Course: Permaculture 2: Ecosystem Mimicry FALL 2025

Topic outline

PD2: Fall 2025

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Permaculture Design Certificate Course
(Part 2, Fall 2025):
Ecosystem Mimicry

Lead Instructor: Monica Ibacache, Permaculture Faculty, (646) 645-3830
mji33@cornell.edu
- Forum
  
  Announcements Forum
- Forum
  
  Announcements & News Forum
- Page
  
  TEMPLATE FOR ALL ASSIGNMENTS Page
- Page
  
  Schedule a Coaching Zoom Page
- File
  
  PDC Workbook (Optional Resource) File
Intro: Oct. 6 - Oct 10
- This short introduction week gives you an opportunity to become familiar with the Moodle interface and tools, the course materials and general flow from week to week as well as your classmates and instructors. Spend time looking through the entire course content so that you can consider how to budget your time and energy accordingly. As most of you are already familiar with the platform, this week should be easy.
  
  Please don’t hesitate to contact your instructor with any questions
- Page
  
  Reading: Course Overview and Format Page
  
  View
- File
  
  Course Syllabus: PLEASE READ File
  
  108.5 KB PDF document
- File
  
  Read more about Finger Lakes Permaculture Institute certificate File
  
  127.2 KB PDF document
- Assignment
  
  A0.1: Design Vision Board Assignment
  
  View Make a submission
  
  Due: Friday, 10 October 2025, 11:59 PM
- Forum
  
  A0.2 Questions about your Design Vision Board Forum
  
  Due: Friday, 10 October 2025, 11:59 AM
- Forum
  
  A0.3: Participant Forum: Introduce Yourself
  
  Make forum posts: 1
  
  Due: Friday, 10 October 2025, 11:59 AM
- Feedback
  
  A0.4: Ecosystem Mimicry Self-Assessment Feedback
  
  View Submit feedback
Week 1: Oct. 11 - Oct 17
Permaculture Concepts and Tools
- Objectives:
  Examine what makes a permaculture approach important in our modern world.
  Prepare or revise your base map for future assessment exercises
- Page
  
  Video: What is Permaculture? Page
  
  View
- Page
  
  Reading: Essence of Permaculture by David Holmgren Page
  
  View
- Forum
  
  A1.1: Base Map Revisions (Forum)
  
  View Make forum posts: 1
  
  Due: Friday, 17 October 2025, 11:59 PM
- File
  
  ASSIGNMENT 1.2 EXAMPLE: Ethics, Principles, Strategies, Techniques File
  
  189.3 KB PDF document
- Forum
  
  A1.2 Forum: Ethics, Principles, Strategies, Techniques
  
  View Make forum posts: 1 Receive a grade
  
  Due: Friday, 17 October 2025, 11:59 PM
- File
  
  ASSIGNMENT 1.3 EXAMPLE: Reflective writing File
- Assignment
  
  A1.3 Reflective Writing: Permaculture Design Principles Assignment
  
  View Make a submission
  
  Due: Friday, 17 October 2025, 11:59 PM
- Optional Resources
- URL
  
  TED Talk: Biomimicry: Janine Benyus URL
- URL
  
  TED Talk: Cradle to Cradle: William McDonough URL
- Optional Activities
Week 2: Oct. 18 - Oct 24
Reading the Landscape and Patterns
- Objectives:
  Examine the "languages" of natural systems and how they inform ways to design and analyze landscapes.
  Demonstrate your understanding of patterns with a written example of a pattern language.
- Page
  
  Video: Reading the Landscape Page
  
  View
- Page
  
  Video: Natural Patterns and Design Solutions Page
  
  View
- Page
  
  Reading: What is a Pattern Language, Anyway? Page
  
  View
- Folder
  
  ASSIGNMENT 2.1 EXAMPLE: Describing from Patterns to Details Folder
- Assignment
  
  A2.1: Describing from Patterns to Details Assignment
  
  View Make a submission
  
  Due: Friday, 24 October 2025, 11:59 PM
- Forum
  
  Participant Forum 2.2: Patterns and Pattern Language
  
  View Make forum posts: 1
  
  Due: Wednesday, 22 October 2025, 11:59 PM
- Optional Activities
- URL
  
  TED Talk: The Design of Everyday Things by Donald Norman URL
- URL
  
  Video: Nikos A. Salingaros on Pattern Language and Form Language URL
- URL
  
  Article: The Structure of Pattern Languages by Nikos A. Salingaros URL
- Folder
  
  Slides of Presentations (PDF) Folder
Week 3: Oct 25 - Oct 31
Building and Sustaining Living Soil
- Objectives:
  Recognize the components and processes of healthy, biologically active soil and compost.
  Engage in a soil analysis or building activity by testing soil on your design site and/or build (or rebuild) a compost system.
- Page
  
