Diving Into Permaculture Design.

The lead instructor for the Verge PDC, Carmen has had a varied career, working for the Alberta government in the fields of sustainable resource management, forestry and privately in silviculture, soils and horticulture. As founder and owner of Calgary’s URBAN FARM SCHOOL, as well as the Urban Farm Permaculture Project, she is dedicated to helping emerging gardeners and permaculture enthusiasts gain the freedom, confidence and skills they need to live more abundant, sustainable and resilient lives. Having grown food organically for over 4 decades, Carmen gets excited about helping others cultivate great food, and in turn, great selves.  (Verge PDC Grad 2013)

After pursuing international training and certifications in renewable energy and regenerative design Rob, along with his wife and business partner Michelle, began Verge Permaculture, now a globally-recognized and award-winning design, consulting, and education company. In the last decade, he has helped more than 3000 students and hundreds of clients to design and/or create integrated systems for shelter, energy, water, waste and food, all while supporting local economy and regenerating the land.

Initially an architectural graduate, Jen first heard of permaculture on a trip to Sierra Leone with Earthship Biotecture in 2011, but wasn’t formally introduced to it until she took a few introductory workshops with Jardins sans Frontières in Montreal. Everything seemed new yet was so basic; permaculture struck such a chord with Jen that she felt like her brain was being rewired. After taking Verge’s Professional Development PDC with 1-on-1 mentoring, Jen moved away from architecture and interior design to launch Northbound Bloom where she designs edible and naturalized landscapes and acreages (Verge PDC Grad 2017).

Mitch comes to us with a BSc. in physical geography with a concentration in Earth Systems from the University of Victoria (BC, Canada), and an MSc. in physical geography (applied meteorology) from the University of Otago in New Zealand where he researched the utilization of machine learning for frost prediction in complex terrain, and the controlling meteorological variables of frost events.

Mitch helps out with the Essential Rainwater Harvesting Course, Passive Solar Greenhouse Course, is the product manager of Contour Map Generator, teaches the climate & mapping section of our Online Permaculture Design Course, and leading the event planning for our summits & conferences.

In his spare time you can catch him working on the endless amounts projects at Moose’s Groovy Grove, reading, developing frost forecasting models (amongst other data science projects), running around or cycling, dipping in some cold water, going for walks with his and Madi’s growing family of animals, or working on his latest funky sauerkraut recipe (Verge PDC Grad 2021)

Rob and Michelle left the oil and gas industry in 2008 to launch Verge Permaculture and Adaptive Habitat. Leveraging 20 years of combined experience in engineering, project management, ecological design, and sustainable technologies, Rob and Michelle recently left their urban home in Calgary and are currently developing their dream homestead in Central Alberta.

Mark Krawczyk is an applied ecologist, educator, and grower with a background in permaculture design, agroforestry, natural building, traditional woodworking, and small-scale forestry. He co-owns and operates Keyline Vermont LLC, teaching, designing, and consulting for farmers, homeowners, and homesteaders.  Since 2008, Mark has taught over 30 Permaculture Design Courses and been a specialist guest instructor in dozens more.  He holds Diplomas in Permaculture Design and Education from the Permaculture Institute of North America.  He and his wife also co-manage Valley Clayplain Forest Farm – 52 acres of field and forest in New Haven, Vermont, USA.

Dan Chiras is a long-time practitioner of self-sufficiency and sustainability. He lives on a 60-acre, solar- and wind-powered farm where he and his wife have dedicated their lives to living by the principles and practices of Permaculture. Dan has published 40 books and hundreds of articles that cover a wide range of topics focused largely on self-sufficiency and sustainability. Dan’s most popular books are The Solar House, The Natural House, The Homeowner’s Guide to Renewable Energy, Power from the Sun, and Solar Electricity Basics. His most recent titles are The Chinese Greenhouse and Grow Beets in Your Bedroom, a guide on indoor LED gardening.

Alain has spent the last decade working on local food projects, delivering school garden programs and developing community-based permaculture in the Seaway Valley of Eastern Ontario.

He and his family have since settled on a new rural homestead where they have designed and built a simple home and are developing their 10-acre parcel using the Building Your Permaculture Property process.

When he isn’t farming or collaborating on projects, he can usually be found in the kitchen preparing nutrient dense meals or paddling down a river somewhere. 

Becky is the co-owner of Stone Post Farms in Wildwood, Alberta where they farm ethically, to produce nutrient dense food using ethical and regenerative farming practices that are both economically viable and sustainable for future generations.

Becky comes from southeastern B.C., where she was raised in a small rural community and was heavily involved in the family trail riding business. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in geography and GIS. She has a diverse work portfolio including experience in precision agriculture, soil surveying, sampling and reclamation, rural municipal, wellsite and pipeline survey and drafting, and pipeline risk assessment. She currently works full time as a resource analyst doing modeling and analytics in the natural resource analyst, primarily in the forestry industry.

Paul Izak was born and raised on the Hawaiian Islands and currently lives it up on the Island of Oahu.  Paul has been discovering his own voice and unique sound as a singer/songwriter since 2004.  During 2005-2013, Paul was the lead singer/harmonica/percussion player for local Hawaiian reggae band Pressure Drop, winners of the Mai Tai Rumble in 2010. Paul’s full length albums include, Peaceful Words (2010), Seeds of Love (2011), Everlasting Light (2013), Campfire Anthems (2013), Back to the Roots (2017).

His love for music continues to grow, just like his garden. Representing a healthy and simplistic life, Paul is a believer in honoring yourself as an individual so that you may better contribute to your community through healthy sustainable practices. This is the message you get through Paul’s music, as he practices what he preaches.

Lindsay Brandon is a permaculture designer and farmer located in southern Alberta.  She is co-founder of Conjunction Gardens and owner of Food Forest Canada.  At Conjunction her and her partner farm 2 acres vegetable garden and are currently doing research and development with hemp fibre and grain.

After her studies with Verge Permaculture, he career in food forest design was instantly catapulted working with Food Forest Abundance out of the USA where she currently manages a team of designers and designs food forests all over the US and Canada. She is currently studying soil microbiology to have a greater understanding of the foundation of where life begins and how we can amend and harmonize our relationship to the earth and ultimately ourselves.

Jessica Robertson is Owner, Designer, and Head Grunt at Wild Craft Permaculture and a Lead Designer at United Designers International. 

Jessica has designed holistic permaculture systems for spaces from 200 sq. ft. to 200-acres and works on residential, commercial and public projects. She is often involved in the implementation of these designs and enjoys sharing her knowledge with clients as they work alongside each other. She brings a background in biology, education, silviculture and urban planning to her work. She enjoys playing outside bare foot with her three children in whatever wild spaces they can find around London, Ontario. (Verge PDC Grad 2010)