Ecosystem Restoration Course – June 7-17, 2022

Atlan Community, White Salmon, WA

with Michael “Skeeter” Pilarski and Marisha Auerbach

Currently, the world’s biodiversity is in decline due to resource exploitation and global consumption patterns.  Bioregional stability comes from ecosystem health.  Healthy ecosystems provide clean air, clean water, ecological services, habitat and food for wildlife as well as yields to support humanity.  As we face increased natural disasters, a global pandemic, supply chain disruptions, and social instability, now is the time to enhance our abilities to come together to practice ecosystem restoration.

The Ecosystem Restoration Course is a blending of ecosystem restoration, permaculture, regenerative agriculture and ethno-ecology. 

The course is for land-stewards, land managers, landscapers, and anyone concerned about ecosystem health as well as people who want to have a career in ecosystem restoration and earth repair.

This video contains scenes of our Drylands Permaculture Course, which was run in October, and had 40 attendees and 6 eco-celebrity guest speakers through Zoom. These have been included to give you an idea of what this amazing ecosystem course entails.

Early Bird Price: $1,400 (before May 24), Regular Price: $1,600 (after May 24) – $250 Deposit to hold your place, Remainder of payment is due by May 24th.


AboutActivitiesInstructorsSpeakersVenue
AccommodationsRegistrationScholarshipsRefundsContacts


About the Course

Who:

  • Michael Pilarski – Instructor
  • Marisha Auerbach – Instructor
  • Alex Slakie – Guest Speaker
  • Various guest speakers TBA

Where:

  • White Salmon, Washington
  • Columbia River Gorge Ecosystem
  • Hosted by Atlan Community

When:

  • June 7-17, 2022
  • 10-Day Intensive
  • One day off mid-course

This Course Includes:

  • 3 Great meals a day for all 10 days!
  • Camping included.
  • An overview of restoration strategies and techniques from around the world, from ancient to modern, with a particular focus on indigenous and traditional methods.
  • All necessary instructional materials provided on-site.
  • Permaculture design principles and methodology.
  • Advanced, specialized coursecertificate awarded on completion. (No PDC Prerequisite)
  • Half of each day is devoted to hands-on activities.
  • Field trips to local example ecosystems.
  • We will cover restoration of forests, deserts, wetlands, grasslands, and shrub-steppes.
  • Disaster preparedness and post-disaster response.
  • Course Certificate will be awarded to everyone who completes the course..


Hands-on Activities

To get you the direct experience to go on and do ecosystem repair in your communities, hands-on activities make up half the body of the course, including:

  • Tree planting
  • Hoedad use
  • Sheet mulching
  • Direct seeding
  • Seed-balls
  • Cyclone seeder
  • Scatterseed mix
  • Marking contour lines
  • Swales
  • Terracing
  • Bioengineering
  • Gabions
  • Check dams
  • Sprigging
  • Crown division
  • Live staking
  • Hardwood cuttings
  • Rain gardens
  • Hugelkultur
  • Invasive plant reduction
  • Contour debris arrangement
  • Fuel reduction
  • Tree pruning
  • Making biochar
  • Zai holes
  • Erosion control
  • Planting food forests
  • ...and much more!

The Instructors 

Michael “Skeeter” Pilarski has farmed in the Pacific Northwest since 1972. He has worked with over 1,000 species of plants. In 1978 he started the Friends of the Trees Society. He has been teaching permaculture since 1981 and has taught 40 permaculture design courses in various climates. He organized the Global Earth Repair Conference in 2019 and is organizing an online Global Earth Repair Summit in 2022. Michel is compiling best examples of ecosystem restoration and earth repair from around the world.
www.friendsofthetrees.net
www.globlalearthrepairfoundation.org


Marisha Auerbach is an internationally recognized permaculture educator, designer and speaker based in Oregon and Washington.  Marisha has lived and practiced permaculture in both urban and rural environments.   As an avid gardener and herbalist, Marisha specializes in food production, ecology, and useful plants. Marisha is one of the most prolific, West Coast teachers of permaculture design courses and currently teaches permaculture online through Oregon State University. www.permaculturerising.com

Between Marisha and Michael, they have taught around 100 Permaculture Design Courses!


