Great trainers are sharing, motivating and supportive. They demonstrate Permaculture by practicing what they teach with a wide range of examples. And they give ideas for other situations beyond their own. They understand other cultures and environments.
35 years evolving
My name is April Sampson-Kelly. Only a few people know what I do, which suits me. I don’t want to be a celebrity. I enjoy the freedom and flexibility of anonymity. And I have practiced and taught Permaculture for 35 years. Now it is time to share my insights and growing concerns for the future of online training.
My early childhood was spent on an army base where a lonely clump of bananas surrounded the septic tank. There were no bird calls, just dogs howling. But when we settled in Wollongong I was suddenly surrounded by beautiful beaches and forests. And a strong sense of place and belonging.
My father had wanted me to be a software writer. He believed that computing was the future and people would work less. And so, in 1986, I got a computer trainee-ship at the local university. By 1993 I had some basic computing skills and a supportive partner and mother. I also had a masters in Creative arts. I knew how to research. And I knew how to teach complex skills. And I had a baby and a toddler. So, I knew how to work. I still loved my environment. And I was fascinated with Permaculture. And I wondered how it would fit in the emerging world of the internet.
Computer games and internet pages last century were painfully slow and had no graphics. Every word mattered. But the fun thing was the equality. Gender didn’t matter. How you looked didn’t figure. Content was all that mattered. And so, I set about to create the first online Permaculture course.
In 1996, my mother and I drove across Australia. We visited my birthplace in Perth and went to the great International Permaculture Conference and Convergence. Thanks to the tireless work of Ross Mars and Permaculture west, the proceedings are still available. And there I met a lot of amazing Permaculture people. And at the Convergence, I saw a small discussion group in a back corner talking about Information Technology [IT]. I told them my idea to start online teaching and they all started offering support. Even Bill Mollison chipped in and said he thought that online teaching could work. And there was a need.
Land-based Permaculture Design Courses are often run by charismatic leaders. So, to make online training successful we offered something different. Our online courses were self-paced, flexible, organised and tailored for the student needs. Also, we adopted a student-focused approach. And I applied my research experience, enthusiasm and applied knowledge to explore many aspects of Permaculture. I was truly lucky to have an informal mentor in Stuart B. Hill. I could ask Stuart deep questions and he would answer straight away. And for this I am forever grateful. Decades later, we had a vibrant food forest and some creative fun. Ted Trainer said – it is not work if you are having fun. We had fun.
Education serves 3 functions
1. Share knowledge and ideas for a wide range of conditions.
2. Motivate and support participants into action
3. Connect people to build resilience through community and integration with their environment.
Sharing Knowledge and Ideas
Knowing how to do something doesn’t mean we know how to teach it. Teaching is a craft in itself using psychology, and communication systems. Teaching Permaculture pulls apart a complex holistic system to show the parts and then describe how the parts interact. The instructor needs to clearly show how they have applied the principles in their own practice. And they need to show examples from other situations. Or at least help their participants find out more about their situation.
Motivating and Supporting
When we motivate participants, we need to follow through. Our support mustn’t end when the course ends. This is where the social design is essential in the growth of Permaculture. Teachers must foster others. The traditional formal education system in the western world has a deeply entrenched economic and academically competitive framework. We must do better. We need to learn from one another, support good work and foster diversity.
Connecting and Providing Ongoing Support
We all grow when we build a network of experts and a community of knowledge keepers.
All training requires an understanding of the work, an ability to break it down, then reconnect the ideas. But online training has extra pitfalls. Online participants are less at risk of being disconnected from their fellow, the ideas and the trainer.
Become a leader in Permaculture Training. Contact us to join our Online Advanced Permaculture Design course starting March 18. April at www.permaculturevisions.com
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