Section

• PD2: Winter 2021

  Permaculture Design Certificate Course
  

  (Part 2, Winter 2021):

  Ecosystem Mimicry

  
  

  Michael Burns

  <mb756@cornell.edu>
• 
  

  Open allClose all

• Introduction Week: Jan. 4 - 7

  
  

  • This short introduction week gives you an opportunity to become familiar with the Moodle interface and tools; the course materials and general flow from week to week as well as your classmates and instructors. Spend time looking through the entire course content so that you can consider how to budget your time and energy accordingly. As most of you are already familiar with the platform, this week should be easy.

    Please don’t hesitate to contact your instructor with any questions.

    THIS WEEK:

  • Slides of Presentations (PDF) Folder
  • Reading: Course Overview and Format Page
  • Course Syllabus: PLEASE READ File 110.7KB PDF document
  • Read more about Finger Lakes Permaculture Institute certificate File 127.2KB PDF document
  • Activity 0.1: Scan and Submit a Picture of your Ideal World Assignment
  • Activity 0.2: Ecosystem Mimicry Self-Assessment Feedback
  • Participant Forum: Introduce Yourself and Interests
• Week 1: Jan. 8 - 14

  Permaculture Concepts and Tools

  
  

  • Objectives:

    • Examine what makes a permaculture approach important in our modern world.
    • Prepare or revise your base map for future assessment exercises.
      

    
    

  • Presentation: What is Permaculture? (Narrated Lecture 36 minutes) Page
  • Activity 1.1: Develop the Base Map of Your Site Assignment
  • Reading: Essence of Permaculture Page
  • Activity 1.2: Ethics, Principles, Strategies, Techniques Assignment
  • EXAMPLE File 189.3KB PDF document
  • Participant Forum: Ethics, Principles, Strategies, Techniques
  • 1.3 Reflective Writing: Permaculture Design Principles Assignment
  • Optional Resources

  • Edible Landscape, Permaculture, & Climate Change URL
  • Cradle to Cradle: William McDonough URL
  • Biomimicry: Janine Benyus URL
• Week 2: Jan. 15 - 21

  Reading the Landscape and Patterns
  

  • Objectives:

    • Examine the "languages" of natural systems and how they inform ways to design and analyze landscapes. 

    • Demonstrate your understanding of patterns with a written example of a pattern language.  

  • Presentation: Reading the Landscape (Narrated Lecture 38 minutes) Page
  • Presentation: Pattern #2 (Narrated Lecture 33 minutes) Page
  • Reading: What is a Pattern Language, Anyway? Page
  • Activity 2.1: Design from Patterns to Details Assignment
  • Participant Forum: Patterns
  • 2.2 Reflective Writing: Pattern Languages Assignment
  • Optional Activities

  • The Structure of Pattern Languages by Nikos A. Salingaros URL
  • The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Normal URL
• Week 3: Jan. 22 - 28

  Building and Sustaining Living Soil
  

  
  

  • Objectives:
    

    • Recognize the components and processes of healthy, biologically active soil and compost.
    • Engage in a soil analysis or building activity by testing soil on your design site and/or build (or rebuild) a compost system.
      
  • Presentation: Soil Basics, Narrated Lecture (37 minutes) Page
  • Presentation: Compost Happens! Narrated Lecture (35 minutes) Page
  • Presentation: Vermicompost, A Living Soil Amendment. Video (9 minutes) Page
  • Presentation: Ray Archuleta on Soil Health (Video, 27 minutes) Page
  • Activity 3.1: Test Your Soil Assignment
  • Activity 3.2 Make a plan for Spring: Composting Assignment
  • Activity 3.3 Create a Soil Assessment Map Assignment
  • Participant Forum: Soil Health
  • Optional Activities

  • Reading: Selections from Cornell Garden Based Learning Page
• Week 4: Jan. 29 - Feb. 4

  
  

  Working with Water
  

  Objectives: 

  • Discuss the basic principles of water and 
  • How we assess and design water in permaculture systems. 

