2004 Earth-Healing Permaculture Design Course


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January 6, 2004

Dear Sahale Course participants,

This letter is going out to people who have inquired about our Earth-Healing Permaculture Design Course in Western Washington, February 7-21. Here are a number of details for the course and directions. If you have any questions after looking this over, give me a call or email. It will help us in our planning if you will notify us when you'll be sending in your registration with deposit, or if you'll be proposing instead some sort of work trade or partial attendance. The instructors are meeting soon to polish up the course schedule and curriculum (see current draft enclosed) and it's looking like a first-rate, information filled event with a host of influential guest presenters.

Marisha and I recently visited Sahale Retreat Center and it will make a great venue for the course. Rainforested slopes and a wet river floodplain give lots of habitat diversity. The remodeled farm buildings offer lots of warm, dry rooms for housing and course activities. Looking forward to hearing from you soon,

Michael Pilarski (360) 676-7704

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Instructor's initials (for use with schedule):
Michael Pilarski (MP): whole course.
Marisha Auerbach (MA): whole course.
Chris Mare (CM): whole course.

Guest Instructors:
Michael Dolan, Burnt Ridge Nursery
Kirk Hanson. Small Forest Landowner Office, DNR. all day on 11.
Brian Combs, Lost Creek Botanicals, Friday the 13th.
Michael Broili, Living Systems Design
Brian Hindman, surveyor.
John Henrikson, Wild Thyme Farm
Gail Sullivan, Fertile Ground
Karen Nelson, Fertile Ground
Fungi Perfecti staffperson (to be confirmed)

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Schedule for the Sahale Permaculture Design Course - February 7-21, 2004 (1/15/04 version)

Note: This is a proposed schedule. Undoubtedly some changes will be made to adapt to reality and participant's considerations. If you are coming for a special session(s) please call ahead to double-check. 360/275-3957

Daily schedule (subject to revision)
Breakfast 7:00-8:00
Morning circle 8:15-8:30
Morning overview 8:30 to 9:00
Session 1 - 9:00 to 10:00
Short break
Session 2 - 10:15 to 11:15
Session 3 - 11:15 to 12:15
Lunch 12:15 to 1:30
Session 4 - 1:30 to 3:00
Short break
Session 5 - 3:15 to 4:15
Session 6 - 4:15 to 5:15
Dinner 5:30 to 6:30
Evening session(s) 7:30 - 9:30 (optional)

February 6 - Friday
Non-local participants may arrive to get situated.

February 7 - Saturday
The first day of the course is very important in terms of getting to know people and learning how the course will run.
10:00 am - Opening ceremony
Participant's Introductions.
Lunch
Afternoon - Course introduction.
Site Tour
Evening - Permaculture slide show, MP, CM, MA.

February 8 - Sunday
Session 1 - Permaculture ethics & principles. CM, MA MP, Emergy and emergetics. CM
Session 2 - Permaculture principles, mottos and buzzwords. MA, MP, CM
Session 3 - Permaculture principles, mottos and buzzwords. MA, MP, CM
Session 4 - Zones and Sectors. MA, CM, MP
Session 5 - Observation. MP, Patterns. CM.
Solitary observation exercize
Session 6 - Group observation walk to study patterns & guilds, Reading the landscape.
Evening: Mollison video

February 9 - Monday
Session 1 - Home Gardens. CM, MA
Session 2 - Soils and soil building. MA, CM, MP.
Session 3 - Compost & Mulching. MA, CM
Session 4 - Group design.
Session 5 - Hands on gardening.
Session 6 - Hands on gardening.
Evening: Music/dance

February 10 - Tuesday
Session 1 - Whole system design. Ecological design. CM
Session 2 - Medicinal fruit juice spa. MP,
Session 3 - Design Methodologies. CM, MA, MP
Session 4 - Permaculture Methodology. MP
Session 5 - Design Teams orientation, Client interview
Session 6 - Design Teams walkabout.
February 11 - Wednesday
Session 1 - The role of trees and forests through the zones and the world. Windbreaks & hedgerows. MP. KH
Session 2 - Humid Landscapes, Keyline, Erosion Control, bioengineering, swales. MP, KH
Session 3 - Design Teams meet
Session 4 - Collecting & storing water. MB
Session 5 - Ponds & Aquaculture. MP, MA, CM
Session 6 - Hands-on

