[Pil-pc-oceania] formal training

[penny pyett]

I am just marking designs from my latest 36 hour introductory permaculture 
course I teach at Ryde TAFE and am always reminded of how professional they 
are. Most of these students have had no or little horticulture or landscape 
design training and most have little confidence at the beginning of the 
course in their abilities to draw let alone design. The landscape diploma 
teachers find it hard to distinguish between the quality of the pc designs 
and the four year landscape diploma designs. The difference of course is 
that the pc designs include veggies, swales, chooks, composting systems and 
fruit & nut trees (not in the landscape course plant species lists or 
curriculum) and ours are productive, diverse and sustainable.

Whilst I guess it doesn't do any harm, if you've got the time and money, Im 
not convinced people need a three or four year formal qualification to 
produce sustainable landscape designs of high quality.  When it comes to 
construction, I would like to see more mentoring and apprenticeship systems 
in permaculture practices with skilled permaculture practitioners taking 
trainees under their wing for a period. I think its important people don't 
feel they are out their on their own after the courses are finished.

You often learn more, more quickly when your doing it on the job so to 
speak, especially alongside someone whose done it many times before, and of 
course after you've got those basic design skills and theory you get from 
quality intro and pdc courses.

Penny




Penny Pyett President 2007
Permaculture North Inc.
(02) 9888 2575 or 1300 887 145
"mail to: president at permaculturenorth.org.au"

Sharing sustainable solutions with communities.

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