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.

Meeting on Thursday, August 12

We are meeting at the picnic pavilion in Reservoir Park at 7:00 pm, then going over to the greenhouse and cold frames nearby. We have access to the greenhouse and cold frames and will start gardening as soon as possible! Let's find out what cold-tolerant plants we can put in the cold frames. But to get you started in your search, here is a website that lists some we might use: cold tolerant veggies.

Once the cold weather settles in, we can cover the beds with heavy plastic, held up with bent bamboo poles and clothes pins. We should be able to garden year-round!

Our next meeting....

Transition Harrisburg will be gathering at Ngozi Studio, next Thursday, July 29, from 7 to 8 pm.

Because of the number of people interested in moving Harrisburg towards sustainability, we are now meeting every two weeks instead of once a month. As we keep meeting and forming actions, groups and ideas, we will create a local movement away from "business as usual" to a more healthy and interdependent community.

With Transition Harrisburg acting as a "hub" for the greater Harrisburg area, we work together, forming coalitions with other groups and individuals who are also working to bring their lives more in tune with the planet's natural systems.

Ngozi Studio is located at 933 Rose Street, Harrisburg, PA 17102. Phone 717-343-6881. Ngozi is located behind Messiah Lutheran Church. It is a small warehouse with green trim. Come in the door and follow the signs.

Skill Share Volunteers Needed!

Do you bake a great loaf of bread, repair bikes in your spare time, brew your own beer, experiment with solar power, or have some other interesting skill you think others should know so we can build a more resilient future? Then we are interested in you and you are invited to take part in our skill share series.

Post a comment below, or email me, and let us know what you would like to teach. Someone will be in touch to coordinate with you as we set dates for these events.

Thanks!

Scott
scott@earthtoeats.com

Thank you!

Thank you to everyone who contributed so much wonderful enthusiasm to our first public Transition Harrisburg meeting at The Midtown Scholar! With your knowledge and energy, we can really bring meaningful changes to the area!

It looks like we are leaning toward Thursday, July 15 for our next meeting. How does that work for everyone?

There is a lot of energy in the group around local currency, time banking and local food. How do you want to approach these issues? Would you like to break into smaller working groups, each one focusing on one of these three issues? How would you like to incorporate new members into the flow of meetings?

Please invite to the next meeting others who are interested in moving Harrisburg toward a more sustainable community.

Welcome to Transition Harrisburg!

Transition Harrisburg is working to raise awareness about our changing energy and climate future.

That future requires solutions.

That future requires action.

That future requires you.

Want to help?

Our first event is Thursday, June 24th, 2010, at The Midtown Scholar, from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm, up in the upstairs gallery/community meeting space.

Let's get to know one another and the actions we can take to make Harrisburg a more sustainable community. Some topics might be: growing our own food, barter/time banking, local economy/money, community gardens.... we are seeking community-guided solutions--this means your involvement is essential!

The Midtown Scholar is located at 1302 North 3rd Street, Harrisburg, PA 17102. (717) 236-1680