February 12 - Thursday
Session 1 - Mapping, base maps, overlays, etc. CM, BH
Session 2 - Design Teams meet
Session 3 - Agroforestry, understory and overstory relationships. The role of nut and fruit trees in permaculture systems. Michael Dolan, MP
Session 4 - Nursery establishment and propagation. Michael Dolan, MP
Session 5 - Design Teams report
Session 6 - Hands-on, propagation

February 13 - Friday
Session 1 - The Wild lecture. Ethnobotany & ethnoecology. Wildcrafting. MP
Session 2 - Restoration of native plant communities. System establishment, seeding, tree planting. MP, KH, BC.
Session 3 - Restoration and cost-share programs by the government. Kirk Hansen.
Session 4 - Design Teams meet.
Session 5 - Small livestock MA. Large livestock. MP,
Session 6 - Hands-on

February 14 - Saturday, Field Trip
8:00 - 9:00 - Travel time.
9:00 - 11:00 - Tour Fungi Perfecti in Shelton
11:00-12:00 - Travel time.
12:00 - 1:00 - Lunch
1:00 - 3:30 - Tour of Wild Thyme Farm. MA and JH.
3:30 - 4:15 - Travel Time
4:45 - 6:00 - Tour Fertile Ground Gardens in Olympia. Possibly a quick stop at Sound Native Plants?
6:30 - 7:30 - Dinner in Olympia

February 15 - Sunday
Session 1 - Discussion of field trip. Mid-course review.
Session 2 - Appropriate architecture and building materials. Biotecture. Michael Broili, CM, MA.
Session 3 - Design Teams meet.
Session 4 - Straw bale, cob, light clay/straw.
Session 5 - Hands on.Session 6 - Hands-on.
Evening: Sweat lodge

February 16 - Monday
Session 1 - Not Sure
Session 2 - Design Teams meet.
Session 3 - Design Teams report.
Session 4 - Design Teams report.
Session 5 - Dryland landscapes and strategies. MP
Session 6 - Dryland techniques, irrigation. MP,
Evening: Dance & party. Adrian X & band (to be confirmed)

February 17 - Tuesday
Session 1 - Village design, Ecovillage design. CM
Session 2 - Ekistics. CM,
Session 3 - Intentional Communities. CM
Session 4 - Hands on. Seed collecting, cleaning & seeding.
Session 5 - Hands-on
Session 6 - Not Sure

February 18 - Wednesday
Session 1 - Permaculture in the tropics and subtropics, MP.
Session 2 - Permaculture in Africa, Asia & South and Central America. Cultural Sensitivities. MP
Session 3 - Design Teams Meet.
Session 4 - Invisible structures, economic systems. Barter economies, Sound Hours, MA, MP, CM
Session 5 - Energy strategies and technologies. Appropriate Technology. Paul Horton, MA, CM
Session 6 - Hands on.

February 19 - Thursday
Session 1 - Urban Permaculture. MA, MP,
Session 2 - Design Teams meet.
Session 3 - Hands-on.
Session 4 - Human waste, grey water, bio-remediation and turning pollutants into resources. MP,
Session 5 - Not Sure
Session 6 - Not Sure

February 20 - Friday
Session 1 - Not Sure
Session 2 - Design Team Report Preparation.
Session 3 - Design Teams Report.
Session 4 - Design Teams Report.
Session 5 - Design Teams Report.
Session 6 - Hike or hands-on.
Evening: Perma-Culture Night Talent Show. Poetry, performances, music, skits, etc by participants.

