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Why set goals?
The first step in any good design process is to clearly define our goals for the project. A clear grasp of goals helps us to hold a vision, make design and implementation decisions and strategically allocate limited resources. The goal helps us orient our actions in the right direction. This way we can distinguish between…
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Woodland terraces Fall 2016
This was an earthworks project in the back woods of Waldo county. The design process for this project started with a concept sketch for the client whose goal is to develop this piece of land into an agroforestry farm with a focus on chestnuts. The design challenge in this case was the topography and the…
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Invasive species or invasive culture?
Look, i clearly understand that there are invasive and noxious weeds that can have negative consequences on ecosystems, but we have to grok that this is a consequence of living in the Anthropocene. There are complex dynamics afoot in the “invasive” species debate that include ecology, economics, ethics and psychology. Our European ancestors are responsible…
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Forest Garden tour this weekend!
This Saturday, April 29 we will be hosting a forest garden walk and talk. We’ve been foraging in the forest garden just about every day this week! This is a great time of year for perennial vegetables because they start yielding so early. We’ll make a gluten free fritatta as a snack for the garden…
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Construction of terraces July 2010
This was the first terrace construction project at my house where i felt compelled to use an excavator to move as much earth as i needed. This is on a hillside site in Rockland, ME with southeast facing aspect and fine sandy loam soil that drains readily. The goals for this project are to catch…
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Raised Beds from 2012
This was a fun project from back in 2012. The client had a sloping piece of yard they wanted to make into garden beds. At first, judging by eyeball, i figured we could build more or less rectangular beds, given the slope and how we would cut steps or small pads into the hillside to…
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Spring 2017 Hurricane Island course
Check out the details for this upcoming 12 hour Intro to Permaculture course on Hurricane Island! We will engage the eyes, ears and hands in this dynamic course to give participants and in-depth introduction to permaculture design and how to apply it to garden and small farm design. We are bringing permaculture to island communities…
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Winter 2017 Announcements
Mid Winter Greetings everyone! As we pour over seed catalogs huddled next to the stove, now is a good time to begin dreaming and scheming for our gardens this coming year. And the best way to begin the garden is with good design. The way to do that is to first consider the goals for…
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Autumn 2016 events
Autumn Greetings! This weekend is the Common Ground Fair at the MOFGA fairgrounds, and we wanted to invite you to connect with us during this 25K+ person/day event! (A lofty goal, i know). I’ll be volunteering with Maine-Wabanaki REACH at their table in the Social and Political Action area. I’ll be helping them set up…
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Intro to Permaculture half day workshop September 3
Saturday September 3th 2016, Permaculture Workshop at the Deer Isle Hostel. Learn how to design ecological and edible landscapes and resilient home sites using whole system planning and patterns from nature. In this Introduction to Permaculture workshop we will discuss the history, principles and benefits of permaculture. We will go over a permaculture site design…
