Final Reflection - Michelle Ouellette
Three Key Learnings from the course.
Over this course I have learned a great many things. I saw a huge network of people creating positive change through connecting their ideas and resources. One of the most memorable moments on the trip was connecting with the Mexicayotl dance group. It was so beautiful to see them connect with their roots regardless of all of the horrible social pressures to eradicate their history. Seeing them dance with such fire made me very emotional, and then dancing with them made me feel so alive and full of hope. I will incorporate the idea of “doing the dance” into my daily life and always remember the wise word that i heard that day.
Another of my key learning in this course is the idea of a restoration economy. One reason I love this idea so much is because it is something that simply makes sense. It is an idea that a huge number of people could see the benefit of and be willing to get behind. I also love this idea because it can provide opportunities for the people who are currently displaced and forced to live in poverty in our current society.
Lastly, I will take away a deeper understanding of the complex issues that the Earth is facing and the many complex yet simple networks that are already in place to help solve these issues. I learned that I can integrate myself fully into the solution. This course helped to solidify the feeling in my heart that change is not only possible, but tangible as well.
Personal Practice Reflection
My personal practice for this course was to be intentional with my all around self care. This included keeping my room clean, eating nourishing foods, taking good care of my hygiene and taking personal time for myself to relax and focus inwardly. I chose not to track this in any way, and just to keep it as a thought in the back of my mind to guide my actions over the past month. Through engaging in this personal practice, I learned that being very consciously focused on self care feels both very good, and a bit stressful. It made me ponder the idea of self care coming naturally and how I can focus my energy more on making myself naturally turn towards a more intentional path without focusing so much on forcing myself to take good care of myself. My theory is that by trying to do the best that I can for myself and others, good self care will become second nature to me. This theory has already proved true in my personal experience in multiple ways.
Design Project for the World
If I could design anything at all for the world, I would want to create a system for managing the copious amounts of garbage that have been created and are currently polluting the Earth, as well as a system for preventing further pollution. I would offer underprivileged people the opportunity to help sort through landfills, as well as have it be an opportunity for those who are privileged to gain insight about how the Earth is affected by our current apathy, perhaps as a college course or other program. Within the system, garbage would be separated into categories of recyclable, reusable, repurposable, bio-decomposable, and non-decomposable. In return for their work, I would love to offer these people room and board at a self sustainable farm-like resort that utilizes permaculture principles and educates both the residence and the larger community about living in an ecologically sound way. People could also choose to receive a wage in return for their work. There would be many different stages in the sorting process, so there would be many potential jobs. Necessary safety equipment would be provided for all hazardous positions. Another aspect of the system would be the processing of this garbage. The reusable items would be sent to a non profit thrift store organization, the recyclables sent to the proper locations, and the bio-degradable items would be composted. The repurposable items could be sent to artists and crafters who could use their creativity to create unique items, and also used to enrich and expand upon the sustainable community that would be created. Lastly, the non-decomposable items would be used in experimental research on the powers of fungi to decompose and detoxify. Finally, the last component of this position would be a campaign to educate the public that on a planet with an enclosed ecosystem, nothing is disposable. This campaign would try to eliminate the endless amount of “disposable” items that are being sold in the world right now. It would encourage people to waste as little as possible and to be conscious of the effects of waste on the planet. This campaign would hopeful reach out to all nations of the world and help bring about the paradigm shift that is already in motion.
Hideaway for nature in the Granite Dells from our trip to Ecosa
Final Refelction - Jackson Sims-Myers
I can say with confidence that I learned a lot more than I was expecting and I certainly got more out of it than I could have hoped, albeit in ways that occasionally threw me a curveball, but the overall experience I had in this course was deeply engaging for me in so many unique and interesting ways.
Permaculture is a wide-ranging belief system, philosophy, and/or lifestyle that we only got to dig into the topsoil of. One of the many fascinating parts of this course was its approach to door-opening ideas and activities. We can’t learn it all in a month, but the way that P4SC is structured is to evolve and adapt to the conditions of the student group taking it, as well as set the stage for curiosity, engagement, and deeper learning.
Because of how different it was for me, I found myself perplexed, frustrated, and occasionally resentful with the direction our learning was heading. Throughout the class, I discovered I was lacking in my active participation and my disgruntled mindset was impeding the opportunities I had to learn. I must admit, too, that even after some enlightening conversations with Joshua, I didn’t feel motivated to the extent that this class requires of students. It wasn’t until I had the opportunity to work one on one with Conner that I could clearly see what was happening for me in the classroom the last month. Realistically, our class draws one of Prescott’s fundamental values: self-directed learning.
Self-direction is a primary ingredient in the foundation of Prescott College, and because Permaculture for Systemic Change takes that element of the school to the extreme end of the spectrum, I needed to engage with constant vigilance and be painstaking about my development as a student to unlock my learning potential. When Conner and I were working on the site design, we decided to scrap everything that we had and start over from scratch. I retrospect, we might have created a significant amount of work for ourselves, but Conner said something along the lines of, “this is the kind of project we will look back on in a week, a month, or longer, and think ‘I worked hard on that and it was worth it’ but right now this is a lot of stuff.”I don’t know what would have happened for me if I had begun the class with the same perspective and intention, but going into the future, this process will become a continuously rewarding educational lesson. Its incogitable for me now, just the same as it was in the first few days of this course.
