The Permaculture Research Institute of Australia

I originally discovered permaculture in 1989 when I fell in love with the Designer's Manual and devoured it cover to cover. At the time, I lived in northern New Mexico and dreamed of becoming a farmer. I spent time volunteering on farms and teaching gardening to kids. I spent a lot of time experimenting on my own at home.

Since then, I have taken a couple of PDCs and gotten my Teacher's Certificate. In 2008 I went to Green School in Bali, Indonesia, where I developed a pilot curriculum in permaculture, taught faculty, staff and students about permaculture and assisted on a PDC with Chakra Widia and John Barrie Button.

I've had the good fortune to study with some great teachers and to help on great projects, mostly in Colorado, but also in Baja Mexico and Bali, Indonesia.

I have a degree in Environmental Studies from University of California where I studied natural history and wildlands, and a Master's Degree in Education. I'm also an ecological beekeeper.

I do occasional designs and consulting but mostly I teach. I am headed to Swarthmore College to teach permaculture in Feb 2011, and will be leading a PDC in northern Colorado in March. Turning others on to permaculture is one of the most rewarding, exciting and amazingly fun things I can think of to do.

I live on an urban demonstration and educational site, where I practice and experiment, in downtown Boulder, CO, USA.