Re: Suggestions Please

["Graham Burnett" <gburnett@unisonfree.net>]

>
> I am about to embark with a small group of youth to my little piece of
> heaven in Colorado.  There are two 17 year old girls in the group that have
> made this trip for the past 4 years and I'm running out of 'new' to teach
> them.

If you havn't got a copy it would be too short notice for this year, but for next year try getting
hold of 'Teaching Permaculture Creatively' by Robin Clayfield & Skye (Australian, Crystal Waters
connections)- I don't know where you'd get it in the US but here in the UK Ecologic Books
distribute it, contact books@eco-logic.demon.co.uk

Its a bit pricey, but absolutely full of activities & ideas to make PC courses experiential &
particpatory in content, and tons of information about how we learn, how to ensure courses are
participant led, how to link left brain/right brain thinking (creative & logical sides of the mind)
and tons more... A few sample activities; How to role play a compost heap (class brainstorms the
various components of a compost pile, eg, leaves, weeds, grass, straw, kitchen waste, stemmy carbon
material, etc, etc- each person 'becomes' one ingrediant and basically all lie on top of each other
in layers! Apparently generates lots of heat and lots of laughs!), how to role play a windbreak
(half class form a line accross the room and act out trees and bushes of various hights by
outstretching arms, crouching down etc- other half are the 'wind', and have to try to break through
the barrier), also story telling, meditations, visualisations (I took part in one of Robin's
visualisations a year or so ago where we imagined a 'Sustainable London' of 20 years in the future
which was very powerful)- anyway it's a book I'd recommend (I hope the cheque is in the post, Skye
:-)

>
> What more can I teach them?  Or, should I now begin to learn 'from' them?

I think you've answered your own question there Ava, I think it's very important that Permaculture
is seen as a two way learning process, that we move further away from the traditional education
model where the 'teacher' stands at the front with all the answers whilst the 'students' just
passively recieve the given wisdom...

In the case you've outlined I'm sure these young women have an incredible wealth of knowledge,
wisdom and experience in urban survival, people care and coping with challenging family/social
situations and their own bioregional experience in general, even if articulating this might require
some facilitation skills- what do they have to offer you and other course participants in terms of
sharing knowledge- how can they apply permaculture principles within their urban and present
lifestyle contexts to either find ways to change or make their current situations more sustainable?
In a city context this might be more about community organising, setting up health care and support
networks rather than learning wild crafting (or wild crafting can be applied to city trees and
weeds???)- but this is the stuff THEY will understand and know, not answers 'WE' can give to them-
well facilitated discussion might be an appropriate learning/teaching tool...

Anyway, hope all goes well, please feed a report back to the list :-)


Cheers,

Graham Burnett
35 Rayleigh Avenue
Westcliff On Sea
Essex, UK
SS0 7DS

South East Essex LETS
http://pages.unisonfree.net/gburnett/