Permaculture in Practice

Gale & Snowden’s design work and services are informed by the ethos of Permaculture

The emphasis of Permaculture is on a design strategy based on integrated natural systems. The aim is to work with nature to obtain what we need, to guide it, and to make the most of what it has to offer

Permaculture informs our design work so that we integrate people into designed, productive ecosystems that provide key human needs of food, water, energy and shelter in a way that also enhances nature and ecologically regenerates our environment

By applying ‘living systems understanding’ to human settlement design, we can harness nature to design inspiring, productive and biodiverse-rich environments that are low-maintenance and self-perpetuating; where humans can intentionally participate as part of nature, actively co-evolving the whole system

Trajectory of Ecological Design

Figure 1. “Trajectory of Ecological Design” by Regenesis Group 

Humans participating as part of nature and actively co-evolving the whole system – less external inputs and less energy are required, more bioactivity and diversity are created, more CO2 is absorbed, pollution and are non-existent

By connecting people with their location at a biological level we can build a society whereby waste and pollution have no place because in nature they do not exist

Permaculture Approach

When humans and human settlements are incorporated into wider ecosystems design, people become more connected to their location and gain a better understanding of their environment and their impact on it

A Permaculture approach enables:

  • people to be more connected to nature and encourage stewardship of our environment
  • enhancement of habitat and bio-activity
  • high yielding and useful production
  • lower energy inputs by reducing chemical and mechanical interventions
  • lower maintenance requirements and reduced running costs due to reduction of inputs
  • lower water consumption
  • reduce wind chill factors onto buildings and external spaces
  • educational benefit derived from linking user input and output to provide a connection for people with the natural environment
  • reduce transportation pollution by using bio-regional resources

Permaculture into Practise

Gale & Snowden have over 30 years’ experience in designing and implementing Permaculture design. Our work has been featured in publications such as ‘The Permaculture Plot’ and in architectural and environmental publications and magazines

Collaborating with a team of specialists including species, horticultural, and aquaculture consultants, we provide a full Permaculture design service that ranges in scale from private gardens to public parks and from forest gardens to whole working farms

Permaculture Defined

David Holmgren:

‘Permaculture uses systems thinking and design principles to consciously design ‘landscapes which mimic the patterns and relationships found in nature, while yielding an abundance of food, fibre and energy for provision of local needs’

Permaculture Defined

Bill Mollison:

‘Permaculture (permanent agriculture) is the conscious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems. It is the harmonious integration of landscape and people providing their food, energy, shelter and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable way. Without permanent agriculture there is no possibility of a stable social order’

Permaculture Defined

Permaculture design is a system of assembling conceptual, material, and strategic components in a pattern which functions to benefit life in all its forms’

‘The philosophy behind permaculture is one of working with, rather than against, nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtless action; of looking at systems in all their functions, rather than asking only one yield of them; and of allowing systems to demonstrate their own evolutions’

Permaculture or Permanent Agriculture is a positive movement to establish a Permanent Culture that addresses the Climate and Environment Emergency