For the past 18 months, a group of Permaculture Educators has been working hard to complete the 5-yearly review of Permaculture in conjunction with Skills Impact, who are the Skills Service Organisation that manages the AHC – Agriculture, Horticulture & Conservation and Ecosystem Management – Training Package of which Permaculture is a part. There have been many opportunities for engagement with this process and lots of you have participated which is great as it means the resulting Units, Qualifications and Skill Sets will be ‘fit for purpose’. It also means that you will have the chance to participate in and benefit from the roll out of the reviewed courses, if you wish.
Training providers, including those offering the PDC, might be interested in partnering with RTOs to offer some components of this training There will be funding available for some programs in some States There will be opportunities for those with current qualifications (including Certificate IV in Training and Assessment) to deliver this training There will also be opportunities to work with the Education Team of Permaculture Australia to update assessment tools and training materials And of course there will be opportunities for study and professional development
In a nutshell, here are the main components resulting from the Review: 5 reviewed qualifications 48 units of competency 13 skill sets
It is exciting to note that many of the barriers between the PDC and the accredited training have been removed, and it is now much easier for teachers and trainers to find work in the accredited system (with a TAE qualification, of course). It is also exciting to note that two of the new skill sets have been specifically developed to bridge gaps:
Permaculture Designer Skill Set – corresponds to the core skills and knowledge of the PDC This skill set describes the skills and knowledge for working with clients and community to design and develop private, community or enterprise based permaculture systems in rural and urban environments. Comprised of units: AHCPER401 Provide advice on permaculture principles and practices AHCPER402 Design a rural permaculture system AHCPER403 Design an urban permaculture system AHCPER4X3 Select ‘appropriate technology’ for a permaculture system AHCPER406 Identify and analyse bioregional characteristics and resources
Advanced Permaculture Skill Set – bridges the gap between Diploma of Permaculture and Bachelor Degree in the Higher Education system This skill set describes advanced skills and knowledge to help individuals to transition into higher education. The units provide skills and knowledge for planning community governance and developing strategic plans for permaculture projects. Comprised of units: AHCPER6X1 Develop a strategic plan for a permaculture project or enterprise AHCPER6X2 Plan community governance and decision-making processes
AHCPER6X3 Prepare a sustainable community and bioregional development strategy
The timeline for the roll out depends on the government processes, but we anticipate that the newly endorsed courses will be available from early 2023. If you are interested in the process or want to familiarise yourself with what has been done, please go to the Skills Impact project page and click through to the areas that interest you. You can find the documents that correspond to earlier stages in the process by clicking on the arrows in the flow chart.
And our amazing professional training consultants from Skills Impact Ruth Geldard, Industry Skills Standards Specialist, Skills Impact Ron Barrow, Writer, Skills Impact and Nestor Consulting
We all look forward to rolling out our new courses and to energetic participation and enthusiasm from permies everywhere. For further information on the Review and the new components, please contact education@permacultureaustralia.org.au
Permaculture Australia’s Education Team has designed a survey to ask which permaculture courses people have done, are doing or would like to do in the future.
The survey also asks what other studies you’ve undertaken, other qualifications gained and how permaculture education has influenced your career pathway.
Perhaps you may be interested in gaining more permaculture qualifications as part of your professional development or having your experience in permaculture formally recognised?
Details received will help the Education team identify the demand for different levels of permaculture education and advocate to education providers to meet this demand.
Your contribution will help the Education team build an evidence base to support the growth of permaculture education offerings nationally.
Your responses will only be used for the above purposes and all efforts will be taken to ensure your anonymity.
You are most welcome to forward this survey to colleagues in your networks within Australia.
The survey will take just 10-15 minutes of your valuable time to complete and can be found at this link:
Ross Mars’ Candlelight Farm near Perth, Western Australia has had a healthy uptake of students for Cert III and Diploma of Permaculture courses. The 12-month Diploma course has 4 enrolled students who meet with their lecturers for one weekend a month.
Recently the students and lecturers spent a weekend away from the classroom and took a 2-day field trip into the south west of Western Australia.
The purpose of the field trip was to examine the rural property in Boyup Brook that the students will be doing a design and report for plus to visit two community gardens in Albany to provide them with design ideas and assistance.
On day one, some of the students and lecturers travelled south from Perth in Ross’s ute while other students from the south west made their way to the first meeting point in Boyup Brook. This is teacher Lisa’s field trip report.
“We arrived around midday after a 3-hour trip and proceeded to stretch our legs with a walk around the large water reservoir on the property.
This was followed by an amazing lunch of chicken wings, cooked on the smoker, with an array of salads prepared by the owners of the rural property.
Following lunch, we walked the rest of the property to get a feel for the land, examining the existing vegetation and rocky outcrops and observed water movement across the property.
Students inspecting the property to observe its features
Seated in camping chairs we did some classroom work, interviewing the owners of the property to learn of their hopes and dreams for the development of the land.
Dinner that night was another amazing meal, a slow cooked casserole with meat and seasonal vegetables. The night finished with star gazing around a campfire whilst discussing all the permaculture possibilities for our hosts’ stunning hillside property.