Permaculture is a practice, and as I have been learning about it more and more, it is apparent that the ideas, values, ethics, etc., that permaculture provides don’t mean a damn thing unless I practice them. It’s the same as my values in other areas of my life, too. I have been grappling with this notion this for a while now, and in many ways, permaculture has re-opened the door for me to consider what I truly believe is important versus what I say is important.
This has been the perfect time to take this class because currently, everything I know is being ripped apart in our political system and it’s dismantling the greater society. Globally, the United States is becoming a cautionary tale and a very scary place. It’s very easy for me to say “fuck the system!” without ever considering where I fall in the loops. During the times that we were learning about systems thinking, about leverage points, about systemic change, I didn’t feel connected to the topic that much. In fact, much of the time I felt disconnected from my part in the process and ended up taking an outside in perspective. The problems we were picking apart were “out there,” not “in here,” and looking back it seems to have hampered how much I was getting out of the activity.
A few nights ago, I was conversing with Conner and another PC student about politics and social justice and how students interact with these things at Prescott College. One of the topics that came up was liberal relativism. Then, this morning I was reading an article by a conservative, Evangelical Christian about the same topic and it occurred to me that I, and many other people in my life, are active participants in this system of blame, judgement, and dismissing behavior that is a core reason for separation and distrust among people and their obverse political beliefs. I have a direct influence in this interconnected web we are all a part of and no one person is separate or removed from political systems, ecological systems, or systems that promote inequity and hate. The systems thinking aspect of this class has given me another tool to examine my core values; it gives me a skill to widen my perception of how my inner beliefs and outer actions connect in the world.
I think that this connects well to my personal practice for the course, which was to meditate and work on my personal spiritual connection on a daily basis. When I recollect on my experience doing that, it’s obvious to me that I gave more effort at some times than others, though I did connect with my practice each day. The days that I focused on meditating early in the morning were the best days for me over the course. I found that, at Windsong especially, my practice was strong and I greatly benefited from it the entire day.
On days when I wasn’t as intentional with my practice I was less focused, tired more often, and more easily became restless or discontent. Being diligent while we were at Windsong allowed me to be more attentive and energetic, and my practice also helped me be present for others in the group when they needed it.
In concurrence with my meditation, I committed to writing reflective journal entries about different aspects of my character, of which I fell short on completing. Even though the entries take only a few minutes, I filled my time with other things like homework, socializing, and finding other ways to be busy. I really felt this take a toll on me in the last two weeks of the class because I haven’t been making the effort to self-evaluate. Despite slacking off on this practice of daily writing, my spiritual practice helped me stay sane. It’s funny to me that the same things that I struggle with in my personal arise in my academic life in similar patterns. I get out as much as I decide to invest in both my mediation and in my school work.
And finally, If I was going to create a contributive project for the world and know it would work I would help found and facilitate a highly active, well organized, prolific, counterviolence global ecotage movement and burn down the establishment.
Permaculture is a wide-ranging belief system, philosophy, and/or lifestyle that we only got to dig into the topsoil of. One of the many fascinating parts of this course was its approach to door-opening ideas and activities. We can’t learn it all in a month, but the way that P4SC is structured is to evolve and adapt to the conditions of the student group taking it, as well as set the stage for curiosity, engagement, and deeper learning.
Because of how different it was for me, I found myself perplexed, frustrated, and occasionally resentful with the direction our learning was heading. Throughout the class, I discovered I was lacking in my active participation and my disgruntled mindset was impeding the opportunities I had to learn. I must admit, too, that even after some enlightening conversations with Joshua, I didn’t feel motivated to the extent that this class requires of students. It wasn’t until I had the opportunity to work one on one with Conner that I could clearly see what was happening for me in the classroom the last month. Realistically, our class draws one of Prescott’s fundamental values: self-directed learning.
Self-direction is a primary ingredient in the foundation of Prescott College, and because Permaculture for Systemic Change takes that element of the school to the extreme end of the spectrum, I needed to engage with constant vigilance and be painstaking about my development as a student to unlock my learning potential. When Conner and I were working on the site design, we decided to scrap everything that we had and start over from scratch. I retrospect, we might have created a significant amount of work for ourselves, but Conner said something along the lines of, “this is the kind of project we will look back on in a week, a month, or longer, and think ‘I worked hard on that and it was worth it’ but right now this is a lot of stuff.”I don’t know what would have happened for me if I had begun the class with the same perspective and intention, but going into the future, this process will become a continuously rewarding educational lesson. Its incogitable for me now, just the same as it was in the first few days of this course.
Permaculture is a practice, and as I have been learning about it more and more, it is apparent that the ideas, values, ethics, etc., that permaculture provides don’t mean a damn thing unless I practice them. It’s the same as my values in other areas of my life, too. I have been grappling with this notion this for a while now, and in many ways, permaculture has re-opened the door for me to consider what I truly believe is important versus what I say is important.
This has been the perfect time to take this class because currently, everything I know is being ripped apart in our political system and it’s dismantling the greater society. Globally, the United States is becoming a cautionary tale and a very scary place. It’s very easy for me to say “fuck the system!” without ever considering where I fall in the loops. During the times that we were learning about systems thinking, about leverage points, about systemic change, I didn’t feel connected to the topic that much. In fact, much of the time I felt disconnected from my part in the process and ended up taking an outside in perspective. The problems we were picking apart were “out there,” not “in here,” and looking back it seems to have hampered how much I was getting out of the activity.
