Back section of the garden in January 2018
The same area after Permaculture application, one year later December 2018
The above results demonstrate what a difference we can make
You’ll be surprised what you can learn about gardening from our team of facilitators and presenters
Commencing 29 August 2019 with a FREE Community Information evening, The People Place will offer the community the opportunity to discover the secrets of growing and creating a productive garden. Using the power of environmentally friendly, permaculture techniques, participants will learn the science behind the macrobiotic world of gardening and the practice of organic growing. Easy to use natural solutions that you can employ without huge expense. This is a People Place, subsidised program, which allows the residential gardener to learn the secrets of soil biology, composting, worm farming, planting, pruning and all the permaculture values to create organic growing conditions in your garden.
You’ll meet really friendly people whose love for the community, the environment and the human spirit are a focus in life. You’ll make lifelong friendship as well as discovering new and safe ways to create a garden that is healthy, environmentally sensitive and great for your whole family. Young and old are welcome. Call or email us now to be part of this environmentally driven program and get better productivity from a healthier garden. Take a look at the program schedule and see for yourself what can be achieved
Telephone: (08) 9752 3550
Email: admin@thepeopleplace.org.au
THE 2019 PROGRAM – 29th August 2019 – 19th March 2020
UNIT ONE
29th August 2019 – 17th October 2019
Thursday 29 August 2019
‘Community Evaluation &
Discussion of New Curriculum’
FREE Community evaluation; To inform the community of details about the new curriculum. The night will cover:
• The scope of the new curriculum
• Additional garden elements discussed
• Past and future members to offer feedback and requests regarding the new curriculum & garden plans
Thursday 19 September 2019
‘Healthy Soil’
Video: Nicole Masters demonstration with volunteers – Plants, Roots, bacteria, nutrients (N, P), good nematode, bad nematode, mycorrhizae
This is an introduction to soil health with simple tests to help participants identify healthy living soil.
Lesson -Overview of healthy soil – Soil Food Web
• Soil organic matter
• Soil Types
• How soil life boosts productivity
• Introduction to the“rhizosphere”
Task:
• Garden strip back and mulch
• Begin construction of additional beds
• Evaluating soil at a glance, macro observation techniques
• Simple jar test
• Soil squeeze test
• How to identify fungal vs bacterial soils
Thursday 26 September 2019
‘Monitoring your Soil’
Participants will learn how to practically manage and monitor their soil, with an insight to the life that is present within healthy soil systems.
Lesson content will include:
• Planning your soil improvement progress
• Keeping soil on the farm
• Practical soil assessment
• Basic soil testing methods
• Microscope demonstration
Tasks
• Soil erosion bays (Constructed beforehand), timber boxes with perspex front panels and water collection units
• Continued construction of additional beds
• Soil Tests
Thursday 03 October 2019
‘Planting Practices’
Participants will learn how to select, plant and manage cover crops for improved soil health, carbon sequestration & improved land function.
Lesson content will include:
• Importance of diverse cover crops
• How much of what do you and your family need?
• Choosing what to grow for when.
• Green Manure for the home garden
• Plants that keep coming back – Perennial vegetables
Tasks:
• Planting of cover crops under control conditions into new market garden beds.
• Trialing and documenting process.
• Soil cup tests
• Bio-Stimulant application
Thursday 10 October 2019
‘Composting’
Participants will learn what makes a good compost pile and also how to make high quality thermal aerobic compost
Lesson content will include:
• Compost Overview
• The best way to compost at home
• Components of compost quality
• Maures in compost
Tasks:
• Selecting inputs
• Making Thermal Aerobic Compost
• Monitoring compost
Thursday 17 October 2019
‘Compost Tea’
Participants will learn what goes into the making of good fungal dominated compost tea and its role in growing nutrient dense regenerative food. They will learn ways in which to scale methods up or down depending on property size and requirements.
Lesson content will include:
• What is compost tea
• How do we use compost tea and apply it to scale
• Why fungal dominated compost tea is important in Western Australia
Tasks
• Assess a compost tea brew in action and discuss its components
END UNIT ONE
THE 2019 PROGRAM – 29th August 2019 – 19th March 2020
UNIT TWO
24th October 2019 – 14th November 2019
Thursday 24 October 2019
‘Seeds & Plants’
Within this module participants will be made aware of the dangers of genetic modifications of our food and animal feeds.
They will assess certain macro health measures of seeds judging on size, appearance & weight.
Lesson content will include:
• Seed quality matters
• Collecting seed
• Seeds for our future/GMO’s lack of diversity
• What we can do to help – keeping seed at home
Tasks:
• Planting out of conventional rows of seedlings prepared next door to an organic seedlings of the same species. Students will then be able to monitor and report observations through this block.
• Food time – Eating Conventionally produced foods and then organically grown food – report on taste, differences, density, colour, feeling, aroma
Thursday 31 October 2019
‘Weeds, Herbicides, Pesticides, & You’
Participants will learn the role weeds play in plant species succession, why weeds are more prevalent in bacterial dominated soils, and practical organic weed management.
Lesson content will include:
• Conventional weed management
• Mulches & Fungal/Bacterial ratio
• Studies on the detrimental effects of Pesticides
Task:
• Practicing organic weed management
• Mulching & the creation of a fungal dominant system
• Putting weeds to work
Thursday 07 November 2019
‘Hemp: Food, Fiber & Fuel’
Guest Speaker: from Hempgro
Overview: In this lesson students will learn how to get bang for the buck when it comes to crop selection. Selecting high value practical plants that are easy to grow expensive to buy. Lesson content will include:
Lesson content will include:
• What high value plants grow well in our area?