February 21 - Saturday
Session 1 - Where do we go from here. Permaculture networks, Global Ecovillage Network. Networking a web.
Session 2 - Evaluation.
Session 3 - Parting Remarks. Closing Circle. Back Top

A few notes on evening schedule.
The evenings at most permaculture courses are jam-packed with slide shows, presentations, demos, meetings, videos, music, dancing and socializing, It is not uncommon for two or three things to be on the agenda each evening. It is very easy for participants to overload themselves. Please remember that evening activities are optional. Each person should take a few evenings off for quiet time or tending to their own needs.Evening activities cover a wide gamut of cultural and educational experiences. Everyone is invited to put themselves on the evening agenda. Bring your slides and show-and-tell if you'd like to entertain us. Relevant videos also welcome. Back Top

Party nights
Partying is on the schedule for a couple of the evenings at Sahale. We can push back the chairs in the kitchen, dance and take turns putting our tapes and CDs into the boom box. I have already made arrangements for Adrian Xavier to come and play for us at Sahale. He will have a larger or smaller band with him depending on how much budget we can afford. Adrian X. plays great reggae with socially conscious lyrics. See: www.sacredgroove.com

Some permaculture courses have a reputation for partying, others don't. The biggest party course I have attended was in New Zealand with 75 students. Bill Mollison, Lea Harrison and Jill Jordan were the teachers. The students were living in many houses scattered around the locale and every house threw parties, so there was a large party every 2nd day of the course. The least party course I was at was sponsored by a muslim community in New Mexico and parties weren't allowed. I have only seen a full-on dance band at a couple of courses. We had a great band play for us at the first permaculture course held at Heartwood Institute near Garberville, California. Some courses are teetotaler and others are not. If some people party too much it affects their learning. Moderation is key Back Top

Accomodations:
Mamook: 6 small rooms each with a double bed. Full paying participants get first choice for these private rooms.
Klahwi: The main floor has a large community space. This may be used off and on during the course for small group sessions. There is 1 sleeping couch in this room. Upstairs is a large room with 2 double beds and 3 single beds.
Kloshe: This is the old farmhouse which includes our main teaching room and the library room. The library sun room has a fold out double bed which could be used for short-term guests. Upstairs is a room which will house Sahale members, Rebecca and Collette. Coho bedroom has 1 double bed and 2 sets of bunkbeds (4 single beds)
Chinook bedroom has a double bed, a single and a double/single bunk.
Kopetwawa:(the meditation room) is a small building that will be the teacher's office. It has a double futon.

The current gender breakdown for people who will need sleeping arrangements for the whole course (as of 1/3) is 11 women and 7 men. Currently there are no couples signed up. For the multi-bed bedrooms we will have to designate some for women and some for men. Sahale has sheets, pillows, pillowcases and blankets for the beds, so you do not need to bring bedding unless you wish to. Even though Sahale has bed space for 40 people this is counting all their double beds with two people in each of them. Since we don't have any couples this means only 24 individual beds. We may have more than this many fulltime people, plus we will have to put up occasional guest speakers and day participants. Short-term guests might only have floor space (with pads or extra mattresses). If any of our participants have live-in rigs they could stay in, please let us know. There are also several dry, unheated cubbyhole possibilities for those who like a private space and don't mind a cold sleeping space. Back Top

Things to bring to the course:
Tall rubber boots are a must. Hipwaders may be useful.
Raingear and clothes to stay warm and dry when outside.
Umbrellas can be handy for some situations.
Flashlights.
Musical instruments.
Dance tapes/CDs for dance nites.
Slippers are nice for indoors.
Favorite hand tools. Shovels, brush hooks, rakes, loppers, hand pruners, kamas, pulaskis, mcleods, hoedads, machetes, what have you.
Work gloves,
3-ring binder
Notebooks/pads etc for taking notes.
Waterproof, all-weather notebook, Rite-in-the-rain
Drafting supplies if you have them such as T-squares, triangles, compasses, colored pencils, markers, etc.
Useful books for the library and show & tell.
Hot tub towel.
Water Bottle
Food donations for the kitchen (optional).
Seeds for a seed exchange.
Live trees, herbs, plant, flower divisions we could plant on site. Leave a living legacy.
Make lists, plan ahead, and give yourself enough time. Enjoy the drive. Back Top

About Food
It will help us in our food ordering if everyone would indicate what sort of diet they would like to eat at the course. Our goal is to have a variety of healthful food so that everyone can eat what they wish.
Raw foodist
Vegan
Vegetarian
Lactavarian (eat dairy products)
Ovatarian (eat eggs)
Fish eaters
Omnivores (including eating meat)
Wheat-free
Allergies?
Special requests?

