Welcome!
The Finger Lakes Permaculture Institute provides affordable and experiential learning events in the Finger Lakes region of New York State. We offer Permaculture Design Certification courses and a variety of other programs for permaculture education.
Email info@fingerlakespermaculture.org to join our e-mailing list for periodic updates on classes and events.
Email info@fingerlakespermaculture.org to join our e-mailing list for periodic updates on classes and events.
Upcoming Events
2009 Summer Permaculture Design Certification CourseJuly 24 through August 9, 2009
The Finger Lakes Permaculture Institute (FLPCI) invites
you to join its 2009 Summer Permaculture Design Course running from July 24
through August 9, 2009. This is our seventh internationally recognized certification
course training people of all backgrounds to mimic natural patterns and principles
in their yards, on their land, and in their homes and businesses.
This affordable course highlights hands-on learning in the beautiful rural Cayuta Lake
Valley. The class equips students with the knowledge of whole systems and the
principles, techniques, and challenges of permaculture as a system of sustainable
design. We explore topics such as soil regeneration, water conservation, building
ponds and swales, managing woodlots, building natural and efficient homes, utilizing
renewable energy, and designing gardens.
We teach these topics though presentations, case studies, and student design
projects and exercises. Our student design practicum will inform the final design of
the Cayuta Sun Homestead. Instruction is augmented by presentations from local
experts, field trips, and games.
Completion of the course earns participants an internationally recognized design certificate.
Topics include:
Ethics - Principles - Ecology - Whole Systems - Water - Soils - Pattern - Climate
- Earthworks - Forests & Trees - Economics - Governance - Gardening
- Waste Treatment - Buildings - Tools - Appropriate Technology - Design
- Practicum and more...
$1200 includes tuition, food, and camping
Sign up by May 1, 2009 and save $150
Sign up by July 1, 2009 and save $50
Register online.
Mushroom Inoculation WorkshopsMay 16 & 17, 2009
Take home the new skill of
cultivating culinary mushrooms.
Learn how a forest can produce a cash crop
in a permaculture food forest.
Participants will bring home their own
shiitake-inoculated log
and can purchase additional logs.
Saturday at Cayuta Sun (directions at: http://www.cayuta.org)
11 a.m.
Mushroom Inoculation with Steve Sierigk
This hands-on workshop will take participants step-by-step through mushroom
inoculation of cut logs using spawn. We will inoculate logs both for the Finger Lakes
Permaculture Institute and for your purchase. Participants will take home one log for
their workshop fee. We will provide tools, but bringing your own cordless drill would
be appreciated.
1 p.m.
Food Forest Design with Kay McGrenaghan Cafasso
Learn about the concept of forest gardening. Design for edibles in the different
ecosystem niches of forests. We will walk the grounds to identify some onsite species
we can incorporate into a food forest as well as discuss species not onsite at
Cayuta Sun that may be beneficial in a potential forest garden design.
3 p.m.
Forest Ecology Walk with Steve Gabriel
Hike through the forests of the Cayuta Sun property area while discussing forest
ecology and sharing tools to assess and design forest management plans for
long-term health and productivity. Participants will develop an understanding of
forest patterns and succession processes that tell a story of the past and define
the future of these incredible systems.
Sunday at Ramp Hollow Community Farm (directions at: http://www.sapsquatch.com)
11 a.m.
Mushroom inoculation with Steve Sierigk
This hands-on workshop will take participants step-by-step through mushroom
inoculation of cut logs using plug spawn. We will inoculate logs both for
The Ramp Hollow farm and for your purchase. Participants will take home one
log for their workshop fee. We will provide tools, but bringing a cordless drill is
appreciated.
1 p.m.
Agroforestry Strategies with Josh Dolan
Walk through the forest and learn about plans for our maple syrup sugarbush and
explore the other yields these healthy woods have to offer. Follow the seasons of
work from firewood and lumber harvesting in fall and winter to maple sugaring in
late winter on through the ramp harvest and mushroom inoculation in spring.
Discuss future crops and projects that could be introduced into the woodland.
Visit each location’s website for driving directions.
A $20-50 donation to the Finger Lakes Institute is
requested for a day of workshops.
Register online. Download the .pdf flyer.
2009 Summer ApprenticeshipMay 11 - August 9, 2009
APPLICATIONS ARE NO LONGER
ACCEPTED FOR SUMMER 2009
The Finger Lakes Permaculture Institute offers an exciting opportunity to explore
sustainable, regenerative design. In exchange, apprentices assist in organizing
events and working on a permaculture project. Apprentices attend all
Spring/Summer 2009 permaculture events without charge, including the Summer
Intensive Permaculture Design Certification Course.
Apprentices begin their commitment by attending the Permaculture Fundamentals
course in April. After these introductory classes, work shifts will be on regularly
scheduled days from May 11 through July 26. The focus of this year’s apprentice
work will be designing and creating classroom facilities for this year’s Design
Certification Course at Cayuta Sun, a homestead about 15 miles southeast of
Ithaca, N.Y.
Each apprentice is expected to complete 100 hours of workshops, training and
fieldwork as offered by the Finger Lakes Permaculture Institute before the Design
Certification Course begins on July 24. The apprentice program is heavily rooted
in self-directed learning. We help apprentices to define goals, set milestones, and
produce measurable results. Facilitators offer guidance and feedback to create a
challenging and rewarding endeavor.
Camping facilities with showers and outhouses are available for apprentices who
wish to live at the design site from late-May through mid-August. A small fee and
homestead/camp chores are asked in exchange for camping. Food will be the
responsibility of the individual, but apprentices are encouraged to grow food on
onsite gardens while growing food for the course.
Tuition is $600 for on-site apprentices or $500 for commuting apprentices.
Permaculture FundamentalsApril 24 - 26, 2009
Spend a weekend learning the basics of permaculture
design. Walk away with a toolbox of ecological design principles. This affordable course
offers a discussion on the ethics, attitudes, and principles of permaculture as well as an
exploration of natural ecology and pattern that lead to regenerative designs. These
classes are designed to be interactive and hands on. We use the site to discover how
useful permaculture ideas can be in a variety of settings and situations. Because this
course covers the introductory classes of our Design Certification Course, your tuition
can be applied to the full cost of the Certification Course.
Tuition is a sliding scale of $100 to $250.
Register online.