We’re pleased to introduce our courses for 2010. Please scroll down for more details on each one.

PART-TIME PERMACULTURE DESIGN CERTIFICATE (PDC)
INTRODUCTION TO PERMACULTURE
FOOD FOREST COURSE
URBAN DROUGHT-PROOFING COURSE
PRACTICAL PERMACULTURE COURSE

PART-TIME PERMACULTURE DESIGN CERTIFICATE (PDC)

Come and learn how to design efficient and productive permaculture systems and get your hands in the dirt learning practical skills too, PART TIME OVER EIGHT WEEKS. Having worked alongside a number of Australia’s top permaculture teachers, we recognise there are many ways the permaculture concept can be presented. Our aim is for our participants to leave our course empowered and with a solid understanding of the Permaculture design process. We’ve taken what we consider to be the best elements of each approach and have come up with what our students agree is an excellent course.

“In my life, I have done so many courses for my job and for my own interest (and have spent over 21 years in schools and universities). This is the best course I have ever done – in terms of subject matter, content, delivery methods, relevance and practical use. I am so glad I did it.” – Mary-Ann, law firm partner

Most of us learn best when we actually ‘do’ something. During our course, as well as the valuable time spent in the classroom sharing our wide range of knowledge and experience, we place a lot of emphasis on practice. To anchor their learning, our participants complete two designs and a number of smaller design exercises, with plenty of feedback and opportunity to learn from our experience. We also spend plenty of time out in the garden learning a range of the skills that are needed to put it all into action.

PART-TIME BENEFITS: The part-time PDC format has proved a great success with past students. Firstly, many people have busy schedules and family lives, and find it very difficult to take two weeks off to do an intensive, residential course. For these people, the part-time format works beautifully.

There’s so much great material covered in a PDC that unfortunately, during an intensive, residential course, many people can experience information overload. The part-time format on the other hand allows time for participants to reflect and absorb the information during the week, and to delve further into each topic through the recommended reading list and resources we provide. Many past students have also gone home and put into practice what we covered during the week in their own gardens. They can then come back with any questions or for further detail the following week.

We’ve set this course up with four full weekends to cover some dense topics, and four Saturdays only, to give particpants a day off before heading back to work on Monday.

Sessions include:

• Permaculture principles and how to approach a design
• Creating healthy, living, balanced soils
• Wholistic drought-proofing strategies
• Intensive food and herb gardens
• Orchard systems and food forests – Integrated animal systems – Energy efficient house design and retrofitting
• Strategies for building healthy communities
• Agroforestry
• Alternative and appropriate technology
• Finance
• Overseas aid and development

“He’s sharp, very articulate & passionate about what he’s teaching. The course has absolutely exceeded my expectations. Good mix with hands on, planting vegie patch, hot compost, cold compost, compost teas, worms, building a compost heap, nutrient cycles, soil food web, rockdust, food forests, swales, water harvesting techniques, grey water mulch pits, orchard management, pruning, grafting, green mulch, cuttings, seed saving… complemented with detailed tuition which is accessible. (Detailed notes & book refs for further reading also provided.) His teaching is peppered with examples from his experiences working alongside Bill Mollison & Geoff Lawton & others who he’s sought out to learn as much as he can from their expertise.” – Milica, PDC participant, March 2009

WHEN: September 25-26, October 3, 10, 16-17, 24, November 7, 13-14, 20-21.
WHERE: Mulloon Creek Natural Farms, 3585 Kings Hwy; 11km past Bungendore towards Braidwood
COST: $1760. Includes morning and afternoon tea, lunch, and extensive course notes. Breakfast, dinner and accommodation are left to you to arrange as you like. A non-refundable $300 deposit is required at the time of the booking. The balance of $1460 is due at least one week prior to the course start date. Course fee payable via direct bank deposit, credit card or cheque. Click here for registration form.
NB: Phone 1800 087 670 to see if you are eligible for this fee to be subsidised under the FarmReady Scheme; quote course # FRTC00382.
ACCOMODATION:
Bungendore: 20 minute drive from MCNF. Book directly with hotels. Prices will vary depending on the season; call for current tariffs. -The Old Stone House: 02 6238 1888. From $150p/n B&B -The Carrington of Bungendore: 02 6238 1044. From $75p/n -The Royal Hotel: 02 6238 1219. From $45p/n (shared bathrooms) -Lake George Hotel: 02 6238 1260. From $77p/n Braidwood: 25 minute drive from MCNF. Book directly with hotels. -Doncasteer Small Luxury Hotel: 02 4842 2356 -Braidwood B&B: 0400 673 461 Shearing Shed or Camping: BYO tent, or bunk in the very “authentic” shearing shed on MCNF (basic cooking, lounging, living and abluting facilities – simple but a lot of fun! $200.
Times: Classes are 8.30am to 5.30pm, daily.
CONTACT: For information about the course please contact cam@forestedgepermaculture.com or call 0438 594 562. Learn more about Cam at www.forestedgepermaculture.com For information about booking, accommodation, directions or anything else to do with the venue contact donna@mullooncreeknaturalfarms.com or call 0413 535 957.