A few nights ago, I was conversing with Conner and another PC student about politics and social justice and how students interact with these things at Prescott College. One of the topics that came up was liberal relativism. Then, this morning I was reading an article by a conservative, Evangelical Christian about the same topic and it occurred to me that I, and many other people in my life, are active participants in this system of blame, judgement, and dismissing behavior that is a core reason for separation and distrust among people and their obverse political beliefs. I have a direct influence in this interconnected web we are all a part of and no one person is separate or removed from political systems, ecological systems, or systems that promote inequity and hate. The systems thinking aspect of this class has given me another tool to examine my core values; it gives me a skill to widen my perception of how my inner beliefs and outer actions connect in the world.
I think that this connects well to my personal practice for the course, which was to meditate and work on my personal spiritual connection on a daily basis. When I recollect on my experience doing that, it’s obvious to me that I gave more effort at some times than others, though I did connect with my practice each day. The days that I focused on meditating early in the morning were the best days for me over the course. I found that, at Windsong especially, my practice was strong and I greatly benefited from it the entire day.
On days when I wasn’t as intentional with my practice I was less focused, tired more often, and more easily became restless or discontent. Being diligent while we were at Windsong allowed me to be more attentive and energetic, and my practice also helped me be present for others in the group when they needed it.
In concurrence with my meditation, I committed to writing reflective journal entries about different aspects of my character, of which I fell short on completing. Even though the entries take only a few minutes, I filled my time with other things like homework, socializing, and finding other ways to be busy. I really felt this take a toll on me in the last two weeks of the class because I haven’t been making the effort to self-evaluate. Despite slacking off on this practice of daily writing, my spiritual practice helped me stay sane. It’s funny to me that the same things that I struggle with in my personal arise in my academic life in similar patterns. I get out as much as I decide to invest in both my mediation and in my school work.
And finally, If I was going to create a contributive project for the world and know it would work I would help found and facilitate a highly active, well organized, prolific, counterviolence global ecotage movement and burn down the establishment.
Conner Skyler McElroy Reflects for the LAST Time
I got a lot out of this class. I came away from it with a feeling of responsibility to provide for people whose basic needs are not being met. I reached a level of academic achievement that I have never even worked towards in the past. Also, I have decided to change my summer plans to more closely align with my newfound goals of working for my community, the natural world, and my physical and mental health.
After visiting the Borderlands and meeting people who are fighting to provide for those who have been left behind by our society, I realized that because I have led such a privileged life I have an obligation to help those who haven’t had a similarly lucky life.
When I worked on my final design project with Jackson I worked harder than ever before on a school project. We worked for twelve hours in one day and held ourselves to a very high standard. I found that I can get a lot out of a project if I have a partner that compliments my work style well and I am dedicated to the outcome. Additionally, I was reminded that my education at Prescott College will be mostly self-directed and I am in charge of taking it in whatever direction I choose.
In my first week’s reflection I realized that my life goals revolve around my physical and mental health, my community, and the natural world. This is the first time that I have set goals for how to live my life, and I think it will be an interesting experiment to see how it goes. I am reminded by this class that hard work is a good thing to practice, and so I intend to put in effort to reach my goals.
My personal practice was to take a walk every day and try to explore Prescott. For the most part, I walked alone. I found this to be a good way to take some time to myself and decompress a little bit. My walks were a nice break from the day. They were a good way to give myself time to think; I found that I like to think while doing something and walking is just the right amount of doing something to make sure that I wasn’t bored and also make sure I wasn’t too distracted from thinking. I never really set intentions for something to think about as I walked, I just let my mind do what it wanted. One night I took a lot of pictures and listened to music. Another night I spent some time swirling around on ice. My walks were a really nice way to let go of my frustration. By the end of the walk I could look back on my angst without any real attachment.
If I could change the world with a snap of my fingers I would change a lot of things. Let’s take a look see at a list of ideas. I would institute a conflict management program that would help people manage their difficulties with one another without war or extreme violence. I would enact a contraception program that would help people get access to birth control and decrease the rate of population growth. Additionally, corporate exploitation would be ended and restoration jobs would replace the ones lost by this ban. Universal health care would be globally instated and people would get the care that they needed. Additionally, we would move away from agricultural practices that harmed the earth and transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
And just for fun, I would create an underwater permaculture farm in the ocean. We would grow all sorts of kelp and seaweed to create habitat for marine animals. We would raise these animals and plants and give them to people in need of food.
I do not know any other way to answer this question because it is such a difficult one. I know of no comprehensive plan to save the world.
After visiting the Borderlands and meeting people who are fighting to provide for those who have been left behind by our society, I realized that because I have led such a privileged life I have an obligation to help those who haven’t had a similarly lucky life.
When I worked on my final design project with Jackson I worked harder than ever before on a school project. We worked for twelve hours in one day and held ourselves to a very high standard. I found that I can get a lot out of a project if I have a partner that compliments my work style well and I am dedicated to the outcome. Additionally, I was reminded that my education at Prescott College will be mostly self-directed and I am in charge of taking it in whatever direction I choose.
