New Permaculture (and related) Classes Coming This Fall

1.

Introduction to Beyond Organic

Presented by Brandon and Abby of Susquehanna Farm School

Wednesday August 1st, 6 - 8pm

at Trails to Trees Environmental Center

$5 suggested donation

Please register by Sunday July 29th at theMyceliumCollective@gmail.com

Please refer to www.SusquehannaFarmSchool.org or www.theMyceliumCollective.org for class details and updates

Relying on scientifically proven organic methods such as Emelia Hazelip’s Synergistic Gardening and Masanobu Fukuoka’s Natural Farming, Brandon and Abby are growing all of their own food while rehabilitating conventional farm land into healthy ecosystems. Their homesteading practice is one of deep ecology.

Become captivated by your own possibilities as Brandon and Abby (Susquehanna Farm School) describe their experience in human powered agriculture, small scale grain growing, mushroom cultivation, water harvesting, wild and perennial food crops, and forest gardening.

*This is the first class accredited toward earning a permaculture design certification from the Mycelium Collective (www.theMyceliumCollective.org) at Trails to Trees Environmental Center.

2.

Grow Wild & Grow Connected: Abundant perennial foods outside of the garden fence and across the landscape!

2 Days! Saturday August 11th & Saturday August 25th

at Trails to Trees Environmental Center

Invite the wild into the garden and grow food outside of the fence.

Be resilient and sustainable! Grow and eat abundant perennial foods.

Forest gardening is the production of food, medicine, fuel, and fiber throughout all successional phases: from grasses to shrubland, then woodland, and followed by dense forest. We do this by understanding the properties and characteristics of each successional phase and by redefining what a yield is.

Led by natural farmer Brandon Tennis (Susquehanna Farm School) and hunter-gatherer Wilson Alvarez (the Rewilding School), along with special guests teachers. This 2 day intensive will explore the natural succession, vegetative layers, community niches, and the practical harvest of perennial foods, along with an overview of permaculture principles. *Two more great classes offered at Trails to Trees Environmental Center and accredited toward earning a permaculture design certification from the Mycelium Collective (www.theMyceliumCollective.org).

Grow Wild! The first of a two part class about abundant perennial foods.

Presented by natural farmer Brandon Tennis (Susquehanna Farm School)

and hunter-gatherer Wilson Alvarez (the Rewilding School), along with special

guest teachers.

Saturday August 11th, 9am - 5pm

at Trails to Trees Environmental Center

$50, some scholarships available

Please register by Sunday August 5th at theMyceliumCollective@gmail.com

Please refer to www.SusquehannaFarmSchool.org or www.theMyceliumCollective.org for class details and updates

Perennial foods for inside and outside of the garden! This permaculture design class will focus on succession and yields. We will take a close look at native and other perennial crops, the niche they fill, and their appropriate use. Largely focused on natural farming techniques, day 1 will focus on permaculture zones 1, 2, and 3... respectively, the home, the garden, and the immediate property.

*Another great class at Trails to Trees Environmental Center accredited toward earning a permaculture design certification from the Mycelium Collective.

Grow Connected! Part two of the two part series on abundant perennial foods.

Presented by natural farmer Brandon Tennis (Susquehanna Farm School)

and hunter-gatherer Wilson Alvarez (the Rewilding School).

Saturday August 25th, 9am - 5pm

at Trails to Trees Environmental Center

$50, some scholarships available

Please register by Sunday August 19th at theMyceliumCollective@gmail.com

Please refer to www.SusquehannaFarmSchool.org or www.theMyceliumCollective.org for class details and updates

Perennials foods across the landscape! This permaculture design class will focus on advanced ecosystems. We will take a close look at nature awareness, the rewilding process, and pattern recognition, as well as stewardship and techniques of rehabilitating semi-wild lands. Largely focused on forest gardening, day 2 will focus on permaculture zones 3, 4, and 5.... respectively, the commons, the woodlands, and the wild.

*Another great class at Trails to Trees Environmental Center accredited toward earning a permaculture design certification from the Mycelium Collective.

4.

Introduction to Permaculture: a core requisite class*

Presented by Brandon Tennis (Susquehanna Farm School), and other special   guests from the Mycelium Collective

Saturday September 15th, 10am - 3pm

at Trails to Trees Environmental Center

$20 - $15 sliding scale

Please register by Wednesday September 12th at theMyceliumCollective@gmail.com Please refer to www.SusquehannaFarmSchool.org or www.theMyceliumCollective.org

for class details and updates

Permaculture design is ecological design. It readily applies to homesteading, even urban and suburban homesteading. It also applies to agriculture, agro-forestry, community planning, nature awareness, and survival. It relies greatly on ecology, including social and spiritual ecology. And it hinges on every-day common application and practice. Permaculture works to mimic the patterns and functions of nature so that we can live, grow, and harvest our needs sustainably and according to ecology.

