The Permaculture Educators Guild was formed as a professional guild by a group of permaculture educators in Victoria in 2014 to advance permaculture education in south-eastern Australia and beyond. Though based in Victoria its focus is the south-eastern Australian bioregion, not limited by State boundaries.
Key purposes of the Guild are :
- collaborative development of a “Syllabus for Permaculture Design in South-eastern Australia”, making it available as a model for other bioregions to adapt and adopt. The Guild sees the Syllabus as a set of guidelines for structuring PDC content — what to teach, not how to teach it, as a contribution to a common language for permaculture design. [The Guild’s syllabus builds on earlier versions developed under the auspices of Permaculture Melbourne’s Educators Group.]
- promotion of the PDC through vocational training, particularly Accredited Permaculture Training
- sharing of teaching resources and professional development of members
The Guild is:
- unincorporated, utilising the support of existing permaculture groups to host gatherings where needed
- unstructured, with jobs shared among volunteers, no membership fees
- open to anyone qualified to teach permaculture, actively involved in permaculture education at any level and prepared to contribute to the purposes of the Guild
Through its collaborative structure and its Syllabus, which focusses on permaculture as a design process, the Guild is addressing many of the issues being discussed by the Making Permaculture Stronger movement.
The Guild does not see itself as having any regulatory role in PDC delivery, such as registration of educators or endorsement of particular courses, but aims to develop consensus on the best ways to promote permaculture locally and globally.
The Guild operates at two levels
- A GUILD list of current members (those who comply with membership requirements) for the purposes of planning future events, development of policy and teaching materials and discussion of issues relevant to the Guild’s purposes. Guild members communicate by email and regular gatherings at mutually convenient locations.
- A NETWORK list which includes those who do not want to be involved in planning and discussion, but wish to be advised of PEG events and the outcomes thereof, via periodic emails. Anyone interested in permaculture education is welcome to attend gatherings without commitment to active participation in the Guild.
Guild membership in June 2018 included 24 educators from Victoria and South Australia, with the Guild’s Network list containing 70 educators from all eastern states.
At June 2018 Guild activities were being managed by:
- Wendy Marchment — PEG email admin/communications, Library database
- Virginia Solomon — APT, PA Liaison, Doodle polling
- Ian Lillington — International & local networking, curriculum materials
- Graeme George — Syllabus development
- Susan Hutson — Membership database
- Joel Meadows — Bookclub
The Guild seeks to collaborate with like-minded groups — PA’s Education Team, our counterparts in Aoatearoa-New Zealand and the International Permaculture Educators Network.
The Guild encourages and looks forward to the establishment of autonomous chapters in other bioregions and has a vision of a network of bioregional chapters developing locally-appropriate materials contributing to the global advancement of permaculture.
For further information about the Permaculture Educators Guild activities or membership, or to go on the Permaculture Educators Network email list please contact PEG Admin permaculture.educators.guildau@gmail.com
The Guild’s syllabus builds on earlier versions developed under the auspices of Permaculture Melbourne’s – now Permaculture Victoria – Educators Group.