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Lesson Plan for Permaculture Ethics and Design Principles by Gene Griffith
Lesson Plan for Permaculture Ethics and Design Principles
by Gene Griffith
The Purpose in #Permaculture Design is to follow Nature’s Rules.
Introduction to Permaculture Ethics and Design Principles These design principles uses the rules Nature has evolved over time. These qualities persist, they are proven time over time again. They are what make nature robust and resilient and able to withstand the changing world. These are the most powerful design tools available..
What Are Ethics? The concepts like compassion, empathy, fairness, truth and justice? Or by having a set of relative rules, comparing each actions benefits and loses using situational ethics to make the decision.
Could it be that What really matters is it much deeper. Appreciating the intrinsic value of nature and life. From the air that flows around and through us and sunlight generating nourishment for us everything is connected in a web of life. These design principles are efficient and able to adapt, store resources, produce food and shelter and persist.
Evolution of ethics continues seems to progress, we move forward but not smoothly. Could the ultimate ethic be as simple as All is One? Expressed as Care of the Earth.Care of People and Fairness
Multiple connections enhance life, by closing loops and producing no waste.
Create Permaculture Design that is functional, sustainable and persistent, has many connections between elements and provides a yield.
Part 1
Ethics in Permaculture
Part I Ethics in Permaculture
Key message: Intrinsic value of life and everything is connected.
A. Introduce concept of ethics, doing the right thing for the right reason,{.what it is and why it is important.}
Including: Indigenous peoples living more in harmony understanding the importance of nature, traditional communities honor and respect the old ways., ]
rules of behavior and taboos.
Ethics are culturally evolved mechanisms that regulate self-interest, giving us a better understanding of good and bad outcomes.
“The greater the power of humans, the more critical ethics become for long-term cultural and biological survival.” David Holmgren
B. The 3 ethics of permaculture:
1) Earth care, care for the earth, includes all living and nonliving things, such as animals, plants, land, water, and air;
2)People care, caring for people, promotes self-reliance for both personal responsibility and community care; and
3) Fairshare, making sure everyone has the air, water, and other resources they need for life. Not overproducing or over consuming. Fairshare has also been expressed as Share Surplus, Care of Future. Give Away Surplus, pass on anything surplus to our needs including food, labor, money, information, share the surplus with both people and the earth.
“The Earth is a living, breathing entity. Without ongoing care and nurturing there will be consequences too big to ignore. “Holmgren
Permaculture is an ethical system, stressing positivism and cooperation.
“The permaculture approach is to focus on the positives, the opportunities that exist rather than the obstacles, even in the most desperate situations.” - Holmgren
Part II Design Principles in Permaculture
Key Message: Permaculture design is functional, sustainable and persistent, has many connections between elements and provides a yield.
A. Design and permaculture principles are composed of both aesthetics and function.
Functional design includes:
Functional design includes:
1) Strong Sustainability―it provides for its own needs without depleting the natural stock.
2) Provides good product yield or surplus yield. This happens when elements have no product unused by other elements, and they have their own needs supplied by other elements in the system.” PDC Certification Handbook
B.Here we will List and describe many permaculture principles (using 12 principles from David Holmgren as basis and adding in Mollison)
“Permaculture is a design system for sustainable living and land use. It came out of awareness about the limits of resources” Holmgren
The ethical foundation of permaculture (centre) guides the use of these design tools, ensuring that they are used in appropriate ways.
Each principle can be thought of as a door that opens into whole systems thinking, providing a different perspective that can be understood at varying levels of depth and application.
1. Observe and interact "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder"
Observation Prolonged observation rather than hasty action
2. Catch and store energy “Make hay while the sun shines”
Catch and store as high as possible and reuse many times as possible before it leaves system.
3 Obtain a yield “You can’t work on an empty stomach”
Must be useful and produce a yield immediately.
4. Apply self regulation and accept “The sins of the fathers are visited on the feedback children of the seventh generation”
Refuse or refrain when possible, review regularly to see if improvements are possible, and to accept feedback.
5. Use resources wisely and value renewable resources “Let nature take its course.”
Biological resources: manure, compost, fungi, microbes, insects, plants, animals. Renewable energy. Conserve and reuse,:solar, thermal, water, gravity. tides, biological
Appropriate Technology: Correct tool for the job. Wind, water, ram pump, solar, tidal, geothermal,
Necessary and Conservative: Use resources only when necessary and then conservatively as possible.
Precautionary principle: Do no harm.
6. Produce no waste “Waste not, want not”
No waste in nature, only humans who have not figured out how to use a product call it waste.
Law of return: Whatever we take we must return.
“Reduce waste hence pollution; thoroughly replace lost minerals; do a careful energy accounting; and make an assessment of the long term, negative, biosocial effects on society and act to buffer or eliminate these.” A Designers Handbook, Mollison
7. Design from patterns to details “can’t see the forest for the trees”
Relative location: Guilds, zones.
8. Integrate rather than segregate “the whole being greater than the sum of the parts”
Concentrate your energies increase efficiency by many connections
Natural succession, stacking vertically, stacking in time
9. Use small slow systems “the bigger they are, the harder they fall”
Small scale intensive systems. Use small integrated systems rather than large ones.
10. Use and value diversity “don’t put all your eggs in one basket”
Multiple elements per function Redundancy and resiliency
Multiple functions per element Multitasking elements, stacking functions
11. “Use edges. Value the margin “don’t think you are on the right track just because its a well-beaten path”
Increase edge. “An ecotone is a transition area between two adjacent but different plant communities, such as forests and grassland.” Ecotone definition WIKI 11/2010
12. Creativity use and respond to change “vision is not seeing things as they are but as they will be”
Unlimited harvest. Only limited by imagination and resources. Why careful thought and renewable energy are important.
