The Finger Lakes Permaculture Institute (FLPCI) was founded in 2005 as a response to a growing local need for effective sustainability education. We offer a multitude of opportunities to the community which include short classes, study groups, apprentice programs, and the intensive Permaculture Design Certification Course.
Michael Burns spent years working in publishing, until he learned permaculture design in Guatemala, while working with Ronaldo Lec Ajcot of the Mesoamerican Permaculture Institute. Now he is building his homestead based on permaculture principles when not devoting his energy to teaching U.S. History or fretting over his small flock of mongrel chickens.
Steve Gabriel spends his days studying ecology and helping reconnect children and adults to the landscape through awareness exercises and permaculture projects. He serves as Educator and Program Coordinator for the Finger Lakes Permaculture Institute and as a Mentor for EarthArts, both located in Ithaca, NY. His experience draws from a diverse educational and organizational involvement, including work as land use manager for a nature center and studies as an apprentice in southern Oregon and at Findhorn Ecovillage in Scotland. He has taught six 72-hour Permaculture Design Certificate Courses, has organized large conferences and events, and has designed homesites, farms, and gardens around the United States. He has his own design and installation business: www.WorkWithNature.net
Karryn Olson-Ramanujan loves exploring the world and its cultures--a passion that has taken her from her home state of South Dakota to live in Germany, Ghana, and India. She began studying permaculture in 1997 and has completed certificate courses in both Northern California and India. Karryn and her family moved in 2003 to Ecovillage at Ithaca, where they are learning how to live in community and transforming their back yard into a food forest. Karryn sees her lifework as assisting faith communities to connect their spiritual teachings about nature with permaculture and sustainability.