Hello Friends,
I am offering a class at the Pacific Grove Adult School this Fall Quarter.  Here is some more information.  :)

"Intro to Ecological Design"

$200, 1 evening per week for 5 weeks, at the Pacific Grove Adult School, Wednesdays from 6:30-8:30pm (9/21, 9/28, 10/5, 10/26 and 11/2)

Topics covered include: Solar Energy, Drought Tolerant Landscaping, Greywater, Permaculture, Documentary films and Democracy at Work

instructor:  Daniel Brodell-Lake M.Sc. "Integrative Ecosocial Design" from Gaia University, B.A. 'Ethnography & Photography' from UCSC, NABCEP cert solar energy practitioner, Permaculture Design Certified from UPISF and Sunrise Ranch, Photographer and Youth Counselor at Quail Springs Sustainable Vocations '12, lifelong Hidden Villa alum, Se Habla EspaƱol
 
  In this class I will provide a philosophical context based in Fuller, Berry and Mollison to show a path forward that is in integrity with permaculture's ethical framework by describing practical urban-based applications.  Students will learn the basics of solar energy and local solar professionals will speak on leasing vs. owning solar systems.  We will cover rain gardens, sheet mulching, hulgulkultur beds and laundry-to-landscape systems.  These solutions qualify for a $1.00/sqft rebate in Monterey County.  A local sustainable contractor interested in becoming a Co-Operative business will also be a guest speaker. 

The final class is a call to action to join community scale ecological cooperatives that address local food/fuel/jobs.The non-profit industrial complex and greenwashed capitalism are not pathways forward that are in integrity with the ethics of permaculture as a methodology.  We need horizontal leadership and social justice as a part of the 'Green New Deal' or we will continue to concentrate wealth at the top 1% as we engage in ecological design installations. 

Our Hispanic, Black, Gay and Young brothers and sisters are living in higher levels of poverty, housing and food scarcity and we need to recognize permaculture design as a methodology to solve critical issues on a communal scale, rather than treating the design methodology itself as a commodity. 

In other words, we need to empower ourselves with Co-Operative applications of our design methodology in a context where we share the surplus, not commodify and sell the methodology itself to ourselves.  Making that next step is part of this great transition and my class is geared towards addressing matters on a local level of social justice and real-world application. 

Hope to see you there!
abrazos,
D