Chaos or Disorder Principle “If resources are added beyond the capacity of the system to productively use them, then that system becomes disordered (goes into chaos). Chaos or disorder is the opposite of harmony, as competition is the opposite of cooperation. In disorder much useful energy is canceled out by the use of opposing energy, thus creating entropy or bound energy. Society, gardens, whole systems and human lives are wasted in disorder and opposition. The aim of the designer is therefore two-fold: To use only that amount of energy that can be productively absorbed by the system. To build harmony, as cooperation, into the functional organization of the system.” PDC Cert Handbook
Tipping point. Asymmetrical engineering, little effort great effect
The solution in the question How you ask the questions. “To many slugs or not enough ducks?”
Have Fun, use art, beauty, celebration , In all aspects of life incorporate beauty.
Permaculture design is functional, sustainable and persistent, has many connections between elements and provides a yield.
Use permaculture ethical and design principles in all aspects of your life, personal, business, and community.
Appreciate the intrinsic value of life and that everything is connected.
Final Challenge realize you can use this way of problem solving, now turn that knowledge into action, make it yours intentionally..
Books:
http://www.permacultureprinciples.com/ethics.php by David Holmgrem
Permaculture Principles & Pathways Beyond Sustainability by David Holmgren
Permaculture, A Designers Manual by Bill Mollison
PDC Course Outline Handbook
Visuals:
http://www.permacultureprinciples.com/ethics.php by David Holmgren
PowerPoint slides
Slide presentation
https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0Aa5ahYKcA5IYZGhrZHg5cXJfMTc3ZHhqNDVxZ20&authkey=CLPT3vIL&hl=en
Vocabulary
Ethic: the discipline dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation, a guiding philosophy, a consciousness of moral importance, a set of moral issues or aspects (as rightness)
Principle: a comprehensive and fundamental law, doctrine, or assumption
Design: design is composed of both aesthetics and function.
Earth Care: care of the earth, plants, animals, air, minerals, water
People Care: care of people, caring for others as you would to own family
Fairshare: not to over consume or overproduce, share surplus, care about future
Share the surplus: share back to nature and to people
Care for the Future: persistence, sustainability, stability, thrive vs growth,
Ecotone: a transition area between two adjacent ecological communities
Permanence and Sustainability: a functional system which require no additional inputs and produce no waste. It uses its outputs as inputs and provides function.
Limits to population and consumption: the easy way to save the energy, by using less energy and resources.
Precautionary: a measure taken beforehand to prevent harm or secure good
Stewardship: the office, duties, and obligations of a steward; the conducting, supervising, or managing of something; especially : the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care <stewardship of natural resources
Strong Sustainability as long as the natural stock sustainable
Weak Sustainability as long as it’s profitable it sustainable.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Irrigation, the best Permaculture methods.
The most important method is keyline land design, developed by PA Yeomans, where you design swales(on contour - level ditches), to sink the most possible water into the earth, plants and trees design a whole system using waters resources most efficiently, polyculture over monoculture crops, terraces, permaculture design, forest gardens, huglekulture (using wood compost), compost, sheet mulching, rain water catchment, closed loop aquaponic systems, water food systems can be 10 times more productive than land based agriculture. Ram pumps use no electricity but gravity instead and can pump 24/7 uphill, a huge saving over time of resources. This is only partial list. Observation, careful consideration of needs and resources are unique to each location are considered over a year to understand better the climate, topography, sun exposure, wind direction, etc. Only limited by imagination, design with nature and use resources wisely.http://astore.amazon.com/permaculture4u-20
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Fresh water is rare
Fresh water is rare, of all the water on the earth, 97% is salt water. Only 3% is fresh, of that 75% is frozen, leaving 14% available for recharge and 11% greater depth of 800meters that takes 10000 years to recharge. Water to drink is now valued as equal or greater to oil or gas.We will be harvesting rain from most every roof in this century. In Permaculture we consider water and fire design elements important in every location.
View more gifts at Zazzle.
All is One! make custom gifts at Zazzle
View more gifts at Zazzle.
All is One! make custom gifts at Zazzle
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Water, a Permaculture lesson plan
My gift is this lesson plan for you.
Link to Google Doc with pictures.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eDn-aZiQasBS8PcswhyJX_5t8_FeLj7eh8UnJG-uCVQ/edit
Water Lesson Plan
1. Definitions and procedures:
• Signal #1: When I ask you a yes or no question, show me thumbs up for yes and thumbs down for no.
Now answering with your thumb, “Does everyone have drinking water? “
I’m going to tell you right up front was my message is,
Catch and store water or any useful energy, material, or information.
• Signal #2: If you want me to repeat certain information, show me this sign. (Circle your hand above your head and tell participants to do it with you.) Questions for clarification are always welcome.
What is my message?
Catch and store water. Everybody jump up and catch water!
My session will cover the hydrological system and the duties or functions of water. My goal it to teach you 1 amazing thing about water, I will ask you at the end and I hope you have at least one amazing new thing to share with me. If you learn an amazing thing will you let me know? Thumbs up for yes.
What is a system?
energy, mass and information flow among the different elements that compose the system; flows may provide feedback to help control their systems.
energy, mass and information flow from and to the system via paths or boundaries;
systems are often composed of entities seeking equilibrium but can exhibit oscillating, chaotic, or exponential behavior.
a community in an environment and a dynamic and complex whole, interacting as a structured functional unit.
What is hydrology?
Hydrology is the study of the flows and quality of water on Earth.
hydrologic cycle,
water resources and
environmental sustainability.
In Permaculture at the core of everything we design are the 3 ethics. What are they?
Ethics and principles of permaculture apply to water in many ways.
The all 3 ethics: Earth care, People care and Fair share concern water.
The ethic of Earth care values the natural earth, the water, soil, air, minerals and all life.
Water is abundant and has unique properties.
Exists in 3 forms on earth, fluid, solid and gas and is made up of hydrogen and oxygen H2O.
You will hear many things today and I hope if you hear something you question you will research it and if you find out something differs from what I present please share it back to me as feedback-thanks.
71% of earth covered by water. We should call earth Water!
97% of earth water is saltwater.
it is the world’s most critical resource.
