Competition winner shares her story.

Dorothy Allen, Permaculture Association member

This month, Permaculture Association member Dorothy Allen won our prize draw as part of a campaign to encourage people to share the benefits of permaculture, and the work of the Permaculture Association, with their friends and relatives. Dorothy won a Cafe Direct hamper, kindly provided by Ecotricity.

I heard the word permaculture about 25 years ago and have been inspired ever since; for me it's a way of life. 

Recently, instead of throwing our kids trampoline out after years of fun, we decided to make it into a polytunnel, for even more fun, this winter enjoying veg and salad through the colder months.

I have no lawn left in my garden, well, a wee bit around the kids swing! Over the years I've turned it into an edible garden with lots of perennial fruiting trees and bushes, perennial veg and herbs, growing plants that are useful and beneficial for the wildlife too, leaving the annuals for a garden share plot I have on the other side of the town. 

Family, friends and neighbours all enjoy the garden and the food that comes out of it which is important to me sharing the produce propagating plants for them inspiring them to find a patch in their own garden to grow some of the food they eat working with nature making bug homes looking after and enjoying the space we live in. - Dorothy Allen, Permaculture Association member 

Dorothy's trampoline polytunnel

For more inventive techniques, practical solutions and productive ways to re-use and re-cycle, like Dorothy's trampoline polytunnel, why not check out and contribute to the Permaculture Association's Knowledge Base? 

Not yet a member? Join the network today.

Just two weeks to book your tickets and enjoy a fantastic weekend of workshops and entertainment!

There's just two weeks to go before the UK Permaculture Convergence - don't miss out! Book your tickets today in order to enjoy a weekend of fantastic workshops such as: 

• Chris Evans: Permaculture in the Himalayas
• Hannah Thorogood: Regenerative Agriculture at the Inkpot
• Graham Burnett: Vegan Permaculture
• Deano Martin: Designing Grain Polycultures for Food, Fertility and Fun
• Wilf Richards & Alan Charlton: Bridging the Gap Between the PDC and Diploma
• Jan Martin: Diploma Accrediation Presentation
• Chris Warburton-Brown: An evening Woodland Bat Walk
• Andy Goldring: Let's Get Enterprising. We are good ecologists, Andy argues we need to be great economists too
• Aranya: Your smartphone as a design tool
• Pippa Chapman: Designing polycultures
• Jo Barker: Foraging - a permaculture way  

Full list and draft programme here...

Why not make a week of it and take advantage of a new course taking place on the same site, Gilwell Park, during the week before the convergence: 

7 Ways To Think Differently - a new course and a new book by Looby Macnamara (author of People and Permaculture)

"The thoughts and actions of people past and present have determined the current state of our planet. If we change our thinking, we can change the health of our own lives, and also the future state of our world."

Join Looby, Peter Cow and Kerry Lane for an imaginative and playful adventure into shifting our own thinking to support a thriving present and future for ourselves and humanity.

8^th – 12 Sept (just before the UK convergence at the same site)

www.designedvisions.com

Please phone 01981 540121 to book onto this course.

Click here for a complete list of workshops on offer during the UK Permaculture Convergence.
Don't miss out - book your tickets today!

New members tell us how permaculture inspires them

by Nicola, Membership Coordinator

This month we got in touch with new members to ask them what it is about permaculture that inspires them, and what they hope to gain from Permaculture Association membership. New members Jenny Goldsmith and Alma Carey-Zuniga sent us their views. Here's Jenny:

What inspires me about permaculture is the inspiration it provides for people thinking up innovative solutions to live sustainably - such as people like me, a typical urban dweller with a very small garden.

New member Jenny Goldsmith

Here's a photo of my garden in full flow this year (8 by 5 metres) where I have applied principles like forest gardening and polyculture to grow all sorts of veg and fruit - I even have a mini orchard of apple trees. Not to mention my compost heap, wood shed for wood burner stove, bike shed, clothes line - its amazing what you can get in a small space. 

Jenny's beautiful urban garden - abundance in a small space!

Since I completed my PDC in June, I keep seeing permaculture opportunities everywhere, and am now contemplating whether I have time to fit in a permaculture diploma.

Thanks very much, keep up the good work spreading the word! - Jenny Goldsmith

Thanks Jenny! We definitely think you should consider the Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design. Its the next step after the Permaculture Design Course, and with over 350 apprentices and 30 tutors across Britain, its a vibrant network that will help you put your permaculture theory into practice and develop a range of new skills. With a minimum of two years to complete, and no restrictions how long to spend developing your designs, there's no pressure as to how much time it takes you to accredit.


We asked new member Alma Carey-Zuniga what inspired her to join the Association this year:

I am delighted to be welcomed so nicely into the Permaculature Association!

I joined up looking for people who want to share ideas and experiences related to making lifestyle changes within the bounds of existing legal guidelines. Current building (planning) regulations and food production standards are geared toward perpetuating over-processed and long-term unsustainable lifestyle choices -- yet, if there is any hope for change, it must come from within our current constraints -- which is why groups like this one are some of our most vital contemporary cultural resources. Within groups like this, we can learn from experience, theorise without risk of censorship, and experiment in a manner that can be documented, so that when things work well, our findings are not dismissed - Alma Carey-Zuniga

Building a strong evidence base for permaculture and improving permaculture practice are the key aims of the Permaculture Association's Research team.

We encourage members to get involved with research by participating in our research projects and trials, volunteering as a research assistant, sharing their own research or making a donation - find out more here!

Want to let others know what inspires you about permaculture, and what you hope to gain from your Permaculture Association membership? Get in touch; send your quotes and photos to Nicola

Join the Permaculture Association today and join a network of people using permaculture to change their world - www.permaculture.org.uk