In my first week’s reflection I realized that my life goals revolve around my physical and mental health, my community, and the natural world. This is the first time that I have set goals for how to live my life, and I think it will be an interesting experiment to see how it goes. I am reminded by this class that hard work is a good thing to practice, and so I intend to put in effort to reach my goals.
My personal practice was to take a walk every day and try to explore Prescott. For the most part, I walked alone. I found this to be a good way to take some time to myself and decompress a little bit. My walks were a nice break from the day. They were a good way to give myself time to think; I found that I like to think while doing something and walking is just the right amount of doing something to make sure that I wasn’t bored and also make sure I wasn’t too distracted from thinking. I never really set intentions for something to think about as I walked, I just let my mind do what it wanted. One night I took a lot of pictures and listened to music. Another night I spent some time swirling around on ice. My walks were a really nice way to let go of my frustration. By the end of the walk I could look back on my angst without any real attachment.
If I could change the world with a snap of my fingers I would change a lot of things. Let’s take a look see at a list of ideas. I would institute a conflict management program that would help people manage their difficulties with one another without war or extreme violence. I would enact a contraception program that would help people get access to birth control and decrease the rate of population growth. Additionally, corporate exploitation would be ended and restoration jobs would replace the ones lost by this ban. Universal health care would be globally instated and people would get the care that they needed. Additionally, we would move away from agricultural practices that harmed the earth and transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy.
And just for fun, I would create an underwater permaculture farm in the ocean. We would grow all sorts of kelp and seaweed to create habitat for marine animals. We would raise these animals and plants and give them to people in need of food.
I do not know any other way to answer this question because it is such a difficult one. I know of no comprehensive plan to save the world.
Final Reflection - Anya
Three Key Learning’s from this Course
My three key learning’s from the course were collaborative leadership, creative solutions, and holding a big picture overview. I am still processing all that I learned, but for now those are striking me as the most important takeaways.
One of the biggest stretches for me in this course was working collaboratively on complex creative tasks. I found this to be at times difficult but also illuminating of the places in myself where I need o let go. Other people are often the best reflections we have of ourselves and facing internal challenges when working with them helps me learn about myself. Collaborative leadership is like anything, it needs to be practiced, and the communication and collaboration skills I practiced in this class were very valuable to me. I think perhaps the most helpful piece of this was non-attatchment to ideas, as they morph, shift, get pruned and grow. I did a lot of design in notebooks as a kid and more recently, and always approached it as a planner or even a storyteller, creating new worlds all by myself. When trying collaborative design it was helpful to approach it as my explorer self, in new territory trying new things, getting in a flow.
Along with letting go of old ideas, I found it very helpful to learn to let new ideas flow in. I thought this class encouraged a lot of creativity and spontaneity, especially in the smaller final group designs. I had a lot of fun opening up my creative channels and letting ideas spill out without holding back or being attached.
The third way this class changed my thinking was that it really helped me zoom out and see things from a big picture view. I tend to be pretty focused on certain things that I view as important. This class helped remind me that what I see as important is entirely interconnected with everything else. It was so beautiful in Patagonia, to see an example of a web of people with different particular interests helping to form an interconnected network to heal a whole community. This class reminded me that while we all have our specific areas of work and interest, all the work is interconnected and we can get the most done when we zoom out and understand that. I also think the causal loop diagrams were a good example of this big picture thinking and would be excited to make one about my own interests place in a systemic context.
Reflect on your personal practice? (What did you do, how did it serve you, what did you learn by engaging in it the way you did?)
My intention for my personal practice was to visit a prayer space every time I was between the dream realm and the physical realm. This has been a tricky practice to fully maintain but my intention after this course is only to take it further. Having this intention, I did pray more then before. I already often meditated in the morning so I simply continued my commitment to that practice and included more gratitude and intention setting. I have a harder time remembering to do this when I am sleepily drifting off at night. When I was a kid I did it very consistently and I would love to return to that. Being in my room here in Prescott, with an alter in my room directly next to my bed, certainly helps me maintain my personal practice. I do essentially visit the alter every morning and night, light sweet grass, and call in the great grandmother spirit. So in that way I have maintained my practice. This serves me because it aligns me with my highest self. It reminds me of my values and helps me listen to my intentions and state them. It gives my life rhythm and keeps my path clear. I have learned vast amounts about my purpose, my self, my relationships, and my life by tuning into this place every morning and night, and by trying to remain tuned in every moment in between.
If you could design and facilitate any kind of contributive project for the world and know that it would be successful, what would you create?
I would call my project the temple mama earth project and my projects intention would be to shift the collective’s paradigm so that everyone remembers that the earth is our temple and our mother and treats her as such. The project would focus on co-creating with our surroundings to return all of earth into a sanctuary, dedicating ourselves to the great mother, and serving her through doing the work to heal everything around us, including ourselves. The project would function through circular collaborative leadership of communities of all sizes. People would all be supported to find their medicine and share it. Specific projects that would take place include creating eco-villages, planting food forests, building temples of all shapes and sizes, creating healing centers, remembering ancient ways of working with and healing the earth and working with her to heal ourselves, painting, planting, ceremony, ecstatic dances, song circles, honoring of the cycles, and more. The project could be based a vast network of people and villages finding their way, sharing it, and bettering their broader communities. Since passing on the vision to future leaders is one of the best ways to make change, all communities involved in the project, would be encouraged to host classes to come stay and be immersed in models of this new paradigm.