  Video: Soil Basics Page
  
  View
- Page
  
  Video: Compost Happens! Page
  
  View
- Page
  
  Video: Ray Archuleta on Soil Health (7 minutes) Page
  
  View
- Page
  
  Video: Vermicompost, A Living Soil Amendment. Video (9 minutes) Page
  
  View
- Complete either 3.1 or 3.2.
  Everyone must complete Assignment 3.3.
- File
  
  ASSIGNMENT 3.1 EXAMPLE: Test Your Soil File
- Assignment
  
  Activity 3.1: Test Your Soil Assignment
  
  View Make a submission
  
  Due: Friday, 31 October 2025, 11:59 PM
- Folder
  
  ASSIGNMENT 3.2 EXAMPLE: Make a plan for Spring Composting Folder
- Assignment
  
  Activity 3.2 Make a plan for Spring: Composting Assignment
  
  View Make a submission
  
  Due: Friday, 31 October 2025, 11:59 PM
- Folder
  
  ASSIGNMENT 3.3 EXAMPLE: Create a Soil Assessment Map Folder
- Assignment
  
  Activity 3.3 Create a Soil Assessment Map Assignment
  
  View Make a submission
  
  Due: Friday, 31 October 2025, 11:59 PM
- Forum
  
  Participant Forum 3.4: Soil Health
  
  View Make forum posts: 1
  
  Due: Friday, 31 October 2025, 11:59 PM
- Optional Activities
- Page
  
  Reading: Selections from Cornell Garden Based Learning Page
Week 4: Nov. 1 - Nov 7
Working with Water

Objectives:
Review basic principles of water
Explore how we assess and design water in permaculture systems.
- Page
  
  Presentation: Water (Video, 40 minutes) Page
  
  View
- Page
  
  Presentations: Water in Permaculture Systems (Videos, 52 minutes) Page
  
  View
- URL
  
  Geoff Lawton - Swale Plume URL
  
  View
- Folder
  
  ASSIGNMENT 4.1 EXAMPLE: Your Water Budget Folder
- Assignment
  
  Activity 4.1: Your Water Budget Assignment
  
  View Make a submission
  
  Due: Friday, 7 November 2025, 11:59 PM
- Folder
  
  ASSIGNMENT 4.2 EXAMPLE: Contour Mapping Folder
- Assignment
  
  Activity 4.2: Contour Mapping Assignment
  
  View Make a submission
  
  Due: Friday, 7 November 2025, 11:59 PM
- Folder
  
  ASSIGNMENT 4.3 EXAMPLE: Water Assessment Mapping Folder
- Assignment
  
  Activity 4.3: Water Assessment Mapping Assignment
  
  View Make a submission
  
  Due: Friday, 7 November 2025, 11:59 PM
- File
  
  Water Assessment Map Example File
  
  4.3 MB Image (JPEG)
- Forum
  
  Participant Forum: Contour Mapping
  
  View Make forum posts: 1
- Optional Resources
- URL
  
  Google Earth for Farmers: Intro URL
- URL
  
  Google Earth for Farmers 2 - Draw and Measure URL
- URL
  
  Water – Simple, Yet Complex with Craig Sponholtz (audio) URL
- URL
  
  Earthworks to Capture Rainwater Runoff and Prevent Erosion (audio) URL
- URL
  
  Water Harvesting with Brad Lancaster (audio) URL
- URL
  
  Brad's Rainwater Harvesting website URL
Week 5: Nov. 8 - Nov 14
Forestry and Agroforestry
- Objectives:
  Examine trees as systems.
  Identify key concepts of forest management and the practice of agroforestry.
  Research trees and plants for a potential polyculture on your design site.
- URL
  
  Video: Trees and Forests (Narrated Lecture, 51 minutes). URL
  
  View
- Page
  
  Presentation: Agroforestry Systems (YouTube Videos) Page
  
  View
- Folder
  
  ASSIGNMENT 5.1 EXAMPLE: Tree Research Folder
- Assignment
  
  Activity 5.1: Tree Research Assignment
  
  View Make a submission
  
  Due: Friday, 14 November 2025, 11:59 PM
- Folder
  
  ASSIGNMENT 5.2 EXAMPLE: Stacking in Time and Space Folder
- Assignment
  
  Activity 5.2: Stacking in Time and Space Assignment
  
  View Make a submission
  
  Due: Friday, 14 November 2025, 11:59 PM
- Forum
  
  Participant Forum: Your Polyculture
  
  View Make forum posts: 1
  
  Due: Friday, 14 November 2025, 11:59 PM
- Optional Resources
- URL
  
  Learn to Cultivate Mushrooms - Cornell Resources URL
  
  View
- URL
  
  Paul Stamets: 6 Ways Mushrooms Can Save the World URL
- URL
  
  Agroforestry with Steve Gabriel - Permaculture Podcast URL
  
  View
- File
  
  Reading: Excerpts from Profitable Farms and Woodlands File
  
  1.5 MB PDF document
- URL
  
  Forest Farming: Growing Crops Under the Canopy of an Existing Forest (audio) URL
- URL
  
