This is super important if you are pursuing your PDC. The final Presentation must include the Zones Map: Before and After. When you are ready, share yours under this topic thread.
Understanding Permaculture Zones: From Zone 00 to Zone 5
In permaculture, zones are a way to organize design elements based on how often they need human interaction or attention. This zoning helps in creating an efficient design that saves time and energy. Here's a brief overview of all the zones (We'll cover these in more detail in the next module):
Zone 00: Inner Landscape
This is the emotional and psychological state of the individual. Your thoughts, emotions, and mental health reside here. Maintaining a balanced Zone 00 is essential for effective permaculture design and the successful management of all other zones.Zone 0: Home and Immediate Surroundings
This zone includes your home and spaces like the porch or patio. It's the physical structure where you spend most of your time when you're not outside. A well-designed Zone 0 positively impacts your mental well-being, which in turn impacts your effectiveness in managing other zones.Zone 1: Frequently Visited Areas
These are areas you visit daily, like a vegetable garden, herb patch, or chicken coop. Zone 1 requires regular maintenance and thus should be designed for easy access from Zone 0.Zone 2: Semi-Regularly Visited Areas
Zone 2 includes areas like fruit trees or larger animal pens that require less frequent attention. You might visit this zone several times a week but not necessarily every day.Zone 3: Seasonal Areas
Think of crops like corn or wheat that only require attention during planting and harvesting seasons. These are areas that you don't need to visit regularly, making them suitable for more extensive, less intensive farming practices.Zone 4: Semi-Wild Areas
This zone is mostly managed by nature but can be used for foraging or as pasture for grazing animals. Human intervention here is minimal, possibly just a few times a year for specific purposes like controlled burns or selective harvesting.Zone 5: Unmanaged Wild Areas
This is the zone you leave entirely to nature. It's a space for observation and learning, a place where the ecosystem functions without human intervention.
All of these zones, from the most personal (Zone 00) to the most detached (Zone 5), interact with each other, and they all affect your inner landscape. So why not go ahead and map it? If you want to try, it can be a super helpful exercise.