Week 4: Design Project Reflection
Sara Davidson
There was so much enlightenment that I gained in these four short weeks that it is hard to pick just three key learnings. The path for my future is so much clearer than it has ever been before because Permaculture has taught me ways of living that could be so much more beneficial than the ways systems are set up today. I would say the most impactful and most important revelation I came to was thanks to the Mexicayotl dance group. However, I would choose the value of collaborative leadership, a better understanding of what sustainability really means, and the wisdom brought to me by the Mexicayotl Danza Dance group. I have for a long time been daunted by the amount of work that must done to help protect the First Citizen(Mother Earth) and her rights. Will all the mass destruction she has faced, my efforts felt insignificant. However, what the Mexicayotl made me realize was that is the kind of attitude that prevents anything from happening. It is does not matter what level of justice I can do to the environment, it is an unquestionable responsibility to at least try. The second revelation I came to was the power of collaborative leadership. This kind of leadership was so successful in the functioning of our class, that I cannot imagine the possibilities there could be for local and global systems. In a non-hierarchical leadership system, harnessing the collective knowledge could allow for so much development for the human race. The last revelation I came to was how misinterpreted the word “Sustainability” is. Tony from the Ecosa Institute helped me come the realization that our goals will not be easily be reached unless everyone has the same understanding and vision was what sustainability really means.
My personal practice what to write down at least five things that I was grateful for each day in my journal. This process helped me to remember all the little joys throughout my day and look at the larger picture. I realized at the end of this course, that there were so many reasons to be grateful that I was almost overwhelmed. One of the greatest reasons to grateful in my life is the opportunity to meet new people, build strong relationships, and discover new ways of living. This practice of hosting myself was so beneficial to my overall health that I want to continue documenting things that I am grateful for after the conclusion of this course. By just simply writing down what things made me happy each day, I experienced an all around happier state of living. I encourage anyone to try this simple practice, because the results will be life changing.
If I could design and facilitate any contributive project for the world and know that it would be successful, I would lead the eradication of the production of plastic water bottles. I would work towards this goal through collaborative leadership. In this way it would possible be to harness the collective wisdom on how this massive task should be handled. I would contact leaders from all over the world to assist me in this project and gain the support of the global community. While eradicating plastic water bottle production, I would educate people on environmentally friendly alternatives. After this monumental task was set in place, it would officially be an illegal activity to produce plastic water bottles. My end visionary goal would be to collect all plastic water bottle and other litter from our planet’s land oceans. All waste could then be used in repurposed ways so that the human race could live by the permaculture principle of producing no waste.
My personal practice what to write down at least five things that I was grateful for each day in my journal. This process helped me to remember all the little joys throughout my day and look at the larger picture. I realized at the end of this course, that there were so many reasons to be grateful that I was almost overwhelmed. One of the greatest reasons to grateful in my life is the opportunity to meet new people, build strong relationships, and discover new ways of living. This practice of hosting myself was so beneficial to my overall health that I want to continue documenting things that I am grateful for after the conclusion of this course. By just simply writing down what things made me happy each day, I experienced an all around happier state of living. I encourage anyone to try this simple practice, because the results will be life changing.
If I could design and facilitate any contributive project for the world and know that it would be successful, I would lead the eradication of the production of plastic water bottles. I would work towards this goal through collaborative leadership. In this way it would possible be to harness the collective wisdom on how this massive task should be handled. I would contact leaders from all over the world to assist me in this project and gain the support of the global community. While eradicating plastic water bottle production, I would educate people on environmentally friendly alternatives. After this monumental task was set in place, it would officially be an illegal activity to produce plastic water bottles. My end visionary goal would be to collect all plastic water bottle and other litter from our planet’s land oceans. All waste could then be used in repurposed ways so that the human race could live by the permaculture principle of producing no waste.
Final Reflection
Lara Mehra
Three key learnings that I have acquired from this course would be learning about what permaculture is as a whole, restoration processes and how to build structures out of natural materials. In the beginning of this course I knew only very little about permaculture as a whole and what the possibilities are with it. I knew that permaculture was the development of projects in agricultural ecosystems that would at the end be sustainable and self-sufficient so that even though we weren’t around, the ecosystem would continue to flourish. But the possibilities of how all that worked in detail I knew very little about. Therefore during this course I was able to observe and learn about the steps of starting up a permaculture site.
I learned that for the most part it is all about observation. Before starting anything, you need to sit with the land you plan to start your project on. It is important to observe the natural changes in the environment, the weather impacts through each season and also the impacts nature can have with certain disasters like fires or frost. Understanding the lay of the land will then give you a mind map of where to start building your project and adding life to it. It was also interesting to observe processes of restoration; from water restoration to plant restoration. Seeing plant nurseries containing seeds of native plants of Arizona was just inspiring to think about the amount of time, effort and care that was going into these projects all to benefit the different ecosystems. Something else that inspired me was to see structures being built out of natural materials and also how quick the process was. I would have never imagined how quick and simple it is to build a structure out of natural materials in comparison to the usual buildings made out of cement and bricks. Not to mention how cozy and wonderful they looked to live in, so that was a huge amazement to me.
