Restoration Intensive: Fire, Forests, & Animal Allies
February 23rd – March 3rd 2024

There’s a quiet revolution going on in the woods, of communities banding together to take responsibility for their forests and grasslands and create more safety and resilience in the face of climate-intensified wildfire.  This ten-day intensive will immerse you in one such community, focusing on deep listening to the land, hands-on skills for land restoration, and practical tools to mitigate the impacts of climate change. 

We’ll gain experience with many aspects of forest and grassland management—understanding fire ecology, assessing the forest and fire danger, thinning, pruning, limbing up and creating shaded fuel breaks, pile burns, prescribed burns (weather permitting), working with government and other local agencies, making biochar, inoculating mushrooms, and creating other value-added products from the woods. 

Grazing can be one of our key tools for fire prevention and grassland regeneration, when done right. In our animal care segments, we’ll have a chance to work with sheep, goats, cows, poultry, and live-stock guardian and herding dogs, learning animal care, psychology and training, fencing, herding, and other aspects of humane care.

Responding to climate change is not something we can do alone, and wildfire doesn’t stop at your property line.  Community organizing is one of the key regenerative strategies.  So the culmination of our time together will be a community action day we organize and present, where we can share some of our new tools with the larger community and celebrate our progress toward resilience.

This intensive will have two tracks: a Welcome Track for those who are taking this as a stand-alone course and a Leadership Track for those who are taking this as part of our long-term Regenerative Land Management Program.  Our RLM students will have opportunities to take leadership on group projects and present tools and information during our Community Action Day.

CLICK HERE for more information and to register

Permaculture Design Certificate Course
September 2023 – June 2024
Halifax, NS, Canada

Earth Activist Training’s Permaculture Design Course is an intensive that combines theory and practical hands-on learning with a grounding in spirit and a focus on social justice and ecofeminism.  Come learn practical earth healing and gain the skills to regenerate land and community.  We use a diverse set of teaching tools that encourage experiential and participatory learning, combining theory with practice, lectures with hands-on projects, sound science with ritual, meditation, song and story—and lots of fun! We will challenge the current paradigm and explore ways to advocate for and create a culture of sustainability, compassion, and equity.

Completing the course earns participants a Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) – the foundation for further permaculture work and study and a prerequisite for the Diploma in Permaculture Design. Participants will learn Permaculture design principles & techniques. The PDC covers a broad range of subjects to provide a holistic overview of Permaculture systems and sustainable living.

This in-person Permaculture Design Certificate Curse will meet once a month for 9 months with one weekend-long intensive in the spring of 2024

CLICK HERE for information and to register

Introduction to GIS Mapping for Permaculturalists
January 24th to February 28th, 2024

Learn the fundamentals of making a map with Geographic Information Systems known as GIS.

Introduction to GIS Mapping for Permaculturalists is the first in a series of courses focused on digital map creation. This course will lay the foundation for creating functional maps with geographic Information system (GIS) software.

This is a practical how-to course designed to introduce students to digital mapping tools. We will demystify digital tools’ complexity and translate professional mapmakers’ jargon into easily understood terms. During this class, we will be using QGIS mapping software. QGIS is an open-source (free) application that stands alongside with ESRI ArcGIS (paid service) as the industry standard for digital mapping.

No prior GIS mapping experience necessary to take this course.

CLICK HERE to learn more or register

Permaculture for Climate Activists
March 19th to April 2nd, 2024

This course is one of hope, resources, and tools to support and deepen your activism.

Climate change is upon us—and we can easily feel overwhelmed and hopeless when we consider the changes we need to make in response. But when we confront enormous challenges, we are most effective when we know what we are working for—not just what we are against. If we see climate change as massive ecosystem degradation on a global scale, then the response we need is massive ecosystem regeneration with justice and equity to heal our human ecosystems. 

The good news is that we know how to do it! 

Permaculture is a global movement of regenerative design that offers many approaches to healing our environment. In this course for climate activists we provide an overview of positive approaches to mitigation and adaptation. What is the most effective way to think about the problem? 

What policies should we advocate for, and which should we be wary of? How do we determine where best to put our energy?