In this core requisite class you will hear a little of the history of permaculture, but more importantly, you will experience its guiding principles. Permaculture principles observed by co-founders Bill Mollison and Dave Holmgren can be applied to both environmental as well as social constructs.

Come hear how permaculture education is being revolutionized locally by BrandonTennis (Susquehanna Farm School), Wilson Alvarez (the Rewilding School), and the Mycelium Collective (a guild of local permaculture teachers). And learn how you can earn a permaculture design certification through classes and hands-on experience.

*This class is open to everyone, but is also a core requisite for earning a permaculture design certification from the Mycelium Collective (www.theMyceliumCollective.org).

5.

Ecological Play and Design: Elements of a Permaculture Design*

Presented by Brandon Tennis (Susquehanna Farm School), and other special guests from the Mycelium Collective

Saturday September 29th, 10am - 6pm

$50, scholarships available Please register by Wednesday September 26th at theMyceliumCollective@gmail.com

Please refer to www.SusquehannaFarmSchool.org or www.theMyceliumCollective.org for class details and updates

Nature observation, along with self awareness, is the heart of permaculture design.  Through simple observation, patterns in nature (including within ourselves) emerge to help guide the design of our homes and lives.

Come play with permaculture concepts in this hands-on class. You will experience the techniques of sensory awareness, base-mapping, site-assessment, and pattern recognition with both the mind and body... the skills needed to apply permaculture anywhere.

*This class is open to everyone, but is also a core requisite for earning a permaculture design certification from the Mycelium Collective (www.theMyceliumCollective.org).

6.

The Basics of Square Foot Gardening:  Making Gardening Accessible to those of us with Black Thumbs.

Presented by the Owners of Your Garden Solution.  Joe Manotti, a certified Square Foot Garden Trainer and Seppi Garrett, a Certified Permaculture Designer.

Saturday September 8th, 2012 from 10-11:30. 

Free, although donations are accepted (and can come in the form of home canned food :)

This class will go over the basics of SFG, a simple method of maximizing food production.  By the end of this class, you will have the knowledge needed to grow your food as you've never done before, regardless of the space you have.  Come join us for a fun filled morning that will motivate you for the upcoming growing season.  You may check out their website at www.yourgardensolution.org.

Let’s Get Dirty Certified Permaculture Course

NGOZI, Inc. in partnership with the Department of Parks, Recreation & Enrichment, the Mayor’s Health, Wellness and Recreation Initiative will host its first intensive (72) Seventy-two hour Certified Permaculture Design Course. The goal is to create and develop an urban agriculture institution using Permaculture as our guidelines.

Registration is now open for Let’s Get Dirty Certified Permaculture training, August 4, 2012 through October 20, 2012. This nine week intensive hands-on training and classroom presentations will be another method in re-skilling our community in health and wellness. Eight hours on Saturdays 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Twenty five various community members, students, teachers and at-risk youth will give up their weekends to study urban agriculture, recycling, waste management, land and water conservation and a whole lot more. A Graduation Ceremony will culminate the program with newly trained permaculture practitioners.

We are also seeking sponsorships to support our youth between the ages of 15-25. This age group is the most forgotten and committing most of the crimes in our communities, says Rafiyqa Muhammad who is the sustainability administrator for the Let’s Get Dirty certified program. The cost of re-skilling our youth is much cheaper per person than incarcerating them. These certified practitioners will be able to start their own green business or live a more sustainable life style. Using this type of program could help reduce unemployment rates, reduce crime, teach new skills, and provide valuable information on living a healthier life.

Benjamin Weiss is a certified permaculture teacher, designer and an organic farmer from Lancaster County. He will be facilitating all phases of the certified course. He has studied natural building & permaculture at The Farm Eco village Training Center in Tennessee, urban agriculture at Growing Power in Wisconsin, and received his permaculture teacher training at the Central Rocky Mountain Permaculture Institute in Colorado.

Reservoir Park, 19th & Whitehall Sts. in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17103 will be the main training location. Parking is available. Deadline for class registration is July 14, 2012.