  • Presentation: Water (Video, 40 minutes) Page
  • Presentations: Water in Permaculture Systems (Videos, 52 minutes) Page
  • Geoff Lawton - Swale Plume URL
  • Activity 4.1: Your Water Budget Assignment
  • Activity 4.2: Contour Mapping (A-Frame, Water Level) Assignment
  • Activity 4.3: Sources and Sinks Assignment
  • Water Assessment Map Example File 4.3MB Image (JPEG)
  • Participant Forum: Contour Mapping
  • Optional Activities

  • PD1 & PD2: Open Office Lunch Hour, Monday 12:30-1:30 PM Zoom meeting
  • PD1 & PD2: Open Office Lunch Hour, Wednesday 12:30-1:30 PM Zoom meeting
  • PD1 & PD2: Private Office Hours, Wednesday 4-6 PM EST Zoom meeting
  • Optional Resources

  • Google Earth for Farmers: Intro URL
  • Google Earth for Farmers 2 - Draw and Measure URL
  • Water – Simple, Yet Complex with Craig Sponholtz (audio) URL
  • Earthworks to Capture Rainwater Runoff and Prevent Erosion (audio) URL
  • Water Harvesting with Brad Lancaster (audio) URL
  • Brad's Rainwater Harvesting website URL
• Week 5: February 5 - 11

  Forestry and Agroforestry
  

  
  

  • Objectives:

    • Examine trees as systems.
      
    • Identify key concepts of forest management and the practice of agroforestry.
      
    • Research trees and plants for a potential polyculture on your design site.
      

    
    

  • Presentation: Agroforestry Systems (YouTube Videos) Page
  • Activity 5.1: Tree Research Assignment
  • Activity 5.2: Stacking in Time and Space Assignment
  • Participant Forum: Your Polyculture
  • Optional Activities
    

  • PD1 & PD2: Open Office Hours Lunch Break, Tues. & Wed., 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Zoom meeting
  • PD1 & PD2: Private Office Hours, Thursday 4 to 6 p.m. Zoom meeting
  • Optional Resources
    

  • Learn to Cultivate Mushrooms - Cornell Resources URL
  • Paul Stamets: 6 Ways Mushrooms Can Save the World URL
  • Agroforestry with Steve Gabriel - Permaculture Podcast URL
  • Reading: Excerpts from Profitable Farms and Woodlands File 1.5MB PDF document
  • Forest Farming: Growing Crops Under the Canopy of an Existing Forest (audio) URL
  • Hazelnuts. A Viable Broadacre Crop for the Midwest? - Phil Rutter (audio) URL
  • Farming the Woods (Steve's Book) URL
• Week 6: Feb. 12 - 18

  Animals in our Systems
  

  • Objectives:
    

    • Examine the roles animals play in permaculture systems
      

    • discuss specific management of livestock and work animals

    
    

  • Animals in Permaculture Systems (Narrated Lecture, 46 minutes). Page
  • Presentation: Aquaculture and Aquaponics (Videos total ~ 48 minutes) Page
  • Video: Allan Savory: How to fight desertification and reverse climate change URL
  • Reading: Rabbits Love Roses Page
  • Activity 6.1: Design Assessment Summary Assignment
  • Forum: Animals in Your Landscape
  • Optional Resource

  • Joel Salatin - Polyface Farm URL
  • Optional Activity

  • Activity 6.2: Animal Integration - Research Assignment
• This section

  Last Weeks: Feb. 19 - March 7

  Refine, Catch-up, and Conclude
  

  Please note that access to this course material is for one year (January 4, 2022.) Save your own local copies of your assignments as submitted assignments might not be saved online past March 31, 2021.

  If you finish after March 31st you are still eligible to take part 3 of this series in subsequent years. If you plan to earn Continuing Education Credits OR will continue with next scheduled class in this series you must complete this class by March 7, 2021. 

  • Need a certificate of completion? Please answer by March 31st Feedback

    Cornell Continuing Education Certificate

  • Course Feedback

    Not available unless: The activity Activity 6.1: Design Assessment Summary is marked complete
  • Information on gaining a Permaculture Design Certificate File 127.2KB PDF document
  • May we share your best work? Choice

    Not available unless: The activity Activity 6.1: Design Assessment Summary is marked complete