We are fortunate that one of the people taking the course is Barbara Greene, a local organic farmer who is on the board of Washington Tilth. Barbara is checking with local organic farmers to see what greens, root crops, and dairy products they can supply us with. Barbara will be supplying us with eggs and chickens from her own farm. She is also checking into locally caught salmon, preferably from Native people. Our 1st choice is for food that the participants grew themselves. Our 2nd choice is for food from local organic farmers. Our 3rd choice, we buy organic food from one of the organic food distributors.

Food donations for the course kitchen
Participants are encouraged to bring food donations for the course meals. Perhaps you can get donations from farmer friends or small food businesses. We have had courses where a participant brought giant bags of bagels donated by their local bagel factory. We put them in the freezer and had bagels for the whole course. Perhaps you have some bulk food or special goodies you've made. For instance I'll be bringing potatoes and garlic from my farm and jars of homemade jam and some of my dried elderberries. People who are doing work trades are especially encouraged to help round up food. In any case, food donations are totally optional and up to you. Donations will help our food budget and get us some special treats. If you can bring a food donation, it would be helpful to let us know what it is in advance. Back Top

Prior reading material.
We would prefer if course participants would have read at least 1 permaculture book before taking the course. The three top choices would be:
Introduction to Permaculture. Bill Mollison.
Permaculture: A Designer's Manual. Bill Mollison.
Permaculture: Principles & Pathways Beyond Sustainability. David Holmgren.

Course handouts. Many course handouts will be available. A master copy will be kept in a 3-ring binder. You can pick which pages you want. No one is forced to take more printed material than they want. Up to 100 pages are part of your course fees. After 100 pages individuals pay copying costs. There is a copier on site for small jobs. We will make runs to town to do larger amounts of copying. Back Top

Tahuya
The Tahuya River is named after the Tahuya tribe whose territory it ran through. The Tahuya are part of the Twana People whose territory included most of the Hood Canal drainages. Other Twana People include the Skokomish, Dosewallips, Duckabush, Quilcene, Dahop, and Duhlelap. The Skokomish reservation is on the other side of the Hood Canal from the Tahuya. The Twana are part of the Southern Coast Salish. We wish to honor the Tahuya People whose ancestral land we will be meeting on.
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Some ideas for hands-on projects.
Sheet mulching
Mini-ponds.
Plant propagation, grafting, hardwood cuttings eg. cottonwood, grapes, elderberry, red-osier dogwood.
Perennial root divisions, crown and rhizome division.
Mulching.
Planting fruit trees and native plants.
Planting hedgerows
Wildcrafting herbs and roots.
Processing herbs, Making tinctures,
Raised beds in zone 1.
Hugelkulture garden.
Swales, layout and digging. A-frames, laser line level.
Drainage system for wet area.
Clearing blackberries.
Opening old trail.
Cob demo or straw/light clay.
Making a sweat lodge.
Cleaning seed.
Seeding with cyclone seeders, spot seeding, pelletizing.
Live staking with willow, cottonwood, red osiers
Biotecture.
Bio-engineering techniques such as brush mats, fascines.
Earth modeling.
Mushroom spawn plugs.
This is a preliminary list. Others may be added. Back Top

Driving Directions to Sahale

From the West Seattle/Southworth Ferry: (the drive is the shortest from this ferry if coming from Seattle)
As you exit the ferry you take the first left known as Hwy. 160 and eventually becomes Sedgwick Road. See “At Highway 16” below.

From Highway 16 Northbound:
After the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, go about 14 miles and exit at Sedgwick Road. Take a left at the end of the off ramp at the stoplight. See “At Highway 16” below.

At Highway 16:
Cross Hwy. 16. It becomes Glenwood Road for two miles then at a “Y” stay to the right (going basically straight) onto Lake Flora Rd. Go another 3 miles and look for a right (only) turn onto Lake Flora Rd. This road is about three miles long and will ends at Hwy. 3. Turn left. See “At Belfair” below.

From Bremerton:
Exit on Hwy 3 to Belfair.

At Belfair:
At the first stoplight, turn right onto Hwy. 300. At 4-way stop sign go straight. After 3 miles this will become North Shore Rd. just past Belfair State Park. Continue on North Shore Rd. for about 11 miles until shortly after crossing the bridge that crosses the Tahuya River. Take the next right turn onto Belfair-Tahuya Loop Road. Within a half a mile or so, at the “Y” go right onto Tahuya River Road. Our Retreat Center is one mile on the right. Look for the red metal roofs and white buildings.

