Finding a way to feed yourself, your family, and your community regeneratively from the land in the context of the modern world is not just a hobby. It is an act of dedication, a commitment to honoring a way of life that is fast fading, an acknowledgement of our responsibilities to the earth, and a way to vote with your energy for the future you wish to inhabit.
Course Overview: This course is designed to provide a foundational framework and essential skills for land stewards in the early stages of their journey. It fills the gaps that often exist in volunteer, internship, and work opportunities–understanding the why behind diverse farm systems and how to approach turning a big old lawn or field into a thriving ecosystem from scratch. This course is grounded in permaculture and agroecology principles, geared towards family and community-scale farmers and homesteaders with an ecology-first mindset.
Course Dates & Topics
- June 13th: Ecological Foundations, Principles, & Key Frameworks. Including permaculture ethics & principles, ecological succession, the scale of permanence, pattern language, our place in ecosystems, and local climate and microclimate patterns.
- June 27th: Landform & Water Management. Including rainwater harvesting, keyline design, contour water management, choosing appropriate water strategies, and basic irrigation system design.
- July 11th: Plant Patterns & Polycultures. Exploring key patterns in edible plants–including root systems, flowering times, seed distribution, plant families, and phases of succession–and how to use them to design plant polycultures that balance insect populations, build fertility, support biodiversity, and maximize yields.
- July 25th: Soil Science & Fertility Management. Exploring the physical, chemical, and biological layers of soil, several hands-on soil testing techniques, and how to choose and apply appropriate soil management strategies such as composting, lasagna mulching, cover cropping, using perennial fertility-building plants, and integrating livestock.
- August 8th: Annual Plant Cultivation & Livestock Integration. Including a deeper dive into appropriate water, soil, and companion planting strategies for annual plants (vegetables, staple crops), basic animal husbandry notes, and how to integrate pigs, chickens, and ducks into farm systems.
- August 22nd: Grassland Ecology, Grazing Systems, & Silvopasture. Including an introduction to grassland ecology, how to select appropriate livestock species for grazing, regenerative grazing principles, basic set up and design of rotational grazing paddocks with electric fencing, and an introduction to silvopasture.
- September 5th: Forest Garden Design. A deeper dive into how to design bio regionally appropriate forest gardens including spacing and canopy density, fruit and understory species selection, niche analysis of understory plants, water strategies, and fertility management.
Course Structure
7 sessions June 13th-September 5th
Every other Saturday 8am-1pm. This course is primarily held at The Farmstead School in Niwot, offering a chance to learn vital skills by bringing a new farm ecosystem to life. There will also be 1-2 field trips to philosophically aligned mature homesteads.
+ One 60-minute recorded session to watch before each class
- Course Cost: $1000 through May 1st $1100 after May 1st
- Maximum Participants: 15
Scholarship applications are due May 1st. Preference for scholarship funding is given to historically underserved farmers and land stewards.
This course can be combined with the Regenerative Design Intensive and participation in 8+ volunteer days at the Niwot Homestead to earn a Permaculture Design Certification through PINA.
Lead Instructor: Amy Scanes-Wolfe
Amy is the founder and executive director of the Niwot Homestead and Cottonwood School of Agroecology. She has 13 years of experience with regenerative farming and ecological landscaping at varied scales. Amy has taught 8 complete permaculture design courses, facilitated over 500 hours of hands-on farm volunteer days and projects, and currently also teaches permaculture as an adjunct faculty member at Naropa University.