Fresh water is only 3%
Water is unique, flowing and transforming the earth and life as it moves.
Water is Essential for life, most life is made of 60-70% water, and life began in the sea millions of years before life appeared on land.
Fresh Water is rare, only 3 % of all water, a clear liquid treasure,
The Sustained flow of rivers is truly remarkable, considering that precipitation is an unusual event in most areas of the earth. Localisation of precipitation in space or time is striking,( ie Paris it rains 7% of time, B Mollision)
Few storms last more than a few hours, so that even storm days are mainly rainless. Yet rivers flow throughout the year. The sustaining source of flow is effluent ground water...The amount of soil water is about fifteen the amount in channel storage in rives. (Nace in Chorley, 1969
Of the fresh water, 75% is ice and glaciers,
11% is available ground water* (less than 2500’ deep),
14% is deep groundwater and aquifers (2500’ to 12,500’)
Where is the majority of North America’s surface fresh water?
In the Great Lakes
In drinking water the 2Q’s are important for life. What are they?
quality - water quality purity of water is required for life,
rain 10x cleaner than ground water,
if its polluted, microbes, chemicals, heavy metals, or other problems you may not be able to use it for all purposes.
Acid rain is a problem for life on earth and in the oceans and can be as low as 2.4pH in some industrial countries like China and Russia and downwind.
Possible to clean water by using multiple filter stages, sand filter with uniform sand size, carbon, uv light, adding amendments to balance pH, etc.
quantity- how many gallons- is enough, you need to design foe a year around supply.
You want to optimize the harvest to supply water for zone one first.
1 gallon per person per day,
3 days without water you would be in serious trouble
Humans need five to 13 gallons of clean water a day for basic needs.
Today an average person’s in US hydrological cycle uses 69 gallons of water inside their home and an equal amount in outside irrigation per day. They return most of the water inside to the sewer system or septic tank, and the outside water would more likely return to the water table.
The ethic of Fairshare, requires using the resource of water fairly, making sure all get what is necessary for life, over 1 billion people now do not have good resource of clean fresh water, 80% off all communicable disease worldwide is caused by water, WHO and by 2025 possibly 50% of population may have water shortage issues and in 50 years a possible fresh water.
When it comes to water, poverty kills.
Since 1992 the UN considers water a product like oil, encouraging it’s privatization and commercial development, now large water companies are buying systems all over the world.
Water is the next oil, and the threat of oil issues contribute to the blindness surrounding the water.
Sacristy causes prices to rise, hurt the poor most, water higher price than gas many places already.look at link: http://www.worldwater.org/conflict/map/
Water Is culturally important. -Understanding water is integral to the whole system of our planet.
Water is sacred in many cultures, along with essential elements earth, wind, and fire- celebrate- today come on celebrate permaculture today celebrate, rain dancing, seasonally celebrations based on the weather and rains.
The Chinese symbol for water is control.
• Doodle #1: Draw a doodle representing the most important thing you’ve just learned. Your doodle can be a line, a shape, a squiggle, an icon, a cartoon, a symbol, or anything visual. Explain your doodle to the person sitting next to you.
An important Water Permaculture Principles include:
Multiple functions for every element
2.Duties:
Duty #1: to procreate life (in growing organisms) -
Strategies
- drinking zone 1, highest quality of water
- livestock-
- irrigation -
Rainwater is main source for us, rainwater harvesting is the main permaculture technique used.patterning the landscape, to catch water, using plants and catchments.
A 1% increase in organic matter allows soil to hold 16,000 more gallons of water per acre.
- food preparation
- Provide for wildlife on land, underwater, and in the soil.
- meteorological cycle, climate control
exercise:
toast to each other with water!
To life giving water we give gratitude!
Duty #2: to develop productive water systems (aquaculture). 20x more productive that agriculture,
Yield of system increases as life increases.
-. pond or tank aquaculture -technique
- groundwater, aquifer recharge
- river and creek recharge
- ocean recharge
Duty #3: to develop hydraulic uses for energy production, chemical, mechanical and other uses
- Energy and design solutions due to gravity and falling water
- waterwheels,
- hydro, micro hydro
- ram pumps
- emergency water for fire
- supply water for toilets and graywater systems
- Use natural processes and renewable resources.
- universal solvent cleaning
- fermentation and chemical solutions
- cooling
- locks and dams
-water jet cutting
-trompe
The harvest is unlimited, we are only limited by our imagination- trompe
Maximizing edge is permaculture principle.
The deltas and marshes where fresh water and salt water meet is an incredible edge and ecotone, these edges are the some of the most productive ecosystems on earth.
Prevent Run off-
How to prevent runoff?
-Retardation swamps and basins: Swales, dams, swamps, basins, water spreading generally delay flood and run-off.
Sand beds and sand sheets have similar effects.
-Catchment form: Dendritic (tree form) catchment the most efficient.
Dense streamlines remove water quickly;
-Vegetation: Type and density affect run-off.
annuals or bare areas increase run-off, as does burning or cultivation.
-rock areas: increase run-off.
Name other ways useful for water storage ?
Tanks at home for freshwater supplies
Stock ponds, Small ponds in gardens (frogs)
Bogs, Use of larger catchment area to supply tanks;
catchment can be of tar material,
sealed pond using clay, concrete,
sheets of rubber, pond liner, HDPE, bladders, ferrocement,
Roads, airstrips, firebreaks, swales, ditches - all potential catchments if designed to concentrate water in storage structures such as roadside tanks and contour ponds.
What determines how much water is available ?-
Rain duration MAIN factor. How variable rain may seem, yet stable for each area overall, creeks and rivers flow continuously.
70% of water in the US is used for agriculture, 20% industrial, 10% home
How much water should permaculture use?
Permaculture position would conserve all resources using them as necessary.
Problem is we are taking out more than we are returning causing desertification.
What are water rights?
In Oregon without right, only able to water ½ acre with well.
Water rights, you must use them or lose them, invisible structures causing problems.
Do no harm.
