Permaculture: 1970's By Bill Mollison

Permaculture was started in the 1970’s by Bill Mollison. Mollison spent years in the wilderness and realized the destructive path us humans are on by destroying the environment. Instead of being angry, he decided to take a positive approach to this, and look around the negatives to reach the best results. He noticed that all things in nature have a use for each other and that all in all, nature is one big cycle. A never ending cycle, where everything reacts with each other. Permaculture is a mix of the three words, permanent, agriculture and culture. You take the three meanings of the words and you have the definition of permaculture. Permaculture is the permanent alternative to green agriculture in modern day culture. According to Mollison,

We can eat healthier foods and live in healthier communities. Permaculture also lessens the pollution. Permaculture is cheaper in composition to regular agriculture. All components of permaculture are natural and recycled. There’s less waste in permaculture because, everything is recycled. Also, there’s less chemical resistance, and less harm done to the crops. Permaculture uses natural pesticides and animals to keep away bugs. Permaculture results in less pollution because it’s pollution free altogether. Permaculture improves environmental conditions and promotes green living. The disadvantages of permaculture is that it is less productive and requires more labor force to get more crops. Another disadvantage is that it takes a lot more time to cultivate organic crops, it also requires a lot more dedication. That being said it will be a lot hard to find a dedicated farmer to permaculture because it takes more time and effort to get the job

In this project, Mark Shepard has a plantation full of life. A variety of plant and animals which are kept in balance together. His farm was constructed in Wisconsin and their main crops are hazelnut and chestnuts. But they also have a great variety of other plants. All crops are fertilizer by the animal’s feces, which is a great compost and is recycled into the soil which makes it stay alive. Also, Mark Shepard states that in comparison to calories, his farming method is most effective because his methods produce more calories than a corn plantation. A second example from the movie is Steve Gabriel’s WellSpring Forest Farm. Steve promotes the regrowth of forests and provides a range of products including, mushrooms, maple syrup, duck eggs and more. Steve Gabriel regrows trees and uses the trees to harvest mushrooms, then he lets the trees decompose into the soil and promote more growth. All together he’s enhancing the cycle of a natural ecosystem well helping out people by growing