31 Aug, 2016 | Education
Permaculture Australia is looking for experienced APT assessors to help with a paid project…
APT Assessment Guide Writing Project
Have you worked as a Trainer and Assessor in the Vocational Education and Training system?
Perhaps you were on the APT Approved Teachers Register?
Permaculture Australia is looking for people who have a thorough understanding of the Training System and of Accredited Permaculture Training (APT) to help write new Assessment Guides for RTOs interested in offering our qualifications. RTOs will be able to purchase these guides and PA will use the money for further APT development work.
Our project aims to spread the funds we have available across our community, so developers will be paid per unit completed, and there will be a timeframe in which the work needs to be completed.
If you would like to be a developer, please join us!
Please send some information about your background and experience to Beck Lowe at beck@cydoniapermaculture.com.au
APT has recently become part of the Agriculture, Horticulture and Conservation & Land Management Training Package (AHC16).
For more information:
We are hoping to complete the project over the next 2-3 months, so if you have the skills and can spare a few hours a week, we would love to hear from you.
Story from the APT Working Group
7 Feb, 2016 | Education
Virginia Solomon has prepared a very informative summary of the history of APT and the transition to AHC…
2010 team from left: Clair Coleman, Virgina Solomon, Beck Lowe, Rebecca Chettlebourough, Rob Fenton, Robyn Francis, Geoff Vivian, Sue Brunskill
26 Oct, 2015 | Education
Story by Taj Scicluna, October 2015
It is an exciting time for those interested in pursuing permaculture studies beyond the Permaculture Design Course. 2016 will see the opportunity for Permaculture Certificate I, II, III and IV, as well as the Permaculture Diploma to become more widely available through a number of Registered Training Organisations.
The draft Permaculture units have been reviewed by the Technical Reference Group for validation, and are awaiting endorsement through AgriFood. Once these courses have been endorsed, providers may apply through their state organization of ASQA (Australian Skills Quality Authority) to add them to their Scope of Registration.
This is an important step and one we have been working towards for quite some time as we try to ensure permaculture is more accessible and reaches a wider range of people who wish to make changes to their lifestyle, develop practical skills, create environmental change and contribute to healthier social, economical and agricultural systems.
The course material has been reviewed and updated, the changes exhibiting a stronger emphasis on permaculture terminology and specific practices, and assessment requirements detailing performance as well as knowledge-based evidence.
A number of new units have been developed to offer practical applications of Permaculture, including:
- ‘Assist with garden soil health and plant nutrition’
- ‘Use and maintain garden hand tools and equipment’
- ‘Manage a Permaculture aid and development project’
- ‘Demonstrate Permaculture practices to a small group of learners’
- ‘Develop a relocalization or transition project’, to name a few.
Other news is that the units within the Permaculture Demonstrator Skill Set will provide credit towards a Certificate III in Permaculture for those offering practical training to small groups such as school teachers and permaculture demonstrators.
Each course has been carefully reviewed and evaluated to give participants a holistic learning experience, focusing on many facets of permaculture, enabling the exploration of various avenues for future employment.
This learning goes beyond the Permaculture Design Course, which is based on strategies rather than techniques. These accredited courses have been designed for those hoping to take the next step and get their hands in the soil and develop down-to-earth skills that compliment design and systems thinking.
Registered Training Organizations are encouraged to get their material prepared for the application process and trainers to ensure they have their Certificate in Training and Assessment if they wish to find employment opportunities as facilitators.
We look forward to the future of permaculture education being accessible, inspiring and functional in its application, contributing to the health of all living systems.
23 Feb, 2015 | Education
PA has been in discussions with AgriFoods regarding the transfer of APT qualifications into the national agriculture, horticulture, conservation and land management training package (AHC10). APT qualifications were due for reaccreditation in November 2014, and the expense of this process was one major reason behind the transfer.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, it was clear that the transfer would not be completed prior to the reaccreditation date, and PA applied for an extension of accreditation. We have been granted an extension until May 2016.
Since the extension was granted, the transfer process has proceeded well, and we envisage completion before the end of 2015.