• Doodle #2: Draw a doodle representing the most important thing you’ve just learned. Your doodle can be a line, a shape, a squiggle, an icon, a cartoon, a symbol, or anything visual. Explain your doodle to the person sitting next to you.
How much water is used during the fracking process?
Generally 1-8 million gallons of water may be used to frack a well. A well may be fracked up to 18 times.
What fluids are used in the fracking process?
For each frack, 80-300 tons of chemicals may be used. Presently, the natural gas industry does not have to disclose the chemicals used, but scientists have identified volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene.
-Multiple elements for every function.
water lows through the earth in diverse ways. moving nutrients and life along with it as it travels the planet.
Water flows via creeks and rivers to the sea, water evaporates to vapor into the air and gathers in clouds, travels via winds then precipitates to the surface of the earth again with rain, snow, ice, hail, fog, freezing fog, hurricanes.
Increase Diversity.
Water flows through plants, fungi and animals, Traveling in the soil and groundwater, into aquifers and underground rivers of water, springs and wells.
Flowing in rivers of ice or glaciers, sublimating to vapor from ice and snow.
Transpiration by plants and flowing through life in many ways, agriculture, building products, food, materials, water in life itself, being born, living, and dying always moving the water to its next phase, Locked in the tundra,and ice caps.
Use resources wisely.
Store and hold resources, as high as possible and use water as many times as possible before it passes through the system increasing the efficiencies with each reuse.
Have fun, go to the beach, or swimming or fishing and celebrate water.
• Shout Out #1: Shout out a number between one and ten. Now tell me (state the number) facts you already know about more duties for water.
3.Permaculture Designing for water
The 2 forces of water called Erosion and Displacement forms valleys and deltas, important Patterns in nature in many places.
Managing Surface Run-off
Generally we want to Stop runoff, slow and hold resources as early and high as possible.
What is my message?
Catch and store. Everybody jump up and catch water!
All this is natural for the earth, and knowing about complex systems that water is involved in helps us make the best decisions when we are creating a design that shows care for the earth, supporting he ethic of earth care
-Think Needs when designing connecting elements
When does rain occur?
Make an alignment with its uses and season.
Protect building, structures, plants, animals from flow and overflow risks.
When all these factors are taken together, the severity of drought and the need for irrigation are greatly reduced.
The solution to the problem is in the question.
I am giving you numbers and statements and I ask you to ask your own questions and do your own research to verify any questions yourself. Hope fully you can begin your own project to conserve this rare and valuable resource.
Ability to calculate amount of water the system will handle and to size all components, pipes and fittings correctly.
1000sq ft house will produce 623 gallons of water per inch of rain
1000
231in3 = 1 gallon
1000ft2=12inx12inx1in=144,000in23
144,000in3/231in3=623.37 gallons
#everyone design for their home a quick calculation and type of storage possible.
Our function in the cycle:
Valuing this essential resource, applying necessary and conservative use through self regulation, accepting feedback and giving back to nature best water possible .
Water is powerful.
What water weighs is what makes gravity work for it. What does it weigh?
1 kg/litre
= 62.4 lb/ft3
= 8.34 lb/gallon
Weight per US gallon is based on 7.48 gallons per cubic foot.
Calculations or rules of thumb are helpful when you are sizing your design and talk about various techniques for engineering your system.
55 gallon drum weighs 440 lbs,
Patterns in nature: What is a keypoint?
Draw Picture of hill and valley
Key point : Keypoint is where the lower and flatter part of the valley floor steepens. Where the landscape turns from convex to concave occurs a keypoint.
The Keyline is a contour line through the keypoint, following the valley shape. P. A. Yeomans, described and explained in his books The Keyline Plan, The Challenge of Landscape, Water For Every Farm and The City Forest. Page 161 PDM Figure 7.15
Keyline plow
• Pop-Up #5: The last person to pop out of his chair has to explain to the whole group how he plans to use what he has learned.
Design for disaster.
Always be thoughtful in a failsafe way, water leakage or catastrophic failures happen. If you build or install water catchment that can roll or move, be careful to strap down and prevent from 10 tons come rolling down the hill towards your house after an earthquake.
Water Control: Managing Surface Run-off in Broad Landscape
General rules:
Modest trials; extend on successes
Do not concentrate flow across even low slopes or they will gully out Always spread and absorb flow in pits, swales, sands.
Try to totally absorb run-off into vegetated areas
Beware absorbing run-off into bare areas as this can raise the water table and cause salting
Plant trees over shallow water table
Water harvesting earthworks.
What are earthworks?
Earthworks is engineering using soil or rocks.
Swales water harvesting, A swale is a ditch which runs dead level to contour. A-frame, water level, or laser
Swaled at 1-3m vertical intervals, swales of 2m deep, broad (3-5m); tree planted.
Steeper slopes can be sculptured as “net and pan”, “boomerang” banks. Low slopes (3°) set out as a series of large diamond-shaped basins of 0.5 hectare, each with a tree in the low corner, and a spillway to the next diamond; even light rain soaks into these. Try for 150-200m deep ponds in small areas
What are Gabions?
-cages or containers for erosion control, flood control, and protection. Use in water paths to slow water and sink it in.
Essentials of Dam Building:
page 163 PDM figure 7.17
Backslope: 3:1 ratio,especially in sandy soils.
Frontslope: 2-2.5:1 ratio
Crest: 3m wide
Freeboard: 1m
Compaction: every .3m of soil rolled down by bulldozer
Key: a clean cut at base for first layers
Spillway: made along the contour and end well away from the dam wall. May lead to another dam.
Surface, fibrous-rooting plants grown on frontslope (avoid tap-rooted trees)
Silt traps may be needed in diversion drains leading to dams
Plant windbreak surrounding dam to reduce wind evaporation loss
Make dams deep. Try for shade. Taper sides to “V” or cone if practical
What types of dams do you know?