Parking is available in the lot near the house.
Address is 2901 NE Tahuya River Road, Tahuya, WA 98588. Phone is 360/275-3957

Rebecca LiaBraaten, Director of Outreach
The Goodenough Community: A Village Without Walls
206 323-4653. www.goodenough.org Back Top

A look at the diversity in permaculture design courses - A few thoughts by Michael Pilarski

Here are a few of my observations on different types of permaculture courses I have observed or heard about over the years. I took my first permaculture design course in 1982 and since have graduated from 21 full design courses (most of them as a co-teacher and always as a student). In addition, I have attended portions of many other design courses and experienced dozens of permaculture teachers in action.
Every permaculture design course is different. Even if you tried to make two courses identical it would be impossible. Every teacher has different experiences and different teaching styles. Even with the same teacher, the same curriculum and at the same venue, the student bodies will be different.

Length of courses:
* The first permaculture courses were 3 weeks in length (with 2 full days off during the time) i.e. 19 days.
* Over time, most courses went to a two-week format.
* I know of courses which were as short a 10 days.
* The current minimum amount of time for an accredited course is 72 hours. Most courses are many more hours then this. I personally do not believe 72 hours is adequate. The Sahale course will be over 100 hours.
* Hands-on courses. Often 3-weeks or even longer in length with an extra amount of time devoted to hands-on activities. These appeal strongly to people who learn best by doing. The longer length usually means a higher price tag.
* Weekend courses. Some courses are held over a number of weekends, and are often spread over several months. My experience, and the general opinion, is that weekend courses do not have the power of residential courses held on consecutive days.
* Correspondence courses. There are a growing number of correspondence or on-line courses. I don't imagine they can turn out the quality of graduates that come from working with a group of people and teachers directly.
* Permaculture fundamentals and practicums. This divides the course into two different sections, each taught at different times usually about 10 days each. Students thus have to allot two different time periods of learning before they recieve their course certification. It supposedly makes it easier for students to afford the time and money to get their certification because they can do it at two different time periods.

Course Prices:
The cost for courses varies. Weekend courses without lodging or meals are generally less then residential courses with meals. Most two-week courses in the US these days with accomodation and meals are in the $800 to $1,000 price range or even more. 3-week courses are often in the $1,500 range. You can occasionally find courses which are relatively inexpensive for various reasons such as low overhead due to low-cost venues or with a small teaching staff or instructors who are willing to teach for less money. Oftentimes, cheaper courses have less facilities or more inexperienced teachers. This is not to say they may not be great courses. I recommend to people shopping for courses that the most important thing is the quality of the teachers, with the venue and price being secondary considerations.
Numbers of instructors.

Most courses have one or more teachers who teach for the whole course. In the early days, courses often had just one instructor. Nowadays in the US, few courses have just one instructor for the whole course. Most have 2 or 3 or 4. The most I have ever seen at a course is 5 fully-qualified teachers at the whole course. I personally prefer 2 or 3 full-time course instructors. I have always had co-teachers at every course I have organized or facilitated.

Instructor experience:
Each instructor brings different levels of expertise. Some people have decades of practical hands-on experience in implementation or in design. Others start teaching after only a few years. Some instructors have decades of experience in teaching. Others have taught very little. Teaching styles and efficacies vary widely. I would advise anyone shopping around for a course that they check into the teacher's credentials and reputation before signing on. All courses and teachers are not the same. Buyer beware!

Time of year:
Some people find it easier to attend courses in the winter, others in the summer, spring or fall. There are courses offered throughout the year.

Bioregion:
I recommend that students take a course in the bioregion they are most likely going to be applying permaculture in. However, I have also found it useful and stimulating to take courses in other bioregions, cultures and countries. Some students like the idea of taking a course in an exotic place like Hawai`i, Chile, Belize, France, New Zealand, etc. Permaculture is very much an international movement.

