“An exclusive opportunity to join the fastest growing movement for positive change on the planet"

From the Desk of: Rob and Michelle Avis, Verge Permaculture

For well over a year now we've had Edmontonians asking us "when are you coming here??". Happily we can finally give you an answer that you will be happy with - February 2012! 

Edmonton Permaculture Design Certificate Course

WHEN: The course will run the 2nd weekend of every month for 6 months starting in February 2012, from 9 am to 5 pm: Feb 11, 12; March 10, 11; April 14,15; May 12, 13; June 9, 10; July 7, 8.

WHERE:

Updated March 7th!! The course will be held at 

COST: $1199.

To learn more about Registered Education Savings Plan funding, making a deposit to reserve a spot, payment plans and our cancelation policy, click here. 

That might seem like a lot of money at first. But give us a chance and we think you’ll agree it’s actually a fantastic bargain.

But first, see if you can relate to this . . .

Most people care deeply about the planet and their communities but feel powerless to do anything to make a difference.

Here’s our take on the situation:

Many people today are keenly aware of the problems we face: the tarsands, climate change, peak oil, deforestation, food security and the BP Oil spill to name a few.

But most people are totally unaware of the amazing scope of practical and effective solutions to these problems.

And what we’ve found, again and again, is that when people learn about these they stop being hopeless. They become inspired change makers in their communities.

What kinds of solutions? Here are just a few:

how the desert areas and the worst soil ever can be reclaimed and turned into an oasis not into decades but mere years
how sewage can be transformed into drinkable water with plants - not chemicals (and we’ll show you examples from many entire cities that are employing this)
cost-effective, do-it-yourself home retrofit, renewable energy installations and yard transformations that result in creating an urban (or rural) oasis providing much, if not all, of your energy, water and food needs
using trees and forests to deal with looming energy shortages and stop climate change, clean our air, rivers, lakes and oceans, build topsoil and provide fuel, food, shelter and habitat.
a simple way of looking at things that can have turning almost any kind of waste into a valuable resource (we’ll show you dozens of examples of this that will have your head spinning with excitement and ideas of your own)
how some of the worst toxic sites can be ‘cleaned up’ in a matter of months using only mushrooms

And those are just a few.

But here’s the secret...

There’s something even more important than learning about all of the various, cutting-edge, hidden-gem, work-like-a-charm, ‘eco-solutions’ out there.

And that’s learning how they all work together.

And this is the critical piece. If you wanted to get a basic grasp on all of the topics you’re going to get access to in our course it would cost you tens of thousands of dollars and years of your time.

But you’re going to get all of this for a fraction of the price, you’re going to learn how they all weave together and be able to design sustainable systems like an eco-ninja.  

But, what’s in it for you?

During this course, you will learn:

how to turn your home into the greenest home on the block - all while saving money and making a super healthy, beautiful and inspiring environment for family, friends and community. You’ll learn about everything from how to make sweet balcony gardens, small urban backyards, and transform acreages and broadacre farms.
enough to astonish your friends and colleagues by walking into any ecosystem (garden, landscape, farm, or community) and making meaningful recommendations (that no one else has likely thought of) for reducing waste and using wind, sun, water, soil and a bunch of other techniques.
an incredible amount of practical ‘earth restoring’ strategies for everything from small urban lots to large farms.
how to pattern functional and edible perennials into food-forest assemblies, grow more delicious, nutritious, organic food than you can eat with almost no work - never buy a zucchini and never "weed" your garden again.
a whole new practical philosophy of working with (rather than against) nature; a perspective that could save you a tonne of time and money.
practical ways on how you can create a ‘right-livelihood’. You’ll leave with dozens of ideas on new ways you can live a rich, meaningful life, and earn money in a way that is aligned with your values.
simple things you can do that build community, bring people together in fun and cooperative ways, how to organize locally and increase community resilience.
about the fast growing, world-wide movement of designers, teachers and grassroot activists working (with incredible effectiveness) to restore damaged ecosystems and human communities. You’ll learn dozens and dozens of ‘good news’ success stories that you will never hear in the mainstream media. Stories that will leave you feeling more inspired, hopeful and uplifted than you have in years.

And that's only the beginning (we pack a lot into this seventy-two hour course!). If you want to read more about the topics and content covered in detail, click here.

"Thank you, this was the boiled down, simple, straight forward specific path to sustainable living and development"

- Maurice Samm, Camrose

"I knew that this would be a life changing course going into it and it hasn't disappointed. I will carry this energy, memory and community into however I practice permaculture. I have valued the ethical emphasis and commitment, the intensity of the overall course. Thank-you, Thank-you, Thank-you!!!"

- Ken MacLeod, Saskatoon

What is Permaculture?

To put it simply: permaculture gives you everything you need to be an ecological designer.