Saddle dams: on skylines, in saddles
Barrier dams: across valleys (only useful where silt is not a problem or if effective silt-traps in-stalled)
Contour dams: wall of dam follows contour
Pediment dams: dam site on a flat at the foot of hill slope
Ridge dams: dam is on a flat ridge area
page 158 PDM Figure 7.4
Valley dams
Contour dams
60sec- Pair Share #1: Turn to your neighbor—the person sitting next to you—and tell him the most important fact you just learned in this class.
Evaporation strategy
Cover water surface with rounded, hexagonal “light concrete” blocks using polystyrene beads in aggregate. Paint upper surface white. Try for 0.8 specific gravity and make 1-2m across. Make a sequence of 3 dams, and empty from top dam to the lower dams as soon as these will hold the water. Each time you do this surface reduces by 30%. Several series of 3 is better than a chain of 6 or more dams long.
What holds most water?
Ways to hold the most water is by using plants and trees,
Organic matter also increases the soil's ability to take in water during rainfall events, assuring that more water will be stored. Ground cover also increases the water infiltration rate while lowering soil water evaporation. Water stored out of sun will evaporate slower.
Evaporation versus precipitation, land may salt if evaporation is greater.
Way to divert water using Hard surfaces like roads, gutters, trenches, walls, sidewalks, driveways, and roofs. Gutters page 166, figure 721
Name ways to store water?
Cisterns, tanks, ponds, in the ground-bogs .Water catchment is possible in many ways as above and below the earth.
What are the Considerations on designing the type of system appropriate for your situation? resources, frequency, amount, etc
Irrigation
Irrigation Rules
Irrigate under mulch (reduces salt problems & increases irrigation efficiency)
Irrigate at dusk or night if possible (put on a timer)
Give long watering every 3-5 days rather than a little bit every day (increases leaching effect,
particularly for salt, and takes water down)
Allow for leaching, put enough water on to leach sal
Use sealed pipes to convey water; leaky drains may raise the saltwater table.
Only use sprinklers under tree canopy. Never in the open by day.
Do not over-water; use timers and pits to check on this; turn off drip in winter if enough winter rain.
Name the Different types of Irrigation?
1-drip or trickle, efficient, especially in drylands, needs filtration, control
Hole in a pipe
Flagon or clay pots in ground with nail in cork
Rocks in deep hole to lead roots down
Relatively cheap
Water the root zone directly
Can use reasonably saline water
Waters only the plant, not the weeds around it
-Flood irrigation (surface & sub-surface-wasteful and difficult to control) flood, hardest to design for landscapes. Using Flag with swales.
page 169, f 7.27
-Sprinklers (not efficient, can build up salt in soil, spray most wasteful, lost to evaporation can be as high as 90%
-Under canopy
Sub surface irrigation:
Pitcher irrigation: 12” wide porous pitchers buried in ground 3’ diameter, 2’ deep, filled with manure and soil.
Tops of pitchers just above ground level, covered and kept topped up. Gourds, pumpkins, and melons cultivated. Can also be used for planting trees (narrow necked jars).
Components of irrigation systems
Water source: dams, bores, soaks, run-off, swales, pipelines, creeks, tanks, lake
Energy source: water at head, pressure with pumps- electric, fuel, wind, ram, manual, animal, prime or self priming
Distribution network:
net and pan, pipes, channels, buckets
pipes- aluminum, concrete, plastic, copper, galvanized
fittings- steel, Stainless steel, plastic, copper, brass
Emitter: dripline, sprinkler, bucket
nozzles
pressure regulators
flow regulators
filters- paper, mesh, strainers, sand, biological
gages
check valves
timers
controllers
Waste water systems
Graywater untreated water from sink, shower, washing machine water used in landscape or home. Discharge below surface use to water trees and water loving plants.
From “The Humanure Handbook” Joseph Jenkins, chapter 9 http://humanurehandbook.com
Black water septic system needs to be used to treat and kill pathogens
Common water treatments:
Aeration = oxygenation
Settling
Skimming
Filtration-sand , charcoal page173, figure 7.32
Biological - bacteria, plants
PH- lime
Humanure ToiletA hinged humanure toilet box will be 18" wide and 21" long. Get two boards 3/4"X10"X18" and two 3/4"X10"X19.5". Get two hinges. Get one piece of 3/4"X18"X18" plywood and one 3/4"X3"X18". Hinge the two pieces of plywood together.
Cut a hole in the larger piece of plywood to fit the top of the 5 gallon toilet receptacle. Make sure the hole is only 1.5" back from the front edge of the plywood. Always use identical receptacles in a humanure toilet so they will all fit correctly. Buy a standard toilet seat
Urine 10:1 water to urine for good fertilizer.
-Draw a doodle with slogan to illustrate what you have learned.
Closing Exercise-
Do water cycle dance, start with water drop in a stream flowing down to the ocean, get to the sea,you rise into the air and fly to the clouds then wind blows over the land and you fall to earth, patter on the ground.
What is my message?
Catch and store. Everybody jump up and catch water!
What is one amazing thing you learned today about water?
Catch and store. Everybody jump up and catch water!
-Now play water song
Link to Google Doc with pictures.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eDn-aZiQasBS8PcswhyJX_5t8_FeLj7eh8UnJG-uCVQ/edit
Water Lesson Plan
1. Definitions and procedures:
• Signal #1: When I ask you a yes or no question, show me thumbs up for yes and thumbs down for no.
Now answering with your thumb, “Does everyone have drinking water? “
I’m going to tell you right up front was my message is,
Catch and store water or any useful energy, material, or information.
• Signal #2: If you want me to repeat certain information, show me this sign. (Circle your hand above your head and tell participants to do it with you.) Questions for clarification are always welcome.
What is my message?
Catch and store water. Everybody jump up and catch water!
My session will cover the hydrological system and the duties or functions of water. My goal it to teach you 1 amazing thing about water, I will ask you at the end and I hope you have at least one amazing new thing to share with me. If you learn an amazing thing will you let me know? Thumbs up for yes.
