Main Instructor
Kareen Erbe (Broken Ground) is an experienced permaculture practitioner and has been teaching permaculture and gardening workshops for 8 years. She and her family are developing a ¾ acre suburban cold climate permaculture demonstration site with a food forest, kitchen gardens, greenhouse, pond, chickens and a greywater system. She has a BSc. in Environmental Science and completed an advanced permaculture program taught by Geoff Lawton, at the Permaculture Research Institute of Australia. This included training in earthworks, composting, soil biology, and urban permaculture design. Kareen also trained in teaching permaculture with Rosemary Morrow, author of the Earth User’s Guide to Permaculture. She has Master Gardener and Master Composter Certifications, training in Ecology Action’s Grow Biointensive methods and participated in a Food Forest Design Charrette with author, teacher and designer, Dave Jacke. Kareen is a regular contributor to Permaculture Women's Magazine and Rocky Mountain Gardening Magazine.
Guest Speakers
Allison Rooney (Cloud Nine Farm) and her family own and operate Cloud Nine Farm in Wilsall, Montana. Established in 2008, the farm is continuously evolving to comprise a workable approach to regenerative agricultural production methods, including a small scale holistically managed mixed grazing operation, Keyline cultivation, four-season greenhouse production, a market garden, on-farm food processing, and ongoing work with permaculture-inspired design techniques. Allison’s goal is to create a diversified farm system with a healthy economic outlook while serving local communities safe and delicious food. The farm is certified organic, and produces vegetables, herbs, microgreens, nursery plants, eggs, and small livestock on pasture.
Linda Welsh (Sage Mountain Center) is co-founder of Sage Mountain Center, an off-grid sustainable living center and the site of our Permaculture Design Course. For over 20 years, Sage Mountain Center has provided consultation services, seminars and tours in everything from passive solar straw bale home building, cordwood construction, and permaculture to solar and wind power for students, homeowners, and businesses across the state. Linda is a Registered Nurse certified in Hospice and Palliative Care, Regional Educator for Rocky Mountain Hospice, and a Certified Yoga Teacher with an M.A. in Transformative Learning and Change. Linda is committed to the work of personal and social transformation and this is enhanced by her love of poetry, gardening/permaculture, soap making, backpacking, and people.
Brent Brock (HoloScene Wildlife Services) is a wildlife biologist and has over 30 years of professional experience in ecology and wildlife conservation, working for the Konza Biological Station, the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Craighead Institute and now his own business, HoloScene Wildlife Services. He received his BSc in Wildlife Biology and a MSc degree in Rangeland Ecology from Kansas State University. His education provides a deep understanding of the ecological connection between wildlife habitat and working landscapes. Brent has published more than a dozen peer-reviewed papers and three book chapters on ecology and conservation.
Jenny Kahrl (Montana Red Devons) is a graduate of Harvard University and started her agricultural career 20 years ago, after a Permaculture course with Bill Mollison and Scott Pittman in Ojai, Calfornia. She had spent the previous two years working on her brother’s cattle ranch in Montana, and the Permaculture course shook up many of her previous suppositions about modern agriculture and its success. Upon her return to her 500 acre property in rural Montana, she started to put a non-toxic plan in place. She now raises 150 head of cattle, 40 of which are heritage Red Ruby Devons, a previously endangered breed on the American Livestock Conservancy listing. Her goal is to cycle nutrients, improve soil quality, and provide grass fed beef and quality breeding stock to regional eaters and producers. Cover crops, rotational grazing, multi-species management, remineralization, and nutrient dense foods have all been topics of study and utilization on her family ranch. She is also an owner of the Amsterdam Meat Shop, a busy abattoir for domestic livestock in the Gallatin Valley and has raised American Guinea Hogs, pastured meat birds, free range turkeys, and laying hens.
Chris Borton (Sage Mountain Center) is the director and co-founder of Sage Mountain Center. A fourth generation builder, Chris is currently on the board of directors of both the Montana Renewable Energy Association and the Montana Energy Education Council. Sage Mountain Center has received numerous awards including the Corporation for the Northern Rockies Best Sustainable Education Business and Alternative Energy Resource Organization’s Sustainable Energy Award.