the EcoDesignHive Community Forum

Hello All! I live in Media, PA . Anyone from the Philly area here?

Susan F. Urban — Wed, 06 May 2026 17:53:48 GMT

I am looking to build community with permaculture people and possibly co-buy a home or multifamily dwelling unit that could be retrofitted to build a supportive community, with a garden and food forest. Anyone interested or want to kick some ideas around? Technology is not my strong point so feel free to respond here or email me at:

boundlesssky25@gmail.com

Looking forward to a response,

Thanks!

Susan

Less Lawn More Life - Starting May 7, 2026

Cindy Black — Tue, 05 May 2026 22:52:03 GMT

Inspiring adventure!
https://www.lesslawnmorelife.com/?ref=plantbabyplant

Permaculture neighborhood

Amanda (she/her) — Mon, 04 May 2026 12:39:34 GMT

I am so grateful for my kind neighbors and for the cooperative atmosphere.

There is a strong gift economy here in my little corner of the world; in the last month I have been given offcuts from a native shrub, offcuts from rosemary to dry, an entire bale of hay just when I desperately needed mulch, seed potatoes of the Makah Ozette variety (the closest there is to a native Pacific Northwest potato), sunchokes to plant, produce, juice, and free-choice harvest from a neighbor that's away this year. The neighbors have also accepted onion sets, potato starts (I got more than I could use), herbs, veggies, wood chip, and my herb tea blend. My kids are free to play in more than one yard with swings so we've never needed to put any up ourselves.

The immediate neighborhood has worked together and gotten a block of our street officially closed to cars so it is now a walk and bikeway, a green space full of native and edible plants, and there are occasional work days. And I know that any tool I needed would be gladly loaned to me. Most recently (Saturday) a neighbor provided the materials and a tutorial so I could hang my hammock from a tree.

It was very hot yesterday and I did my garden work early and then lay in the hammock feeling like I have achieved the classic Permaculture moment of having nothing to do but lie in the hammock. It was glorious.

PDC Bio & Synopsis

Alessandra Hamilton — Sat, 02 May 2026 16:06:52 GMT

Hi all! I recently turned in my project for my PDC and was asked to share my Synopsis and Bio with you all, so here they are!

2026 Midwest Permaculture Convergence (United States)

Sabina — Sat, 02 May 2026 00:15:19 GMT

I hope mentioning this event here is appropriate.

For those of us here in the Midwest and Great Lakes regions of the U.S., our local Permaculture Convergence is celebrating its 10th gathering this year in Michigan in June. It'll be a weekend of camping and learning from one another. They're also running a discount code for the first 3 days of May.

I'll be one of the speakers, presenting sort of social permaculture design workshop on "Community Health Strategies for the Polycrisis." (It will be the first time I've publicly done regional Permaculture educational work.)

I'd love to meet other folks, if any of you do end up attending please don't hesitate to say hi!

Nevada, USA

Jacey Johnson — Fri, 01 May 2026 23:23:05 GMT

Anyone in NV?

Seashellter: Floating Hexagonal Habitats Grown from Plastic Waste

pete abrams — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 14:03:58 GMT

Seashellter is a prototype family of floating hexagonal “seashells” grown from plasticrete, the innovative process I’m developing to fuse single‑use thermoplastic bags and film with heated sand or other aggregate into strong, waterproof shells. These shells become modular circular / dome pods that can be stacked and tiled like a honeycomb to form low‑cost, repairable floating micro‑villages that clean up plastic while making new space for people, plants, and marine life. I’m looking for eco‑designers, permaculture folks, and marine‑systems nerds who want to help push this from weird proof‑of‑concept into a real regenerative habitat system—curious to hear what this community would most like to see tested or prototyped first.

water water water

Olivia — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 04:10:59 GMT

I am working through the course and right now I'm at the section about water use. I want to add rain barrels to my gutter systems on my home. I have a decent size residential yard that I have been transforming over the years. This year I would also like to add a small pond and integrate it into the existing permaculture.

Does anyone have any personal experience/suggestions on how I can add more sustainable watering systems for the garden and water features? I am working with a tight budget, but I do source a lot of free things and enjoy being resourceful!

New to PDC course

Vic Turner — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 12:16:34 GMT

Hi all, great to be here embarking on the PDC! I'm not usually keen on posting to forums as I struggle to find the time and socioemotional bandwidth to do so, but I'm willing to push my comfort zone for the sake of this course 🙂

I've been knowingly interested in permaculture principles for many years (and, unknowingly, for many years prior as an environmental activist) and have been actively practicing to some extent for the last few years whilst building my systems as a homemaker, tending my allotment, and - more recently - helping to set up a community growing space. I felt it was about time to consolidate all the information and informal learning, and make an attempt to complete a 'proper' permaculture design, particularly as I'm increasingly finding myself in positions where others ask about or may benefit from knowledge about permaculture.

I'm incredibly grateful for the chance to do this sort of course online, as it's difficult for me to get away to residential courses as a lone parent. It also helps to be able to do this at a less intense pace and apply it in my own immediate environment (south coast of UK) as the seasons shift.

Just finishing the first observation activity and looking forward to going deeper ...

Vic

Helpful App SoilWeb

Alessandra Hamilton — Thu, 23 Apr 2026 13:03:43 GMT

Hi all! I recently met a soil scientist and his wife, both of whom are conservationists. He recommended this app SoilWeb. This app will provide detailed information on the soil in your current location. He actually helped create the maps this app pulls its information from and so far it does seem accurate!