REGENERATIVE LANDSCAPES & PERMACULTURE DESIGN is the ethical design of human settlements and productive landscapes that have the diversity, resilience, and flexibility of natural ecosystems and which can provide all tangible and intangible human needs in a regenerative and sustainable way and in harmony with nature. Based on observation of nature and holistic design, this course provides principles and methodologies of Permaculture design that can be applied in any climatic region of the world.

Course Outline

Week 1
Introduction & Ethics
Current State of the World (Core World problems)
Sustainability (principles of ecosystems)
Definition of Permaculture
Ethics
Concepts & Themes in Design
Functional Design and connections
Diversity, Order vs Chaos, Yield
Pattern Understanding
Edge Effect
Design Methodology
Observation
Analysis of elements, “how do these things connect?”
Sector and zone planning, “where do we put things?”
Slope and orientation
Pattern Understanding

Week 2
Climatic Factors
Trees and Their Energy Transactions
Soils
Types of soils
What is in the soil
SFW (microbiology)
Plant nutrition and soil health
Methods of soil regeneration: compost, compost tea, Biochar, mulch, holistic grazing
Functional Forests:
Sustainable Food Production: Forest Gardens
Water
Water cycle
Duties of Water
Principle of water design (slow, spread, sink + save)
Greywater management, water catchment systems, keyline design
Water recycle – reed beds
Aquaculture

Week 3
Climate Design - Cold and Temperate
Climate Design - Drylands
Climate Design Tropics
Design Brief

Week 4
Strategies for an Alternative Nation
Presentations, discussions, and Feedback