In this two-day
course, plus Friday evening open lecture, we will be focused on theory and hands on work geared towards this highly productive form of aquatic management. To integrate the knowledge we will be establishing new and expanding existing
aquaculture systems at Terra Alta, small-scale-intensive educational center in coastal Portugal. The unique existing systems are due for a next phase of implementation so we will be improving them and doing dynamic expansion for biodiversity in our hands-on sessions. Our main efforts will be at the tank and the the stream for
water quality improvements while we will also hear from co-teacher and long running TreeYo facilitator, Karsten Hinrichs, on his innovative swimming pool conversion into a natural element.
http://treeyopermaculture.com/permaculture-design-courses-pdc/perma-aquaculture-at-terra-alta-sintra-portugal-may-2015/
Aquaculture, a storied tradition of growing food in water, helped to build extremely complex societies like the Egyptian, Aztecs, and Chinese from the abundance that these systems yield. All were different because of the cultural context but relied on the
polyculture system that aquaculture inherently facilitates. Consequently, in this course we will be examining the aquatic ecology behind these systems so that a full understanding of water as a medium for growth can be realized. From fish to ducks, from water chestnut to water spinach, we will be examining many life forms and the bountiful yields that aquauculture systems produce.
Aquatic systems can and
should be creating multifunctional outputs and we will be examining the correct management tools to realize this form of growth potential. Mollison, the co-founder of the
Permaculture movement, said that aquaculture system are 4-20 times more productive than adjoining
land based systems. Thus we will be looking at how to set the right conditions for this abundance as skill is needed much more than just hard labour. From garden ponds to converted swimming pools, to tanks and earthen ponds, we will look at a range of ways to bring these systems into your landscapes.
Thus the course will be a mix of theory, hands on and demonstration. We will be creating garden ponds with a liner as well as evaluating already created tanks and augmenting them for greater diversity and yields. We will also be learning the aquatic ecology behind it all so you can do work on swimming pools, tanks and other earthen or lined ponds and
local streams.
