Permaculture Series Returns

Wendy Crist and Molly Brown will be hosting a Permaculture Garden series beginning on March 27th, and running through July 24th. The first series of such classes were offered last year, with Wendy and her Permaculture partner and friend Beki Filipello. The class was very well attended and enthusiastically received with nearly 40 people in attendance throughout the five-month series. The series of classes focused on growing food in your own backyard, using permaculture principles and organic techniques.

Wendy and Beki received their Permaculture Designer Certificates in the fall of 2008 at the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center and immediately began working on how to spread the word. The sudden loss of Beki in September of 2009 was a crushing blow, but Wendy feels Beki cheering her on from on high. Using class feedback from the first series, Wendy has reworked the curriculum to address varying degrees of gardening experience and knowledge. More time will be devoted to lecture as well as an opportunity to put principles to work in a local Dunsmuir garden: Bob & Ginny Von Hein’s.

In the words of Penny Livingston, a well know Permaculture Designer and practitioner, “Permaculture is a design science that is rooted in the observation of natural sytems.”

Molly Brown brings her focus on ‘deep ecology’ and “The Work That Reconnects.” She co-authored, with Joanna Macy, the landmark book Coming Back to Life, Practices to Reconnect Our Lives, Our World, first published in 1998. Molly will enrich the series by bringing the focus of Deep Ecology, a fostering “of deeper and more harmonious relationships between place, self, community and the natural world,” bringing a perspective of our global interconnectedness to the work.
Topics covered will include, evaluating and choosing a site for the garden, soil evaluation and improvement, determining what to grow, where and when, integrated pest management, companion planting and perennial polyculture, water conservation and hydrology including earthworks (swales, ponds, pan & net, etc.) and year round food production, all following the self-sustaining principles of permaculture, the motto being “Earth Care, People Care & Fair Share.” Inspirational visual aids, printed material and video content will juice up the work. The process is geared toward keeping the dialogue open and inclusive of all comers.

Beginning Saturday, March 27th, Wendy and Molly will offer this series of classes dedicated to growing food. The all day classes will be held one Saturday a month and will include three and a half hours of lecture in the morning, a long lunch break and at least two hours in the afternoon of practicum, in the Von Hein garden, demonstrating and implementing principles covered in the morning lecture. Tuition for these five classes will be $20 for each class or $85 for the whole series, up front. A sliding scale will be offered to those who can’t swing the $20. The lecture portion of each class will be held at the Yoga studio in Dunsmuir. (All monies will go toward the support and sustenance of this venture).

Wendy says; “our primary purpose behind these events is to continue the conversation within our communities about sustainable living. This is new to many of us, and our intention is to learn together and offer more and more opportunities for building vibrant and viable communities that are linked to the natural world.”

If you are interested in this upcoming opportunity, please e-mail Wendy ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ) or call 235-4963.