What is a system?
energy, mass and information flow among the different elements that compose the system; flows may provide feedback to help control their systems.
energy, mass and information flow from and to the system via paths or boundaries;
systems are often composed of entities seeking equilibrium but can exhibit oscillating, chaotic, or exponential behavior.
a community in an environment and a dynamic and complex whole, interacting as a structured functional unit.
What is hydrology?
Hydrology is the study of the flows and quality of water on Earth.
hydrologic cycle,
water resources and
environmental sustainability.
In Permaculture at the core of everything we design are the 3 ethics. What are they?
Ethics and principles of permaculture apply to water in many ways.
The all 3 ethics: Earth care, People care and Fair share concern water.
The ethic of Earth care values the natural earth, the water, soil, air, minerals and all life.
Water is abundant and has unique properties.
Exists in 3 forms on earth, fluid, solid and gas and is made up of hydrogen and oxygen H2O.
You will hear many things today and I hope if you hear something you question you will research it and if you find out something differs from what I present please share it back to me as feedback-thanks.
71% of earth covered by water. We should call earth Water!
97% of earth water is saltwater.
it is the world’s most critical resource.
Fresh water is only 3%
Water is unique, flowing and transforming the earth and life as it moves.
Water is Essential for life, most life is made of 60-70% water, and life began in the sea millions of years before life appeared on land.
Fresh Water is rare, only 3 % of all water, a clear liquid treasure,
The Sustained flow of rivers is truly remarkable, considering that precipitation is an unusual event in most areas of the earth. Localisation of precipitation in space or time is striking,( ie Paris it rains 7% of time, B Mollision)
Few storms last more than a few hours, so that even storm days are mainly rainless. Yet rivers flow throughout the year. The sustaining source of flow is effluent ground water...The amount of soil water is about fifteen the amount in channel storage in rives. (Nace in Chorley, 1969
Of the fresh water, 75% is ice and glaciers,
11% is available ground water* (less than 2500’ deep),
14% is deep groundwater and aquifers (2500’ to 12,500’)
Where is the majority of North America’s surface fresh water?
In the Great Lakes
In drinking water the 2Q’s are important for life. What are they?
quality - water quality purity of water is required for life,
rain 10x cleaner than ground water,
if its polluted, microbes, chemicals, heavy metals, or other problems you may not be able to use it for all purposes.
Acid rain is a problem for life on earth and in the oceans and can be as low as 2.4pH in some industrial countries like China and Russia and downwind.
Possible to clean water by using multiple filter stages, sand filter with uniform sand size, carbon, uv light, adding amendments to balance pH, etc.
quantity- how many gallons- is enough, you need to design foe a year around supply.
You want to optimize the harvest to supply water for zone one first.
1 gallon per person per day,
3 days without water you would be in serious trouble
Humans need five to 13 gallons of clean water a day for basic needs.
Today an average person’s in US hydrological cycle uses 69 gallons of water inside their home and an equal amount in outside irrigation per day. They return most of the water inside to the sewer system or septic tank, and the outside water would more likely return to the water table.
The ethic of Fairshare, requires using the resource of water fairly, making sure all get what is necessary for life, over 1 billion people now do not have good resource of clean fresh water, 80% off all communicable disease worldwide is caused by water, WHO and by 2025 possibly 50% of population may have water shortage issues and in 50 years a possible fresh water.
When it comes to water, poverty kills.
Since 1992 the UN considers water a product like oil, encouraging it’s privatization and commercial development, now large water companies are buying systems all over the world.
Water is the next oil, and the threat of oil issues contribute to the blindness surrounding the water.
Sacristy causes prices to rise, hurt the poor most, water higher price than gas many places already.look at link: http://www.worldwater.org/conflict/map/
Water Is culturally important. -Understanding water is integral to the whole system of our planet.
Water is sacred in many cultures, along with essential elements earth, wind, and fire- celebrate- today come on celebrate permaculture today celebrate, rain dancing, seasonally celebrations based on the weather and rains.
The Chinese symbol for water is control.
• Doodle #1: Draw a doodle representing the most important thing you’ve just learned. Your doodle can be a line, a shape, a squiggle, an icon, a cartoon, a symbol, or anything visual. Explain your doodle to the person sitting next to you.
An important Water Permaculture Principles include:
Multiple functions for every element
2.Duties:
Duty #1: to procreate life (in growing organisms) -
Strategies
- drinking zone 1, highest quality of water
- livestock-
- irrigation -
Rainwater is main source for us, rainwater harvesting is the main permaculture technique used.patterning the landscape, to catch water, using plants and catchments.
A 1% increase in organic matter allows soil to hold 16,000 more gallons of water per acre.
- food preparation
- Provide for wildlife on land, underwater, and in the soil.
- meteorological cycle, climate control
exercise:
toast to each other with water!
To life giving water we give gratitude!
Duty #2: to develop productive water systems (aquaculture). 20x more productive that agriculture,
Yield of system increases as life increases.
-. pond or tank aquaculture -technique
- groundwater, aquifer recharge
- river and creek recharge
- ocean recharge
Duty #3: to develop hydraulic uses for energy production, chemical, mechanical and other uses
- Energy and design solutions due to gravity and falling water
- waterwheels,
- hydro, micro hydro
- ram pumps
- emergency water for fire
- supply water for toilets and graywater systems
- Use natural processes and renewable resources.
- universal solvent cleaning
- fermentation and chemical solutions
- cooling
- locks and dams
-water jet cutting
-trompe
The harvest is unlimited, we are only limited by our imagination- trompe
Maximizing edge is permaculture principle.
The deltas and marshes where fresh water and salt water meet is an incredible edge and ecotone, these edges are the some of the most productive ecosystems on earth.
Prevent Run off-
How to prevent runoff?
-Retardation swamps and basins: Swales, dams, swamps, basins, water spreading generally delay flood and run-off.
Sand beds and sand sheets have similar effects.
-Catchment form: Dendritic (tree form) catchment the most efficient.
Dense streamlines remove water quickly;
-Vegetation: Type and density affect run-off.
annuals or bare areas increase run-off, as does burning or cultivation.
