2023-24 YEARLONG PDC

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2024 ANTIOCH COLLEGE PDC

2024 Winter Weekend PDC Graduates

2023 ANTIOCH COLLEGE PDC

2023-23 Yearlong Permaculture Design Course

2023 Summer Solstice Celebration

We gathered at Treasure Lake on June 21, 2023 to celebrate the successful beginning of the planting season, thank the Sun for the energy it provides to grow, and make connections with our permaculture neighbors.

2023 Westwood Grows Implementation

In May, CPI worked together with Westwood Grows to install beds and plant edible perennials and fruit trees throughout the neighborhood of Westwood. This project was powered by a City of Cincinnati Urban Agricultural grant and the helpful hands of many community volunteers - thank you!

2024 Implementation Days

MORE PAST EVENTS…

2008 Spring Weekend Intensive Permaculture Design Certification (PDC)

This was our first class, held over 7 long weekends with 20 Certified Graduates and 6 more attendees. Our core teaching crew of Braden Trauth, Ande Schewe, Suellyn Shupe and Mary Lu Lageman are still with us. We had several guest teachers as well including David Rosenburg, one of the first organic farmers in Ohio, Charles Griffin who has helped launch many local organic farm and Peter Bane, Author of the Permaculture Handbook and former publisher of Permaculture Activist Magazine, now Permaculture Design Magazine. Most of the graduates from this class are very active in the local green Cincinnati scene in many different ways, including many farmers with local organic farms.

Students visiting a load baring passive solar strawbale shed

2009 Winter Weekend Intensive PDC

Our second Annual Winter Weekend PDC was a great success, held at locations as varied as Gorman Heritage Farm, Imago in the Enright Urban Ecovillage and Red Sunflower Farm in Northern Kentucky. It had 10 graduates and 1 attendee, many of which have become leaders in the local and even national movement, including Author of the recently published "The Suburban MicroFarm - Modern Solutions for Busy People" - Amy Stross. There were also leaders such as Doug Weber of Mudfoot Farm, John Hemmerle of Our Land Organics and Chris Cox, another local permaculture star. We also had Doug Crouch of TreeYo Permaculture join us as well as Sakina Grome, former Office Manager and Board Member of the Permaculture Research Institute and Sam Dunlap, now founder of Waterfields Micro-greens join us for the first time.

Mary Lu helping students build a Brush Contour

Students settling back into the Classroom

Students Enjoying Lunch with Ande Schewe

Students Learning about interconnection between us all

Doug Crouch Gearing up to Teach

Students Building a Lasagna Garden from Scratch

Students Sharing their Final Designs

The Finished Lasagna Garden

The Winter Class of 2010

Another Picture our Winter 2010 PDC

Student Graduation

Planting a Northern Pecan for the class tree

2010 Winter Weekend Intensive PDC

This class was a great one as we moved into the new OM Valley Home, allowing us to integrate more hands on, building brush contours to accelerate hillside stabilization, and a lasagna garden at OM Valley Permaculture's Site. It graduated another 14 Certified Graduates and 2 attendees. We also expanded our teaching crew, integrating more teachers, bringing in more expertise to increase the quality of our courses and ultimately our graduates.

Gearing up for swale building

Enjoying the fall with an on site outdoor classroom

Planting a baby ;-)

Getting feet dirty making cob

Mulching a permaculture orchard

Taking a break after hands-on

Students sharing their final design proposals

A high quality site design cross section

A professional looking final design

The Fall Weekend 2010 PDC Graduates

2010 Fall Weekend Intensive PDC

Our only Fall Weekend Intensive PDC (Fall is just too beautiful and busy to take a permaculture class, we've learned!), coming at the peak of Great Recession was a great bunch of students, many who have gone on to lead some great impacts. It had 12 Graduates and 3 attendees which included Michelle Anderson, Owner of Flourish Design, Dale Murray, Former Director of the School of Design at the College of Design, Art, Architecture and Planning at University of Cincinnati and Co-Founder of CPI, Chris Smyth, Sustainability Coordinator of Price Hill Will and now current teacher with CPI amongst many great students who have gone on to be great practitioners and advocates. This class was held at Urban and rural sites including many of our standard locations but also including Wind Dance Farm in Dillsborough, IN.

