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The Permaculture Design Certificate (72 hours) provides an introduction to permaculture design as created by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren.  Upon completion of the full curriculum students will earn the internationally recognised Permacutlure Design Certificate.

Course: Permaculture Design Certificate Course (PDC) Part time course, held over 6 weekends

Date: Starting April 2019 (72 hours)

Venues: The course will be hosted between two Farms on the Mid North Coast of Australia, just 3 hours north of Sydney.

Garden to Table Permaculture, A Permaculture Homestead, 74 Coomba Road, Charlotte Bay, PACIFIC PALMS, NSW

Limestone Permaculture Farm, 846 The Bucketts Way, Stroud Road, NSW

Includes: Over $100 of resources included in the course price

1 year subscription to PIP magazine – Australian Permaculture Mag

1 year membership to Permaculture Australia

Earth Users Guide to Permaculture by Rosemary Morrow

Garden to Table Laminated Companion Planting Guide

Essence of Permaculture 20 page booklet by David Holmgren

Site visits to a local Worm Farm, Local Organic Seed Company & Permaculture School Garden

Lunch, Morning & afternoon tea.  *Students will provide their own breakfast & dinner.

Cost:

Earlybird price: $1995  ($300 deposit – Paid before November 2018)

Full Price: $2300 (Paid after Jan 2019)

Group price: $1700 (2 or more people)

Testimonial

“I wholeheartedly recommend a Permaculture Design Course with Garden to Table. I feel inspired to take my knowledge and skills out into the world. The food and location are superb. The teachers are passionate and they offer lots of hands-on experience throughout the course. This course will touch both your heart and mind. I recommend it to anyone wanting to enhance their connection with themselves, their communities and our Earth.”  Lyb Makin, Sydney

Nestled amongst a Eucalyptus Forest on the Mid North Coast of NSW Garden to Table Permaculture is just 3 hours drive north of Sydney. We are passionate about teaching people how easy it is to grow and prepare their own food in line with the Permaculture Ethics – Earth Care, People Care & Fair Share. A two week residential Permaculture Design Course taught on a small acreage Permaculture Homestead.

A small balcony garden in the city, a suburban block or acres, Garden to Table Permaculture will teach you how to make growing food part of your everyday life and have food at your fingertips to nourish yourself, your family and your community.

Do you want to learn skills for sustainable living, growing your own food, designing your own patch of Paradise or designing to create sustainable communities ? It doesn’t matter if you live in an apartment in the city, a suburban block or acres, you will learn how to make sustainable living part of your daily life.

Phone Megan Cooke on 0413 769 530 for more information, I’d love to chat to you personally about this course. We’re so excited!

Our teachers…

Megan Cooke, director of Garden to Table Permaculture, has a combined 24 years experience in horticulture, permaculture and outdoor education. Megan worked for Great Lakes Council teaching a ‘Gardening for Sustainability Program, taught children in the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program and managed Forster Community Garden for seven years.

Certified by Permaculture College Australia in 2006  she completed her PDC with Robyn Francis. In 2012 she completed her Permaculture teacher training with Rosemary Morrow & Nick Ritar at Milkwood Permaculture. In 2013 Megan visited Malawi in Africa where she completed her second Permaculture Design Course.

Megan is passionate about sharing the knowledge she has learnt from her sustainable living journey of building a Rammed Earth passive solar house surrounded by Permaculture gardens, with her husband and two children in Pacific Palms.

 

Brett Cooper owns and operates Limestone Permaculture Farm with his wife Nicole & two children in the Stroud Valley, on the Mid North Coast, a small diverse farm with a farm gate, market garden and mixed animals. He works as a Permaculture designer, educator & market gardener.

Brett is a Carpenter & Joiner by trade, has years of experience in Building & Landscaping, carries Diplomas in Project & People Management, is certified by Permaculture Research Institute for his PDC undertaken with Allyn River Permaculture and has been vegetable gardening for over 40 years.

