Homestead Design Series

Your landscape is filled with possibilities. Locked in your property may be the means to sustain an abundant lifestyle for growing your food, collecting fresh rain water for drinking and reducing your dependence on purchased resources. This series will unlock the ecological capital that abounds within your yard, fields, or the neighborhood that surrounds you. It will give you the skills and foresight needed to assess, concept and design your property into a perpetual harvest garden.   Learn ecological landscape design language and technique while using the permaculture design process to create a ecologically balanced residence and abundant lifestyle.

Small intensive design classes are limited to 12 tables. Register early.  Most classes will be held at SouthWoods in Prior Lake, MN.

Any class can be taken individually, however the Homestead Design Series is a progressive learning format building from all sessions.

The Homestead Design Series will culminate with each participant completing a personal homestead design ready for implementation. 

The series includes: 

Base Plan and Residential Site Assessment - Tuesday, April 3rd, 6:30-9:30 pm

Permaculture Concepts for the Urban Homestead - Thursday, April 5th, 6:30-9:30 pm

The Design Progression - Tuesday, April 10th, 6:30-9:30 pm

Draft Design Workshop - Spaces, Places and Abundance - Satuday, April 14th, 8 am - 2 pm

Final Design and Supervised Work Session - Saturday, April 21st, 8 am - 2 pm

REGISTERING FOR THIS EVENT WILL SIGN YOU UP FOR ALL WORKSHOPS IN THE SERIES.  If you are only interested in one of the workshops in the series, register for individual classes below.  In order to get the most out of the workshops, PRI recommends that you attend them sequentially.  As such, PRI OFFERS DISCOUNTED PRICING FOR SIGNING UP FOR AN ENTIRE SERIES, and members get an even steeper discount on top of that!

Urban Design I: Base Plan and Residential Site Assessment

(UD1)  Overview - Paper Language, Bubble Maps, Concept, Draft, Final Draft, Final Design
Assignment - Homestead Base Mapping Measurements
Demonstration - Site Assessment and Base Mapping 

The Site Assessment and Base Mapping Course will set the stage for the rest of the series.  We will learn how to use permaculture ethics and design principles to asses our sites and create a base map of the land we will turn into a perpetual harvest garden. We will also outline the design process moving forward, creating an understanding of the concepts we will center our work around as well as how we will structure the design process (timeline for homework, preliminary drafts, final designs, etc.)

The Homestead Design Series will culminate with each participant completing a personal homestead design ready for implementation.

Any class can be taken individually, however the Homestead Design Series is a progressive learning format building from all sessions. Want to sign up for the entire series? Register above.

Urban Design II: Permaculture Concepts for the Urban Homestead
(UD2)  Classroom Pencil Practice - Tools, Landscape Symbols, Complete Your Base Map, and using Bum Wad
Assignment - Finish base map and start bubble maps
Demonstration - Access and Water Works

**Design Lab opens at 4 pm for student work time

The Permaculture Concepts Workshop will give participants an overall framework in which to build their designs, while also providing practical information around tools, landscape symbols, and access and proper use of water.  Participants will have time to finish their base maps and start their bubble maps.

The Homestead Design Series will culminate with each participant completing a personal homestead design ready for implementation.

Any class can be taken individually, however the Homestead Design series is a progressive learning format building from all sessions. Want to sign up for the entire series? Register above.

Urban Design III: The Design Progression
(UD3) Classroom Pencil Practice: Refining the concepts, allowing natures energy flow to enhance soil fertility and  - Transfer bubble concepts to draft Design.  Demonstration: Systems Thinking and Design

**Design Lab opens at 4 pm for student work time

In this workshop we will delve into the permaculture concepts introduced the previous week and focus on designing for our soil.  We'll take the information from our bubble maps and put them on our draft design, and look deeply at nature's energy flow through a systems-based lens. 

The Homestead Design Series will culminate with each participant completing a personal homestead design ready for implementation.

Any class can be taken individually, however the Homestead Design series is a progressive learning format building from all sessions. Want to sign up for the entire series? Register above.

Urban Design IV: Draft Design Workshop - Spaces, Plants and Abundance
(UD4)  Classroom Pencil Practice - Style Demo, Practice and Supervised Work Session. Determining plant size and placement, polycultures, ecological functions and seasonal access. Assignment - Complete draft design Demonstration: Polyculture Design, Ecological Facilitation, Resource Partitioning 

**Extended afternoon design lab, 2 - 5 pm

In this workshop we will delve into the design progression, refining concepts, partitioning resources and adding living species to the design. We will determine plant size and placement, polycultures, ecological functions and seasonal access. We will finish our draft design and look forward to final site planning.

Any class can be taken individually, however the Homestead Design Series is a progressive learning format building from all sessions. Want to sign up for the entire series? Register above.

Urban Design V: Final Design and Supervised Work Session
(UD5)  Final Steps - Plant Selection, Ground Covers, Material Calculations, Implementation, Notes and Logistics
Demonstration - Plant Database Queries and Internet Resources

**extended afternoon design lab 2-5 pm 

In this workshop, we'll wrap up the series by doing final selection of plants and ground covers.  We'll also discuss final calculations, implementation of plans, and what internet resources will be most effective when moving forward with plans. This is the culmination of the entire series, and each participant will leave with a "perpetual harvest garden" plan for their personal homestead, completely ready for implementation.

The Homestead Design Series will culminate with each participant completing a personal homestead design ready for implementation.

Any class can be taken individually, however the Homestead Design series is a progressive learning format building from all sessions. Want to sign up for the entire series? Register above.