Let’s Get Dirty Certified Permaculture Course Outline May Include:

August 4, 11, 18, 2012
  What is Permaculture
  Pattern Understanding and the Importance of Observation
  Concepts, Themes and Methods of Design
  Trees and their energy transactions
  Water and soils
September 1,8,15, 2012
  Earthworks and earth resources
  Various Climate Factors
  Gardening and Small Scale Farming Ideas in Permaculture
  The Humane Use of Animals in Permaculture Systems
  The Built Environment
October 6, 13, 20, 2012
  Strategies for Thinking Globally – Acting Locally
  Design Exercise for the Course
  Certification information & Ceremony
  Permaculture – continuing one’s education

Cost for Full-Certified Permaculture Course is $500.00 per person which includes training, certification, graduation ceremony, and educational materials. $65.00 per person, per course Non-certification is for those who cannot participate in the full nine weeks.

Current sponsorships include Capital Blue Cross, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Cultural Enrichment Fund. Payment plans are available, meals and transportation are own your own. For application or more information contact Rafiyqa Muhammad, Sustainability Administrator @ rafiyqam@aol.com or 717-343-6881.

Adolescent Mental Health Workshop

Finding Your Path to Wellness - Options and
Opportunities for Youth and Their Families
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Registration – 5 p.m.
Dinner – 5:30 p.m.
Program – 6 p.m.
Cost: Free (but you must RSVP)
Central Penn College
Conference Center
600 Valley Road
Summerdale, PA 17093
If you are an adolescent age 12-19 with a mental health concern, a caregiver for such an adolescent,
or a mental health provider, please join us for this workshop!
The second in a series of four community workshops, this event will feature a light dinner with a
keynote address from J. Lynn Taylor, M.D., a tenured associate professor in the Department of
Psychiatry at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center & College of Medicine. Dr. Taylor also
serves as the Director of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Penn State Hershey.
She works primarily at Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute’s N.E. Drive clinic, where she does family
therapy sessions as well as evaluations and medication checks.
For more information or to RSVP, please contact:
Susan Wokulich
phone: 724.4054
e-mail: swokulich@uwcr.org
Paula Henry
phone: 724.4057
e-mail: phenry@uwcr.org
OR
This workshop is sponsored by the following partner agencies:
• The Arc of Dauphin County
• Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Harrisburg, PA, Inc.
• Dauphin County Human Services
• Community Behavioral Healthcare Network of Pennsylvania
• Mental Health Association of the Capital Region
• Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute
• PinnacleHealth System
• Pressley Ridge
• United Way of the Capital Region

Two workshops coming up!

First week of February:

Hugelkultur is an ancient form of sheet composting developed in Eastern Europe. It uses woody wastes such as fallen logs and pruned branches in order to build soil fertility and improve drainage and moisture retention. (http://kerryg.hubpages.com/hub/Hugelkultur-Using-Woody-Waste-in-Composting)

Two (2) Hugelkultur workshops. All Workshops will start promptly at 11:00 am and run until 3:00 pm.

February 4, Saturday & Sunday 5, 2012 at Reservoir Park 20th & Whitehall Street. (Turn left @ stop sign, drive up hill into park) Allison Hill, Harrisburg, PA. 17103

Workshop fees: $20.00 per person. (4) four workshops $60.00 Check or money order to: Ngozi Inc. You may pay the day or workshop.

Can’t come but would like to sponsor a youth? Contact us for more information. All proceeds support Urban Agriculture Programs. 

Instructor: Rafiyqa Muhammad, Ngozi Inc., Eco Village Director

Third week of February:

Vermiculture is a fun and easy way to turn your food scraps into natural fertilizer for your indoor and outdoor plants and flowers. It is a way to speed up the composting process, and you can do it right in your home--and there is no odor!

This four-hour class is open to everyone! If you are 10 years old (or younger) you must have a legal guardian with you. Each person (or child & guardian pair) pays only $20, and you will take home a worm bin with worms and instruction book.

Expect to get dirty--we will be handling worms--so dress appropriately!

When: Saturday, February 18, 2012, from 11 am to 3 pm at The Boys & Girls Club, 1227 Berryhill Street, Harrisburg, PA 17104. Cost: $20.

Class size limited to 10 people (or child/guardian pairs), so call early to reserve your space!

Register by February 11, 2012 by contacting Rafiyqa at 717-343-6881, rafiyqam@aol.com OR Susan at 717- 805-3612, lunzie1@gmail.com.

Instructor: Susan Norris of Transition Harrisburg.