• How easy some plants can be propagated
• The future for cash crops such as garlic, hemp – what’s happening in America
Tasks
• Propagation of rhizome, bulb and perennial species•
Monitor Cover Crops and fill out growth reports
Thursday 14 Nov 2019
‘Increasing Plant for Human Benefit’
Guest: from Gracious Foods
Participants will learn simple techniques in how to extend the shelf life of the produce they harvest.
Lesson content will include:
• Food security
• Healthy plants >< healthy people
• Basic of gut microbes & probiotics
• Ferments, Kimchi, Sauerkraut
Tasks:
• Creation of organic Kim-chi and Krauts
END UNIT TWO
THE 2019 PROGRAM – 29th August 2019 – 19th March 2020
UNIT THREE
21st November 2019 – 5th December 2019
Thursday 21 November 2019
‘Permaculture Principles’
Guest Speaker: Wink Lindsay
In this lesson participants will learn about what permaculture means, a feel for the permaculture ethics as well as permaculture principles one through six.
Lesson content will include:
• Introduction to permaculture
• Permaculture Ethics
• Principles 1-6
Tasks:
• Planning perennial permaculture plants
• Planting perennial plants
Thursday 28 November 2019
‘Permaculture Design Theory’
Proposed Guest: Jeff Nugent
Participants will develop a deeper understanding into permaculture design principles as they are conveyed by one of Permacultures finest minds. Take a deep dive into permaculture plants and ecological design.
Lesson content will include:
• Design Principles 6-12
• Using the landscape
• Water cycles
• Carbon cycles
Tasks:
• Maintenance of stations
• Planting of spring crops
Thursday 05 December 2019
‘Finding your Input Loop’
‘What is Recyclable?’
Guest Speaker: Greenbatch
Participants will learn intuitive ways to use waste products as a resource. From garden pruning to egg shells, any thing that was alive can be alive again through healthy soil. There will also be additional information on reducing our impact on the environment.
Lesson content will include:
• How to reduce your carbon footprint
• How to reduce waste
• How to reuse waste
Tasks:
• Maintenance of stations & data log
END UNIT THREE
CHRISTMAS BREAK
UNIT FOUR BEGINS Thursday 06 February. 2020
THE 2019 PROGRAM – 29th August 2019 – 19th March 2020
UNIT FOUR
6th February 2020 – 19th March 2020
Thursday 06 February 2020
‘Soil Food Web’
Proposed Guest: A Mycologist
Participants will learn the basics of the foil food web & its role in making chemistry plant available.
Lesson content will include:
• Bacteria
• Protozoans
• Fungi
• Nematodes
• How they interact within the soil
Task:
Soil Food Web
Proposed Guest: Mycologist
• Maintenance of stations & data log
• Taking soil samples for microbial analysis
• How to identify microbes under a microscope
• How to use a binocular microscope correctly
Thursday 13 February 2020
‘The Sea’
Proposed Guest: A Marine Biologist
Participants will leave this unit with a basic understanding of marine biology the marine food web and the impact incorrect agricultural practices have on our oceans.:
Lesson content will include:
• Current State of our oceans
• Microbes Present vs Microbes that were
• How to breed the good guys
• Marine permaculture/ Co2 sequestration
• Nutrient runoff & algal blooms
Tasks:
• Maintenance of stations & data log
• Identify seawater microbes under microscope
• Learn the role of organisms in the ocean
Thursday 20 February 2020
‘Man’
Proposed Guest: Bunbury Gut Biologist
Students will have various parallels of the human and soil biome confirmed under microscopic analysis. Learn what organisms are crucial for a healthy functioning body.
Lesson content will include:
• Ocular
• Skin
• Mouth
• Respiratory
• Gut
• Soil/Human Parallels
Tasks:
• Maintenance of stations & data log
• Uncover some of the more important microbes in the human biome and learn how to identify them
Thursday 27 February 2020
‘Soil’
Proposed Guest: Soil Biologist
Participants will begin to see where the soil food web fits in within our larger ecological system, why supporting these systems is important and ways in which to do so..
Lesson content will include:
• Every dollar counts
• Carbon Economy
• Savannah Agriculture
Task:
• Maintenance of stations & data log
• Extract humic acids from compost
• Applying compost extracts to the garden
• Do the things you buy build soil?
Thursday 05 March. 2020
‘Regenerative Agriculture’
Proposed Guest: Byron Rogers
Participants become aware of the where the soil food web fits
within our larger ecological system. We will learn the basic tools of biological farming and ways that we can practice these methods profitably.
Lesson content will include:
• Carbon Economy
• Savannah Agriculture
Task:
• Maintenance of stations & data log
• Extract humic acids from compost
• Applying compost extracts to the garden
Thursday 12 March 2020
‘Soil & Gut Health Parallels’
Participants will learn the difference between conventional and organic food for human health. What do harmful residues on vegetables really do to our body? How similar is the soil biome and our gut biome?
Lesson content will include:
• The power of biological food on environmental and human health
• Nutrient loss in transit
• Discussion of microbes in the soil and in our gut.
Task:
• Maintenance of stations & data log
Thursday 19 March 2020
Classes of 2019 Reunion and Certificate Presentation
END UNIT FOUR AND THIS YEAR’S PROGRAM