Guest Speakers

Alex Slakie. Alex, who runs Flora Northwest, is a restoration ecologist, botanist, and herbalist from the Pacific Northwest. He supplies willow live stakes and seeds for salmon habitat projects, sustainably harvested wild medicinal plants for herbal companies, and interesting nursery plants for home gardeners. He nursery grows and wild-tends willow coppices and stands of medicinal plants on the lower Columbia River and Columbia River Gorge. https://floranw.com/

Flaco. Flaco’s goal is to guide people on a path towards understanding place in a way that is beneficial for all relations. Influenced by the diverse backgrounds of his grandparents and ancestors in Mexico and homesteading history of Washington, he brings an understanding of the indigenous history and culture to our course. He has worked on permaculture projects with Friends of the Trees Society, the Bullock Brothers, Aprovecho and diverse sites from Mexico, Northern California, and Pacific Northwest.

Margo Robbins. Margo Robbins is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Cultural Fire Management Council (CFMC).   She is also a co-lead and advisor for the Indigenous People’s Burn Network.  She graduated from Humboldt State University in 1987. Margo comes from the traditional Yurok village of Morek, and is an enrolled member of the Yurok Tribe. She gathers and prepares traditional food and medicine, is a basket weaver and regalia maker.  She is a mom, and a grandma. http://www.culturalfire.org

We will be featuring even more of the world’s leading restoration experts, via Zoom – to be announced!


About our Site – The Atlan Community

Forest Camp outdoor classroom.
  • Atlan is a Community project that includes the stewardship of 150 acres in the White Salmon watershed in the beautiful Columbia Gorge. There are two year-round creeks, fir forests, and an oak savanna with sweeping views. 
  • The community is made up of people living on the land, and in nearby acreage with other nodes of like-minded and like-hearted friends. We are a group of visionaries who are artists, designers, healers and natural builders.
  • Forest Camp is a rustic facility that consists of a 30-foot yurt, an outdoor kitchen, a forested amphitheater, campsites, composting toilets and a pair of on-demand hot showers. There are a variety of trails to explore the land; a short walk to the House of AnahAtlan and a slightly longer walk to the Collaboratory at the Artifactory,
  • Links: www.atlancenter.orgwww.cultureseed.org

Accommodations and Food

Outdoor camping is included in the attendance cost! Most people will be camping at Atlan. Some locals may commute to class daily.  There are no indoor accommodations on site, and the nearest motel is 6 miles away. We request that all participants take turns with basic housekeeping tasks, food preparation and clean-up, in a way that does not to interfere with class times.


Registration

Early Bird Price: $1,400 (before May 24)
Regular Price: $1,600 (after May 24)

$250 Deposit to hold your place.
Rest of payment is due by May 24th

REFER A FRIEND DISCOUNT!
We will deduct $100 from your course fee for each full-paying student your outreach brings into the course.


Work-Trade and Scholarships

We encourage anyone seeking scholarships to raise money from other channels to help pay your fees through friends, family, scholarships, donations. Some organizations will contribute funds in exchange for people doing workshops or presentations in their community after the course. If you can come up with any money at all, it will help your case when applying for a scholarship or work-trade.

Anyone may apply but preference will be given to people of color, indigenous people, and other historically disadvantaged groups. This includes people from Native American reservations, the inner city, or non over-developed nations of “The Global South”. We will also be giving priority to those individuals who have already been involved in earth repair, permaculture or other related ecological work, and to people who will go on to give workshops and trainings in their home communities.

Work-trade & Scholarship Inquiry Form – https://forms.gle/ToyQrH6VyHqu8c3H9


Refund Policy

If we cancel the event or the course cannot run due to a government-mandated lockdown there will be a 100% refund. Up to 30 days before the event starts is an 80% refund. Up to 7 days before the event starts is a 75% refund.


Contacts

For curriculum questions email Michael Pilarski FriendsoftheTrees@yahoo.com

For registration questions email La Laurrien
Laurrien@gmail.com



AboutActivitiesInstructorsSpeakersVenue
AccommodationsRegistrationScholarshipsRefundsContacts