Jasper Place High School - Permaculture

Permaculture

In February 2010, Jasper Place High School introduced a permaculture initiative. Since this time, the program has focused it efforts on transforming one of the schools courtyards into a self sufficient food forest. Using principles found in ecology, the permaculture initiative at Jasper Place High School aims to more closely tie students to the natural processes that sustain life while at the same time acting as a cross-curricular resource for teachers, providing hands on experience for students, and regenerating ecology while simultaneously providing for human needs. Food produced in the permaculture program will be used by the schools culinary program.

As of June 2012, the Jasper Place permaculture program continues to grow in acceptance and scope. In the Fall of 2012, teacher and permaculture designer, Dustin Bajer, will be brought back to JP to continue his work, in addition to co-running JP's new InSight Education program.

Indigenous Permaculture Class (Aboriginal Studies)

As of February 2011, Jasper Place will be offering the first ever 'Indigenous Permaculture class. Equal parts Science, design, and cultural studies, this new class aims to teach the Alberta Aboriginal Studies curriculum though permaculture.

Course synopsis:

Over tens of thousands of years, many indigenous cultures from around the world have developed belief systems, world-views, and a cosmology that has allowed them to provide for their own needs in ways that honour the living world that sustains them. Based in Science, guided by ethics, and steeped in Indigenous knowledge, students will learn the ecological principles behind permaculture design. Through an exploration of hand-on, project based discovery, students will draw from Science and the richness of the world’s Indigenous Cultures to create designs that care for people and Earth.

JP Permaculture and Social Media

As a means of introducing permaculture concepts to the larger community, documenting progress for program granters, and encouraging similar initiatives, program coordinator Dustin Bajer has advocated for the use of blogs and social networks. As a result, a complete record of the JP Permaculture program can be found on the program's Blog. More recently, however, the JP Program has built a followings on the Jasper Place Permaculture Facebook Page and as JP_Permaculture on Twitter.