Dick Pierce

Thank you for your interest in Permaculture Design Courses on Martha’s Vineyard, MA in 2010. The course brochure (minus graphics, sorry I’m new at WordPress) is still printed below. Firm plans/dates have not been set as of 12/25/09 for the 2010 Season – we are planning for another 12 day course – in mid – late September, comfortably after Labor Day. Please stay tuned to this page for more details. The course will be a full, 72-plus hour Design Certificate Course. It will be our 3rd annual Course on MV – a great to learn, breath, touch Permaculture and sustainability in an era of limited resource and energy. If you have questions or wish to tentatively enroll, please email me at DickPierceDesign@gmail.com. Thank you.

DickPierce

Permaculture Design Course – Martha’s Vineyard – Sept. 14 – 25, 2009

Fall 2009 Permaculture Design Certificate Course
Monday, September 14– Friday, September 25, 2008
HI-Hostel, Martha’s Vineyard, MA (8:30 – 5:30 daily – Mon noon – Fri, 2:00)

What: 12-day course led by New England native and noted Permaculture Instructor, Dick Pierce, and Vineyard designers/ practitioners/farmers/gardeners. The Course offers practical training and skills in sustainable living. We will cover design principles and technologies that you can easily apply to your home, apartment, property, farm, workplace, and community to help you live well in the city or the country.

Who: Professionals/amateurs: homeowners, apartment dwellers, gardeners, farmers, land owners, developers, architects/designers, teachers – Visitors and Islanders.

Why: To learn techniques, tools & design ideas to…
 -Mimic nature to design solutions; tune observation skills & knowledge of climate, water,
soil, plants, trees, tech’s.
 -Manage use of and re-use of water; [re]build soil
 -Build an Herb Spiral; Compost/Compost Teas
 -Learn about ponds, wetlands, and marine life
 -Natural & Green Building techniques
 -Analyze a landscape – optimum placement of elements
 -Local food production – small-scale & intensive,
 -Encourage natural cycles – plants, animals, etc.
 -Design homes and landscapes that serve people, attract wildlife, restore habitat, and
provide food.
 -Considerations & designs for urban/suburban/rural land, farms, animals, orchards, forests

Additional topics include:
•Ecosystems • Ecology • Microclimates•
•Edible landscape • Waste • Wastewater•
•Trees & Forests • Soils • Erosion Control•
•Water harvesting • Soil Food Web • Animals•
•Bio-Intensive Gardening • Organic Agriculture• •Animals • Urban strategies • Building Design•
•Wild land rehabilitation• Maps and Mapping• Creating a Culture of Cooperation

Teaching Site Visits:
- Home – Solar, Wood Furnace, Big Garden, Sheep
- Green/Natural Building – NE Style, Cohousing
- Renewable Energy – Solar PV/Hot Water, Wind, etc.
– A Teaching Farm, a Sheep Farm, a Market Farm/
– W. Tisbury Farmers Market
- Organizations Supporting Local Island Ag. & Energy & Green
- Polly Hill Arboretum – Focus on NE Native Trees
- MV – Culture, Island Plan, Small Bus., Small Farm
- Sustainable Architecture

Intensive, 12-Day Schedule:

Sept. 14-15 Permaculture Basics
16 Water, Soils, & Compost
Rural, Local Farms, CSA’s
Urban, Plants, Gardens
Sustainable Building & Energy
22 Introduction to Design
Sept. 22-24 Design Workshop
Sept. 25 Design Pres’s., wrap-up, Grad.
Includes: Local Farm Tours & Eve. Talks

Course fees:
$600 for 12-day course; Discounts for Seniors, and Full-Time Island Residents.
Dorm Room- $200 for 11 nights; $20 extra night.
Meals: Lunch/ Dinner/Cont. B’fast – $280 range – Fri. & Sat. Night on your own