The story so far....

Much of my energy during my diploma journey has gone into teaching permaculture. I never really intended that to happen, at least not in the way that it has. I participated in a Training of Permaculture Teachers course (T.O.T) in 2010 with Chris, Looby & Aranya. I was terrified at the start of the course, shaking notes & all the rest of it. The only reason I did the course was because I wanted to 'realign' myself on a permaculure path. I wanted to do an 'advanced design' course but there were none scheduled, so teaching it was. Unexpectedly, by the end I had caught the teaching bug, and on returning to Ireland myself & Marella Fyffe set to organising a weekend 'Introduction to Permaculture' workshop at her home in Northern Ireland. It went well & I followed that by organising & leading a similar weekend near my own home in County Roscommon.

 

Wellie deep cow muck, preparing for that weekend I recieved a call from an organisation called 'Greenworks' who were looking for a Permaculture tutor to help them deliver funded courses free to jobseekers all over the country. Encouraged by Marella I accepted the challenge and spent about the next year on & off delivering 5-day Permaculture courses in Sligo, Galway and Tipperary.

 

So more by fortune & opportunity, than by design, I  was teaching permaculture.

 

The T.O.T course had set me up to be a "creative'" permaculture teacher, so the courses were lively, fun & varied, and we had great feedback. For me it was a gift, My teaching skills developed & adapted with each course,  and it really was accelerated action learning for both the particpants & myself! Whats more, I got to connect with a network of inspiring & lovely people many of whom have become friends, allies and teachers to me.

 

In between times, and partly as a result of greenworks programme, I got involved in the summer PDC in Cloughjordan eco-village. I taught there, in some shape or form for three years. (2010-2012) -Another rich learning experience in many ways. 

I also travelled to the U.K to "shadow teach" with Aranya in Dorset, and Steve Jones in Shropshire. I learned a huge amount from these shadow teaching opportunities.

 

I've found that I really enjoy teaching -or rather, exploring permaculture with anyone who is willing to participate. While I acknowledge the limits of my experience, as in, I don't have 20 years plus of intentional permaculture design work and the associated practical experience under my belt, I have found that I can inspire, motivate and inform people, I can facilitate permaculture thinking and the development of solutions and I can share the considerable (& ever growing) practical experience that I do have in helpful  ways. What's more, I simply love being in a group of people, sharing ideas, experiences, knowledge, friendships & strengthening a growing network.

 

In the past couple of years I've been invited to teach a range of workshops & courses in Permaculture which have been independantly organised by local groups and individuals. It is the designs for these which find their way into my diploma portfolio. Why? Well, I think they are the most interesting, each of them has to be designed to meet the needs of the particular group, time and location.  Each of them presents it's own learning opportunities -for participants, for myself, and potentially for anyone reading here who may be teaching permaculture or anyone looking for a permaculture tutor.

 

As such, here, I'm including three different types;  A short hour long introduction, A half day onsite design workshop, and A full weekend course.