-rock areas: increase run-off.
Name other ways useful for water storage ?
Tanks at home for freshwater supplies
Stock ponds, Small ponds in gardens (frogs)
Bogs, Use of larger catchment area to supply tanks;
catchment can be of tar material,
sealed pond using clay, concrete,
sheets of rubber, pond liner, HDPE, bladders, ferrocement,
Roads, airstrips, firebreaks, swales, ditches - all potential catchments if designed to concentrate water in storage structures such as roadside tanks and contour ponds.
What determines how much water is available ?-
Rain duration MAIN factor. How variable rain may seem, yet stable for each area overall, creeks and rivers flow continuously.
70% of water in the US is used for agriculture, 20% industrial, 10% home
How much water should permaculture use?
Permaculture position would conserve all resources using them as necessary.
Problem is we are taking out more than we are returning causing desertification.
What are water rights?
In Oregon without right, only able to water ½ acre with well.
Water rights, you must use them or lose them, invisible structures causing problems.
Do no harm.
• Doodle #2: Draw a doodle representing the most important thing you’ve just learned. Your doodle can be a line, a shape, a squiggle, an icon, a cartoon, a symbol, or anything visual. Explain your doodle to the person sitting next to you.
How much water is used during the fracking process?
Generally 1-8 million gallons of water may be used to frack a well. A well may be fracked up to 18 times.
What fluids are used in the fracking process?
For each frack, 80-300 tons of chemicals may be used. Presently, the natural gas industry does not have to disclose the chemicals used, but scientists have identified volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene.
-Multiple elements for every function.
water lows through the earth in diverse ways. moving nutrients and life along with it as it travels the planet.
Water flows via creeks and rivers to the sea, water evaporates to vapor into the air and gathers in clouds, travels via winds then precipitates to the surface of the earth again with rain, snow, ice, hail, fog, freezing fog, hurricanes.
Increase Diversity.
Water flows through plants, fungi and animals, Traveling in the soil and groundwater, into aquifers and underground rivers of water, springs and wells.
Flowing in rivers of ice or glaciers, sublimating to vapor from ice and snow.
Transpiration by plants and flowing through life in many ways, agriculture, building products, food, materials, water in life itself, being born, living, and dying always moving the water to its next phase, Locked in the tundra,and ice caps.
Use resources wisely.
Store and hold resources, as high as possible and use water as many times as possible before it passes through the system increasing the efficiencies with each reuse.
Have fun, go to the beach, or swimming or fishing and celebrate water.
• Shout Out #1: Shout out a number between one and ten. Now tell me (state the number) facts you already know about more duties for water.
3.Permaculture Designing for water
The 2 forces of water called Erosion and Displacement forms valleys and deltas, important Patterns in nature in many places.
Managing Surface Run-off
Generally we want to Stop runoff, slow and hold resources as early and high as possible.
What is my message?
Catch and store. Everybody jump up and catch water!
All this is natural for the earth, and knowing about complex systems that water is involved in helps us make the best decisions when we are creating a design that shows care for the earth, supporting he ethic of earth care
-Think Needs when designing connecting elements
When does rain occur?
Make an alignment with its uses and season.
Protect building, structures, plants, animals from flow and overflow risks.
When all these factors are taken together, the severity of drought and the need for irrigation are greatly reduced.
The solution to the problem is in the question.
I am giving you numbers and statements and I ask you to ask your own questions and do your own research to verify any questions yourself. Hope fully you can begin your own project to conserve this rare and valuable resource.
Ability to calculate amount of water the system will handle and to size all components, pipes and fittings correctly.
1000sq ft house will produce 623 gallons of water per inch of rain
1000
231in3 = 1 gallon
1000ft2=12inx12inx1in=144,000in23
144,000in3/231in3=623.37 gallons
#everyone design for their home a quick calculation and type of storage possible.
Our function in the cycle:
Valuing this essential resource, applying necessary and conservative use through self regulation, accepting feedback and giving back to nature best water possible .
Water is powerful.
What water weighs is what makes gravity work for it. What does it weigh?
1 kg/litre
= 62.4 lb/ft3
= 8.34 lb/gallon
Weight per US gallon is based on 7.48 gallons per cubic foot.
Calculations or rules of thumb are helpful when you are sizing your design and talk about various techniques for engineering your system.
55 gallon drum weighs 440 lbs,
Patterns in nature: What is a keypoint?
Draw Picture of hill and valley
Key point : Keypoint is where the lower and flatter part of the valley floor steepens. Where the landscape turns from convex to concave occurs a keypoint.
The Keyline is a contour line through the keypoint, following the valley shape. P. A. Yeomans, described and explained in his books The Keyline Plan, The Challenge of Landscape, Water For Every Farm and The City Forest. Page 161 PDM Figure 7.15
Keyline plow
• Pop-Up #5: The last person to pop out of his chair has to explain to the whole group how he plans to use what he has learned.
Design for disaster.
Always be thoughtful in a failsafe way, water leakage or catastrophic failures happen. If you build or install water catchment that can roll or move, be careful to strap down and prevent from 10 tons come rolling down the hill towards your house after an earthquake.
Water Control: Managing Surface Run-off in Broad Landscape
General rules:
Modest trials; extend on successes
Do not concentrate flow across even low slopes or they will gully out Always spread and absorb flow in pits, swales, sands.
Try to totally absorb run-off into vegetated areas
Beware absorbing run-off into bare areas as this can raise the water table and cause salting
Plant trees over shallow water table
Water harvesting earthworks.
What are earthworks?
Earthworks is engineering using soil or rocks.
Swales water harvesting, A swale is a ditch which runs dead level to contour. A-frame, water level, or laser
Swaled at 1-3m vertical intervals, swales of 2m deep, broad (3-5m); tree planted.
Steeper slopes can be sculptured as “net and pan”, “boomerang” banks. Low slopes (3°) set out as a series of large diamond-shaped basins of 0.5 hectare, each with a tree in the low corner, and a spillway to the next diamond; even light rain soaks into these. Try for 150-200m deep ponds in small areas
What are Gabions?
