Hello, everyone, my name is Susan and I live in Northwestern Vermont, outside Burlington.  I am originally from Western NY, where I grew up on a cash crop farm.  I have been an avid gardener for nearly 20 years.  I became acquainted with permaculture when my husband and I – plus our backyard barnyard of bees, chickens and bunnies - moved from a suburban development to a 12-acre wooded lot (yes, I’m sure more than one neighbor was happy to see us all go!).  As you can imagine, this change presented both opportunities and challenges, i.e. what can I successfully grow in this setting, and how does the garden & barnyard fit in with the surrounding woods.  Reading up on forest gardening and attempting hugelkultur in my backyard were my first forays into permaculture.  I am looking forward to learning more about permaculture ethics and design, and how to integrate them further into our garden/barnyard/woods.