permaculture

["Dick Pierce" <dickpiercedesigns@gmail.com>]

Dear Forum/web Master:

I think I have successfully subscribed, but not sure as I see a confirmation
referred to but I do not have one. I am
Dick Pierce at dickpiercedesigns@gmail.com. Could you confirm for me one
more time. It reads like this is also how to post a message to the PC list,
but I'd like to be sure - and is there a more direct way once one is a
subscriber.

In any event, thanks for the excellent forum for PC Teachers/Instructors. I
have been in PC for almost 15 years and into teaching it actively for 10 of
those. You escaped me all that time and I am interested to catch up with
fellow teachers in the US and other countries. Thanks for your help [and
patience].

*Here is the note that I'd like to post:*

Subject: I'm Dick Pierce - a new member - 15 yrs into PC, 10 in Teaching -
Happy to find this great forum of PC Teachers - I wanted to join you all
and intro myself

Hello and greetings. I am Dick Pierce at dickpiercedesigns@gmail.com. I am a
new member of the ibiblio PC forum and wanted to say hello and then join in
the discussions.

I have been interested/involved in  Permaculture for 15 years. I had the
great luck of attending a 2-week PC course, as one of the sponsors, with
Geoff Lawton on one of my visits to Ijatz and Ronnie Lec in the Highlands of
Guatemala in the early '90s. On my return, I was fortunate to help sponsor
the 1st American Indian PC Course with Justin Willy (Navajo), Thomas Mack,
and Clayton Brascoupe (Mohawk) at the Tesuque Pueblo; this has now become an
annual Pueblo event thanks to Clayton and TNAFA. I also coordinated a PC
course on the Pine Ridge Reservation with Justin and Geoff as the
instructors; a small Native PC Center exists today at Sinte Gleska Commun.
Coll. as a result.

I've been teaching PC courses for about 8 years, first as a module
presenter, then for a 2-year apprenticeship with Patricia Allison of
Earthaven, and for the last 4-5 years as one of the founding members of the
Austin Permaculture Guild (APG) - starting with innumerable Intro Talks, a
2-day Basics Course, then a 7-day Fundamentals and, for the last 3-4 years,
a very successful 9-10 day Design Course - with over 100 Design Grads from a
very successful weekend format. We are always anxious to improve APGs
courses, learn of other approaches, venues, and agendas - so I am glad to be
listening to you all and contributing occasionally.

I'm including a PC bio-sketch of myself at the end of this note, should you
care to scan it - I use it as part of the student/teacher intro's
that is the 1st agenda item for each course. As a summary, I am a New
Englander for most of my life, if you allow me to include 12 years in
Upstate NY - through high school in SE-MA (a "Swamp Yankee", working family
gardens, farms, estates, and Cranberry bogs), college in W-MA in the
Berkshire Hills. Then a fairly typical American career with a large company
and 12 years in Buffalo/Syracuse, NY and 10 years in S-CT - with excursions
to FL and GA for 7 years. My roots are New England/upstate NY; my children
were born in Buffalo, graduated High School in CT; we have family in RI,
Amherst MA, S-NH, and on Martha's Vineyard, and have always spent at least a
part of each summer visiting them.

In '92 I had the privilege of being assigned to the American Indian Science
and Engineering Society, a national organization headquartered in Boulder,
CO - and my passion for Permaculture started through a project with
Traditional Native American Agriculture. That progressed through education,
extensive travel (Guatemala, the SW-US, the US-Plains States, and back in
NE), and opportunities to participate in several PC and AI education events.

In '98 we moved to Austin, TX to be with our daughter at UT-Austin. I left
AI-Ag. behind, except for an occasional visit, but put PC into a higher
gear. Through giving Intro Talks, I met and began teaching with Patricia
Allison, a former Austin resident and tenured PC Teacher. What started out
as a guest instructor for a module or two, became a formal 2-year
apprenticeship for her classes in Austin. Starting about 4 years ago I and
the Austin Permaculture Guild began our own courses - 2-day Intro, then
5-7-day Fundamentals, and 9-10-day Design Courses for the last 3-4 years.

In 2007, I left my "day job" in Austin to devote full time to Permaculture
in Austin, Texas, and New England. We are hopeful of having courses in
Dallas and Houston in the coming months; we have had 2 very successful
Basics Courses in the Boston area last fall and this spring. Our plan is to
formalize what we've been doing anyway - wintering  and teaching in Austin
and TX, and summering and teaching in NE. Our focus will be sections that we
know well/have family in and where PC coverage/classes have been "light" for
the last several years - SE-MA, E-MA, RI, S-NH, and MV (the coastal island
of Martha's Vineyard). We have scheduled Design Courses in S-NH in June and
MV in September and are planning a 2-day Basics in SE-MA for fall as well.
I'm a proud member of the W-MA PC-Guild listserv, NOFA, and hope to meet
some of you this August at the NOFA Conference at U-MA in Amherst, MA.