A Swale built by the class

2 students learning about the Enright Ridge CSA Greenhouse

Students learning about spring starts

Suellyn Shupe teaching Class at Imago Earth Center

Students working on their final site designs

Students Sharing their final site designs

Patrick Sherwin Sharing his final site design with his group mate, Erin

Students sharing their final site designs

The 'No' Talent Show, a PDC Custom to reclaim our entertainment

Sam showing off his 'No' Talent

The core teaching teaming awarding a student their Certificate

The Wheel of Community

Winter 2011 Weekend Intensive PDC

This course, headed up by a core teaching team of Sam Dunlap (Co-founder of Waterfields Microgreens), Doug Crouch of Treeyo Permaculture & Crouch's Treasure Lake, Braden Trauth and Kat Grover. We graduated 14 graduates from this course. It had some great students in it, including current Board Member and teacher, Susan Vonderhaar, who has her Master's in Biology, and Wade Johnston, current Regional Trails Coordinator for Cincinnati at Green Umbrella. It also included Patrick Sherwin, who met his co-conspirators in class, Matt Gillespie & Nate Maggard in the launch of what's now become the world's largest Solar Cooking Company, GoSun Stove. GoSun stoves are the most efficient source of commercially renewable cooking heat, outside of wood. Patrick & Matt periodically teach the energy section in our PDC courses. You can learn more about their stoves at GoSunStove.com

Sam Dunlap teaching about Food Forests

Students in Class

Ande Schewe teaching Food Forests through Hands on Learning

Students learning about Winter Crops at Greensleeves Farm

Chickens heating the greenhouse

Students getting a tour of Greensleeves Farm

Students learning about Yurts at Greensleeves Farm

The Exterior of the Yurt at Greensleeves

Students learning about Sheep Management

Winter Crops in the Enright Ridge CSA Greenhouse

Students getting a tour of the Enright Ridge CSA Greenhouse

Winter 2012 Weekend Intensive PDC

Our 2012 class added to the class schedule, former student, Gretchen Vaughn's Greensleeves farm. We also added the Enright Ridge CSA Greenhouse, which was recently refurbished. It was one of our smaller classes, totaling 8 students and 1 attendee, however that didn't reduce its impact. In that class we had many great students including Luke and Angela Ebner of the Permaganic Eco-Garden and Co-Founders of Permaganic Authenticated, the world's first Permaculture/Regenerative Farm Certification. You can learn more at: PermaganicAuthenticated.org or Permaganic.org. It also included Trudy Chambers, formerly of Green Acres Farm and Israel Hensley who, him and his wife went on to build their 1200 sq. ft. earthship on their 60 acre farm in Norther Kentucky.

Natural/Earthship Building Workshop - May 2012

Winter 2013 Weekend Intensive PDC

Cincinnati Regional Permaculture Home, Garden & Farm Tour - Fall 2012

Winter 2014 Weekend Intensive PDC

International Development Training - Morrocco Focus- Fall 2014

Winter 2015 Weekend Intensive PDC

Rocket Mass Heater Construction Workshop - Fall 2015

Year Long PDC 2015-16

Winter 2016 Weekend Intensive PDC

Year Long PDC 2016-17

2017 Cincinnati Regional Permaculture Convergence

2017 Midwest Permaculture Convergence - January 2017

Year Long PDC 2017-18

Permaculture Orchard Retrofit at Gorman Heritage Farm - Fall 2017

Winter 2018 Weekend Intensive PDC

Year Long PDC 2018-19

2019 Cincinnati Regional Permaculture Convergence - January 2019

Year Long PDC 2019-20

This year wrapped up our first virtual PDC due to the Pandemic. We still had outside tours but all the lecture was virtual. We blurred the image slightly for the privacy of our students.

A Swale in Action

Students seeing a swale in action at one of the public forage gardens around Cincinnati in January

Rocket Mass Heaters

Students during the first weekend, learning about the most efficient, renewable and economical source of home heating that’s been developed yet, a Rocket Mass Heater in one of our Teachers homes. Possibly the only Rocket Mass Heater on a 2nd floor in the world

Learning about Keyline Designed Farms

Students learn first hand about one of the oldest key line designed farms in the region.

Regenerative Perennial Keyline Farming in Action

Dave, the farm owner, a former student too explains the 12 acre Keyline Designed Regenerative Organic Orchard that they manage for Cidering. These farming processes have been identified as the best strategies to reverse climate change in 30 years if implemented on a large enough scale by Drawdown.org

Winter 2020 Weekend Intensive PDC

Food Forest Design - at Agraria in Yellow Springs with Great Rivers and Lakes Permaculture Institute - May 2020

Year Long PDC 2020-21 - in Progress

Winter 2021 Weekend Intensive PDC