Styles of courses:
There are a wide variety of course styles. Some are focussed strongly on lectures. Others more on hands-on. I have heard of courses where the lead instructor encouraged the student body to do much of the teaching. I have heard of courses where there was a continual stream of guest speakers and no one really tying it all together. Some courses are very methodical and scientific. Others are very touchy-feely and focus on the human aspect. Some are more interactive then others. There have been courses which ended up in big blow-out fights between teachers and organisers or between teachers and students. Most courses are good quality but there have been disasters.

Hands-on at permaculture design courses.
Most permaculture design courses have a hands-on component to a lesser or greater degree. I have heard of courses where there is none or hardly any hands-on, outdoor activities. Bill Mollison has a reputation for courses like that. On the other hand, some courses are billed as hands-on courses. I have heard of students dropping out of design courses because "they were mostly lecture and not enough hands-on". I would caution people that it is not the hands-on component of a design course that is most important. Hands-on, by definition, is almost always a "technique". Hands-on techniques often done at courses include such things as building a pond, doing a sheet mulch, making a compost pile, planting trees, making a spiral herb garden, digging a swale, building a strawbale or cob wall, etc. These are useful techniques. A good permaculturist has to know hundreds or even thousands of techniques. But the core essense of permaculture is not techniques; it is permaculture principles, design, methodologies, inter-relationships, ecology. These core things cannot be learned just by doing hands-on techniques. This is why I believe that a successful course (in teaching the core material) cannot place undue time on hands-on, technique-oriented projects.

Yes, I do believe hands-on is an important part of permaculture design courses and I include them in all my courses, but in balance with the other aspects of a course which include lectures, small group sesssions, design teams, fields trips, slide shows and one-on-one dialogue. Hands-on at design courses are valuable from the standpoint that students get to experience/learn some practical skills and see some techniques in action. Hands-on projects are also important in that they fill our need for physical activity and working with our hands. They provide a break from the huge amounts of information delivered at courses. Hands-on projects build teamwork, community and should be fun. My courses have a hands-on component on most days of the course, but students should also expect that there will be a lot of verbal and visual information. My goal at a permaculture course is to give students a taste of some techniques via hands-on, and to discuss, illustrate or show slides of hundreds of other techniques. But teaching techniques is not my main goal. Techniques are site and culture specific. My main goal is to teach permaculture principles, methodology, ecosystem analysis and design which graduates can utilize on any site anywhere in the world.

Curriculum:
The order in which we address the topics is somewhat arbitary. I have seen many approaches to ordering topics.
A) Sometimes by zones; (Some courses start at zone 1 and go to zone 5. Others start at zone 5 and work in).
B) Some courses are organized by major climates.
C) Still others follow Bill Mollison's standard design course curriculum.
D) Currently Bill Mollison says accreditted courses should follow his Permaculture Designer's Manual as the curriculum.
E) In actuality there are probably almost as many different curriculums as there are teachers.

Design Teams.
Design teams have been a component of every permaculture course I have been a part of. Perhaps there are courses which do not incorporate this component. Certainly there are differences in the amount of emphasis this receives or how it is conducted. Usually design teams work together perodically throughout the course to devise and present a design for some aspect of the course site (or nearby sites). Sometimes this design is real, sometimes it is very make-believe. Some courses keep reforming teams, others have the teams hand off their designs to other teams to finish. Others work on individual designs rather then in a group.

For the Sahale Course, the design teams will be working together starting from day 4 of the course. They will be doing design work for portions of Sahale's 64 acres. Sahale members will incorporate the ideas they like into a permaculture design for the Center. So in this case, the design team exercize will have an element of reality.

At some courses, individuals do a design for their own land/yard. They give a presentation and the group comments and contributes ideas. We have done this at some courses. It can take up quite a bit of time, but it is useful for those who already own land.

Some courses ask each participant to research a plant species list. Such as windbreak species for cold temperate climates, medicinal herbs for cash crops, insectary plants, chicken forage species. etc. They may or may not make a presentation to the group. The lists are often included in final design reports.
This wide range of diversity in permaculture courses is good since there needs to be a wide range of options to fit the various learning styles, time frames, and bioregions of the people interested. The thing is that there is no one type of course which fits everybody. Students are different. Some thrive in a loose, hands-on, interative settings. Others prefer a more scientific, methodical curriculum. My teaching style incorporates elements of both. My courses start out with a clear schedule, but with room for flexibility. There are a fair amount of lectures, but there is also hands-on work, field trips and group-work periods. I stress the design teams aspect of the course so that people are applying design methodology and principles during the course.

