A Year at the Regenerative Design Institite (RDI)
It's hard to believe that the yearlong Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) program I signed up for at the Regenerative Design Institute has already come to an end. I initially thought I would blog about the program after each of our monthly classes, but instead, I've put together a visual overview of my year in the program, with beautiful photos from fellow classmate Kelly Stenhoff.
Here are some highlights of the projects we tackled and observed over the year. Enjoy!
Sheet mulching with cardboard and wood chips to suppress weeds and enrich the soil.
Building a big, stinky compost pile with biodynamic treatments, led by one of our wise leaders, Lydia Neilsen.
Planting cover crops from seed
Sharing many delicious potluck lunches
Water catchment and filtration systems
Measuring on contour using a level (made out of sticks and a rock) and digging a swale, in order to...
"teach water to walk."
Practicing triangulation for mapping
Greywater treatment systems
Natural building with Penny Livingston, our inspiring leader
Animal tracking (that's poop).
Our program culminated in group projects, which for me meant developing a co-housing permaculture community in Woodacre (West Marin). Chris and Denis (below) are neighbors, and the adjacent house was for sale, so we dreamt big!
All in all, it was a transformative journey. While most PDCs are 2-3 week intensives, I loved the gradual, seasons-based approach of this program. We learned so much each month, I needed at least that long for each jam-packed Saturday to sink in. Plus it was a great way for to build community. Babies were born, family members passed away, and the whole messy cycle of life spilled out before us. I can't think of a better way to be introduced to the ideals of permaculture, and although my knowledge of it still feels more conceptual than practical, the end of the program feels like the beginning of something much bigger....
Stay tuned!
Here are some highlights of the projects we tackled and observed over the year. Enjoy!
Sheet mulching with cardboard and wood chips to suppress weeds and enrich the soil.
Building a big, stinky compost pile with biodynamic treatments, led by one of our wise leaders, Lydia Neilsen.
Planting cover crops from seed
Sharing many delicious potluck lunches
Water catchment and filtration systems
Measuring on contour using a level (made out of sticks and a rock) and digging a swale, in order to...
"teach water to walk."
Practicing triangulation for mapping
Greywater treatment systems
Natural building with Penny Livingston, our inspiring leader
Animal tracking (that's poop).
Our program culminated in group projects, which for me meant developing a co-housing permaculture community in Woodacre (West Marin). Chris and Denis (below) are neighbors, and the adjacent house was for sale, so we dreamt big!
All in all, it was a transformative journey. While most PDCs are 2-3 week intensives, I loved the gradual, seasons-based approach of this program. We learned so much each month, I needed at least that long for each jam-packed Saturday to sink in. Plus it was a great way for to build community. Babies were born, family members passed away, and the whole messy cycle of life spilled out before us. I can't think of a better way to be introduced to the ideals of permaculture, and although my knowledge of it still feels more conceptual than practical, the end of the program feels like the beginning of something much bigger....
Stay tuned!
This is so inspiring!
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