If you feel a responsibility to do more than complain about our problems, if you are committed to doing something, you are an activist. Whether you are on the front lines of a pipeline blockade, or wondering where best to donate an extra ten dollars, whether you are a policy maker or a teacher, a parent struggling to raise conscious kids or a volunteer at an urban garden, you are an activist. 

CLICK HERE to learm more or register

Soil and Animals (Advanced Permaculture)

NEXT SESSION IN SPRING 2024

Soil and Animals is a six week deep dive into soil science, building and management, along with managing animals for restoration. The First three weeks will be focused on soil and the final three weeks will focus on animals. This class will cover:

BUILDING SOIL & CARBON  

• Soil Analysis. Learn the ecology behind regenerative theory of soil management. Gain skills in soil biology, chemistry, and structural analysis.
  

•  Strategies for Soil Healing and Management. Examine regenerative soil strategies ranging from small urban settings to large-scale farming systems. Learn how to build and maintain healthy soils through techniques such as no-till, compost teas, ferments, crop covers, biochar.

• Applied learning. Take what is taught in class and apply it in the real world. Through class exercises and case studies write your own soil management plan.

LAND MANAGEMENT WITH ANIMALS & FIRE

• Integrating Animals Into Ecological Systems. Learn how to design wildlife and domestic animals into systems for resilience and restoration.

• Practical Soil Management with Animals. Explore the role of animals in building soil, sequestering carbon, and improving ecological resilience.
  

• Perennial Systems Thinking: Integrate animals, perennial plants and a systems approach to write your own holistic animal and perennial system design.

Sustainable Infrastructure
August 1st to September 5th 2024

Learn the fundamentals of farm and ranch scale energy systems and waste management. This class will provide the technical know-how so you can more effictavly manage you space for better resiliance and long term sustainability.

Managing land or small homesteads ecologically is a resource-intense activity that requires finding a balance between consumption, ecological impact, and financial solvency. This course will provide practical answers on balancing these often complex and sometimes competing needs. Sustainable Infrastructure centers student understanding on the fundamentals of farm and ranch scale energy systems, material choices, and waste management. We will explore how to design, maintain and manage energy systems, integrate cyclic waste management strategies, and evaluate and find low-impact materials for landed projects.

CLICK HERE for more information and to register

A Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) is an internationally recognized 72 hr. design course. Earth Activist Training’s PDC builds on the basic curriculum by adding a grounding in spirit and community activism. Join lead instructors Starhawk and Charles Williams, along with guest presenters for an indebted exploration of permaculture tools and techniques, along with hands-on interactive activities.

What is Bioremediation?

Bioremediation is the use of microorganisms, plants, and fungi to remove or neutralize contaminants, allying with living systems to detoxify contaminated environments. Many micro-organisms, plants and fungi are able to bind, extract or transform contaminants to create less toxic, healthier, and increasingly resilient ecosystems.

Bioremediation &Earth Repair will provide an introduction to different bioremediation tools and techniques for detoxifying and revitalizing the gardens, lands and waters that sustain and nourish our communities, highlighting bioremediation projects and inspiring practitioners who are working with regenerative remedies to heal toxic realities.

CLICK HERE for more information and to register

Empowering Collaborative Groups:
We will need to do the hard, long-term work of making systemic change. Online or in person, the work of change and transformation must be done with other people–those annoying beings who do not always agree with us, and want their own way!

Collaborative groups may be healing, nurturing, and inspirational—or they may founder on the rocks of conflict and poor communication. But when we understand their patterns and challenges, we can design structures that favor supportive, nurturing relationships.

In this six-week online course, Starhawk guides us through her book,
The Empowerment Manual: A Guide for Collaborative Groups. It’s the book she wrote that draws on her decades of experience—often wonderful, sometimes painful—in activist groups, spiritual groups, permaculture groups, collective households and more.

Permaculture in Practice (PIP) is a mentorship program lead by Charles Williams. Meeting regularly in small groups we discuss the ideas, designs, and challenges the members are grappling with. This program centers discussion and learning around the needs of its members. When not discussing topics brought forward by members, we will be discussing seasonally relevant regenerative land care. This is a space to get support and mentorship on your  projects.