More
Information below.
Together on Earth,
-The Living Mandala
Team
_____________________
Geoff Lawton Advanced Permaculture Intensive
Earthworks, Watershed Design,
& Food Forests
Oct 16 - 19, 2012
GreenFriends Farm - Castro Valley,
California
Course Overview
Earthworks construction,
reforestation initiatives, or food production projects can be a
rewarding investment in your property and for your family, community,
and bioregion. Improving the functionality, restoring ecosystem health,
enhancing aesthetic appeal, and increasing the value of your landscape
are all realistic and achievable potential outcomes. However, it can be
intimidating to undertake large projects like ordering heavy machinery
onto your property, or designing and installing a large food forest
orchard. Getting it wrong can be discouraging and very expensive. This
course will give you the knowledge, practical experience, and
confidence to get the design and implementation plan of your earthworks
and follow-up strategies right the first time around.
Course Description
In 4 days, you will learn the basic theory and practice of
Permaculture Earthworks, Watershed Design, Food Forest &
Agroforestry including site design, survey, and analysis; directing
earthmoving machines to establish dams, swales, terraces, ponds etc;
watershed design and restoration techniques; and designing and
implementing reforestation, agroforestry, and food forest projects
accordingly. This course will blend theory with hands-on practical
application in the context of a real life project and landscape of
GreenFriends Farm. Many of the existing broad acre permaculture
projects and strategies being implemented on-site were influenced and
initiated by Geoff Lawton 3 years ago, and have since taken flight.
This course will be a wonderful opportunity to learn from Geoff as we
survey and assess the conditions, goals, and success of these
initiatives, and determine the best strategies moving forward.
Day
Topics
Though
the course is a progression and we highly recommend taking the entire
course if possible, it is possible to sign up for individual or
multiple days. Though the schedule is not exact, over a period of 4
very full, informative days... we intend to cover the following.
- Day 1 (Tues, Oct 16): Broad-acre Earthworks & Watershed Design
- Day 2 (Wed, Oct 17): Earthworks Design & Implementation
- Day 3 (Thurs, Oct 18): Watershed Restoration - Upstream
Strategies
- Day 4: (Fri. Oct 19): Food Forests & Agro-Forestry
Affordable
Sliding
Scale
Tuition
With the
intentions to make this course as available to as many people as
possible, we are offering this course for much less
expansive than most of Geoff’s international courses of comparable size
and content. Though the
course is a progression and we highly recommend taking the entire
course if possible, it is possible to sign-up for individual or select
days as well. For
Pricing
Details
Click
Here
Special
Discounts
for
NorCal
Permaculture Convergence Participants!
We
are
offering
a
special discount for those who attend any part of the
Northern California Permaculture Convergence, happening the weekend
before this course from Oct 12-14, at GreenFriends Farm. Geoff Lawton
will be one of the keynote speakers at the Convergence, along with a
host of other speakers and workshops as well.
About
the NorCal Permaculture Convergence
The Northern California Permaculture Convergence is an annual
event which brings together permaculture designers, sustainability
enthusiasts, and communities in Northern California, the West Coast,
and beyond for a weekend of intensive focus on a common goal: to design
sustainable habitats, in accordance with nature, for humans, plants,
animals, our greater bioregion, and the Earth at large. Practitioners
across a wide-spectrum of skill-sets exchange ideas through concurrent
workshops and discussions ranging from organic agriculture and
wildcrafting to natural building and appropriate technologies; from
environmental remediation and disaster preparedness to community
dynamics and global justice. In addition to a plethora of workshops and
amazing speakers on a diversity of topics, there will also dedicated
areas for skill sharing, collaborative discussions, children's
activities, educational displays, and specialist vendors. Participants
will have opportunities to socialize, network, and connect with others
in this field through meals and the activities listed above. For more
information Click Here.
Site
Details - GreenFriends Farm
The beautiful 180 acre grounds of the GreenFriends Farm are
becoming a demonstration & educational hub of leading permaculture,
holistic management, and regenerative design practices. GreenFriends
Farm began as a challenge to plant a thousand fruit trees on the
overgrazed land of a former cattle ranch west of Oakland, California.
Now, half way to meeting that number, it has become an educational
center for cutting edge agriculture, a destination for enjoying nature,
and a vibrant spot for volunteers of all ages and backgrounds. The site
is also home to the M.A. Center - the U.S. headquarters of
international humanitarian & India Spiritual leader - Amma.
www.embracingtheworld.org.
Broadacre
Permaculture
Demonstration
-
Site Projects Include:
- 500 plus tree orchard and food forest
- Dynamic watershed restoration
- Broad-acre land contouring & water infiltration
- Keyline patterning & ploughing
- Native reforestation & agroforestry
- Holistically managed grazing
- Soil food web management
- Solar energy
- Community garden & orchards
- Sustainability & spirituality programs
Contact
For questions and more
information regarding the course
call: 707-634-1461