Permaculture Tip of the Day – The Need for Case Studies

As I listen to more and more talks on permaculture it becomes clear that case studies are a crucial element to reaching the main stream. Even if it is just logging and documenting a garden on your patio. A case study is not overly involved but is involved. It is about logging events that happen on your site, the inputs and outputs, and strategies if not on a daily basis then at least weekly. These events could be very small as to what time of year the aphids show up to migratory patterns of cardinals to what day I harvested jujubes. A simple tool for this is to just keep a pen and note pad every time you enter your permaculture site/s (urban, suburban, rural, broad acre, etc…).
Today, however, there is a bit of technology that could combine the note taking with voice recordings and photos. I am going to go out on a limb here and say that if you are reading this post then you are probably an owner of a smart device (smart phone or tablet). There are now apps that allow you to log notes for different events or locations like multiple gardens or permaculture sites you are involved with. An app I used to take my first permaculture design course was an app called “notability”. It was worth $2.99 price tag and allows me to be me (which means not carrying a pen and paper with me at all times and recording a voice note instead of writing and also taking pictures at the same time and keeping all of that in one place). It is like my permaculture diary. Whatever you choose to log your case study, just do it! It is a practice that is very needed. The what, the when, the how, the inputs, the outputs – everything that you did and are doing within the site needs to be showcased so we can get to that tipping point into permaculture and can say this way of life ” is just the way we do things”.
Once you make your case study and not sure where to showcase is. Send us your work and we will broadcast your case study to the masses. Learn more here.
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