Conclusion

I've found this course much broader than I originally thought it was going to be. We've covered a wide range of permaculture principles in many contexts, from the seashore at Rottingdean, through the urban environment at Moulsecoombe community allotments, to the permaculture mecca of Prickly Nut Wood. Along the way we've learnt and applied the principles with increasing confidence as our understanding grew.

I felt that by the final design exercise, Hanover Community Garden, that I was really able to draw on and invoke the principles of permaculture. The best thing is that so much of it is common sense, being what I would term 'system thinking', so there are no hard and fast rules constraining the application of permaculture principles. There's certainly no permaculture bureaucracy or establishment to upset, as it's a movement in its early days that welcomes all inputs.

Permaculture, as a sustainable design system, can cross-fertilise other disciplines. For example, I think I'm going to apply some of the ideas to project management at work - perhaps the best principle there will be minimum work for maximum gain!

I will think hard about doing the permaculture diploma; I already have some ideas for some projects I can do which will also help me out in my life (there goes another principle - multiple uses of each element).

The others on the course - Andy, Anshar, Beka, Chris, Christine, Daniel, Fi, Jake, Jen, Kate, Rob and Sarah - were all a great bunch of people to learn from. We plan to continue working together on our eclectic mix of permaculture projects in and around Brighton, Lewes and "permaculture valley"!

Finally, I'd like to say thanks to Jan, Pippa, Bryn, Alex, Don, Fran, Gladys and everyone else who came along, for designing and running such an excellent course. In the interests of showing us all the way to a better life, may the good work of Brighton Permaculture Trust continue!