What happens when you’re all fired up with Hope, and you’ve gained just a little bit of Knowledge about regenerative design for your property? Well…we’ve all got some pretty silly stories from our own experience….
One of our team members, when she was just starting to read about Permaculture, was pretty sure that a rain barrel could help her reduce the stormwater entering the municipal sewage system from her property. Plus, it would provide her with water for garden irrigation, and eliminate that stubborn puddle that collected by her front porch! So she schlepped a rain barrel home, set it up, and waited for the next big storm….
…And there was that puddle again, overflowing down the sidewalk and into the storm drain. What the – what???
Truth is, we’ve all been there….and learned that while Hope and a little Knowledge are great for starters, when you want to alter the natural systems operating on your property, the key factor is having a PLAN! To paraphrase naturalist John Muir, “When you tug at a single thing in nature, you find it attached to the rest of the world.”
So when our teammate took her Permaculture Design Course with Verge, she found out that that stubborn puddle was actually coming from three separate sources in her backyard. And while a rain barrel could help somewhat, hers was in the wrong place to do any good!
Stories like this are one of the reasons why we asked 16 Permaculture experts to share their experience in PLANning regenerative properties on our recent Global Summit, Hope, Knowledge, and a Plan. And why we’ve gathered some of the best clips from the summit to give you insight, info, and inspiration on the stunning results you can achieve with a good Permaculture PLAN.
Take a look…
Most of us have experienced housing developments based on a planner’s arbitrary design…and the struggle involved in making our vision for such a property work, whether the land naturally supports it or not. Sound familiar?
With Permaculture, however, you start with observation, closely examining your property to see how all the pieces fit together. Where does energy enter in the form of sunlight, water, wind, and more? Where does that energy go? What plants are volunteering to grow, and where? What’s the condition of your soil – is it dry, depleted and eroded in one area, heavy wet clay in another?
All of these questions – and many more – are important to your PLAN! In Permaculture, you learn to consider your property’s characteristics, its strengths and weaknesses, alongside your own vision and the lifestyle you want to create – and then find out where they coincide or conflict. What are your big goals – what do you really want to achieve on your land? Do you want to build a microgreens business – a herb nursery – a garden retreat center – a passive solar B&B – a bison farm – or…………?
That is the framework on which your PLAN is built: a real-world understanding of what you and your land each want and need. Permaculture gives you the tools to assess whether your property can support your vision…and the design principles and practices for adapting or implementing your vision in a manner that restores the land and sequesters carbon while providing you with food, water, energy, shelter, and a secure livelihood.
Are you starting to imagine how you can create positive, smart, regenerative change on your property? Just click HERE to take your first step and learn more.
Thank you for taking the time to watch the video we’ve embedded and for reading this article.
If you want to be the first to know when we post future articles, host events, or launch courses, consider signing up for our newsletter by clicking HERE.
Yours Truly,
The Team at Verge