My personal practice during this course was to do pushups to keep myself energized. It definitely helped and sometimes I went over the limit, I believe my original limit was 25 pushups but I definitely went over doing 3 sets which was great. It would energize my body; give me a feeling that I worked my muscles especially since pushups can really be done anywhere. Therefore I felt it was an exercise wisely chosen. I learnt that I can be very strongly dedicated to something I set my mind to and that makes me happy and also my body demands movement.
I think I would start small with designing and facilitating; probably first with my country and that would be a garden for everyone and anyone who wants to contribute to growing fruits and vegetables for anyone and everyone to also harvest. This way, people can start getting into the habit of growing organic produce as well as getting more in touch with the earth. People in Lebanon will become more conscientious of the foods they are eating and to hopefully not support large corporations that genetically modify what we eat as well as add insecticides and pesticides. All in all that is my small idea I thought about and maybe it will become a reality. I just definitely want people from my country to become more aware and slowly but surely it is happening with the new generation.
I learned that for the most part it is all about observation. Before starting anything, you need to sit with the land you plan to start your project on. It is important to observe the natural changes in the environment, the weather impacts through each season and also the impacts nature can have with certain disasters like fires or frost. Understanding the lay of the land will then give you a mind map of where to start building your project and adding life to it. It was also interesting to observe processes of restoration; from water restoration to plant restoration. Seeing plant nurseries containing seeds of native plants of Arizona was just inspiring to think about the amount of time, effort and care that was going into these projects all to benefit the different ecosystems. Something else that inspired me was to see structures being built out of natural materials and also how quick the process was. I would have never imagined how quick and simple it is to build a structure out of natural materials in comparison to the usual buildings made out of cement and bricks. Not to mention how cozy and wonderful they looked to live in, so that was a huge amazement to me.
My personal practice during this course was to do pushups to keep myself energized. It definitely helped and sometimes I went over the limit, I believe my original limit was 25 pushups but I definitely went over doing 3 sets which was great. It would energize my body; give me a feeling that I worked my muscles especially since pushups can really be done anywhere. Therefore I felt it was an exercise wisely chosen. I learnt that I can be very strongly dedicated to something I set my mind to and that makes me happy and also my body demands movement.
I think I would start small with designing and facilitating; probably first with my country and that would be a garden for everyone and anyone who wants to contribute to growing fruits and vegetables for anyone and everyone to also harvest. This way, people can start getting into the habit of growing organic produce as well as getting more in touch with the earth. People in Lebanon will become more conscientious of the foods they are eating and to hopefully not support large corporations that genetically modify what we eat as well as add insecticides and pesticides. All in all that is my small idea I thought about and maybe it will become a reality. I just definitely want people from my country to become more aware and slowly but surely it is happening with the new generation.
Sophia Malonson - Final Reflection
This Permaculture course has planted many seeds within my mind’s and heart’s fertile soil. I’m excited and in awe of this germination, sprouting and growing process that I am both engaged in and a witness to, personally and collectively at this time. A concept in particular that I find myself ruminating over in appreciation is the abundance that emerges out of sharing knowledge from collaboration. Collaborative leadership, hosting and fair share in information. From growing up in a highly competitive social environment, I felt and verbalized from a young age my discordance with competitive philosophies. I even ended up leaving the pursuance of many activities because of how fiercely competitive and disconnected they were from the reason why I started them in the first place- out of play, fun, joy and exploration. I have experienced plenty of collaborative forms once leaving this environment, through my travels and higher education, although I have found that there has most always been an air of competition/hierarchy because of how our society functions. I really see this class as an embodiment of the essence of an abundant knowledge pool. This was extremely valuable to me because it felt so right for me, and reaffirmed what I have known to be true for me my whole life. We were able to create even more because of our open and abundant nature of sharing.
The second key affirmation I am taking from this course is how important native Seed saving/local plant nursery practices are because they are actively saving biodiversity and therefore the future of life. Lastly, I have been thinking a lot about the importance of networking regionally and globally with the technology we have today in order to spread permaculture practices, social and environmental justice information and organize collaborative conferences. This also indirectly relates to the idea of the using technology we have today, with the highest intentions, to build for the future we want such as using fossil fueled machinery to create efficient solutions while we still can.
For my personal practice, I created a gratitude list every morning to start my day off in a space of openness and thankfulness. I found that this helped guide my mind towards positivity and concrete examples of what I enjoy/appreciate about this world! I learned that there are infinite things to be thankful for, and that I have such tremendous privileges and blessings in my life to express gratitude towards. I also engaged within at least a twenty minute meditation every morning that was always a representation of what I needed and felt would best serve me in the moment. This helped me become really clear about listening to my needs and honoring my true feelings. Somedays I would need up to an hour or more of introspective meditation or inward journeying to feel like I was meeting my own needs. Especially on the learning journey trip, I needed this inward time in order to feel balanced and centered in my group interactions and approach. I would then reflect in writing a word, phrase or short recall about my experience, teachings or feelings I that came to me during this practice. Writing has been allowing me to document my thoughts and experiences in a grounded 3rd-dimensional way that I then can share with others or with myself at a later date instead of it being fleeting or isolated.
