20 years of permaculture in the Kootenays
By Nelson Daily Staff
This spring, Kootenay Permaculture is celebrating 20 years of Permaculture in the Kootenays and across Canada.
An Introduction to Permaculture workshop is offered at the Silver King Campus in Nelson, March 12-13 (Participants also have the option to attend just the first day, Saturday, March 12th).
During the workshop the instructor Gregoire Lamoureux will cover the principles of Permaculture design and the different techniques that can be used on your land or on your small urban backyard.
The instructor’s knowledge and experience with local plants and with edible plants that are well adapted to the climate of the region will guide the participants in their choices of plants for their landscape.
This year, Kootenay Permaculture, in partnership with Selkirk College, is offering for the first time a six-week (full-time) Permaculture Training Program March 28–May 5.
The training will be offered at the Silver King Campus in Nelson. Some funding to help cover the tuition fee might be available to eligible participants.
The Permaculture Training Program will cover many aspects of Permaculture design, organic agriculture, ecological restoration, green building, etc. It will include many hands-on activities and interact with existing projects in and around Nelson.
The participants will also work on a Permaculture design for a property in Nelson. After completing the Training, the participants will have gained the skills and knowledge to help them find work or create their own business in horticulture or agriculture-related work.
Permaculture is the conscious use of ecological principles in designing self-sustaining food, fibre and energy producing ecosystems.
The idea is to set up sustainable systems that work with nature — using a diverse number of species and activities, interdependence, recycling and conservation — with perennial plants to produce a stable and self-reliant dynamic system.
Permaculture is a holistic approach to land-use planning. Permaculture design evolved through the observation of natural ecosystems that are usually abundant, resilient and often very diverse in species and in the relationship between species.
You can create an abundance and diversity of food in your own backyard by using Permaculture design principles and techniques while using only a small amount of energy, resources and time to implement and maintain the design.
Permaculture systems can be developed in any climate and on any scale. Some Permaculture designs have been implemented across Canada and around the world for balconies, urban backyards, small farms, and for entire village or urban communities.
The instructor Gregoire Lamoureux has been living in the West Kootenay for over 20 years and is one of the most experienced Permaculture teachers in Canada. His work experience includes market gardening, greenhouse production, orcharding, ecological land restoration, landscaping and forestry work.
Guest speakers with diverse experience in ecological and sustainable living will assist him during the Permaculture Training Program.
Some of the topics covered during the course will include: permaculture principles and techniques, site analysis, soil fertility, organic gardening, edible landscaping, fruit and nut trees, agroforestry, microclimate, water uses, forest ecosystems, land restoration, ecological building, and urban permaculture.
Selkirk College and Kootenay Permaculture will also be offering the 10th annual Permaculture Design Course in Winlaw, May 15-28 (13-day course).
The summer course has been scheduled for August 14-27.
To register call Selkirk College, in Nelson at 250.352.6601
For more information, please call Kootenay Permaculture at 226-7302 or email spiralfarm@yahoo.com
Website: http://www3.telus.net/permaculture
