Permaculture Principles

● First 6 consider systems from bottom up perspectiveof elements, organisms and individuals.

● Second 6 emphasis top down perspective of patterns and relationships that tend to emerge by system self-organisation and co-evolution.

● Positive Action statement, Icon and Negative cautionary proverb.

1. Observe and Interact‘Beauty is in the eye of the beholder’

● Good design depends on a harmonious relationship between nature and people, in which observation and interaction provide the design inspiration.

● Continuous and reciprocal interaction with the subject we can evolve systems of land use and living

Observation as a Skill● 3 types of wisdom

○ Listening to others - secondary information

○ Intellectual understanding

○ Experiential learning

● Recognise patterns and appreciate details

● Use all senses

Design thinking guidelines:● All observations are relative● Top-down thinking, bottom-up action● The landscape is the textbook● Failure is useful as long as we learn● Elegant solutions are simple, even invisible● Make the smallest intervention necessary● Avoid too much of a good thing● The problem is the solution● Recognise and break out of design cul-de-sacs

Observing makes nothing happen, acting makes problem bigger; balance.

● Modern education prevents us from observation and experience of natural world, observation alone limits us from other sources of knowledge ‘don’t reinvent the wheel’

● “If grassroots approaches to energy descent are to succeed, they must find more efficient ways for people to learn through observation and direct experience to create ecological support systems. To move from the relatively limited tool kit approach to permaculture design and towards a diverse and flexible pattern language will require an enormous reinvigoration of observational and innovation skills.”

● Experiment get funky and don’t be afraid of failure

2. Catch and Store Energy‘Make hay while the sun shines’

● Harvesting fossil fuels – incredible wealth

● Learn how to save and reinvest

● Capture long-term storage of energy, savings and investment to build natural and human (buildings and society) capital.

● Energy descent there is limited time

Energy Laws

• reducing energy and mass contributed along the food chain

• increasing power and value per unit of energy and mass along the food chain

• unavoidable energy dissipation losses to the environmental heat sink (electrical earth symbol)

• feedbacks of high quality energy to stimulate inflows.

Sources of energy• solar energy: simple drying of wood and crops, passive solar design, and

devices such as dryers, water heaters as well as more complex technology such as photovoltaics

• wind energy: pumping and power generation

• biomass: the sustainable management of trees and forests for fuel and construction materials

• run-off water: irrigation, aquaculture and power generation.

• In addition, we are surrounded by wastes from industry

Landscape Storages of Energy

● 4 key types:

○ Soil

○ Trees

○ Water

○ Seed

How nature does itSolar energy

PHOTOSYNTHESIS (in green plants)Carbon Dioxide + Water + Sunlight —> Carbohydrates + Oxygen

RESPIRATION (in plants and animals)Carbohydrates + Oxygen —> Carbon Dioxide + Water +

Metabolic Energy

Also drives weather and climate – rain, wind lightning, fire.

Earth energyTectonic plate movement – rock minerals, fossil fuel, ore

bodies

● Changes in climate or geophysical energy = radical change in ecosystems

● Stability results in rundown of energy in ecosystem

Australia is old – low biological productivity, support fewer people

The enemy● Storages of energy are lost to gravity and oxygen

(oxidisation and fire)

● Ecosystems are a design to limit the effects of these forces

● They have evolved to catch and store energy in water, nutrients and organic carbon effectively

Water storageErratic nature of rainfall and the constant need of living things have cause landscapes to store water

• Vegetation holds water in tissue andtheir microclimates

• Forest litter and mulch act as a sponge

• Humus in topsoil• Deep subsoils (especialy clay)

Busselton● Swamps and wetlands are more important temporary

storages – filter and purify water

● Reduce damage of floods and capture nutrients

● Sand dunes dam streams, creating estuaries and storms flush out, sand bars rebuild

Nutrient storage● Essential elements photosynthesised from atmosphere

and small amounts of mineral elements is stored in rocks• The enemy – leaching,

lockup

• Soil storage important in temperate climate

• Humus stores nutrient, water and carbon

• Trees also store

Carbon Storage● Storage of mineral nutrients co-dependent on storages of carbon in

plant biomass

● Long lived storage of carbon is the best measure of an ecosystem to continue to catch and store

● Small carbon in food● More in fodder for animals – renewable products and services (food,

wool, horsepower)● Fabrics, paper, ropes, timber● Renewable fuel (cooking, heating, smelting)

Timber can be grown on poor soils

Soil Humus● Allow plant material to rot

● Organic matter (carbon rich) is fuel for micro-organisms

○ Cycle plant nutrients

○ Respire back into atmosphere

○ Some stored Humic and fulvicacids

● Can be stable for hundreds of years

Rebuilding natural capital in landscapes

Water● Building reservoirs, dams, swales, tanks, cisterns, etc – increase

biological potential of landscapes to store water

● Do it right so the benefits are greater than impact

● High water – tanks, dams – energy to drive irrigation, power

● Nutrient rich shallow water (dams, wetlands) - aquaculture

Rebuilding natural capitalliving soil

• Return ALL organic waste to productive garden and agricultural soils

• Stop factory farming• Reduce meat consumption – eat roos• Manage grazing animals to build soil – perennial pastures• Rotate legume pastures to build soil• Replace soluble fertilisers (crop) with rock mineral and coal

humus (soil)• Establish large scale tree systems on all farms – soil building

fodder shrubs, tree crops and long lived – less of eucalypt and conifers

• Support organic or farmers that are doing so

Rebuilding natural capital - Mineral balance

• Poor management and abandonment can see this cycle reversed

• In future to achieve on large scale will be very costly or unavailable

Rebuilding natural capital - Trees

Trees and perennials can store water and nutrients that could be lost by annuals

Fruiting tree crops require more minerals and grow slower than hardy trees

• Trees can grow on poor soil• Grow with pioneer species (Acacius) • Protect from fire – can last hundreds of years• Houses built from timber can last for centuries more

Rebuilding natural capital - seed

• Local hardy crops, let self sow

• Isolated growing and careful selection of seed to prevent cross-pollination that could degrade seed line

• Seeds can be stored for a season, years or decades

Characteristics of natural capital

● A degree of self-maintenance

● Low depreciation rate

● Easily tapped without special technology

● Resistant to monopolisation, theft and violence

The built environment as a store of energy

• Energy efficient buildings, retrofits, appropriate technology and all things manufactured

• Emulate the characteristics of natural capital

○ Modest in scale

○ Well-designed for long life/ easily made from renewables

○ Simple to maintain

○ Multipurpose and easy to adapt to other uses

Appropriate use of non-renewable resources

• Establishing a system rather than maintaining or harvesting

• Mineral fertilisers for building soil

• Balancing soil minerals can create a permanent improvement (except replacing exported produce)

• This principle shows us what real wealth is (water, soil, timber forests and seeds) and helps us consider what may have value in energy decent