In the past, Brett has been a director on the Gloucester Food Hub, coordinator for the Mayfield Community Gardens, manager for the Stroud Growers Market and is currently the Chief Steward of the ‘Produce Pavilion’ at the Stroud Show.

His passion is teaching small scale permaculture & designing ‘Permaculture Principled Homesteads’.!

 

ACCOMMODATION at PACIFIC PALMS dates – 2017

March 31 & April 1, June 2 & 3, June 30 & July 1, Sept 8 & 9 

… just 5 minutes drive from Garden to Table Permaculture, right opposite Elizabeth beach!

Pacific Palms Caravan Park at Elizabeth Beach – www.pacificpalmscaravanpark.com.au

Phone (02) 6554 0209

Email: john@pacificpalmscaravanpark.com.au

Camping $15 per night at Elizabeth Beach Caravan Park

Shared Cabins: Approximately 4 – 5 people per cabin $300 for 2 weeks

(Accommodation options are paid separately directly to accommodation provider)

ACCOMMODATION at STROUD dates – 2017

May 19 & 20, Aug 4 & 5

For more information on accommodation in Stroud click here.

To find out more information contact Megan on 0413 769 530 or email megan@gardentotable.com.au

Fermenting Vegetables Workshop, Pacific Palms.

Date: June 24th, 2017

Time: 1pm – 5pm

At: Garden to Table Permaculture Pacific Palms

Investment in your gut health: $150

Includes: 1 Litre of sauerkraut, 1 Litre of lacto-fermented brined vegetables of your choice

 

Garden to Table Permaculture will ‘open their doors’ to the public on October Long Weekend to celebrate the ‘Great Lakes Food Trail’. The trail will showcase local ethical producers. On this tour people will learn about what can be done at home to live a more sustainable life and grow some of your own food.  You will see the productive edible gardens and the outside of the rammed earth home.

Where: Charlotte Bay, Pacific Palms, just 3 hrs drive north of Sydney

When: Sunday 1st October

3 Session Times:

10am – 11.30am

12.30pm – 2pm

2.30pm – 4pm

Nestled amongst a Eucalyptus forest on 8 acres, owners Megan and Justin Cooke are combining their skills of teaching Permaculture and Natural Earth Building to create a Permaculture oasis. “Eating & growing organic food, where possible, is a great way to avoid a nasty concoction of chemicals that you can’t see or taste in your food” says Megan Cooke.

One acre of land was cleared to build the home and gardens. The property features a eight year old food forest planted on swales, dripping with delicious sub tropical fruits including bananas, guava, feijoa, fig, mango, citrus and stawberries. No dig gardens and a chop and drop mulching system have improved the soil on this rocky ridge where there is now a productive ecosystem. Happy chickens freerange in a fox proof chook house reusing an old caravan. Starting with zone 0 the house has been developed over the last 10 years with design features of rammed earth, light earth and mud brick, solar passive home including an on site grey water treatment system, solar panels and even home grown bench tops!

The tour includes:

There will be 3 sessions on the day and bookings are essential as  places are limited.

Cost: Adults $20 per person (16yr +) Cost includes tour of the property

Children $5 (4yr – 15yr) Children will get to feed the chickens

Session 1 – 10.00am – 11.30pm

10.00 – Registrations for existing ticket holders

10.30 – 11.30 – Tour of the Permaculture garden & outside of the Rammed Earth House with Megan Cooke, Permaculture Teacher & Morning Tea

Trio of Organic Dips

Lime Hommus, Thai pumpkin dip & Paw Paw Dip with Charlotte Bay Seed Crackers & raw vegetables & social catch up with like minded people on the tour.  Browse our quality garden products for sale.

 

Session 2 – 12.30pm – 2.00pm

12.30 – 1.00pm – Registrations for existing ticket holders

1.00pm – 2.00pm – Tour of the Permaculture garden & outside of the Rammed Earth House with Megan Cooke, Permaculture Teacher & Afternoon tea

Trio of Organic Dips

Lime Hommus, Thai pumpkin dip & Paw Paw Dip with Charlotte Bay Seed Crackers & raw vegetables.

