A quick note to say that I’ve signed up to attend the Urban Permaculture in Action course, organised by Milkwood Permaculture, to be held in Sydney on 22-23 August. This should be great fun:

You’ve perhaps learnt or read a bit about Permaculture, but where do you start with actually putting all those design principles and techniques into action? This course gives you the confidence and enthusiasm to put all that theory into practice. Over this weekend you will help design and implement a Permaculture system for an inner-city backyard using simple, effective techniques and basic materials.

During this course you will learn how to apply pro-active, sustainable design techniques specifically to the urban habitat. Aspects covered include intensive, small-scale organic food production, waste re-cycling, catching and storing water in your system and designing effectively within the constraints of the urban backyard.

A dynamic mix of theory and practice will see the participants of this weekend course transform one small urban backyard from a patch of scruffy turf and pavers into a functional Permaculture system – all ready to roll.

This will be my first serious introduction to permaculture, and as a novice I’m expecting to learn heaps. I’m excited by the specific focus on the urban environment, so that those of us without a 20-acre block can still do something useful. I’ll report back after the workshop.