The Resiliency Institute is offering a Permaculture Design Course beginning October 22, 2015 that will follow a 3 weekend (4-4-3) commuter style format to accommodate working adults and caregivers enabling them to be home with their families each evening and spreading the learning over a 4 week period. REGISTER NOW!
The philosophy within permaculture is one of working with rather than against nature, and of protracted and thoughtful observation. Permaculture design techniques encourage land use that integrates principles of ecology and applies lessons from nature. It teaches us to create settings and construct ecosystems that have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems. It also teaches us to allow natural and designed ecosystems to demonstrate their own evolutions. Permaculture teaches us how to build natural homes, grow food, restore diminished landscapes and ecosystems, catch and store rainwater, build communities, and utilize waste all while reducing work and maintenance, and creating abundance.
Studies have shown that America has become much more polarized in the last twenty-five years in terms of race, socioeconomic status, and particularly political world views. These divisions have been exacerbated by structural forces, such as fragmented news media, increasing disparity of socio-economic conditions, and indoctrinated societal world-views, to name a few.
Each of these barriers are complex and interrelated, but if you accept we have inadvertently created these structural barriers that serve to disconnect our communities, we should be able to identify and break down these barriers as well. Doing so would foster interconnected, resilient communities that are able to resolve disputes and weather disturbance more effectively than is possible today.
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 CourseCalendar 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.
People have become increasingly concerned with the resiliency of our food, water, energy and economic systems and are looking for personal and community security. This has propelled a global permaculture movement that is permeating the United States and has made its way to the Midwest. Permaculture has traditionally been used to design systems for large land areas, but recently people have discovered how the principles can be applied to any piece of land or living situation.
The suburbs have been maligned for being wasteful with resources, and they are very wasteful, but since we cannot undo the suburbs, we have to figure out how to reduce their resource consumption. Suburban permaculture is the answer! We can apply permaculture ethics, principles, and design concepts to the suburban landscape to transform them into productive self-sustaining communities rich in social capital, and which are economically and environmentally resilient.
The Resiliency Institute is uniquely qualified to educate the suburban population on the application of permaculture, because this is where we live and work! We can help you detox from your lawn addiction, by designing an edible forest garden with a water management feature where you can relax and harvest your delicious fruits, nuts and vegetables. Share your harvest with friends and neighbors, invite them to help you preserve the harvest, and enjoy a harvest meal together - all great ways to foster community. Your children will experience a new environment rich in learning opportunities and may surprise you by eating their veggies.
The Resiliency Institute offers evening and weekend classes, workshops, and certification courses. Classes are taught by knowledgeable and experienced regional instructors with class sizes ranging from 6 -30 attendees. Whether you are a novice or an expert, you will find a class that is right for you.
Most education courses, unless otherwise noted, are taught at the Clow Education Center on The Conservation Foundation's McDonald Farm at 10S404 Knoch Knolls Road in Naperville, IL.
PERMACULTURE
Permaculture Principles
The word “permaculture” was coined and popularized in the mid 70′s by David Holmgren, a young Australian ecologist, and his associate / professor, Bill Mollison. It is a contraction of “permanent agriculture” or “permanent culture.”
Permaculture is a design system based on observing nature for developing ecological landscapes, lifestyles and communities. "Permaculture is not a discipline in itself but rather a design approach based on connecting different disciplines, strategies, and techniques." (Hemenway, Gaia's Garden)
CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS
Permaculture Design Certification
The Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) course is a training program that utilizes the teachings of Bill Mollison’s Permaculture Design System. The goal is to achieve a basic working understanding in ecologically-based planning, site design and management. A PDC provides a comprehensive introduction to Permaculture principles, applications and design practices as first set out by Permaculture founder, Bill Mollison. The PDC meets a common international standard as a foundational course for Permaculture practitioners and teachers. At The Resiliency Institute, the course is taught by Peter Bane, Rhonda Baird, & Keith Johnson over 3 extended weekends for a total of 11 days and 88 hrs.
Edible Wild Plants Certification
Open your eyes to the world of foraging with our Edible Wild Plants Certificate. Each season a five to six week course is offered to teach you how to identify plants, what edible wild plants to look for, what part of the plant to harvest; how to harvest it, prepare it, and eat it. You will learn to identify over 200 species of edible wild plants from handling actual specimens and from seeing them in their natural environments.
The Edible Wild Plants Certificate courses (Taste the Trees, Graze on Greens, Feast on Flowers, & Sup on Shrubs) are taught both in a classroom and through site visits to various public and private locations to provide a comprehensive experience of the plants. To earn your certificate, you are required to take all four courses and pass four seasonal exams (using your notes and books) to demonstrate that you can identify edible (and poisonous) wild plants successfully. These courses will be offered each year, so if you miss one, you can take it the following year. Certificate courses are open to everyone, whether or not you’re pursuing the certificate.
Students prepare recipes during each course using edible wild plants to demonstrate their new knowledge and to share with classmates. A full year of recipes are compiled into a recipe book and given to each certificate recipient during the annual graduation ceremony.
RESKILLING
Water bath canned salsa
Reskilling is learning the skills we need to become self-sufficient and resilient as individuals and communities during a time of economic and climatic change. These skills span the spectrum of land management; food production, preservation and preparation; sustainable living; community building; water management; renewable energy; and ecological building. Classes can be viewed by category or date on our course calendar.