Hybrid Online/ In person PDC

After teaching nearly 40 PDC’s around the world since the beginning of TreeYo’s inception in 2009, I am developing a new format that suits my rooted lifestyle and present learning needs. Thus a Hybrid Online/ In person PDC is the best format forward to handle much of the lecture parts online with increased time for hands-on, site tours, and design exercises to deepen your learning experience.  I love to lecture and show powerpoint but they do take up quite a chunk of time and often make it impossible for people to take a course because of the time commitment or cut into the aforementioned techniques of increased learning retention.  One of the obvious benefits of doing it online is if you don’t get the concept right away you simply press back and watch it again.  Also the vast amounts of material that is a PDC is tough to handle in the traditional two week format, which is how I have taught it the vast majority of time. Thus you will be able to watch segments then come to class and ask questions and see permaculture alive, live it, and design it! The host site for the in-person portion is Treasure Lake, a permaculture education center and working forest and farm.  Long have I been stewarding this plot throughout my travels when I was back in Kentucky, USA along with my online material known as TreeYo EDU.  Thus now the two combine to take next steps with this bioregional education center that also teams locally with the Cincinnati Permaculture Institute and our greater Petersburg, KY community which is a strong Permaculture scene.

1. Summer pdc 8 day, June 13th-20th
2. 3 weekend pdc, one weekend per month
   • May through July
   • August through
   • Volunteer at Treasure Lake over any of those three month periods and get the course for free plus camping spot, access to communal infrastructure, and food
3. Winter weekend pdc, 9 meeting times over 5 weekends, Feb- March

Online Host Site: TreeYo EDU

With its inception in 2010, our sister website has been long providing high quality permaculture reading. We are progressing more and more with our educational website, 130+ articles, and are expanding into more educational outlets constantly including our Paw Paw Masterclass. The site is a collation of Permaculture information reflecting the philosophies of many but framed by Bill Mollison and the Designers Manual. It also adds in info around four other main topics that our PDC’s bring in which is Natural Building, Animal Systems, Appropriate Technology, and Food Fermentation.  It’s an open source so feel free to comment, which will add content as a whole and embrace the collective genius of the Permaculture Community.  Essentially it is an online service to those who are seeking information about various aspects of Permaculture.

Hybrid Online/ In person PDC Facilitator :Doug Crouch

Trained as both a Permaculture Designer and Fish and Wildlife Manager, Doug

has extensive knowledge surrounding landscape planning and food production systems. This regenerative design and implementation work spans the globe ranging in contexts and climates including tropical agro-forestry, Mediterranean organic gardening, and temperate suburban edible landscaping. To facilitate this work he founded TreeYo Permaculture thus building off his other formal training in small business management. Incorporating this knowledge and experience into sustainability educational programming has now become Doug’s main focus as he continues his ecological design and holistic development at Treasure Lake.

Hybrid Online/ In person PDC: Host Site:

Treasure Lake

Treasure lake is an agricultural landscape with recreation and education in and of nature. It’s a wonderfully scenic place hidden in the hills of the Northwestern Corner of Northern Kentucky and Boone County only 22 miles from downtown Cincinnati.  The 60 acre property features a 12 acre lake with deep forest and sandy soiled fields surrounding giving a variety of niches to develop the permaculture way. We have been hard at work developing the broad acre forest for biodiversity and wild food abundance for nearly 20 years through active forest enhancement techniques pioneered by Doug.   Furthermore, the following Permaculture elements and functions that can be experienced are:

• Broad acre Food Forest composed of Native trees and planted tree crops in a pioneering style
• Hot & Cold Composting (Vermiculture) systems for boosting soil life, picking up on waste streams, and cycling nutrients
• Varying Permaculture Elements like beehives, hedgerows, and mushroom logs and beds
• Active Forest Enhancement to build habitat and leverage non timber forest products
• Regenerative Edible and Native Nursery to fuel resilient local plantings
• Community Building through energy cycling and regenerative education

Drone image of the lake looking east

Individual Tree Planting terraces

Treasure Lake Design

The banks development, Treasure Lake Design

King stropharia wine cap growing

The banks at sunset

Treasure Lake Forest beings