Click here to see what past students have said.

INTRODUCTION TO PERMACULTURE

Learn the principles behind permaculture design and how to apply it on any scale, from broadacre farming to an urban block, in order to increase the productivity and resilience of your land or garden, reduce your energy consumption, improve your soils and save water. Plenty of hands-on practical workshops are included, covering Food Forests, soil improvement, water harvesting techniques and composting. Take home the principles of smart design and the skills to apply it!

“The Introduction to Permaculture was a great mix of learning the theory/principles and then going outside and applying it. There was plenty of interactive discussion, group tasks and practical demonstrations. I saw and helped create hands-on examples of resourceful water capture, management and use in the backyard garden. As a group we planned out a property for self-sustainability; for food, fruit, animals and water. The Mulloon Creek Natural Farm is an excellent site where we could see permaculture in action, including Cam’s “work-in-progress” living example of self-sustainability in a Yurt and his developing permaculture garden site.” – Katrina, Introduction to Permaculture course participant, April 2010

WHEN: TBA
WHERE: Mulloon Creek Natural Farms, 3585 Kings Hwy; 11km past Bungendore towards Braidwood
COST: $330 incl GST. Includes morning and afternoon tea, lunch and course notes.
CONTACT: donna@mullooncreeknaturalfarms.com or 0413 535 957

FOOD FOREST COURSE

WHAT IS A FOOD FOREST? A food forest mimics the pattern of a natural woodland, but fills each niche with edible plants with fruit trees in the canopy, berries in the understorey and herbs for groundcovers.

Fragrant flowers and herbs attract beneficial insects for pollination and pest control; a lily pond with a bench resting beside it is part of a whole hidden network of water soakages; a path meanders through the forest, edged with strawberries here and lemon verbena there, past a bush laden with glossy blackberries, carpeted with the pink blossoms of a cherry tree preparing to fruit.

A stunningly beautiful and densely productive way to grow food in a small area.

THE COURSE: Over a weekend, we design and implement a full food forest system. The course includes drought-proofing practices and various techniques for effective water harvesting, how to manage the Forest through time; practical skills from cutting and joining pipe to improving soil through using compost teas, rock minerals and nutrient-accumulating companion plants, just to name a few. A weekend packed with practical information around a solid permaculture design framework that you can take home to adapt to your own garden. And lots of fun on the way!

WHEN: June 19-20
WHERE: The Yurt, Mulloon Creek Natural Farms, 11km past Bungendore towards Braidwood on the Kings Hwy.
COST: $275 incl GST. Includes morning and afternoon tea, lunch and course notes.
CONTACT: cam@forestedgepermaculture.com or 0438 594 562
NB: If you are keen to plant a Food Forest in your own garden, contact us about doing so as part of a course to reduce costs for yourself and enjoy help and a fun weekend in setting it up. Winter is best to plant fruit trees while they’re dormant; contact us today to discuss options and book in a time that suits you.

URBAN DROUGHT-PROOFING COURSE

When most people think of water harvesting in the city, they think of tanks. What they don’t realise is that they are standing right on top of a huge water storage – the soil.

Run over a weekend, this course covers both the design theory behind effective drought-proofing and water harvesting as well as plenty of practical skills such as ways to improve soil (and enhance water retention), how to cut and join pipes and set up irrigation, how to infiltrate water using subtle earthworks, and various greywater systems.

We utilise the design principles of permaculture, which have been tried and tested for the past 30 years in every climate across the globe, including the deserts of Jordan where in one project mushrooms began to grow in the moist conditions created (see the Greening the Desert video, www.pri.org.au).

WHEN: TBA
WHERE: TBA
COST: TBA, approx. $330. Will include morning and afternoon tea, lunch and course notes.
CONTACT: cam@forestedgepermaculture.com or 0438 594 562

PRACTICAL PERMACULTURE COURSE

We developed this course as a way to grow people’s knowledge and skills and get lush, abundant and practical gardens happening more quickly and designed smarter!

Rather than a one-on-one design and implementation for a client, we open up the design process and practical implementation skills as a course, covering the design principles that make permaculture gardens so resilient and productive and the practical skills to improve soil, maximise water usage, and utilise animals within the system. Each design will be different as appropriate to the client’s desires and as such different skills will be covered in the course; each course will be advertised as they arise outlining what aspects will be included.

The course will be packed with practical information around a solid permaculture design framework that you can take home to adapt to your own garden, and lots of fun on the way!

WHEN: TBA
WHERE: TBA
CONTACT: cam@forestedgepermaculture.com or 0438 594 562
NB: If you are keen to have a professional design done for your own garden, contact us about doing so as part of a course to reduce costs for yourself and enjoy help and a fun few weekends in implementing the design. Contact us to discuss some options.