Description
The Summer 2024 Permaculture Design Course will be taught as three 3-day weekend sessions. Locations across Kansas include: Great Bend, Circle 7 by Fuller Farms in Severy, and Lawrence.
May 17-19, June 14-16, and June 28-30, 2024
The Summer 2024 PDC is open to students and community members! Students seeking course credit should enroll through the University of Kansas or KSU’s Global Campus.
Students completing this course will be able to:
- Describe the challenges facing our current economic and agricultural systems and how permaculture principles provide sustainable solutions.
- Understand how permaculture ethics and principles guide sustainable agriculture systems design.
- Apply the systems of permaculture design to solve problems in real-world situations from conceptual frameworks through installation and maintenance.
- Explain the dynamics of biologically rich and diverse soils, soil development and conservation, and why healthy soil is vital to a sustainable food system.
- Plant perennial polyculture systems from no-till raised bed gardens to cultivation of food forests. Understand how to maintain a perennial food production system.
- Create landscapes that harvest water, influence microclimates, and build soil structure.
- Embrace energy-efficient approaches to building construction, energy conservation, renewable energy sources, and resource utilization.
- Utilize livestock to improve soil structure and biodiversity in dry climates.
- Recognize invisible structures and social systems that create the fabric of our lives and communities.
Preparations
- Students should bring a notebook and writing utensils.
- It will be helpful to have colored pencils, but some will also be provided for the design sessions
- If the student has a laptop or tablet that they would like to use, that is also welcome
- We will talk about a few different software packages for creating professional-looking designs, and having access to google earth to work on their personal project will be helpful but not required