This document introduces permaculture, which involves designing sustainable human settlements and agricultural systems modeled from natural ecosystems. It discusses the core principles of permaculture design, which include placing elements in their relative locations for mutual benefit, designing systems with multiple functions and elements, efficiently planning for energy needs, using biological resources, cycling energy and materials, creating intensive small-scale systems, accelerating ecological succession, maintaining diversity, utilizing edge effects, and adopting supportive attitudes. The overall goal of permaculture is to meet human needs for food, shelter, and community in sustainable ways that care for the earth and people.

1. Introduction to Urban Permaculture
Gold Coast Permaculture
WELCOME!

2. What is permaculture?
Permanent agriculture
Ecologically sound
&
Economically viable
Provide for their own needs
Sustainable in the
long term
Do not exploit or pollute

3. Permaculturedealswith:

4. Permaculture Design

5. Permaculture Ethics
• Care of the Earth
• Care of the people
• Share of surplus
Moral beliefs and
actions in relation to
survival on our planet.

6. Care of the earth
Care of all living & non living things:
• Soils & Athmosphere
• Species and their varieties
• Water, Forests & Animals
Active conservation
Ethical use of resources
Working for useful & beneficial systems

7. Care of people
Basic needs for:
• Food
• Shelter
• Education
• Satisfaying
employment
• Convivial human
contact

8. Fair Share
Contribution of surplus:
1. Time
2. Money
3. Energy
to achieve the aims of
earth and people care.

9. Permaculture Principles
“Thinking tools that allow us to re design our
environment and behaviour”
Design
Principles
Relative
Location
Multiple
functions
Multiple
Elements
Energy
Efficient
Planning
Using
Biological
Resources
Energy
Cycling
Small
Scale
Intensive
Accelerating
Succession
Diversity
Edge
Awareness
Attitudinal
principles

10. 1. Relative Location
“We must put it in the right place”
Chicken Pen close house & garden
Wind break – Stop wind but not sun
Worm farm close to kitchen
Gravity
for
natural
water
flow

11. 1. Relative Location
Working relationships between each element
• Inputs needed by one are supplied by other
• Outputs needed by one are used by other

12. 2. Multiple Functions
Each element in the system should be chosen
and placed so it performs as many functions.
Pond in the backyard
Habitat for birds

13. 2. Multiple Functions
Water plants used as fertilizers

14. 3. Multiple Elements
Basic needs such as:
• Water & Food
• Energy & Fire
protection
Should be served in two
or more ways
Dam near house in case of fire
Moringa as a perennial food tree
Water harvesting
from roof into
water tanks

15. 4. Efficient Energy Planning
Zone Planning
Placing elements
according to
how much we
use them or how
often we need to
service them.

16. 4. Efficient Energy Planning
Sector Planning
Understanding
the direction
from which:
sun, wind, fire
and flood
come helps in
the placement
of structures
and vegetation.

17. 4. Efficient Energy Planning
Slope
Observe relative elevations to
decide on the placements of: • Dams &
water tanks
• Drains,
flood & flow
diversions
• Place
wastewater

18. 5. Using Biological Resorces
Plants and animals do the work for us!
Animal Tractors
Umbelliferous
&
Composite
Plants
Natural fertilizers: Comfrey & Leguminous

19. 6. Energy Cycling
Catch, store and use!
Composting kitchen wastes
Thermal mass
Strawbale
&
Superadobe
Natural
BuildingLeaves raked for mulch

20. 7. Small-Scale Intensive System
Fully develop the nucleus before going on!
Time stacking

21. 8. Accelerating Succession and
Evolution
Raise organic levels artificially
Plants
that will
easily
survive
Using
what is
already
growing

22. 9. Diversity
Functional connections between elements

23. 9. Diversity
Guilds - Placement of species which benefit each other

24. 10. Edge Effects
Productivity increases at the boundary between two
ecologies. Resources from both systems can be used.
Herb Spiral increase edge and micro climate
Keyhole & Mandala Gardens

25. 11. Attitudinal Principles
“You don’t have a
snail infestation,
you have a duck
deficienty”

26. 11. Attitudinal Principles
Permaculture is not energy or capital intensive.
Permaculture is information-intensive!
If we take the time to read, observe, discuss and
contemplate, we design systems which save
energy and give us yields.
WELCOME TO OUR
URBAN PERMACULTURE
COURSE!

27. Permaculture Ethics in our own lives
• Long-term consequences of your actions.
• Natives X Invasive species
• Intensive systems X Extensive systems
• Be diverse, polycultural for stability or change
• Bring food-growing back into the cities
• Promote community responsability
• Reafforest earth, restore fertility to the soil
• Recycle all wastes
• See solutions, not problems
• Work where it counts

28. Local Great Resorces
• Gold Coast Organic Growers
• Botanic Gardens Benowa
• Community Gardens GC Council
• Food Connect Brisbane
• Griffith Logan Refugee Community Garden
• Northey Street City Farm Brisbane
• Djanbung Gardens Nimbin
• Yandina Community Gardens
• Mudbrick Cottage Herb Farm