Put another way: permaculture is a framework that allows you to take all of the most cutting edge environmental and social solutions and weave them together into something that is guaranteed to work long term.

To put it more technically: Permaculture is a design system for shelter, energy, waste, water and food production and provides concepts, tools, techniques and strategies that empower individuals to create human environments that are not only sustainable, but regenerative. It is a design system based in science & guided by ethics.

"Fantastic Experience. Life Changing. Thanks!"

- Martin Scholz, Red Deer

"The [course] was incredibly well organized and the level of education, amazing. Thanks for the experience!"

- Carissa deJong, Edmonton

A Bit About Your Lead Instructor & Course Coordinators - Rob & Michelle Avis

Rob and Michelle are highly active permaculturists and offer a wealth of knowledge and experience from around the world. They are students of Geoff Lawton and the Bullock Brothers and have hands-on experience with numerous concepts including: strawbale buildings, earthships , low-energy homes, wind turbines and solar power & heating but also understands and emphasizes the importance of biological systems: soil, water-harvesting, landscape re-hydration, composting, growing food, grey water and biological waste-water treatment.

As a speaker for community events, non-profit groups and businesses, Rob is keen to share his passion and vision. He has been invited to guest lecture at the University of Calgary, taught workshops in partnership with the non-profit Green Calgary, and now teaches the full permaculture design certificate with courses planned across Western Canada.

When not teaching or consulting you'll find Rob in the basement experimenting with ferments (baking bread & brewing beer) or foraging in the garden. Michelle loves her road bike and is an aspiring yogini.

Seven really very good reasons this Course could be worth way more than $1199 for you:

Okay. Let’s talk price again. We know that this is a lot of money for many of our students. However, we strongly believe that "investing in yourself" is likely the best possible investment that you can make. 

We also invite you to consider the following . . .

1. YOU GET A CERTIFICATE: This course is the full Permaculture Design Certificate course (including all theory and practical exercises necessary to enable you to become a Permaculture designer and teacher and can lead on to full teacher registration and Diploma of Permaculture Design with the Permaculture Institute). Plus - cool certificate! Hang it on the wall and impress your friends.

2. 72 HOURS: This course is 72 hours of ‘class time’. This works out to $100/day. Or $16.50/hour. We think that’s more than reasonable. And, at the end of most of the courses, many of our clients insist that we are undercharging because they got the full value of the course by the end of the fourth day.

3. HANDS ON AND PRACTICAL: You get hands-on workshops (composting, swale building, surveying for property design, mapping and more) PLUS a field trip to an urban permaculture site.

4. A DOZEN COURSES IN ONE: To attempt to get the equivalent quality and amount of information on a course-by-course basis students you would have to take 10 – 15 different courses ranging from organic gardening, natural buildings, renewable energy to eco-village design and alternative economy. The cumulative cost of such courses is easily 10 times higher and some topics, such as “Pattern Observation” (which we think is actually one of the most important topics) you won’t be able to find anywhere else.

5. ONGOING SAVING WHEN YOU APPLY IT: When you finish this course you’ll be able to produce effective, efficient and sustainable designs that seek to address the core sustainability issues of food, water, shelter, energy and community and create real cost savings for you, your community and, maybe one day - your own clients. And each one of these ongoing savings are often orders of magnitude greater than your one-time course fee.

6. RIGHTS TO USE ALL THE COURSE MATERIAL FOREVER: You’ll also get a CD copy of all course slides and course material. These are materials that we have spent two years time creating and that have gotten us rave reviews from audiences we’ve presented to. These are materials you can use when you create (and charge for) presentations and workshops yourself. This is a training that, a little ways down the road, can actually start making you money.

7. THE BIG ONE: PERMANENT SCHOLARSHIP TO COME BACK: If you’re not convinced this is more than worth the money yet. Check this out - When you complete this course you are always (forever and ever) welcome to return for future refresher course at cost (as long as there is room)*. To our knowledge, there are no other Permaculture Design Course providers on the planet that offer this!

*We ask returning students to pay a small fee to cover food & consumables.  Applies to Permaculture Introduction and Design Course run and administered by Verge Permaculture 

- Martin Scholz, Red Deer, AB

“I would say that what you gave me was, as the mastercard commercials say – priceless. This is the first time in a dozen years that I have been optimistic about the future. That has no monetary value!”

- Annette Anderwald, BSc, Registered Dietitian, 
Certificate in Adult and Continuing Education,
Permaculture Design Consultant

There you have it. Thanks for sticking through to the end. If you are looking for more, check out our Course Testimonials page to read what past students are saying about us and our courses. 

Also, have a look at some photos and blog posts from past courses:

If you are thinking of signing up - review our course cancellation policy.

and lastly...

if you have any other questions or requests for information, don't hesitate to contact us.

Looking forward to seeing you in class, 

Rob & Michelle Avis