Social catch up with like minded people on the tour.  Browse our quality garden products for sale.

 

Session 3 – 2.30pm – 4pm

2.30pm – 3.00pm – Registrations for existing ticket holders

3.00pm – 4.00pm – Tour of the Permaculture garden & outside of the Rammed Earth House with Megan Cooke, Permaculture Teacher & Afternoon tea

Trio of Organic Dips

Lime Hommus, Thai pumpkin dip & Paw Paw Dip with Charlotte Bay Seed Crackers & raw vegetables

Social catch up with like minded people on the tour & browse our quality garden products for sale.

All tickets must be purchased through www.gardentotable.com.au website prior to the day.

*Part of the proceeds from our business is donated to Hardwell & his family, Megan visited in Malawi Africa, to help them become self sufficient using Permaculture Principles.

 

 

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International Permaculture Day on the first Sunday in May is a day of celebration and action for permaculture around the world. It is a day when visitors can see these myriad initiatives, ask questions of their developers and decide for themselves whether the permaculture design system has relevance to the challenges we face and to creating communities that are resilient in the face of undesirable and unforeseeable impacts.

Now in its 7th year, International Permaculture Day has grown rapidly from its roots as a local Australian initiative to a global day of permaculture celebrated in over 35 countries.

Why not experience permaculture on the ground with practitioners? It is a chance to visit homes, gardens and farms, or go along to film screenings, workshops, permablitzes (garden makeovers) and much more.

Click here to find an  event in your area.

2016-IPD-A4 poster PDFIPD 2016-poster

Garden to Table Permaculture will ‘open their doors’ to the public on Sunday May 1st to celebrate International Permaculture Day. Click here to watch a video here where we recently featured on Better Homes and GardensWe’ll showcase a permaculture demonstration site, including the outside of the rammed earth home and permaculture gardens, at Pacific Palms, just 3 hrs drive north of Sydney.

The property features a seven year old food forest planted on swales, dripping with delicious sub tropical fruits including bananas, guava, feijoa, fig, mango, citrus and stawberries. A chook tractoring system, no dig gardens and a chop and drop mulching system have improved the soil on this rocky ridge where there is now a productive ecosystem. Happy chickens freerange in a fox proof chook house reusing an old caravan. Starting with zone 0 the solar passive home has been developed over the last 10 years with design features of rammed earth, light earth and mud brick,  including an on site grey water treatment system, solar panels and even home grown bench tops!

For bookings and more info visit www.gardentotable.com.au or call Megan on 0413 769 530.

We hope to see you on Sunday!

Happy Gardening,

Megan Cooke

Permaculture Teacher

Garden to Table Permaculture

 

 

Enjoy a guided tour of our Permaculture Property at Pacific Palms , give us a call on 0413 769 530 and we can arrange a suitable time.

Monday – Friday between 9am – 1.30pm by appointment.

Weekends by appointment.

Nestled amongst a Eucalyptus forest on 8 acres, owners Megan and Justin Cooke are combining their skills of teaching permaculture and natural earth building to create a Permaculture oasis.

The property features a ten year old food forest planted on swales, dripping with delicious sub tropical fruits including olives, bananas, guava, feijoa, fig, mango, citrus and stawberries. A chook tractoring system, no dig gardens and a chop and drop mulching system have improved the soil on this rocky ridge where there is now a productive ecosystem. Happy chickens freerange in a fox proof chook house reusing an old caravan. Starting with zone 0 the house has been developed over the last 10 years with design features of rammed earth, light earth and mud brick, solar passive home including an on site grey water treatment system, solar panels and even home grown bench tops!

The tour includes:

Tours take approximately 1 hour and is suitable for people who can walk on slightly uneven terrain at a slow pace.

