Permaculture

The new Byron Centre for Permaculture was officially launched at the Byron Community College’s outdoor campus by permaculture pioneer Robyn Francis of Permaculture Australia and Djangbung Gardens and Simon Richardson, Byron Shire Mayor.

As the leading provider of permaculture and sustainability courses and resources in the Northern Rivers, the success of the Byron Centre for Permaculture courses is evident within our community and across Australia by the many and inspiring student stories over the past seven years.

“It is really exciting to see the Permaculture Centre officially launch here in the Byron region and being a wonderful beacon for not only Northern Rivers but for the rest of the country” says Robyn Franics.

The appreciation that permaculture is more than just growing healthy nourishing food, but rather meeting all our social and environmental needs and responsibilities, including working together positively in our communities, was acknowledged by Simon Richardson.

“The community values of the programs and the examples of learning and its practical application can be seen here the centre’s thriving permaculture site within the Mullumbimby Community Gardens.’ says Simon.

“There have been some wonderful people come through the courses over the years. What gives me the greatest joy is seeing what people then go and do with that knowledge once they’re empowered with the solutions”, concludes Robyn.

Expanding on the vision for the new Centre and its next steps, Richard Vinycomb, Byron Community College Director says “Community and business participation and collaboration in permaculture projects and partnerships will be vital to our future work in the Northern Rivers. We welcome hearing from anyone who would like to jointly consider new ideas and proposals.”

www.byronpermaculture.org.au

AHC33816 CERTIFICATE III IN PERMACULTURE So you’ve heard a bit about permaculture but are keen to know more? Make like-minded friends in this highly practical course as you develop the skills to help make lives, homes and communities more sustainable. Be inspired by natural ecosystems, holistic philosophy, integrating organic farming, animal systems, natural building, food preservation, systems thinking, community development and more. This course is the ‘trade equivalent’ qualification that prepares you to work in a skilled and independent manner developing and operating permaculture systems. You will divide your time between the classroom and our specially designed outdoor site at the Mullumbimby Community Gardens for valuable hands-on experience. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 2 February – 27 October 2021 9am - 3.30pm

AHC42116 CERTIFICATE IV IN PERMACULTURE Do you want to grow your permaculture know-how right in the green heart of Northern NSW? A career in permaculture is richly rewarding, where you can immerse yourself in sustainable living and organic farming practices. You will learn about soil improvement, planning and implementing permaculture works, harvest and storage systems, seed bank management, approaches to sustainable community, bioregional development programs and more. Guided by our highly skilled, industry current trainers you will expand your personal and professional skills, acquiring the resilience to adapt to a rapidly changing world. The course will kick-off with a 3-day residential immersion experience at Djanbung Gardens in Nimbin - a purpose designed permaculture education centre and living learn-scape; campus of Permaculture College Australia, and home of Robyn Francis. Wednesday, 3 February (half day orientation); then Thursdays and Fridays, 4 February – 3 December 2021 9am - 3.30pm

PERMACULTURE DESIGN COURSE with Bunya Halasz, James Nash, Joey Venables, Sharon Gibson and Erin Young Follow your passion and immerse yourself in this Modular Permaculture Design Course held in the beautiful Byron Shire. In this hands-on course you will discover how Permaculture principles can develop resilient systems, contributing to environmental, social and personal well-being. Through gaining a clear understanding of these principles you will be able to apply them to your everyday life and surroundings – from a small home garden to commercial production. Learn how to design, build and maintain abundantly productive food gardens and human settlements with a deep reverence of nature’s patterns and cycles. Run over 14 days this course is designed in a modular format for flexible learning and can be completed over a period of up to 12 months. In order to receive the internationally recognized Permaculture Design Certificate you must complete all modules within this timeframe and then attend the final 3 days of the course and satisfactorily complete an Individual Permaculture Design Project. Fri, Sat & Sun, various dates between the 26 February to 13 June 9am - 5pm Concession: $1169 Full Fee: $1299

AHC30716 CERTIFICATE III IN HORTICULTURE Do you have a passion for plants, getting your hands dirty and the outdoor lifestyle? If the answer is yes, then a career in horticulture could be for you. This nationally recognised training will give you the skills required to enter this growing, thriving industry. During the course you will be guided by our highly skilled industry experts and divide time between the classroom and our purposefully designed site at the Mullumbimby Community Gardens for valuable hands-on experience. Once completed you will have the opportunity to work in nurseries, parks, gardens and sports fields in a variety of roles. Thursdays and Fridays, 11 February – 3 September 2021 9am - 4pm

BACKYARD FOOD PRODUCTION with Lauren O’Reilly and Angela Skehan Growing your own herbs, vegetables and fruit trees can be a rewarding and exciting experience. This course provides you with a mix of practical information and handson experience to achieve great results. During the course we will be planting and harvesting produce at the local Mullumbimby Community Gardens, giving you valuable tips and tricks for what grows well locally. And as a bonus you get to take home fresh, healthy veggies grown throughout the course. So, whether you have a small backyard or 1/4 acre block, this course can help you get the most out of your space. Come along, have some fun and get your hands dirty. Mondays, 8 February – 29 March 9:30am – 3:30pm or Thursdays, 11 February – 1 April 9:30am – 3:30pm Full Fee: $250 Subsidised Fee: $0 see p. 4 (additional resource fee of $80 for all enrolments)

Introducing Peter Critch

Student: Certificate III in Permaculture

As a co-founder and compost expert for Subpod, the Byron-based composting system start-up, I help people easily understand composting and gardening. The permaculture course I finished three years ago at the Byron Community College was the springboard to this role.

After finishing high school, I completed an Environmental Science degree and came out wanting to save the world. But I was naïve.

So I started looking into permaculture. I moved from Melbourne within two weeks of being accepted into the course. Knowing I’d be secure with Centrelink during the year allowed me to sink my teeth into something I’d been craving.

I admit I struggled for the first couple of months thinking: “I’m not learning enough” but what was really happening is that I was unlearning some of what I’d been taught. I was getting into my body rather than my mind. I was expecting it to be like university – heaps of homework and no direct guidance but the teachers showed so much care and the practical lessons at the community gardens were so great.

One of the best parts of the course were the other students, who had so much zest and life. Overall, there was a sense of tight community, guidance and care. One of the key things I learned was a sense of building connections. This fits perfectly with permaculture, as the term is a big umbrella connecting water, soil, air, design and more. I decided to focus on soil.

At the gardens, I met Joel Orchard, and he introduced me to the Soil Food Institute, where I did a course and internship. Then I went to Renew Fest. I was screaming ‘soil’ from the rooftop and Andrew Hayim De Vries, the inventor of Subpod, heard me. I followed him to Santos, where Subpod prototypes were set up. Since then, we’ve had two successful crowd funding campaigns and are very close to our goal of getting 20,000 people composting by 2020.

Adult education gives people hope and, like it has for me, can change lives. If you are thinking of enrolling in a course, I’d encourage you to pick up the phone to have a first conversation, as it’s not only about education but the people you meet along the way.

The college is like a web – the students, the teachers and the relationships. In life, that’s what gets work done. It’s from the sense of building connections that I developed during my permaculture course that I have this job now.