Blog | Permaculture Association

Permaculture Association Blog

Read inspiring stories, celebrate news and learn about the amazing work of our Permaculture Association members and our flourishing community.

Last updated 30/03/21

Mel Lamb 1965 - 2020

I first met Mel as I went to teach one of my first Permaculture Design Courses with Aranya, high up on Dartmoor at High Heathercombe in November 2009.

Last updated 30/03/21

Applewood Permaculture Centre LAND demonstration site tour

Chris Evans and Looby Macnamara run courses at their permaculture demonstration site, Applewood Permaculture Centre as well as online.

In this video, Chris shows the gardens and orchards and some of his experiments. See where you can visit permaculture demonstration sites in the UK.

Last updated 27/06/23

Sol-Haven permaculture community farm helping those in need access healthy food

by Sammuel Yisrael

At the time of writing, the world is in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic and the UK population is struggling to come to terms with a radical departure from our usual way of life. As panic buying led to empty supermarket shelves, people became understandably concerned about food security. Many have become interested for the first time in ‘growing their own’ as sales of vegetable seeds online have soared and even poultry keeping reportedly increased.

Last updated 30/03/21

The Medicinal Forest Garden Handbook - book review

by Ryan Sandford-Blackburn and Ali Clark

Last updated 30/03/21

Permaculture projects creatively respond to crisis

by Celia Ashman

We're pleased to now be running monthly online calls with LAND centres and permaculture projects, on the last Wednesday of every month 3 - 4.30pm. In our first call in March, we were joined by members from across the UK and beyond - including Germany, Dumfries & Galloway, Berwickshire, Durham, Manchester, Leeds, Bradford, Shropshire, Gloucestershire, Devon, and London!

Last updated 30/03/21

Blended learning for the Permaculture Association online learning platform

When most people think of online learning they think of MOOCs - Massive Open Online Courses. These are what platforms such as FutureLearn, Udemy and Coursera provide. Many people who have taken online courses have taken a MOOC course and aren't aware of any other format in online learning.

Last updated 30/03/21

Writing up permaculture designs - top tips from Helen White

by Helen White

At the March 2020 Permaculture Gathering in London, I ran a workshop on ‘How to write up a design’. My diploma journey lasted 8 years (I finally accredited in December 2018). Along the way, I did many designs (big and small), saw lots of permaculture projects, went to numerous permaculture and related events/ training/workshops but persistently failed to actually write things up.

Last updated 30/03/21

The hidden potential of urban horticulture (report)

The hidden potential of urban horticulture

Urban areas offer considerable potential for horticultural food production, but questions remain about the availability of space to expand urban horticulture and how to sustainably integrate it into the existing urban fabric. We explore this through a case study which shows that, for a UK city, the space potentially available equates to more than four times the current per capita footprint of commercial horticulture.

Last updated 30/03/21

Our response to the COVID-19 pandemic

First of all, I hope you are keeping well. We know that this is a worrying time for many people and we want to help.

The Permaculture Association is continuing to provide all of its existing services with the exception of book sales (the office is now closed) and events, which will be under review until we know more about how long this pandemic will last.

Last updated 30/03/21

The sweet smell of sustainability

by Sarah Cossom   

One of the things I love most about living in a small rural community in Gateshead is being surrounded by creative, resourceful and talented people who care deeply about the environment.

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