My dream is to create and facilitate group healing experiences in beautifully crafted massive multi-species green dome structures for sound healing and community ceremonies! The acoustics within this sacred space would align our bodies into health through vibrational resonance. Sacred plant medicines would also be a part of this experience, to guide the personal healing journeys with Gaia’s divine gifts. This would be a co-creative group experience where everyone would have the opportunity to engage in music making as well as just allow the sound to overtake them and shake out any stagnancy in their body. There would also be a colorful skylight full of purposeful crystals where sun, star and moonlight would pour through to create color/light therapy in sacred patterns throughout the domes. These healing domes would be created throughout the world, and specifically implemented in the infinite healing/permaculture centers and communities that are being envisioned and built right now. I would love to come up with a prototype and system that works well for me as I explore this, so that people can either duplicate or find inspiration from this work and create their own sound sanctuaries. These domes could also be made on a smaller pod scale for individual healing sessions :)
Noah Baker: Final Reflection
My biggest Key learning came from our experience at the border. Going to Nogales and being able to talk to the people who live there and experience the border once again after being away from it for so long really opened my eyes. The entire experience really set fire to a pile of timber that had been inside me for so long, It made me want to change everything. There are not enough words in the world to describe the lesson I learned there. To put it as simply as possible, the border is fucked up. However, talking to the people of Nogales and really seeing their resilience inspired me greatly. Just because you had a situation forced upon you, doesn't mean you can't make the most of it, Seeing this really led me to the next key learning.
Someone very wise once told me to “ Be the change you want to see in the world”. Those words have never echoed for me like they did at Windsong. This learning key was the sum of our entire experience in the Borderlands. To meet all these incredible people who were doing exactly what they needed to exactly where they needed to be doing it was magnificently inspirational. I remember asking myself hundreds of times over and over how I could change the world and follow in the footsteps of these wonderful people. I struggled with this question the entire block and I will continue to struggle with it for a very long time. Although I'm struggling with that question, I think i've figured out where to start. One of my life goals is to, no matter what, always educate people as much as I can and this experience has just solidified that into my mind.
My third Key learning is the idea of investing in people. Pay more for items that you know benefit people who are economically struggling. For instance, buy local produce in order to support the local economy and the farmers who grow it. It's all too true that the people who do the most work for their products get paid the least.
My Personal Practice was alternating walking and running every day. Although I did run and walk quite a few times during this course, it was definitely not every day. Instead I found a different personal practice which was mountain biking every day which helped keep my morale up during this time. The combination of the two acted as a way to push myself and meditate at the same time and through these activities i've learned quite a bit about myself. Ive definitely learned that I can push myself a lot farther than I think I can, Ive also learned that starting is the hardest part everyday and once you get passed that it's easy.
This is a very difficult question for me, it's very similar to the question of “ How can I change the world” that i've been and will continue to struggle with. If I could have my way, i'd abolish borders. If I could have my way there wouldn't be designated wilderness areas and national parks, there would be designated city areas and production parks and leave the wilderness to be left untouched. Basically, if I could have my way I would do the polar opposite of the most of things that are happening today. The world we live in is broken and we have the tools to fix it but for some reason we decide that we should use those tools to break it more. We act like it's getting better, act like this is the change we wanted all along, but in reality we live in a disgustingly hypocritical world that can't work through even the most basic of tasks. If I could design and facilitate any kind of contributive project for the world and know that it would be successful, I would challenge each and every human being to make tomorrow better than the today and ask them to wake up every morning asking “How can I change the world today”.
My biggest Key learning came from our experience at the border. Going to Nogales and being able to talk to the people who live there and experience the border once again after being away from it for so long really opened my eyes. The entire experience really set fire to a pile of timber that had been inside me for so long, It made me want to change everything. There are not enough words in the world to describe the lesson I learned there. To put it as simply as possible, the border is fucked up. However, talking to the people of Nogales and really seeing their resilience inspired me greatly. Just because you had a situation forced upon you, doesn't mean you can't make the most of it, Seeing this really led me to the next key learning.
Someone very wise once told me to “ Be the change you want to see in the world”. Those words have never echoed for me like they did at Windsong. This learning key was the sum of our entire experience in the Borderlands. To meet all these incredible people who were doing exactly what they needed to exactly where they needed to be doing it was magnificently inspirational. I remember asking myself hundreds of times over and over how I could change the world and follow in the footsteps of these wonderful people. I struggled with this question the entire block and I will continue to struggle with it for a very long time. Although I'm struggling with that question, I think i've figured out where to start. One of my life goals is to, no matter what, always educate people as much as I can and this experience has just solidified that into my mind.
My third Key learning is the idea of investing in people. Pay more for items that you know benefit people who are economically struggling. For instance, buy local produce in order to support the local economy and the farmers who grow it. It's all too true that the people who do the most work for their products get paid the least.
My Personal Practice was alternating walking and running every day. Although I did run and walk quite a few times during this course, it was definitely not every day. Instead I found a different personal practice which was mountain biking every day which helped keep my morale up during this time. The combination of the two acted as a way to push myself and meditate at the same time and through these activities i've learned quite a bit about myself. Ive definitely learned that I can push myself a lot farther than I think I can, Ive also learned that starting is the hardest part everyday and once you get passed that it's easy.
