Forest Gardening Design Intensive with Dave Jacke

I am speechless as I unpack the 9-day intensive I just participated in at Heritage Creek Farm Camp by way of the Horn Farm Center.  I told my workgroup that I have a huge perspective shift I am working through and to \”bear with me.\”  Many things occurred there.  I learned many things.  I have many new questions.  I was affirmed in many of my deeply held beliefs and shaken in many others.  I met so many wonderful people.

I am amazed at the cleverly designed class. I am in awe of the fact that it took place practically on my back doorstep and I feel empowered to do so much. I also feel powerless to some degree.  This is big, this is really big.  I\’m going to unpack the class over a period of blog posts, dreams, thoughts but for starters, I typed this out from my memories and notebook and pasted it on the wall by my desk at MAKE films.

• THE PATH IS THE PASTURE
• DON’T BE BLINDED BY HISTORY & HABIT
• DISTURBANCE –> ADAPTATION –> GROWTH
• THE DESIGN IS THE DESIGNER IS THE OBJECT OF DESIGN
• I WANT A GAZEBO.  WHY DO YOU WANT A GAZEBO?
• THE BURDEN SHIFTS TO THE INTERVENER
• RETURN TO SIMPLE WAYS OF BEING HUMAN
• GRASS IS “PRETTY”.. BUT MAKES A BACTERIAL DOMINATED FOOD WEB AND DOESN’T SHARE RESOURCES WELL
• PATTERNS TO DETAILS
  PATTERNS TO DETAILS
  PATTERNS TO DETAILS… EUREKA
• VIDEO PRODUCTION ECOSYSTEM
  COMMUNITY FUNCTION GUILD
  RESOURCE PARTITIONING GUILD
  MUTUAL SUPPORT GUILD
• COMPLEX SYSTEMS REQUIRE COMPLEX SOCIAL STRUCTURES
• HUMANS MIMIC WELL
• EVERYTHING SHOULD BE AS SIMPLE AS POSSIBLE, BUT NO SIMPLER – A.E.
• OUR CULTURE DOES NOT TEACH US TO RECOGNIZE PROPERTIES AS EMERGENT
• ECOSYSTEM PRODUCTIVITY ≠ YIELD
• DISCOVER EMERGENT PATTERNS
• IT TAKES NOT ONLY COMPASSION BUT JUSTICE TO HEAL – B.W.
• ANALYSIS \\
  ANALYSIS  >  SYNTHESIS
  ANALYSIS /
• GET IT DOWN
  THEN… GET IT GOOD
• PLANNING IS THE SUBSTITUTION OF ERROR FOR CHANCE
• DESIGN IS AN ORGANIZED PRACTICE FOR MAKING
  AS MANY MISTAKES AS YOU CAN
  AS FAST AS POSSIBLE
• THE DESIGN IS THE DESIGNER IS THE OBJECT OF DESIGN
• OBSERVATIONS ARE NOT INTERPRETATIONS
  INTERPRETATIONS ARE NOT OBSERVATIONS

We had several talented instructors. The lead instructor and designer of the course was Dave Jacke, Author of Edible Forest Gardens (2 volume set).