27 Jul, 2014 | Education
Story by Georgina Warden, July 2014
I completed my PDC with Jeff Nugent in 2010. At the time I was completing Cert II and III Horticulture at SWIT. I had come from a marriage breakdown and moving with my daughters to Bunbury from the farm in Broomehill. I had since met a great man who gave me the encouragement and support to study. I was thriving on the learning at SWIT.
Being part of the group including Andrea Chapman to do the PDC at Jeff and Jill’s place at Nannup was amazing. The whole process was enlightening like finding religion. I no longer felt like a square peg in a round hole. I did not feel confident enough to go on and teach PDCs myself and looked into further study through Permaculture Australia. This put me in contact with Dr Ross Mars.
Making mudbricks
Candleight Farm journey
What a ride since then. For 3 years I have been to Candlelight Farm for monthly workshops while completing Cert III, IV and now Diploma. By the time of the next edition I will have my Diploma. The highest qualification I have achieved. Studying with Ross has been amazing in terms of what I learnt, who I have met and the places we have been to. It has also been frustrating as we are studying part time and a lot of the reports and research are done at home. The treks up and down the highway from Bunbury to Mundaring have also been a big commitment and have meant I have missed out on time with my FIFO husband Kent Henry. I have found it hard to stay on track a lot of the time due to family commitments, work, living with Ankylosing Spondylitis and my great ability to procrastinate.
What are other students interested in?
Having said that I would do it all over and again and have no regrets. I have found it interesting to see what classmates particular interest in Permaculture is. I’m passionate about teaching, animals and plants in an rural integrated system and the Ben Fallon style of farming. Others are passionate about Natural Buildings, medicinal benefits of plants or just living the life and being an example to their children and grandchildren.
The learnings
I’m still not sure if I understand how to survey after several lessons with Ross. Not his failure I’m just no good with maths and numbers. Loved learning how to weld, mix concrete, build rammed earth walls and make mud bricks. Ross has no problems with classes full of women giving him a hard time and expects to do exactly the same as the blokes. Love him for that. I loved and learnt so much with the Soil and water testing. The research into Bioregional Resources, Sustainable Technology and Climate Change impacts has been fascinating and given me an interest in further study and opened my eyes to different types of housing for our future property.
Georgina learning new skills
Working with clients
Working within the classes has been challenging at times as we are all different. Same to be said with working with the clients we have prepared reports for. I have loved working on the reports as the different properties and client’s needs make you think outside the box and teach you not to impose your own ideas on their designs. The designs are not monuments to ourselves but to our Client’s dream, hopes and wishes.
‘It’s so simple its stupid’
My husband Kent had the ahah moment about Permaculture after a power point presentation of Jeff’s and a wonder around the Bridgetown Camp School’s Permaculture garden. Designed by Jeff way back when. Kent’s comment was ‘it’s so simple its stupid’. We now love living as Permies and embrace the more recent definition Permanent Culture. We both come from Broadacre Farming backgrounds and are very dedicated to moving further out of town onto acreage now our girls have moved out of home. I have promised Kent no more animals on our suburban block. We have ducks, chooks, dogs, guinea pigs, goldfish and trout in our aquaponics system. We love scrounging the hardwaste collections for trampoline frames to make netting structures for our fruit trees. We love the challenge of working out how to make something from ‘junk’.
Where to now
I am slowly developing my business Peppaluci’s Edible Landscapes which offers education, sesign, landscaping and maintenance services. There are plenty of opportunities around the Greater Bunbury area and plenty of passionate people wanting to learn more. I encourage anyone interested in Permaculture to continue their studies even if only for their own benefit.
Where to from here is now the big question. I want to continue studying and learning. I have looked at several options and still want to study with Ross. I will miss working with the wonderful women from our Diploma class. We joke he is going to be glad to see the back of us and that is why he won’t teach us a degree haha. I love how Permaculture is mainstream not the hippy thing from the 70’s.
Graduates from the first Diploma in Permaculture course in WA, with Ross in centre
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