A Permaculture Philosophy At Eltham College

I have recently learnt that Permaculture, a term coined in Australia in the 70s by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, is an approach to designing systems for human settlements that mimic the structure and interrelationship found in natural ecologies.

Back in 1990, talking about Permaculture design principles a forward looking Bill Mollison said

“The only ethical decision is to take responsibility for our own existence and that of our children”.

Bill’s intention was that

“By rapidly training individuals in a core set of design principles, those individuals could design their own environments and build increasingly self-sufficient human settlements — ones that reduce society’s reliance on industrial systems of production and distribution that Mollison identified as fundamentally and systematically destroying the Earth’s ecosystems.”

Today a ‘Permaculture community’ is integrating alternative ideas through a network of training, publications, Permaculture gardens, and internet forums. It is both a design system and a loosely defined philosophy or lifestyle ethic.

In Melbourne’s outer northeast Eltham College, also a Registered Training Organisation (RTO), is adopting this philosophy through two new Permaculture courses in 2009 and through a sustainability theme for the entire school.

Passionate About Creating Positive Change And Caring For The World?

Permaculture is a specialised field of study that is quickly gaining recognition for its educational, environmental and social significance with its emphasis on caring for the planet and all people, and the sharing of resources and energy.

The Permaculture courses at Eltham College will be delivered at by Virginia Solomon, an experienced trainer who presented at the Australian Association for Environmental Educators’ Conference: ‘Environmental Education up the track – Hot tips for our community’ in Darwin in 2008.

2009 Permaculture Training Courses

The two new post secondary courses beginning in the Eltham/Kangaroo Ground area are:
• 30343QLD Certificate IV in Permaculture
• 30342QLD Diploma of Permaculture

Courses begin Monday, February 02, 2009 at 09:00 at Eltham College’s Kangaroo Ground Training Centre.

Brochures are available on request. For info contact: Julie Bowry-Needham on 9433 9859, email: ects@elthamcollege.vic.edu.au