Of all the wondrous things I gleaned during my years in Olympia, introduction to the concept of permaculture ranks at the top.
As defined in Wikipedia, permaculture is “based on ecological and biological principles, often using patterns that occur in nature to maximise effect and minimise work.”
Wow! Maximizing effect and minimizing work! What a concept.
I distinctly remember a few comments made by one of Olympia’s permaculture experts, Marisha Auerbach. The first one was that her goal was to grow as much food in as little space as possible, with the least amount of effort. Secondly, there was a moment in which she made an off-handed comment about the city streets. “Oh, the Roman Grid system. It’s great for cars and businesses but bad for community.” (Forgive me Marisha if I’m paraphrasing.)
The “Roman grid” comment came rather abruptly, but it always stuck with me because… she’s right. The construction of square grids of roads is efficient for moving cars and trucks around, but it’s not natural and it’s certainly not conducive to the organic ways that life normally develops.
When sharing with folks who’d never heard of permaculture before, I’d often describe it thus — instead of creating a massive chicken wire fence to keep the deer out of your garden, with permaculture you plant buckwheat on the edge of your property, giving what are normally considered “invaders” something that they prefer more than your romaine lettuce. The same is true for other pests. Give them something they’re inclined to want more than the veggies in your garden and you won’t have to dose them with toxic chemicals that kills them and will eventually make you very sick.
At the moment I find myself back in an urban environment, so I can only foster dreams of my future backyard permaculture garden and share the concept with others, as I truly believe civilization will be rebuilt around these tenants.
Permaculture Videos
Here are a few great permaculture videos to give you more of a visual sense of what it’s all about.
Urban Permaculture Videos
Urban permaculture is similar to what you’d see in the suburbs or in suburban/countryside, but is specifically engineered around the needs and characteristics of urban settings. It includes everything from creating urban permaculture gardens to more radical acts of “nature-hacking” where a permaculture activist throws seed balls into empty lots in an attempt to bring nature back into the city, one tiny plot at a time.
