Dig deeper into Edible Wild Plants through our certificate program. Discover edible wild plants each season to observe the full plant cycle, what part of the plant to harvest and eat when, and which plants to look for in each season. You will learn to identify over 100 species of edible wild plants from handling actual specimens and from seeing them growing in their natural environments. Learn recipes that use wild plants to make tasty food.

The Edible Wild Plants certificate Program will be taught both in a classroom and through site visits to various public and private locations to provide a thorough experience of the plants. To earn your certificate, you are required to take all four courses and pass four seasonal exams (using your notes and books) to demonstrate that you can identify edible (and poisonous) wild plants successfully. These classes will be offered each year, so if you miss one, you can take it the following year. Certificate courses are open to everyone, whether or not you’re pursuing the certificate.

THE SUMMER CLASS Feast on Flowers (five weeks Jun-Jul) includes two field trips and will concentrate on edible flowers in the mint, rose and legume families. (June 18, 25, July 2,9,16)

THE FALL CLASS Sup on Shrubs (four weeks Sep-Oct) includes one field trip and will concentrate on edible berries and teas in the heath, rose and honeysuckle families.

THE WINTER CLASS Eat the Trees (four weeks Jan-Feb) includes one field trip and will concentrate on edible trees such as the pines, oaks and walnuts.

THE SPRING CLASS Graze on Greens (five weeks May-Jun) includes two field trips and will concentrate on edible greens such as mustard, lily and carrot families.

Cost for Certificate Program is $499. Save $151 when you register for the certificate program over registering for each course individually. You may pay the full amount now, or pay $299 now and the remaining $200 before the first class begins. The full amount of $499 must be paid before class begins. Checks are accepted and can be made payable to “The Resiliency Institute” and mailed to 10s404 Knoch Knolls Road, Naperville, IL 60565.

– CAUTION – NOTE – DISCLAIMER – IMPORTANT –

ALL STUDENTS TAKING THIS CLASS SHOULD BE AWARE OF THE DANGERS OF EATING WILD PLANTS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN ACCURATELY IDENTIFIED. EVEN THE EXPERTS ARE FOOLED FROM TIME TO TIME. THE RESILIENCY INSTITUTE AND THE INSTRUCTOR, PATRICIA K. ARMSTRONG, CANNOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR PLANT IDENTIFICATIONS MADE BY STUDENTS.

Instructor: Bill Scheffler

This class will teach you how to maintain productive strawberry plants, raspberry and blackberry bushes, table grapes and bush cherries. Demystify primocanes and floricanes, mother/daughter plants, pruning, pest and disease management, and learn how to grow great tasting fruit.

Be sure to bring your notebooks & pens–as this is sure to be a lifetime worth of knowledge!

Cost $25

REGISTER HERE: http://www.theresiliencyinstitute.net/events/15/caring-for-small-fruits/

The final class in the Intro to Permaculture series.

This is where it gets REALLY fun!

In this class you will learn what a strategy and a technique are and how they help you in site design. We will take a walk around McDonald farm to identify the various techniques that have been implemented and the strategies they accomplish. Once you have a little practice, you will then be tasked with identifying a new strategy for the farm and the class will discuss appropriate permaculture techniques.

Instructor: Pat Armstrong

What you think are weeds might just be wild edibles. Learn how to identify 25 common wild edible plants most people can find in their own yards (or near by), followed by a field trip next week (June 11th) to the instructor’s home to see how to grow wild edibles in an urban yard.

This is a two part class.

The June 4th class will be held at McDonald Farm in the Clow House and will feature an illustrated lecture.

June 11th will be a field trip to Pat’s home in Naperville to tour her yard with over 300 species of native trees, shrubs, prairie grasses and wildflowers, approximately 40% of which are edible. Click here for details on the field trip.

Cost: $65 (for both classes)

REGISTER HERE: http://www.theresiliencyinstitute.net/events/10/intro-to-native-edible-foraging/

The Resiliency Institute is hosting a FREE Introduction to Permaculture series for people who are interested in learning the basics of permaculture without committing to a full Permaculture Design Course, or interested in gaining foundational information prior to taking a PDC. We recommend people take all three classes because they build on each other and provide a good foundation. When you complete these courses you will understand the power of permaculture design.

Permaculture is a philosophy for designing resilient systems for lifestyle, land, and community. The ethics of care of people, care of the earth, and fair share guide our thinking and actions and root us in a moral framework. Practice applying these ethics to something you do daily. Your morning coffee – is it Fair Trade? Did the people who grew it, harvested it, roasted it, etc. receive a fair, living wage? Did they grow it with care for the earth, under the canopy of the rainforest, manually harvested? How was it transported? Is it a sustainably managed production that nourishes the soil to ensure coffee can grow there for a long time? Are you drinking it from a reusable mug?

Permaculture Ethics & Principles

We will be learning David Holmgren’s 12 design principles which are based on “systems thinking.” Systems thinking is the process of understanding how things influence one another within a whole. Each principle can be thought of as a door into the labyrinth of systems thinking. Any example used to illustrate one principle will also embody others, so the principles are simply thinking tools to assist us in identifying, designing and evolving design solutions.

Plan on experiencing interactive exercises and engaging conversation.

NEXT CLASS is Introduction to Permaculture – Part 3: Strategies & Techniques on June 6th!

The Resiliency Institute is hosting a FREE Introduction to Permaculture series for people who are interested in learning the basics of permaculture without committing to a full Permaculture Design Course, or interested in gaining some foundational information prior to the July PDC. We recommend people take all three classes because they build on each other and provide a good foundation. When you complete these courses you will understand the power of permaculture design.

