permaculture

["Lavonne R. Childs" <lrchilds2002@yahoo.com>]

Hello to all. This past weekend David Holmgren, co-originator of the concept 
of permaculture, spoke at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s 
Botanical Gardens as part of a four month lecture tour in the US. David’s 
partner, Su Dennett was also present. The lecture was particularly well 
attended with center managers finding it necessary to add a video feed to the 
adjacent gardens so that the overbooked facility could accommodate all 
attendees. 

David’s talk focused on understanding how the decline in availability of 
inexpensive fossil fuels will impact society, and then segued into 
permaculture’s positive potentiality in the impending Energy Descent world.

The entire lecture was engaging and informative; but there are a few key 
statements that seem especially suited for this forum. The following is a 
short summary of those statements. Any errors in interpretation are my own.

-Upon visiting Boston and viewing it’s tightly woven web of large buildings, 
new construction projects, bridges, streets and other infrastructure, David 
was struck by the thought, "In an energy descent society, how will we 
maintain these massive structures, built while energy was cheap?"

-"Permaculture is a design framework, not a production system." David stated 
that chief among the goals of permaculture was to create an environment of 
human stewardship over the Earth and to build fertility in the soil and 
cultivate biodiversity for future generations.

-David projects that the practice and application of permaculture concepts 
will continue to grow, at some point exponentially, but will be known by many 
other names, all working toward similar goals. He stated that he believed 
food growing and self reliance were politically powerful, and that in places 
like Croatia, food gardening is still in practice and considered a normal 
part of life.

-He discussed that in an Energy Descent society as the price of oil escalates 
and availability declines, the cost of metals, timbers and food rises. This 
scenario positions an understanding of permaculture practices as a necessary, 
and the coinciding skill set as desirable for coping and surviving in the new 
context of mankind's need for increased self sufficiency. 

-A comment regarding Invasion Biology as a pseudoscience prompted a sidebar 
about our relationship with pioneer plants, including invasive exotics such 
as kudzu. There appears to be quite a division on this topic with native 
plant proponents defining pioneer exotics as only pests, and others viewing 
the plants as a temporary solution being used by nature to heal scarred 
landscapes until man has the opportunity to reclaim them for more appropriate 
use. The Appalachian Mountains were cited as an example for consideration. 
"What would the logging-scarred faces of those slopes look like without 
kudzu?" "What other plant would have been able to step in so rapidly to 
replace some of the carbon dioxide removal and soil protection ability lost 
with the felling of huge tracts of forest?" An interesting topic to say the 
least. 

-Melliodora (The Hepburn Permaculture Gardens) is David and Su’s home 
property and is cited as one of the best permaculture demonstration sites in 
Australia. An excellent book, Melliodora: Ten Years of Sustainable Living, 
and the new eBook update, Melliodora 1985 to 2005, provide the complete 
design and story. The eBook was created by their son, Oliver, and is a 
wonderful opportunity to preview the book. Both the pictures and accompanying 
descriptions are fantastic. Here is a link if you are interested in taking a 
look. http://www.holmgren.com.au/html/Publications/ebookpromo.htm

David and Su were available for follow up discussion and questions at the 
reception following the lecture. They are an inspiring couple with great 
humility. Conversation with them was much in demand. Those of you interested 
in hearing a lecture for yourself can check the schedule at his web site. I 
would see it again in a minute. www.holmgren.com.au.

There were several interesting referrals to further reading and information 
throughout the lecture. A list follows:

Film- www.theendofsuburbia.com

Books- The Party's Over: Oil, War and the Fate of Industrial Societies by 
Richard Heinberg, and The Earth Care Manual: A Permaculture Handbook for 
Britain & Other Temperate Climates by Patrick Whitefield

Permaculture Sites- The Food Forest http://www.users.bigpond.com/brookman, 
Earthsong Econeighborhood http://www.earthsong.org.nz/, Krameterhof Austria 
http://www.krameterhof.at/Englisch/anzeige.htm, Fryers Forest Ecovillage 
http://www.holmgren.com.au/html/Fryers/fryers.html, 

Regards to all, 

Lavonne Childs


                
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