Learn how to engage children in all aspects of permaculture, learning from nature with a child-led approach. This course will give you the skills and support you need to design with and for children.
If you have completed the Introduction to Engaging Children in Permaculture course, you will understand how important it is to embed this into children’s learning environments. This practitioners course will equip you with the skills to take you to create two Diploma level designs, with and for children – a session plan and a garden.
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WHO?
The course is aimed at people who are keen to engage children in permaculture. This course will support educators working in kindergartens, nurseries, schools, forest schools, permaculture centres and/or homes. It will support parents, teachers, learning assistants, home educators, permaculture educators and many more to engage children in permaculture.
PRE-REQUIREMENTS
- Completed the Introduction to Engaging Children in Permaculture course (12 hour)
- Completed (or in the process of doing) a Permaculture Design Course (72 hour)
- Have experience working with children.
THIS COURSE WILL GIVE PARTICIPANTS:
- A toolbox of ways to engage children in permaculture using a holistic, creative approach which involves children in the whole process as a partner in their learning.
- Understanding how the permaculture design process can be used when working with children.
- Experience and support to creatively design a playground/children’s garden with permaculture to maximise the benefits of outdoor learning for children.
- Experience learning both indoors and outdoors through tasks and assignments in a way which reflects the CiP pedagogy.
- Understanding about how to apply the permaculture ethics, principles and design to education including designing session plans which engage the whole child: eyes, heart, hand and head and using the process of ‘sowing, growing and harvesting’.
- Confidence in the use of the CiP resources including the case studies, film and manual.
- Understanding of how permaculture can support teachers and other educators in their work with children.
- Experience of examples in good practice and inspirational stories which will motivate and encourage you to engage children in permaculture.
- Specific skills which you can use to manage a group of children outdoors safely including risk-benefit assessments and safe tool use.
- Opportunity to ‘meet’ other people who are interested in engaging children in permaculture.
- Knowledge about nature, and how to work with nature, including the nature of your garden and the nature of the child(ren) you are working with.
- Understanding of a child-led and child-centred pedagogy, the differences between these and how to make sure you are approaching the child in these ways.
- Ongoing support through use of an online networking group.
COURSE LEADERS
This training course is led by Lusi Alderslowe and Gaye Amus, and is related to the ‘Children in Permaculture’ project in which best practice has been shared across Europe from Finland to Italy, Scotland to Romania.
“The future of our planet depends on a change of consciousness, in which the people and the resources of the natural world are no longer taken for granted and exploited without considering long term impacts. Supporting children from early childhood to develop a sensitive, compassionate and cooperative relationship with each other and the natural world is a crucial step in generating this new consciousness” (p. 1, The Children in Permaculture Manual; Alderslowe, Amus & Deshaies, 2018).
DATES AND TIMES
FOR INFORMATION ABOUT UPCOMING COURSES PLEASE SEE:
HOMEPLAY
There will be tasks given during each session which need to be done outside, these will be completed during the session and/or between one session and the next. This will include tasks observing and designing a garden. There will also be tasks around observing children and designing a session plan for them, so again it would be helpful if you will be seeing children (whether they are your own children, children that you work with, or other relatives/friends/groups etc.). If you don’t have access to a garden and/or children, you will be able to do the full course, we will adapt the homework activities to your situation.
COURSE FEE
There are different prices and scholarship places to enable people of different financial means to attend, please contact the course organisers to discuss.
PORTFOLIO
In order to become a certified Children in Permaculture Practitioner, a portfolio submission will need to be assessed. This will consist of two designs which reach the standard of the Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design, as assessed under the Permaculture Association (Britain) system. Please note that this is one of the most thorough permaculture diploma systems in the world.
The process is:
- Attend the CiP Practitioners course during which we will go through the assessment criteria for the portfolio.
- You will be supplied with a template for a session plan design and a garden design.
- Complete the two designs using the template. You will need to have access to a garden, and preferably children, to survey.
- Submit the 2 designs by the deadline.
- The tutors will evaluate your design through a use of a standard form.
- If there is something lacking they will request, through this standard form by an agreed deadline.
- Tutors will re-assess designs
- If the portfolio is up to the required standard, you will receive the Children in Permaculture Practitioners Certificate.
- If the portfolio is not yet up to the required standard, you could negotiate to resubmit later and an additional fee will be required.