We are 14 students in the Permaculture PDC course, and there were others who attended the Intro talk on Friday night who would have jumped in if they could.

It’s a very interesting collection of people, some from the South Shore and some from places like Montreal, the Bahamas, BC and Newfoundland, in come cases via closer places like New Brunswick, Antigonish, Halifax.

There is a lot of passion in the group –  for growing things, for taking actions that actually contribute to healing the world, for finding a better way to grow food and to live, for connecting with a movement of positive ideas that make sense, for living their passion.

Age range varies widely, with a strong cohort in their 20s and a sprinkling through the decades towards “normal retirement age”. Academic backgrounds range widely too.

Some students are getting university credit for the course.

Until last year, the last PDC taught in Nova Scotia was in 1995. Permaculture is popular in places like Australia, where it originated, where farmers get their PDC tuition subsidized and where it is taught in elementary schools, and also on the west coast, in BC and Washington for example. So we are significantly expanding the permaculture movement on the east coast, while being connected to a much larger network of people.

I hope to find time to blog about the course over the next two weeks, passing on some of the highlights.