permaculture

[rharin@rodaleinst.org (Rebecca Haring)]

For Immediate Release                                   September 3 1996

Contact:  Karle Maurer, 610-683-1424


Rodale Institute to Hold Permaculture Swale and 
Pond Building Workshop

Instructors From Arizona and Austrailia Will Lead Three-Day Seminar


KUTZTOWN, PA:  Rodale Institute will hold a three-day workshop on swale 
and pond building at its 333-acre Experimental Farm October 17 - 19.  The 
course will be taught by permaculture instructors Scott Pittman of 
Arizona and Doug Dorrough of Austrailia.

Permaculture means "permanence in agriculture," and succeeds in all 
climates by capturing and managing water that is otherwise lost.  
Recently, permaculture concepts have been successfully applied to 
residential landscapes as well.

Farmers, landscape designers and contractors, architects, municipal and 
civic engineers, and homeowners are invited to learn how to conserve and 
use water, in a hands-on workshop that will include direct experience 
recontouring the Rodale Institute Experimental Farm for better water use. 
 New holding ponds and swales (trenches that route rainwater to where it 
is needed) will be laid out and constructed during the session.

"Most swales today are designed to take water away," explains Anthony 
Rodale, Vice Chair of the non-profit Rodale Institute and the force 
behind the workshop.  "But eventually, the farmer or homeowner is going 
to want that water back in a dry time.  Permaculture designs hold and use 
water as many times as possible before it passes out of the property."

The October workshop is a follow-on to the 14-day comprehensive 
permaculture design workshop which Rodale Institute hosted last April.  
Water management is the first and most important step to permaculture.  
Other aspects of permaculture, such as soil improvement, plant selection, 
aquaculture, and reforesting, are among the plans for future workshops in 
the series.

"If this is your first exposure to permaculture, it's a great way to 
start," offers Rodale.  "If you get really excited about it, there will 
be many more opportunities to get involved."  

Permaculture workshops are offered throughout the world by certified 
instructors from the Permaculture Institute, such as Pittman and 
Dorrough.

The Rodale Institute works with people worldwide to achieve regenerative 
food systems that renew environmental and human health.

Everyone is invited to enroll in the pond and swale building workshop 
October 17 - 19.  All meals are included in the three-day admission 
charge of $300.  Lodging is available close by.   Enrollment is limited. 
 Please call Rodale Institute at 610-683-1424 for information and 
reservations.


Rodale Institute is an independent, non-profit public charity,
under sections 501(c)3 and 509(a)2 of the IRS code.

#  #  #