  Hazelnuts. A Viable Broadacre Crop for the Midwest? - Phil Rutter (audio) URL
- URL
  
  Farming the Woods (Steve's Book) URL
- Folder
  
  Food Forest Trial Garden Workshops Folder
Week 6: Nov. 15 - Nov 21
Animals in our Systems
- Objectives:
  
  Animals
  
  Examine the roles animals play in permaculture systems
  Discuss specific management of livestock and work animals
  Assessment & Design
  Map and describe key elements of your site and design
  Assemble previous work to prepare for part 3 of the course.
- Page
  
  Animals in Permaculture Systems (Narrated Lecture, 46 minutes). Page
  
  View
- Page
  
  Presentation: Aquaculture and Aquaponics (Videos total ~ 48 minutes) Page
- URL
  
  Video: Allan Savory: How to fight desertification and reverse climate change URL
  
  View
- Page
  
  Reading: Rabbits Love Roses Page
- Folder
  
  ASSIGNMENT 6.1 EXAMPLE: Site Assessment Summary Folder
- Assignment
  
  Activity 6.1: Site Assessment Summary Assignment
  
  View Make a submission
  
  Due: Friday, 21 November 2025, 11:59 PM
- Forum
  
  Forum 6.2: Animals in Your Landscape
  
  View Make forum posts: 1
  
  Due: Friday, 21 November 2025, 11:59 PM
- Optional Resource
- URL
  
  Joel Salatin - Polyface Farm URL
- Optional Activity
- Assignment
  
  Activity 6.x: Animal Integration Research Assignment
  
  View Make a submission
  
  Due: Friday, 21 November 2025, 11:59 PM
Concluding Weeks
Refine, catch up, and finish at your pace.

This course is paced to use the colder months to complete a permaculture curriculum that goes above and beyond the standard permaculture design course curriculum of 72 hours of instruction and design work. Realizing that most of our students have busy work and family lives that may make completion within the time frame difficult, this course is flexible to help. So if you have not finished your assignments--and find this class about to end and the next starting in two weeks--don't worry. You are not penalized for late work. I will have at least 6 office hours each week through April.
If you cannot finish part 2 until after March 13, 2024:
1) You can still register for part 3 and continue to finish your work from part 2 if you feel confident you can continue your own pace of work. You are encouraged not to take a break and try to finish before summer, so you do not lose momentum. As your instructor, I am available to help year-round but my availability is limited after April. From May through September, I will only have a couple of hours a week available for office hours, mostly by appointment.
2) You are still eligible to take part 3 of this series in subsequent years.
If you plan to earn Continuing Education Credits be sure to contact Matt Bennett mb2785@cornell.edu as soon as you finish.
Please note that access to the course material is available for one year until January 14, 2025. Save your own local copies of your assignments, as submitted assignments will not be saved online past December 31, 2024.
- Feedback
  
  Need a certificate of completion? Please answer by April 31st Feedback
  
  View
  
  Cornell Continuing Education Certificate
- Feedback
  
  Course Feedback
  
  Not available unless: The activity Activity 6.1: Site Assessment Summary is marked complete
- File
  
  Information on gaining a Permaculture Design Certificate File
  
  127.2 KB PDF document
- Choice
  
  May we share your best work? Choice
  
  Not available unless: The activity Activity 6.1: Site Assessment Summary is marked complete

Topic outline

PD2: Fall 2025

Permaculture Design Certificate Course

(Part 2, Fall 2025):

Ecosystem Mimicry

Intro: Oct. 6 - Oct 10

Week 1: Oct. 11 - Oct 17

Optional Resources

Optional Activities

Week 2: Oct. 18 - Oct 24

Optional Activities

Week 3: Oct 25 - Oct 31

Complete either 3.1 or 3.2.Everyone must complete Assignment 3.3.

Optional Activities

Week 4: Nov. 1 - Nov 7

Optional Resources

Week 5: Nov. 8 - Nov 14

Optional Resources

Week 6: Nov. 15 - Nov 21

Concluding Weeks

Complete either 3.1 or 3.2.
Everyone must complete Assignment 3.3.