Engaging Children in Permaculture

A weekend permaculture course for parents, teachers and other educators to engage children in all aspects of permaculture. Composed of both indoor and outdoor sessions we will learn how to spend times with children which are child-centred and/or child-led.

We will find out how permaculture ethics and principles can be applied to education, in how we speak, the activities we engage in and in the spaces we design.

We will discover some great benefits of outdoor learning, including relevant research, and learn how to create session plans which engage the whole child: eyes, heart, hands and head, through active participation in a session learning about soil.

We will look at different garden designs both in school and home gardens and get involved in practical activity.

We will learn about the different activities that we can do with children and, more importantly, think about how the way we approach the child can enable us to think of infinite possible activities.

This two day training course is the product of the three year European ‘Children in Permaculture’ project in which best practice has been shared across the continent from Finland to Italy, Scotland to Romania:

​“The future of our planet depends on a change of consciousness, in which the people and the resources of the natural world are no longer taken for granted and exploited without considering long term impacts. Supporting children from early childhood to develop a sensitive, compassionate and cooperative relationship with each other and the natural world is a crucial step in generating this new consciousness” (p. 1, The Children in Permaculture Manual; Alderslowe, Amus & Deshaies, 2018).