San Francisco Group: learn permaculture design at Botanical Garden

Saturday, June 9 - Sunday, August 26, at the San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum, Golden Gate Park, in the County Fair Building, Ninth Avenue and Lincoln Way, San Francisco.

Permaculture (short for permanent agriculture/culture), conceptualized by Bill Mollison in the 1970s and refined through the decades, is a powerful method for bioremediation and ecologically sound design. It is a way that people all over the globe are taking back control of the earth in a socially conscious way by learning to live within nature's limits while providing a secure future for our children.

Classes and hands-on workshops are offered over six weekends during the summer, with optional workdays and study groups. With an emphasis on water conservation, local food production, sustainable shelter, and energy, students will learn to design as nature does in this transformative course. Beginning with thoughtful and protracted observation, students will learn sustainable design practices, hydrology, urban organic gardening, natural building, and creative adaptations to the problems of energy descent.

Students who complete the course and design project will be awarded a certificate by the San Francisco Botanical Garden Permaculture Institute.

The cost is $950 for the general public and $870 for Sierra Club members and San Francisco Botanical Garden Society members. Cost includes all class and materials fees and tickets to the Solar Living Institute's SOLfest in August. For more information and a complete schedule, or to register, call (415) 661-1316, ext. 354, or visit www.sfbotanicalgarden.org/education

The course is sponsored by the San Francisco Botanical Garden Society with co-sponsorship by the Sierra Club San Francisco Group.