I'm sorry that might be a little long. Forgive me, but I like to tell my PC
story - my grown son says I "get a little chatty." But, I look forward to
hearing some of your stories - here on this forum or in person. Please check
out: wwwpermie.us and Utube Dick Pierce.

I'm glad to be joined up and looking forward to good dialog.

Dick Pierce


......here's the whole story if you'd like to skim it:


*Dick Pierce's Permaculture Introduction and Bio – My Permaculture Story –
What's Yours?*

* *

*New England and [Upstate] New York (45 yrs)*

* *

*-SE-Mass* – through High School, College summers – worked on estates, farm,
gardens;

                    Rural, small town, home gardens, woods, creeks; workers,
trade folks

*-W-Mass* – William College for 4 years – local travel, hiking, camping,
kayaking;

        Berkshires, small towns, farms, local people

*-Buffalo/Syracuse* - wonderful wife, 2 children; vac. time in RI, SE-MA;
farm,

        grape/wine, dairy country, small towns, community

-[*Summer visits* to RI, SE-MA, MV while living in FL/GA (7 years)]

-*Suburban CT* – 10 years; gardens, trees, compost; boating; visits to RI,
MV, SE-MA

* *

*Colorado** (5 yrs)* – UC-Boulder - American Indian Science & Engineering
Society



-AI Knowledge Conferences 'w Vine Deloria, Jr, St-Rock Sioux – Stars,
Plants, Animals. -

 Traditional AI Agriculture project; extensive travel to NM, AZ, WA, MT, SD.

- Intro to Permaculture; 2-week PC Course in San Lucas, Guatemala w' Geoff
Lawton

-A Sponsor of 1st Pueblo PC Course at Tesuque 'w Thos Mack, Justin Willy,
Navajo,  of

 Black Mtn. PC, and Clayton  Brascoupe, Mohawk.

-Clayton formed TNAFA – Trad. Nat.Amer. Farmers Assoc. - annual Pueblo PC
Course

-Coord. PC course at Pine Ridge, SD Res. with Geoff Lawton & Justin Willy -

 Now small center for AI- PC gardeners at Sinte Gleska Tribal College.

-Wrote for *Winds of Change* mag. – AI Agriculture, AI Knowledge, AI
Permaculture

-Started mail-order/web AI Book Catalogue – heavy on AI-Ag, AI Environ., PC
titles

-Became a CO Master Gardener in Denver/Boulder; helped out on organic farm

-Continued summer visits to NE – RI, MV, Cape – began visits to S-NH &
Trauger Groh

* *

*Texas** (10 yrs)* – Central TX – Austin



            -Programs Officer – Amer. YouthWorks (AYW) –
AmeriCorps/YouthBuild programs:

            -Environmental Corps: young people doing parks, trails, environ.
remed.; learning PC

-Casa Verde Builders: over 90 new, energy efficient, 5-Star Green homes
built by youth.

-Became a TX Master Gardener, TX Master Naturalist, Master Composter,
Citizen

 Forester; received Landcape Design Certificate from ACC; do PC consulting &
design

-Founding Member off Austin PC Guild – Talks, Projects, Courses, AustinPerm
listserv

-Guest teacher with Patricia Allison, veteran PC Teacher, formerly of
Austin, a founding

  member of Earthaven Eco-Village in NC; then formal, 2-yr apprenticeship
with Patricia.

-Attended PC Teachers Conf., Earthaven, NC – worked with embryonic E-PC
Tchrs Net.

-Frequent PC speaker: Gardeners, Green Building, Master Gard., Conferences
around TX

-Teaching PC - 8 years: began with modules as apprentice, then 2-day Basics,
then

  weekend format 7-Day Fund's., and  9/10-day Fundamentals/Design Course –
last 3 yrs.

-Began Winter Series of Talks – 10 Wed. evenings – PC-related topics; next
is 4th year.

-Retired from AYW - Expanded NE trips - NOFA Member/Conf., [PC Guild]
listserv, etc



*Current M.O./Plan*



-Wintering/teaching in Austin, TX, increasing Summering/teaching in New
England

-Focus is on E-MA, Boston, RI, MV, S-NH: Intro talks, Basics Courses (Boston
- Fall

 '07, Spring '08; plan SE-MA – Fall '08), Design Courses (June, S-NH; Sept,
MV).




-- 
DickPierceDesigns@gmail.com
Austin, TX
cell- 512-992-8858

Permaculture is in full-force for Summer/Fall in Austin and New England.
Just look here:

-Permaculture Basics Weekend May
17-18 - Jenny and Kirby - Austin
-Greenfield, NH - 9-day Permaculture
Design Certificate Course - June 11 -19
-Marthas Vineyard, MA - Sept. 10-18 -
9-day PC Design Certificate Course
-Check www.permie.us for details/enroll