UPOU to Start a Permaculture Garden Project

Last Friday, September 23, the Faculty of Management and Development Studies (FMDS) of the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU) reached out to us to propose the development of a permaculture garden in the new Teaching and Learning Hub (TLH) building. 

In addition to food security for its staff, climate change adaptation, and environmental stewardship, the garden will also serve as a demonstration site for students of the upcoming Permaculture Systems Design Thinking (PSDT) non-formal course scheduled for January 2023. 

As of this writing, this is the third ongoing permaculture project within the UP campus this year. 

Canva Design Template for Monitoring Permaculture Landscapes using a Drone

In 2020, we published a methodology on how to use the DJI Ryze Tello drone to monitor changes in the six components (abiotic, biotic, manmade structural, technological, socio-economic, and cultural) of a permaculture landscape (you can download the free SEARCA e-book here (Chapter 5).). Even with a budget toy drone with a maximum flight altitude of 30 meters (100 ft), we can keep track of changes for better farm management, design, and decision-making.

Using Canva, we created a Drone Observations Template for landscape monitoring. The template is based on the Summary Report of Observations sheet published in the aforementioned e-book entitled, Methodologies Supportive of Sustainable Development in Agriculture and Natural Resources Management: Selected Cases in Southeast Asia. You can access the template by clicking here.

Each photo on the template is linked to a summary report sheet that you can fill out monthly (or weekly, depending on your objectives). Remember to follow the 10-step methodology to produce consistent results.

Reference: 

Flores, Bagunu, and Buot (2020). Documenting Permaculture Farm Landscapes in the Philippines Using a Drone with a Smartphone. Methodologies Supportive of Sustainable Development in Agriculture and Natural Resources Management, 71-86. Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA).