Bones to Bloom Ecological Design Course 2021
Benjamin Weiss
Bones to Bloom 2021Ecological Design Course
with Optional Permaculture Design Certification (PDC) Track
Solutions-oriented curriculum for creating regenerative landscapes, thinking in systems, and building healthy communities in an era of uncertainty.
Facilitated by Robyn Mello, Benjamin Weiss, Wilson Alvarez, and several specialized guest teachers
Our bodies are natural ecosystems nested within many local ecosystems, and our local ecosystems are nested within ever-expanding larger ecosystems. Each one is infinitely complex and interconnected. As a species, humans are designers and manipulators of our surroundings, building systems of control and organization on top of these ecosystems in order to make sense of our world. However, much of the time, we are working without an understanding of the vast number of elements that will be affected by our human designs. We aim to be part of the shift in human design in the direction of consistently keeping earth and community in mind.
This survey course embodies the permaculture principle to “design from patterns to details.” You will begin at the foundation of regenerative design, learning to understand ecological concepts and principles through deep observation of natural patterns applicable across the human and more-than-human world. As the course continues, you will be led on a journey through ever more detailed aspects of ecological design, developing a toolkit of land-based techniques and socioecological critiques for building a new paradigm of community and economy. This approach will empower you to lay a foundation of knowledge and understanding of the core principles shared by permaculture, regenerative design, intersectional environmentalism, and similar modalities. We will demonstrate these concepts and skillsets in the classroom as well as in wild spaces, backyards, rural farmscapes, and urban farms.
Classes will take place at different locations in South-central and Eastern Pennsylvania:
Urban Edge Farm: susquehannasustainability.com
Horn Farm Center: hornfarmcenter.org
Rising Locust Farm: risinglocustfarm.com
Green Light Plants: greenlightplants.com
Schedule:
April 11, 18*, and 25; May 2, 9*, 16, 23, and 30; June 6, 13, and 20*
Arrive by 9:30am, Class runs 10am-5pm* with 30 minutes for lunch
*April 18, May 9, and June 20 are only for students who are pursuing Permaculture Design Certification. Class runs 10am-6pm on PDC Only days.
Students must provide their own lunch.
Topics to be covered during the course include and are not limited to:
Introductory and instrumental concepts of permaculture design
Deep ecology
Systems analysis
Species identification
Reading the landscape
Social and spiritual ecology
Intersectional environmentalism
Sensory awareness and observation techniques
Climate patterns
Home-scale sustainability
Ecological entrepreneurship
Regenerative art and culture
Optional Permaculture Design Certification:
Additional Classes: This encompasses three extra classes of a permaculture design practicum and student presentations to fulfill and surpass the 72-hour requirement to earn a Permaculture Design Certificate. This track covers the essential concepts of the permaculture design system, demonstrated through techniques for sustainable living in densely populated areas. Students will acquire a tool-kit for living in the urban and suburban environment in a way that is both self-reliant and supportive of their community and nature. The curriculum will emphasize skills that contribute to local, community-based resilience and abundance.
What to Expect: Our PDC is a rigorous academic course with standards that exceed those of most college-level classes. Students will be expected to participate regularly in class and complete homework assignments, including readings, observation, and design exercises, as well as a design project presented at the final class meeting. Students are allowed no more than one missed class and absolutely must be present for the final design presentations (6/20). Students who complete the course in a satisfactory manner will receive an internationally-recognized certification in Permaculture Design.
Teachers:
This course will be taught primarily by Robyn Mello, Benjamin Weiss, and Wilson Alvarez, along with a crew of specialized guest instructors.
Robyn Mello is an earth-worshipping designer, writer, organizer, forest gardener, herbalist, builder, musician, and parent. She received her Permaculture Design Certification from Melissa Miles in 2014, Advanced Permaculture Design Certification from Peter Bane and Jono Neiger in 2015, and Permaculture Teacher Certification from Pandora Thomas and Lisa DePiano in 2015. Much of Robyn’s permaculture and social justice background has been self-taught and through direct experience, beginning as a teenager but diving into the world most deeply upon graduating from The University of Delaware in 2009. She worked with The Philadelphia Orchard Project to design and train others in biodiverse community orcharding from 2010 through 2017, started a dozen community gardens with a grassroots vacant lot gardening organization she founded called Philly Food Forests from 2010 to 2013, worked as Gardens Manager and Nature Educator for Historic Fair Hill in North Philadelphia from 2011 to 2013, organized the Occupy Vacant Lots campaign with Occupy Philly activists interested in gardening and community organizing from 2011 to 2013, started a small organic farm in Upper Bucks County while living off-the-grid in a tiny house in 2013, worked as an Environmental Justice Researcher with The Delaware Environmental Institute from 2013 to 2015, and redesigned and rehabilitated two neglected homes from 2014 through 2018. She has been fully self-employed through her multifaceted life project and business, Edenspore Design, since late 2017.
Benjamin Weiss is a certified permaculture designer and teacher, activist, herbalist, farmer, musician, and writer from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Ben studied natural building and permaculture at The Farm Ecovillage Training Center, received a permaculture teacher certification from CRMPI, studied urban agriculture at Growing Power, and has studied herbalism with Sarah Preston of Radiance, shamanic dreaming techniques with Adhi Moonien Two-Owls, and forest garden design with Dave Jacke. Ben was also the administrator and a long-time volunteer for the Lancaster Coalition for Peace and Justice, and has helped to organize many other initiatives and actions related to racial and environmental justice. Ben has facilitated PDCs and many other classes and workshops, has designed and managed four organic farms, and forages professionally. He owns and manages Susquehanna Apothecary and Urban Edge Farm.
Wilson Alvarez is a certified permaculture designer, an inventor, gardener, skilled tracker, bowyer, nature-awareness instructor, and poet from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He has studied and taught classes and workshops on biointensive agriculture, regenerative technology, foraging, hunting, trapping and tracking, and wilderness survival. Wilson has created “Rebel Garden Tools,” a line of incredibly innovative hand tools for small farms, as well as other inventions such as the "Folk Mug," a handle that turns a mason jar into a travel mug, and "The Multi," a multi-tool wallet. He also founded Folklore Ferments, a small company specializing in the brewing of kombucha. Wilson has a Kamana II certification through Jon Young's Wilderness Awareness School, received his PDC online via Permaculture Visions, and studied applied archaeology at Prescott College with Steve Watts. Wilson manages the woodland rehabilitation at the Horn Farm Center.
Guest Teachers:
Dale Hendricks & Zach Elfers of Green Light Plants
Douglas Smith, chief planner of Lancaster City
William Padilla-Brown of MycoSymbiotics
Meg Lemieur & Bri Barton of the Water Ways Project
Jon Darby & Allyson Earl of the Horn Farm Center
Harrison Rhodes of Rising Locust Farm
More TBA
Tuition:
Registration Details:
This course will sell out! To receive the early bird rate, you must pay IN FULL by December 31st, 2020. All other students must pay in full by March 15th, 2021. If there is still space available at that time, we may extend registration until the date of the first class. Nonetheless, pre-registered students must pay in full by March 15th. A registration deposit of $300 may be submitted at any time in order to hold a place in the class. Once any tuition money is received, it is non-refundable, except in the event of personal medical emergencies or government-mandated lockdowns.
To register: Email Robyn Mello at edenspo...@gmail.com with your name, email address, phone number, and mailing address and submit registration deposit of at least $300 to hold your space in the course. Payment options are as follows:
Venmo to @ edenspore
PayPal to rojo...@gmail.com via “Friends and Family” option.
Cash App to $robynmello
Direct Deposit via invoice from Edenspore LLC Bank Account (e-mail Robyn to be sent an invoice)
Check or Money order made out to “Edenspore LLC” and mailed (e-mail Robyn to request mailing address)
Cash hand-delivered to Robyn Mello or Benjamin Weiss (e-mail Robyn to arrange)
Covid-19 Notes:
This course will be taught entirely outdoors, under cover of a large open-air tent when necessary. Students will be required to wear masks, 6-foot minimum social distancing will be required, and any shared tools or materials will be sanitized between uses. Upon the event that local, state, or national mandates require all in-person outdoor gatherings to be canceled, a $50 per student administrative fee will be held by facilitators. All other tuition will be refunded.
Group Rate:
Five or more students who sign up as a group may each receive the group rate ($600 per person for the ecological design course, or $850 per person for permaculture certification) through March 15th, 2021. To receive this group rate, all registration deposits ($300 per student) must be submitted either as one payment or as separate payments all received on the same day, and full tuition must be paid by all group members by March 15th, 2021. If any group members drop out and the group number drops below five students, the group rate is void and regular course tuition must be paid in full by all remaining group members.
Scholarships:
We have some limited scholarship funding available. Contact us directly to inquire. We are much more inclined to offer partial scholarships than full scholarships, we expect to see scholarship recipients find ways to fundraise some of their own tuition, and they must be full, active participants in the class.
Preparedness for Class:
Students should come fully prepared to be outdoors for extended periods in varying weather and to participate in hands-on activities, including walks through rough terrain. Not all of the classrooms we’ll be in are ADA accessible, but we will happily make any accommodations that we are able in order for students with specific needs to participate. Please notify us of any pertinent allergies or physical limitations before the class begins.
Roughly 30 minutes will be provided during each class session for lunch, as well as periodic short breaks between sessions throughout the day to stretch, make necessary phone calls, use the bathroom, etc. Necessary self-care for personal health and ability to focus throughout classes is encouraged, so long as your self-care is not impeding the learning of others or resulting in excessive missed class time. Students should bring their own food and water.
Prior to the start of the course, each student will be asked to sign “Media Sharing” and “Code of Conduct” forms to ensure that everyone who participates is legally allowed to utilize media captured during the class for further educational or promotional purposes. Please notify the instructors if you plan to miss class, and take responsibility for catching up with any missed course content by reaching out to other students. It is not the responsibility of course facilitators to go over any materials missed in class.
Other things to bring include** :
notebook
sketch pad
writing/drawing utensils
compass
camera
any preferred field guides
pocket knife or multi-tool
work gloves
hand sanitizer
lap-top/ tablet/smart-phone
bug spray
sunscreen
sturdy shoes/boots
rain gear
camp chair or seat cushion/pillow
**Students will be notified of any other required materials as the course progresses.
Required Reading:
Thinking in Systems: A Primer by Donella Meadows
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Permaculture: Principles & Pathways Beyond Sustainability by David Holmgren (For Permaculture Students Only)
Syllabus:
Below is a simplified syllabus. A more detailed syllabus will be sent to students on the first day of class or shortly prior.
April 11* at Urban Edge Farm: Intro to Ecological Design
Orientation - getting to know one another and the land
Principles of ecology
Indigenous peoples and ecohistory of the region
Observation skills
Reading the landscape
Early season plant identification
Introduction to Systems Thinking
April 18* at Urban Edge Farm: Intro to Permaculture (10am-6pm)
Definition, philosophy, and history of permaculture
Permaculture ethics and principles
Zone, Sector, and Vector Analysis
April 25 at Horn Farm Center: Intro to Wild Ecosystems
Deep awareness/observation techniques
Local/temperate climate ecology
Basic primitive skills: tracking, fire-making, finding clean water, building a debris hut
Land stewardship techniques
Deer management and reforestation
Financial, legislative, & organizational support for wildlands
May 2 at Urban Edge Farm: Self-care, Social Justice, & Environmental Activism as Ecological Design
History of environmentalism
Seasonal/cyclical living & eating
Introduction to Herbalism
Community-building strategies
Design of ecological social movements
Intersectionality of oppressions and ecological degradation
May 9* at Urban Edge Farm: Intro to Permaculture Design Practicum (10am-6pm)
Analyzing ecological niches
Mind-mapping
Base-mapping by hand and with design software
Introduction of rubric and assignment for final design project
May 16 at Rising Locust Farm: Rural/Broadacre Ecological Farming
Soils, soil health, and soil-building
Silvopasture: livestock and agroforestry
Water conservation, the hydrologic cycle, riparian ecosystems
Community governance
Broadacre ecological farm design
May 23 at Green Light Plants Nursery & Homestead: Ecological Micro-Enterprise
Ecologically-minded homesteading
Forest gardening
Bio-char
Plant propagation
Integrative ecological design
Local economies and small-scale industry
May 30 at Urban Edge Farm: Ecological Design for Suburban Landscapes
Business planning using permaculture
Twelve forms of capital
Beekeeping Intro
Water harvesting, designing landscapes for water retention, berms and swales
Intensive micro-farm design
Mycoremediation and mushroom farming
June 6 at Urban Edge Farm: Urban Sustainability & Regenerative Design
Urban agroforestry
Urban farming
Soil remediation
Financial, legislative, & organizational support for urban agriculture
Community-building around regenerative ecological systems
June 13 at Urban Edge Farm: Regenerative Culture Design and Wrap-up
Art and music for ecological and cultural change
Any modules we didn’t yet cover because we ran out of time in previous weeks
One-on-one project assistance for PDC students
June 20* at Urban Edge Farm: Permaculture Design Presentations (10am-6pm)
*Classes only required for Students seeking Permaculture Design Certification.
To register:
Email Robyn Mello at edenspo...@gmail.com with your name, email address, phone number, and mailing address and submit registration deposit of at least $300 to hold your space in the course. Payment options are as follows:
Venmo to @ edenspore
PayPal to rojo...@gmail.com via “Friends and Family” option.
Cash App to $robynmello
Direct Deposit via invoice from Edenspore LLC Bank Account (e-mail Robyn to be sent an invoice)
Check or Money order made out to “Edenspore LLC” and mailed (e-mail Robyn to request mailing address)
Cash hand-delivered to Robyn Mello or Benjamin Weiss (e-mail Robyn to arrange)