The diversity of permaculture courses is one of the reasons the permaculture movement has grown and thrived. We actually need more diversity, not less. Back Top

Michael Pilarski

GUEST INSTRUCTORS:
Here are a few details on our guest instructors and what they'll be covering. Back Top

Michael Dolan. Michael is a graduate of the 1st Permaculture course in the Pacific Northwest in 1982 (Michael Pilarski also was a class grad). Dolan went on to establish Burnt Ridge Nursery near Onalaska, Washington. Burnt Ridge is now one of the premier permacuture plant nurseries. Dolan's site contains commercial plantings of many nut and fruit and multi-use trees on acres of ground. His property is one of the best permaculture models in the Pacific Northwest. Dolan will talk about what he has learned about overstory/understory interrelationships and establishing a nursery He will also give some propagation demonstrations. Back Top

Kirk Hanson. Small Forest Landowner Office, DNR. Kirk is a permaculture course grad who helped develop Wild Thyme farm as a permaculture site. For the past few years, Kirk has been working for the DNR putting out their small forest landowner newsletter. Currently he is helping run DNR's cost-sharing programs. Kirk is very knowledgeable about many aspects of forestry, restoration and permaculture. Kirk's themes include government cost-share programs. Sustainable forestry. Riparian agroforestry. Landowner cooperatives for marketing and management: case studies from around the US. Restoring clearcuts to diverse forests. Back Top

Brian Combs. Lost Creek Botanicals. Brian graduated from The Evergreen State College with an environmental degree. Lichenology and botany were key studies. Brian and his wife Rebecca have a medicinal tincture business. Brian is also a commercial wildcrafter, seed collector and restorationist. Brian will be showing us how to collect propagation material for hard-wood cuttings and live-staking. He'll lead us in a hands-on live-staking. Back Top

Michael Broili, Living Systems Design. Since getting his permaculture course degree, Broili has tackled a wide range of permaculture endeavors including natural building and native plant propagation. He will talk about his experiences with installing rooftop water collection and bog gardens in Seattle.
Neil Leonard is the horticulturist on staff at Raintree Nursery and has a landscaping business in the Seattle area. Neil has taught at permaculture courses in Colorado and Patagonia, Chile. He will help with our hands-on plant propagation and do a presentation on restoring energy flow through stone circles, medicine wheels, ceremony, sacred plantings, and learning to listen to the spirits of place. Back Top

Brian Hindman. Brian has been developing his urban permaculture homestead in Bellingham. He recently finished surveyor school and will show us some surveying and mapping skills. Back Top

Ty LaFay took his first permaculture course five years ago. He recently took a year-long permaculture training in New Zealand. He will share some of his learning with us and give a slide show of New Zealand permaculture. Back Top

Paul Horton runs the Energy Outreach Center in Olympia. Paul will join us for a panel on energy systems in permaculture. Back Top

John Henrikson. John is co-owner of Wild Thyme Farm. Wild Thyme Farm has been the site of much permaculture education over the last 10 years and has really increased its building facilities as a permaculture teaching center. One of John's goals is to make their forest into an arboretum for the world's temperate zone conifers. Besides conifer plantings, there has been extensive streambank restoration plantings,tree crops, fruits and a large permaculture garden. Marisha Auerbach has been the principle permaculture implementor there for past several years. Kirk Hason was for the period before that. Back Top

Gail Sullivan and Karen Nelson. Gail & Karen are the owners and developers of the Fertile Ground Guesthouse in Olympia. Their gardens and lot is one of the best urban permaculture sites. Back Top

Fungi Perfecti is one of the premier mushroom places on the planet at this time and owner Paul Stamets is one of the world's leaders in growing medicinal and edible mushrooms. He is soon releasing his latest book "Mycorrhizae Running" which is about using fungi for restoration. Paul is so busy that he will not be able to confirm whether he can meet us with us in person or whether another staff person will give us a tour until just before the course. Back Top

We still have several invitations out to other experienced people who may join us. Even though these people may only be with us for several hours to several days, it gives course participants an opportunity to make personal connections to this great group of plantspeople. Come and get connected with the permaculture network!