Permaculture Lab Launched!

by Glenda Stoneman

At the end of the last post, I was waiting for site approval. I met with people in different parts of the school, and the site was approved on October 12th. Some of the meetings were held at the site, and it was so nice to be outside on our beautiful campus!

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Almost everyone involved in making the Permaculture Lab possible was there to celebrate its launch!

In my Environment and Resource Management course, we learned about plate tectonics and the rock cycle indoors, then we went to the Permaculture Lab to learn about the soil. We looked at the structure and texture of the soil, squeezed it to find out if it is sandy or clay, measured the water infiltration rate, and looked for worms. We completed a jar test to discover it was sandy loam soil, and we dug a hole and saw the first two soil horizons we learned about in class.

During another class, Permaculture Designer Adrian Hodgson, joined us as a guest speaker. He showed the students the microclimates, sun aspects and talked about human connection to the land. Adrian spent additional hours talking to me about the site, teaching me the names of the trees and telling me about their interactions in tree guilds. He suggested pathways and visualized how the site would function. When I asked what to plant in the spring, Adrian reminded me that this is a Permaculture Lab. This means we need to do some research and experimentation to see what works best for us as an Appleby community.

As Permaculture regenerates the earth, it also builds community. I can see the Permaculture Lab connecting so many of us in the Appleby community and beyond.

I learned that Michelle Andrews, co-founder of Door Number One, would be on campus on November 9th. Michelle has been leading a small group of employees and students in the creation of a climate action plan for the school. She introduced us to regeneration and permaculture earlier in the year. I scheduled a launch of the Permaculture Lab to coincide with her visit, and almost everyone involved in making it possible was there to celebrate! Students in my class gave out paper seeds and we each wrote our hopes and dreams for the Permaculture Lab on them then ‘planted’ them in the garden after a short opening ceremony. The sun was shining, and it was a perfect autumn day.

Students in my class gave out paper seeds and we each wrote our hopes and dreams for the
Permaculture Lab on them then ‘planted’ them in the garden after a short opening ceremony.

The class and I returned the next day to mulch the gardens using leaves from the surrounding area. This will add organic material and nutrients to the soil. We will return in the spring.

I met with Dr. Odianosen (Didi) Iyamabo who is running the Permaculture Co-Curricular over the winter. He and the students will return to the site to consider its conditions and surrounding environment then spend the winter researching best selections, making connections with local growers, and start some seedlings in the greenhouse. Students in my course and the spring Permaculture Co-Curricular will plant when it is warm enough.

Students in my class gave out paper seeds and we each wrote our hopes and dreams for the
Permaculture Lab on them then ‘planted’ them in the garden after a short opening ceremony.

Didi and I also talked about ways to get students in his Environmental Science course out to the Permaculture Lab, and Nicola St. George and I will be taking a course on rain gardens over the winter with the hope of adding one to the site. As Permaculture regenerates the earth, it also builds community. I can see the Permaculture Lab connecting so many of us in the Appleby community and beyond. I’m looking forward to watching it grow!