Single Adult – $50 or

Children $10

Group tours are suitable for; School groups, View club, Garden clubs, Probus and anyone interested in learning more about sustainable living.

Group price for:

20 people –  $20 per person.

15 people – $25 per person.

10 people or less – $30 per person.

Please call Megan on 0413 769 530 or fill out the form below.

 

Private Event: For members of the Topi Topi Sustainable Garden Group

When: Monday 14th March

Time: 10.00am – 12.00pm

Garden to Table Permaculture will ‘open their doors’ to the Topi Topi Sustainable Garden Group on Monday 14th of March, to showcase a permaculture demonstration site, including the outside of the rammed earth home and permaculture gardens, at Pacific Palms, just 3 hrs drive north of Sydney.

Do you want to learn about living a more sustainable way of life, how to grow your own food and meet other like – minded people? Then this tour is for you!

Nestled amongst a Eucalyptus forest on 8 acres, owners Megan and Justin Cooke are combining their skills of teaching permaculture and natural earth building to create a Permaculture oasis.

The property features a seven year old food forest planted on swales, dripping with delicious sub tropical fruits including bananas, guava, feijoa, fig, mango, citrus and stawberries. A chook tractoring system, no dig gardens and a chop and drop mulching system have improved the soil on this rocky ridge where there is now a productive ecosystem. Happy chickens freerange in a fox proof chook house reusing an old caravan. Starting with zone 0 the solar passive home has been developed over the last 10 years with design features of rammed earth, light earth and mud brick,  including an on site grey water treatment system, solar panels and even home grown bench tops!

There will be 1 session on the day and bookings are essential as places are limited. Cost includes tour of the property, tea & coffee.

Cost: $10 per person which can be paid on the day to Sue Williams. Please have the correct money. When you register you will be sent an email with payment details which can be ignored as this is a pay on the day event!

Edible Garden Tour

When: Monday 14th March

Time: 10.00am – 12.00pm

10.00 – Registrations

10.30 – 11.30 – Tour of the permaculture garden & outside of the Rammed Earth House with Megan Cooke, Permaculture Teacher

11.30 – 12.00 –  Tea/coffee

Accommodation for a single person or a couple in a Rammed Earth Studio on a private 8 acre property, in a peaceful bush setting. Guests will enjoy waking up to the sounds of nature and enjoy their own private Bath House.

Queen size bed in Rammed Earth Studio	Boomerang, Bluey’s & Elizabeth Beaches just 5 mins away	A rammed Earth Studio
Self Contained Kitchen	A Rustic Bath House	Collect Eggs

Potential guests please note this is a non smoking property.

Facilities include:

One queen size bed

Self contained kitchen

Optional Breakfast Basket with Free range eggs, fresh herbs & organic garden greens, muesli, organic tea & coffee, butter & oil.

Extensive gardening library

Rustic outdoor bath house, with cast iron bath, shower & toilet, 30 metres walk from accommodation

Private 8 acre bush property 5 minutes drive from Bluey’s, Boomerang, Elizabeth & Celito Beach. Close to the lakes. Please call Megan for availability on 0413 769 530.

 

Activities close by:

Organic Gardening & Permaculture Workshops

Stand up paddle boarding on Smith's Lake

Surfing & swimming

Canoeing

Bushwalking

Shopping in The Great Lakes, Forster & Pacific Palms, NSW

Eating out in the Great Lakes, NSW

Pacific Palms Market & Great Lakes local Markets

Workshop: Preschool Gardening & Sustainability Program for Early Childhood Teachers

$195 – per person

$149.50 – Early Bird Price Pay before 20th February 2017

Includes:

• A laminated Garden to Table Permaculture Companion Planting guide
• January – December guide on what to plant
• Course notes on a thumbdrive

When: Monday 20th March, 2017

Time: 9.00am – 3.00pm

Maximum 20 participants – Book your place now!