This first class will focus on permaculture zones. Zoning in permaculture design refers to a method of ensuring that elements are correctly placed. There are 6 zones that can be thought of as a series of concentric rings moving out from a center point, beginning with 0 for home, and ending with 5 for wilderness.Plan on experiencing an interactive exercise and gaining a better understanding of the where and why in permaculture design. Bring a friend! Permaculture is contagious and you will want someone with which to share the journey!

Why every gardener should be using

vinegar, molasses, ammonia and yogurt.

It’s exciting to start the new gardening season! Finding new kinds of tomatoes and maybe some herbs to go with them is great, but once the plants are in the ground, what do you do? How do I deal with the bugs? What do diseases look like and how do I treat them?

Bill Scheffler of Pure Prairie Organic Farm will share best practices for growing healthy plants while controlling insects and diseases using plant nutrition instead of pesticides. You will leave knowing how to grow healthier plants in your gardens.

Learn practical tips and a whole lot more at this class taught by a farmer who uses these exact items to grow his fruit and vegetables for local farmers markets. All without any pesticides whatsoever.

This isn’t just cutesy folk remedies. There is solid biology behind these ideas.

In this class we will learn:

•How to feed your plants so they will be healthy

•How OFTEN to feed your plants so they will be healthy

•How to make plants taste bad to the bugs so they will just go somewhere else

•Why leaves and wood chips are your new best friend

•Learn how to grow huge flowers with vinegar and ammonia

•How to soften tight clay soils

•How to control Japanese beetles with soda pop

•How to control ALL insects with soda pop (cucumber beetles, aphids, squash bugs, etc)

•Learn why plants get sick and what you can do to prevent it

•Most of our tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, geraniums and petunias slow down in July and August. Learn why this is and what you can do to speed them back up.

•Can I grow vegetables in the shade? (No)

•When is the best time to water my plants? The answer will surprise you!

•Quick and easy techniques to control weeds

•Why you should NOT rotate your crops (and other heresies!)

•Plus lots of time for your questions!

There will be handouts and lots of discussion so bring a pen and paper and lots of questions. This class is highly interactive and you will go home with many answers to your personal gardening questions. The answers that we discuss are very doable on any budget and most products are available from the grocery store, and the information will last you a lifetime –for many years of fruitful yields!

We’ll see you there– and bring a friend!

Cost: $25 Register at http://www.theresiliencyinstitute.net/events/14/nutrient-dense-gardening/

Hello all,

Meeting #8 approaches!

Notes from our previous meeting can be found here: Meeting 7

More on the upcoming Permablitz, plus, more on the upcoming permaculture design course.

A requested $3. donation per attendee goes to ICA for hosting us.

See you there!

This is a 2 Saturday, 16 hour project-focused workshop to be held at:

Inspiration Kitchens, 3504 W. Lake Street, Chicago 60623

Cost: $150 (for both Saturdays) / $80 per Saturday if unable to attend both sessions.

Day 1 – Saturday, May 4th, 2013

Day 2 – Saturday, May 11th, 2013

Classes begin promptly at 9am and runs until 5pm.

Lunch included (vegetarian option available) with beverages – (coffee, water, tea).

Potluck for breakfast and snacks.

Participants will bring their proposed garden design (if available) or current garden information and will leave workshop with a working design. Course workbook will be emailed upon paid registration.

Topics to be covered:

Day 2:

Classroom instruction:

• Review individual garden designs as a group

• Plant Guilds: how to choose plants based on their ability to support each other’s functional needs

• Identify appropriate plants for our hardiness zone

• Identify economical, readily available building material options: bricks, cardboard, urbanite, containers

• Understand the problems and solutions regarding raised bed boxes

Hands-on Instruction: This portion of the classroom will be conducted outside. Please bring work gloves and appropriate clothing.

• Build an herb spiral

• Amend the soil in existing raised boxes to increase fertility

• Apply vermicasting tea in the garden to promote beneficial microbes

About the Instructors:

AnnaMaria León received her Permaculture Design Course Certification in Fall of 2011 from the Bloomington, IN Permaculture Activist team. She is also a Traditional Chinese Feng Shui Consultant and the owner of Anna’s Edible Gardens and Landscapes, providing design and installation services for private, commercial, and non-profit eco-projects. Currently, AnnaMaria is working to meld Permaculture and traditional production farming methods and to apply them to the Chicago Urban Agriculture movement.

Michael Webb has been gardening since age 23. He reluctantly converted to Permaculture after understanding and utilizing these regenerative principles in the two gardens that he supervises at Inspiration Kitchens in East Garfield Park. Michael focuses and speaks on soil, soil organisms, indigenous farming methods, and using locally sourced materials in garden installations. He is also the Case Manager at Inspiration Kitchens – Garfield Park. Inspiration Kitchens is the social enterprise restaurant for Inspiration Corporation that provides a 13-week training in the culinary arts to individuals with barriers to employment.  After their training, students are assisted to find employment in the culinary field.

Together, they have designed, installed, and consulted on several gardens on the West Side of Chicago using Permaculture principles.   They are currently trainers for Openlands’ Gardenkeepers Community Food Garden Network workshop series and are charged with updating the manual to include more sustainable gardening practices.

Please join us for Stelle’s annual Celebration of the Earth this May 5th. As tradition goes, various members of our community wish to share  their gifts and talents inspired or modeled after some of the wonderful patterns and processes that the Earth shares with us.

Tours of off-grid phone company, strawbale home, pv homes, Kid’s Pond and garden activities, bio-intensive gardening, and more. Lunch available at Center.

Suburban Permaculture Yard Tours

Bill and Becky Wilson of Midwest Permaculture, Chicago Permaculture meetup sponsors,  will be giving yard tours on the hour as a way to celebrate the International Permaculture day, which is also May 5th!

http://cscstelle.org/2013/04/stelles-annual-celebration-of-the-earth-day-may-5th/