt! Djanbung gardens! http://permaculture.com.au/!

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Antioch University: Seattle! ! Centre for Creative Change! http://www.antiochsea.edu/!

California state university- stanislaus Agricultural studies: Permaculture concentration! http://www.csustan.edu/AGStudies/Permaculture_conc.htm!

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