‘Growing up in suburban Melbourne, I thought beetroot just came out of a tin, until I grew my first beetroot and discovered the joys of gardening & since then I’ve never looked back!’. Megan Cooke

Our Preschool Gardening Program, in the Great Lakes is aimed at educating Preschool teachers with knowledge on implementing low cost, every day sustainable practices for their centre. In turn the Preschool teachers will explore the solutions to the issues that we face by modelling sustainable practices. Teachers do not need to be ‘experts’ in sustainability but instead will learn with the children, typically aged between 2 – 5 years.

Preschool Teachers and children will quickly learn what works and what doesn’t work which will foster the ongoing learning and development of the Preschool Gardening Program with a focus on sustainability. Centres can link this program in with the National Quality Standard 3.3 – Service promote sustainable practices and the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia.

At a young age children need to learn about the importance of being connected to their natural world. It is about teaching children the importance of where their food comes from, learning about the connection from the garden to the table.

Why is keeping the soil healthy important to us and our environment? Introducing children to growing their own food builds strong and healthy connection between the right and wrong choices in food which will set them in good stead for making healthy food choices for life.

Our sustainable Gardening Program teaches the basic principles of sustainability both at home, school or in the garden.

We teach the 3 main ethics of Permaculture – EARTH CARE, PEOPLE CARE & FAIR SHARE.

 

9am – 9.45am

Introductions – Welcome

9.45am – 11.00am

Hands on Gardening activity – composting, worm farming & harvesting produce

Build a Worm Hotel

Water – saving, harvesting & storage for reuse on the garden.

Waste – turning waste into a resource

Energy – ideas for simple ideas to save money and power

Soil – a living organism, nurturing soils and making compost

Insects & Animals – It’s ok to have chickens in a Preschool Centre!

 

11am – 12pm Resources for teaching composting and worm farming to children

Seasonal Planting – what and when to plant

Companion planting – friends and foes in the garden

Looking at increasing good bugs in the garden & how to control unwanted pests

Organic gardening principles

 

12pm – 1pm Lunch – Bring your own healthy lunch, we will provide salad & in season dips

 

 

1pm – 2.45pm – Planting activity & Ideas for creating low cost, upcycled gardens

Early Childhood/Preschool Gardening Free resources

Little Green Steps Sustainablilty Education for Childcare Centres  – includes a checklist

‘Creating & Maintaining Organic Gardens‘ a guide to setting up gardens for Preschool Teachers.

Other free gardening resources for Preschool Teachers

Template for writing letters asking for free stuff from local business.

Connecting with community – what skills can you call upon in the local community?

Existing groups and networks to join – Seedsavers, Diggers Club, Permaculture Australia

 

2.45pm – 3pm

Wrap up & where to from here?

 

Further Reading

Read the Advocates article ‘Home grown program draws accolades for preschool’ By Rebecca Casson on

how Lillypilly preschool in the Great Lakes won an award for their locavore gardening program.

 

Meet our Preschool Gardening Teacher…

Megan Cooke, director of Garden to Table Permaculture has a combined 24 years experience in horticulture, permaculture and outdoor education. In 2012, Megan taught a ‘Gardening for Sustainability Program’ for the Great Lakes Council and worked at a local primary school teaching the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program. Megan has developed a free guide for Preschools, in combination with the Forster Neighbourhood Centre ‘Creating & Maintaining Organic Gardens‘.

Working with indigenous and local community volunteers at the Forster Community Garden,  Megan learnt valuable skills in delivering a project with a minimal budget & collaborating with the community. She has just returned from a trip to Malawi in Africa where she completed her second Permaculture Design Course.

Megan is passionate about teaching people the joys of growing and cooking their own organic food and sharing the knowledge she has learnt from her sustainable living journey of building a rammed earth passive solar house surrounded by Permaculture gardens with her husband and two children in Pacific Palms.

Call Megan on 0413 769 530 to book your FREE 15 minute Skype consultation to discover the possibilities of how we can work together to grow your preschool garden & teach the next generation about the importance of practicing Environmental sustainability.
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