This course will teach the practical art of agriculture and land management from an alternative perspective called “permaculture". Topics in permaculture include all the traditional topics covered in an AP environmental science course at a public school, but from a radically different, and markedly holistic, perspective. Rather than looking at the environment fragmentally, as many of our environmental textbooks do today, we will discuss ecology in accordance with God’s design for his world. Applying these principles of permaculture will help students think through topics such as conservation biology, land management, resource management, and waste management. For example, ecology and conservation biology will be taught under the paradigm that God has given mankind dominion over the earth (Gen 2).

The world needs more Christians who care deeply and thoughtfully about creation. This course prepares students to become exactly that kind of environmental steward.

Note: In this course, students will be equipped to pass the AP Environmental Science course if desired. This course also prepares students for a Permaculture Design Certificate if desired.

Disclaimer: Permaculture is fraught with new-age thinkers; however, we will be “plundering the Egyptians” as we would do with Plato or Aristotle. There are many Christians in the field seeking to reform permaculture. For example, Gordon Wilson’s book, A Different Shade of Green, mentions permaculture as a land management tool.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

1. Define the principles of ecology and consider how these can be faithfully applied by those who bear God’s image.
2. Investigate Permaculture as a regenerative design system for restoring soil, reversing desertification, enhancing biodiversity, increasing agricultural productivity, and improving land management.
3. Identify and understand the major nutrient cycles within creation, such as the carbon, nitrogen, and water cycles, and their roles in sustaining life.
4. Connect environmental health with human well-being, exploring how ecological balance contributes to physical, emotional, and spiritual flourishing.

SECOND SEMESTER TEXTS (~550 pages)

The Marvelous Pigness of Pigs: Respecting and Caring for All God's Creation by Joel Salatin (~250 pages)
The Unsettling of America by Wendell Berry (~250 pages)
Introduction to Permaculture by Andrew Millison (~25 pages)
Environmental Biology by Matthew R. Fisher (~25 pages)