On day two we traveled in convoy from Boyup Brook inland south to Albany to visit the first of the community gardens, the Rainbow Coast Community Garden, where we met with one of the garden founders and had a tour of the grounds.
Next, we went to the Good Life Community garden in Albany and toured the gardens with one of our group, who was a founder.
The Diploma students will have an opportunity to create designs for the undeveloped parts of this community garden. Their design will include an extended chook run and orchard zone.
We then visited a suburban permaculture garden and were amazed at the diversity of both plant and animal species in this modest-sized backyard. Lunch was harvested from the garden. This time fish plus an array of vegetables and edible flowers and we enjoyed another amazing feast.
Fresh from the garden
After lunch we parted company and began the 4.5-hour drive back to Perth.”
The students will be reflecting on their experiences and incorporating their field trip observations into their Diploma assignments. A fun (and delicious) way to learn!
Story by Lisa Passmore of INSPIRED BY NATURE landscape design
For more information please contact the PA Education team. education@permacultureaustralia.org.au
Permaculture is about growing food, how we live, the type of houses we build, ways in which we can live more sustainably, working with others in our community and how we deal with water, energy, soil and living things.
Permaculture is seen by many people as providing strategies to enable us to adapt to a challenging future, as it provides the framework to give people hope and empowerment and enable them to develop skills to allow us to rise to the challenges of a changing world. Accredited Permaculture Training (APT) courses are now available for schools and local communities. Certificate I and Certificate II have been developed with VET (Vocational Education and Training) in schools as the focus.
These courses are ideally suited to Year 10-12 students, with Certificate I appropriate for students with special needs and learning difficulties.
The Certificate I and Certificate II courses are very practical and students learn about propagation, pest control, irrigation, construction, soils, organic crops, re-vegetation, plant and animals systems as well as work safety and maintaining the workplace.
Community members who hold a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment can deliver these courses too, so accredited permaculture training is ideal for workers in city farms, organic co-operatives, community gardens and for people involved in the permaculture industry in some way.
School teachers or community members who have done a Permaculture Design Course (PDC) are qualified to deliver Certificate I and Certificate II, but there is also the option of doing the Permaculture Demonstrator Skill Set which involves 4 units from Certificate III to provide some good background knowledge and skills for delivery of permaculture training. These units provide enough background on permaculture ethics, principles and practices and hands-on skills, to enable teachers to plan permaculture projects in their school grounds.
You can register your interest by contacting Skills Strategies International or enroll directly online.
Skills Strategies International is a Perth-based training organisation but students from anywhere in Australia can enroll. The Permaculture Demonstrator Skill Set will typically take 3 to 4 months of part-time online work.
For more information contact Skills Strategies International Ph: (08) 6143 2180
Article by Dr Ross Mars
There is great opportunity for teachers and high schools to adopt new Cert I and Cert II Permaculture courses into Vocational Education and Training (VET) programs for Years 10, 11 and 12. Permaculture is a framework to enable the design of resilient systems and to create sustainable, living, integrated systems based on ecological principles and earth caring practices. Permaculture training is now embedded into the AHC Training Package (Agriculture, Horticulture, Conservation and Land Management) and courses have been initially developed for delivery in WA. However, they are also able to be delivered anywhere in Australia through Registered Training Organisation (RTO) partnerships. Skills Strategies International, based in WA, is able to auspice with schools anywhere in Australia and these courses are also available for purchase by other RTOs.
Cert I is most suitable for Education Support students, or those with learning difficulties, and Cert II for students who have aspirations of working within the agricultural and horticultural sector, but specialising in sustainable living practices.
These hands-on, student-centred courses engage students in the school garden where they learn life skills of growing, propagating and caring for plants, caring for animals, growing soil and undertaking organic practices to minimise their impact in the environment. While they are growing their vegetables, herbs and other plants, they may also be carrying out natural area restoration, recording weather, maintaining structures in the garden, preparing products and working safely when using and maintaining garden tools and equipment.
Teachers, or other school staff, will need to undertake four Cert III units in the Permaculture Demonstrator Skills Set for them to offer the Cert I in Permaculture course or at least a Cert III in Permaculture to deliver Cert II, unless they have already undertaken a Permaculture Design Course (PDC). Permaculture Australia has information on its website that further discusses the requirements of schools and teachers.
Besides the Permaculture Demonstrator Skills Set, Skills Strategies International also offers face-to-face courses in Cert III and Diploma in Permaculture, as well as providing a mechanism to Recognise Prior Learning (RPL) for any of these courses. You may have the skills, abilities and knowledge to obtain a qualification without attending a class, as long as you can provide the evidence supporting your involvement as a permaculture practitioner. Online courses may be developed in the future.
To find out which other RTOs are able to deliver Accredited Permaculture Training at various levels please search training.gov.au.
For more information contact the Permaculture Australia Education team: education@permacultureaustralia.org.au
Article by Dr Ross Mars, Skills Strategies International.
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