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Edible Forest Garden

fruit, harvest, forest garden, apples, peaches, blackberries, huckleberries

Imagine finding yourself in a young forest where everything around you is edible.  The canopy is chestnuts, pears, and persimmons with a shrub layer of hazelnuts, raspberries, honeyberries, and currants.  Under the shrubs are perennial vegetables, herbs and flowers with a ground cover of strawberries, clover and comfrey.  Vining up the trees are nasturiums and peas with garlic and chives near the trunk.  This design becomes more productive each year, requires minimal input from you and can exist right outside your door.

Visit our Course Calendar to take a course or workshop so you can begin enjoying your very own Edible Forest Garden!

Permaculture

fruit trees, herb spiral, compost, bees, water management, keyhole garden

Permaculture is an empowering philosophy that establishes a design system, techniques and strategies for developing an abundant and resilient life.  It is applicable to all aspects of human living, in homes and gardens, schools, businesses, community spaces, cities and countryside. It is the mission of The Resiliency Institute to spread permaculture through our educational programming: speaking at events, hosting classes, workshops, hands-on trainings, and Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) courses.

Please visit our Course Calendar to register for an upcoming course.

As we are developing programming, we welcome comments on types of classes (classrooms, hands-on demonstrations, design), site visits, collaborative partnerships, or other supportive comments.

Water Management

Water is likely to be the biggest issue of the twenty-first century and water management is one of the major themes of permaculture.  For many people, it is difficult to consider water scarcity when we simply turn on a faucet and it is there whenever we need it.  This may not be the case in the near future and limits may be placed on our water usage.  When a drought hits, how will your plants survive with a watering ban?  We are here to teach you about rainwater harvesting strategies and techniques, greywater, and water conservation.

Visit our Course Calendar to take a course or workshop.

Sustainable Living

solar, rain barrel, solar oven, clothes line, passive solar

Sustainable living is about getting the most from limited resources.  It is about living abundantly while caring for the earth, caring for people, and sharing with others now and into the future.  Once you make the philosophical shift to applying these ethics to your life, you will gradually change your behavior until you are enjoying a sustainable life.  There is no ideal or end, we are always observing and learning and changing.

To begin, you can think about one thing that you do daily and put it through the lens of sustainability.  Maybe you get coffee to go every day.  A small step could be to use a reusable thermos instead of getting a disposable cup.  The next step could be choosing a Fair Trade, Rainforest Alliance grown coffee bean.  Another step towards sustainability might be to walk or ride your bike to get the coffee.  This process can continue until you are satisfied that your daily coffee routine is sustainable.  What often happens is that you realize all the benefits you have gained - reduced cost, since most coffee shops offer a discount for using your own cup, better fitness now that you are using your own power to get your coffee instead of a car, and you feel good because you are helping preserve the rainforest and ensuring the coffee farmers receive a fair, living wage.

Many of our courses and activities will be about sustainable living, so you have come to the right place to learn.  Click here to visit our Course Calendar and register for your first course to begin your journey.

As we are developing programming, we welcome comments on types of courses (classrooms, hands-on demonstrations, design), site visits, collaborative partnerships, or other supportive comments.