This is a very difficult question for me, it's very similar to the question of “ How can I change the world” that i've been and will continue to struggle with. If I could have my way, i'd abolish borders. If I could have my way there wouldn't be designated wilderness areas and national parks, there would be designated city areas and production parks and leave the wilderness to be left untouched. Basically, if I could have my way I would do the polar opposite of the most of things that are happening today. The world we live in is broken and we have the tools to fix it but for some reason we decide that we should use those tools to break it more. We act like it's getting better, act like this is the change we wanted all along, but in reality we live in a disgustingly hypocritical world that can't work through even the most basic of tasks. If I could design and facilitate any kind of contributive project for the world and know that it would be successful, I would challenge each and every human being to make tomorrow better than the today and ask them to wake up every morning asking “How can I change the world today”.
In the past four weeks I have been thoroughly immersed in permaculture. It has been the only thing my thoughts have entertained. To sum up three things to take away is hard for me indeed. I would say my take away is not of three things but of three parts. These three parts create the system that enables me to have a paradigmshift. The first part is of my mind. My mind has through the exercises of looking for usefulness and stacking functions has become the scholar who learns for the joy of it. I through practice of analysis have found true joy in it. The second part of the system is my body. In the last few weeks I have needed to still it and open myself up to it. I have needed to notice how the world moves about and through me on a physical level. To change the lens I see the world through I needed to begin changing the lens I feel it through. Lastly my spirit has has embraced the pedagogy of permaculture. I took to earnest that people care, earth care, and fare share are vitamins that nurture my connection and understanding of the people and world around me. These three cogs power the mechanism of my understanding of the permaculture paradigm.
After a month of looking at designs and being a part of designing a permaculture farm. When If you could design and facilitate any kind of contributive project for the world and know that it would be successful, what would you create I would build an education structure. The structure would be in a forest and along a three mile loop trail. The project would emphasize natural building techniques. To do this there would be a large amount of side trails that you could hike down. At the end of these side trails there would be signage that would emphasize and explain a singular technique used in permaculture while showing the example in a natural setting. This would allow participants to connect with singular techniques and have small digestible lessons they could compartmentalize easily. The trail could be self maintaining as the lesson places could be put in key spots to combat deforestation and erosion. For younger participants the trail could host a natural building area where kids could be encouraged to build play structures and natural art. The facility would be a place that could easily host school groups and summer ymca camps. All in all I believe an education center would be the most pertenant to carrying out the intentions of permaculture. - Jake P.
Final Reflection
Lily Caster
Throughout this course many doors were opened for me, both in the environmental justice and social justice realms. I was able to experience first hand that ecological restoration efforts and sustainable lifestyles are possible, and happening all around us! But how have these individuals reached this level of success, and how can their techniques be spread to others? After our time in the Borderlands, it became very clear to me that education is a hugely important and vital key in spreading these lifestyle techniques. By engaging people in hands on and experiential learning environments, we can provide them with the proper tools to move forward and show them the positive effect they can have on the environment and in their own lives. Community outreach and involvement goes hand in hand with education, and is equally important. In order to gain enough momentum and support to implement a successful plan, we need members of the local community to be on board. As permaculture techniques are spread throughout the community and a stronger web of connection is made, huge change can come from very small amounts of effort. Although there is an infinite number of pieces that need to be put together to solve the puzzle, if we don’t try them out and experiment with them, we will never find out what works. Similarly to restorations economies, or sustainable communities, we must take action. With action comes the process of prototyping, we must try something and if it fails, we must try something else until it works. Action is not always straightforward and simple, but without it we cannot move forward.
During the four week beginning of this learning journey , I kept a personal reflection log of what I had learned, thought about, questioned, was inspired by, or confused about each day. Sometimes my thoughts came clearly and I could write them down to record them, however other times they came out very tangled. This practice helped me process what I was learning so that I could better absorb it. I was surprised by how many emotions and feelings came up during this course, especially during the time we spent at the border and with the Mexicayotl School. Writing down my thoughts also helped me realize what was truly important to me, and what I was drawn towards. After completing the course and looking back at what I wrote down, I noticed that I wrote a lot about social justice issues. I noted multiple times that I wanted to be more well informed about issues and politics going on around us. For me, that feeling really comes back to the idea that we can’t find a solution if we don’t know what the problem is. I want to find the problems. I also feel as though this course sparked my interest in the realm of social justice. For most my time at Prescott College, I have focused on environmental science topics, however I now realize that environmental justice and social justice really can’t be separated.
If I could design and facilitate any kind of contributive project for the world and know that it would be successful, what would I create? I would create a sort of exchange program that would incorporate world-wide education in cultural studies, permaculture and sustainable living skills. This program would be for individuals of any age from any background, and would provide a variety of working, learning and sharing opportunities across the globe. In my personal experience the vulnerability that you experience while traveling to a foreign land and immersing yourself in an entirely new setting, is the best tool for learning and absorbing information around you. It is such an utterly unique and eye opening experience that I think if more people were exposed to it, they would be inspired to participate in systemic change. I want to create a program that would spark the passion and desire in others to participate in a collaborative effort to leave footprints of green, thriving life on this planet. I want to create a healthy future for humans as a species and our planet as a living organism that we are part of.