Education

Overview

Courses, workshops and field days are a very important part of what we do at Purple Pear Organics. It is through these events that we spread the word and share skills on sustainable living. It is also an important part of the income for the property. Kate teaches in the Steiner school at East Maitland during the week and her perspective brings a deep understanding on how people learn. Mark has a background in adult education gained in trade based training and supervising Work for the Dole programs in the Hunter Valley. He has a cert IV in assessment and workplace training.

Courses

Pasafal college tour the farm in November 2008.

Formal courses are restricted to

1. the Permaculture Design Course (PDC), which is run in Spring and Autumn each year. It is a hands-on course held in the Mandala garden and focuses on skills and competancies with as little “classroom” learning as we can get away with. The PDC is run for five weekends.
2. the work shops are run each month the PDC is not running and covers topics such as biodynamic compost and cow pat pit. propagation, green manures and more.

For information on the upcoming Permacutlture Design Course, click here for the brochure. (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Field days

These are generally hosted by either The Hunter Organic Growers or the Hunter Biodynamic Group. Both of these organizations hold regular days at properties in the Hunter Valley and bring interested people in contact with practitioners for the purpose of sharing information and experiences.

Guided tours

Tours of the property are run for groups through prior arrangement. We have seen school groups, Permaculture groups and TAFE outreach classes visit for a general tour of the property or for a specific topic such as “bees” or “compost making”. Contact us for more details.