Madison Area Permaculture Guild – Herb Collective and Hoop House Project Project Summary for Dane County Environmental Council Grant

Contract #10661 Kate Heiber-Cobb and Jean Schneider Madison Area Permaculture Guild 5310 Winnequah Road, Monona WI 53716 Kate: 608-213-2230, Jean 608-513-0016

Project Address: 3919 Gray Road, Deforest WI 53532 in the Town of Windsor

Mission Statement: The Madison Area Permaculture Guild cultivates diverse, healthy, and productive gardens, streetscapes, and local agriculture by sharing information, building relationships, and creating learning opportunities within our community and bioregion. We promote integrated water, food, and waste systems designed to increase local resilience. http://madisonareapermacultureguild.org

Project Goals: The primary goals of this project are to provide education to the public in how to create self sustaining natural systems in yards, landscapes and natural areas that increase environmental biodiversity and plant functionality for providing habitat and food for pollinators, insects, birds, animals and people. By using the model of biomimicry (mimicking nature’s systems) and how plant communities can be created with multiple functionalities including native plants and herbs that have edible and practical uses in our daily lives. This project was created in response to the growing need and interest in the community for learning how to provide some of our human needs ourselves thru natural systems that support and enhance nature instead of destroying it. The Permaculture movement has helped turn thousands of acres of commodity agriculture land (soy, corn) and mowed grass areas into natural systems that require little human intervention after they are established and provide an abundance of habitat for native plants, animals and insects along with food and medicines for people. (Please see our application for a more complete description of this project.)

Work Accomplished and Outcomes: A hoop house was constructed last summer along with a 100’ by 40’ project demonstration site. An upgraded well pump and year-round water service to the hoop house was completed in the late fall of last year. The Dane County Environmental Council Grant paid for a large portion of the cost of the water service to the hoop house. A dedicated access driveway to the hoop house space along with space for parking was established this spring. The hoop house has come into productive use this season including seed starting and composting along with workshop and meeting space.

Several free and low cost workshops were offered over the last year including: hoop house construction, seed starting, sheet mulching, medicinal salves and passive water collection. Over 250 people from the Madison area attended these workshops and took this knowledge and these skills back into their communities and neighborhoods. We anticipate offering the following workshops during this season; plant propagation, plant guild design, composting, using medicinal herbs and additional water harvesting workshops.

Please contact Kate or Jean to schedule a tour of the project site.