Day one of the NAPC started cloudy but no precipitation, the sun even peeked out in the afternoon but rain started to fall again in the late afternoon. My day started on a panel with Penny lLivingston, Jude Hobes, Jillian Hovey (Canada), Albert Bates, and a representative from Mexico, and California whose names I dont recall. The panel was to describe the history of permaculture from the perspective of older generation, mid generation and new generation of the permaculture lineage. Peter Banes was asked to give his perspective though he wasnt on the panel. The discussion was a very brief recap of permaculture history. My main contribution was to speak of the genius of Bill Mollison as a pedagog and how I was devoted to remembering this in my own teaching. I also wanted to ensure that the heart of permaculture be maintained by the teachers into the future. This seemed to strike a chord in those attending and I received many approving remarks following the discussion. Heart space seemed to be a topic of conversation the rest of the day. Principles and standards was a good workshop which primarily focused on maintaining a standard of residential classes in the PDC in various forms ie weekend series over several months to the intensive course that is more traditional. While most of those attending thought that the online courses didnt not offer the depth of interaction or of hands on exercises their was not a consensus of whether or not the online course should qualify as a PDF for purposes of qualifying for Diploma qualification. Most of the participants agreed that fair share was too truncated a description of the third ethic to convey its full meaning. This is something I have brought up over and over in various media. The workshops are only 1.5 hours long so we were unable to reach any real conclusions in our short time. We will be meeting tomorrow for more discussion. There were too many workshops and presentations for me to attend but one more in the afternoon. I chose the international permaculture session which was attended by many who have impressing credentials in international work in countries around the world. Rico Zook was in attendance with his Itinerant Permaculture he and many others contributed to the discussion about the need for more sustainable funding and protocols in international work. In the eventing Toby Hemenway gave us a preview of his new, soon to be published, book on Urban Permaculture which in his inimical fashion was brilliant. My favorite part of the day was a presentation by David Holmgren that reconfirmed by very high opinion of his intellect and warm heartedness. David is one of the best kept secrets of permaculture and I would love to hear more from him! I will post a link to is talk as soon as it is available. Such a delightful gathering of humans who are totally dedicated to the work of repairing our planet and creating a more caring and loving place within which we may all grow and be at peace. I am truly rejuvenated and looking forward to tomorrow.
Posted on: Sat, 30 Aug 2014 04:58:19 +0000
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