-cages or containers for erosion control, flood control, and protection. Use in water paths to slow water and sink it in.
Essentials of Dam Building:
page 163 PDM figure 7.17
Backslope: 3:1 ratio,especially in sandy soils.
Frontslope: 2-2.5:1 ratio
Crest: 3m wide
Freeboard: 1m
Compaction: every .3m of soil rolled down by bulldozer
Key: a clean cut at base for first layers
Spillway: made along the contour and end well away from the dam wall. May lead to another dam.
Surface, fibrous-rooting plants grown on frontslope (avoid tap-rooted trees)
Silt traps may be needed in diversion drains leading to dams
Plant windbreak surrounding dam to reduce wind evaporation loss
Make dams deep. Try for shade. Taper sides to “V” or cone if practical
What types of dams do you know?
Saddle dams: on skylines, in saddles
Barrier dams: across valleys (only useful where silt is not a problem or if effective silt-traps in-stalled)
Contour dams: wall of dam follows contour
Pediment dams: dam site on a flat at the foot of hill slope
Ridge dams: dam is on a flat ridge area
page 158 PDM Figure 7.4
Valley dams
Contour dams
60sec- Pair Share #1: Turn to your neighbor—the person sitting next to you—and tell him the most important fact you just learned in this class.
Evaporation strategy
Cover water surface with rounded, hexagonal “light concrete” blocks using polystyrene beads in aggregate. Paint upper surface white. Try for 0.8 specific gravity and make 1-2m across. Make a sequence of 3 dams, and empty from top dam to the lower dams as soon as these will hold the water. Each time you do this surface reduces by 30%. Several series of 3 is better than a chain of 6 or more dams long.
What holds most water?
Ways to hold the most water is by using plants and trees,
Organic matter also increases the soil's ability to take in water during rainfall events, assuring that more water will be stored. Ground cover also increases the water infiltration rate while lowering soil water evaporation. Water stored out of sun will evaporate slower.
Evaporation versus precipitation, land may salt if evaporation is greater.
Way to divert water using Hard surfaces like roads, gutters, trenches, walls, sidewalks, driveways, and roofs. Gutters page 166, figure 721
Name ways to store water?
Cisterns, tanks, ponds, in the ground-bogs .Water catchment is possible in many ways as above and below the earth.
What are the Considerations on designing the type of system appropriate for your situation? resources, frequency, amount, etc
Irrigation
Irrigation Rules
Irrigate under mulch (reduces salt problems & increases irrigation efficiency)
Irrigate at dusk or night if possible (put on a timer)
Give long watering every 3-5 days rather than a little bit every day (increases leaching effect,
particularly for salt, and takes water down)
Allow for leaching, put enough water on to leach sal
Use sealed pipes to convey water; leaky drains may raise the saltwater table.
Only use sprinklers under tree canopy. Never in the open by day.
Do not over-water; use timers and pits to check on this; turn off drip in winter if enough winter rain.
Name the Different types of Irrigation?
1-drip or trickle, efficient, especially in drylands, needs filtration, control
Hole in a pipe
Flagon or clay pots in ground with nail in cork
Rocks in deep hole to lead roots down
Relatively cheap
Water the root zone directly
Can use reasonably saline water
Waters only the plant, not the weeds around it
-Flood irrigation (surface & sub-surface-wasteful and difficult to control) flood, hardest to design for landscapes. Using Flag with swales.
page 169, f 7.27
-Sprinklers (not efficient, can build up salt in soil, spray most wasteful, lost to evaporation can be as high as 90%
-Under canopy
Sub surface irrigation:
Pitcher irrigation: 12” wide porous pitchers buried in ground 3’ diameter, 2’ deep, filled with manure and soil.
Tops of pitchers just above ground level, covered and kept topped up. Gourds, pumpkins, and melons cultivated. Can also be used for planting trees (narrow necked jars).
Components of irrigation systems
Water source: dams, bores, soaks, run-off, swales, pipelines, creeks, tanks, lake
Energy source: water at head, pressure with pumps- electric, fuel, wind, ram, manual, animal, prime or self priming
Distribution network:
net and pan, pipes, channels, buckets
pipes- aluminum, concrete, plastic, copper, galvanized
fittings- steel, Stainless steel, plastic, copper, brass
Emitter: dripline, sprinkler, bucket
nozzles
pressure regulators
flow regulators
filters- paper, mesh, strainers, sand, biological
gages
check valves
timers
controllers
Waste water systems
Graywater untreated water from sink, shower, washing machine water used in landscape or home. Discharge below surface use to water trees and water loving plants.
From “The Humanure Handbook” Joseph Jenkins, chapter 9 http://humanurehandbook.com
Black water septic system needs to be used to treat and kill pathogens
Common water treatments:
Aeration = oxygenation
Settling
Skimming
Filtration-sand , charcoal page173, figure 7.32
Biological - bacteria, plants
PH- lime
Humanure ToiletA hinged humanure toilet box will be 18" wide and 21" long. Get two boards 3/4"X10"X18" and two 3/4"X10"X19.5". Get two hinges. Get one piece of 3/4"X18"X18" plywood and one 3/4"X3"X18". Hinge the two pieces of plywood together.
Cut a hole in the larger piece of plywood to fit the top of the 5 gallon toilet receptacle. Make sure the hole is only 1.5" back from the front edge of the plywood. Always use identical receptacles in a humanure toilet so they will all fit correctly. Buy a standard toilet seat
Urine 10:1 water to urine for good fertilizer.
-Draw a doodle with slogan to illustrate what you have learned.
Closing Exercise-
Do water cycle dance, start with water drop in a stream flowing down to the ocean, get to the sea,you rise into the air and fly to the clouds then wind blows over the land and you fall to earth, patter on the ground.
What is my message?
Catch and store. Everybody jump up and catch water!
What is one amazing thing you learned today about water?
Catch and store. Everybody jump up and catch water!
-Now play water song
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