2025 Spring One Day Workshops and Classes

Introduction to Permaculture Design – Sunday, March 2nd, 2025

You will learn how to map out the natural story of the place where you live, and then put together a long term plan for your sustainable home and landscape – one that takes care of people and takes care of the environment at the same time. We will practice the skills and strategies needed to do Permaculture design, like mapping out the natural and person-made forces that effect a site and then practice some design patterns based on that map that will quickly organize your site.  Bring a sketch or aerial picture of a site that you want to design.  This class is  held at the Sonoran Permaculture Guild’s outdoor classroom, located one and a half miles north of downtown Tucson. You will see Permaculture design and implementation demonstrated and how to apply it to your own site. Class size is limited to 10 participants.

Location: Mesquite Tree Permaculture Site, one and a half miles north of downtown Tucson. Directions and more information will be sent with registration. 9AM to 4:00PM
Cost: $79 – includes all course materials and handouts
Taught by Dan Dorsey.
See registration info at the bottom of this page and use the ‘Buy Now’ button to pay for this workshop. Contact Dan at sonoranpermacultureguild@gmail.com for more information. 

Introduction to Growing Food at Home – Sunday, March 23rd, 2025

 The future of sustainable agriculture will be in small to medium scale organic food gardens grown right in and around our cities, including “back yard” gardens. In this in-person workshop, you will learn about desert adapted food production strategies such as sunken garden beds, self-watering containers, edible native plants (desert food forests). We will learn together how to increase your garden’s health, production, and nutrient value, using an integrated system of composting, vermiculture, mulch, companion plant selection, and irrigation to improve fertility, structure, and life in your soil. We will discuss how to produce food with minimum water use and how to troubleshoot some of the most common challenges in our area such as  pest management, hot and cold weather and where to find what we need to start growing our food now.

Location: Las Milpitas Urban Farm – 2405 South Cottonwood Ln, Tucson, AZ – Time: 9:00AM – 12:00PM – Cost: $35 – class includes additional follow up educational materials that will be available on-line. Taught by Erick Meza. The class will be held outside. See registration info at the bottom of this page and use the ‘Buy Now’ button to pay for this workshop. Contact Dan at sonoranpermacultureguild@gmail.com for more information. 

Intro to Passive Solar Design and Natural Building – Saturday, March 15th, 2025.

 

 

 

Registration Info for Intro to Permaculture and Growing Food at Home workshops only

How do I register for a class or workshop?

You are registered for a class or workshop when we receive your payment in full. There are three ways to pay and register. 

1. By Mail – Checks and money orders can be made to Sonoran Permaculture Guild LLC. Please mail only checks and money orders (no cash) to: Sonoran Permaculture Guild, c/o Dan Dorsey 221 E. Linden Tucson, AZ 85705. Include your return address, e-mail, and phone number, and we will send you an e-receipt or phone call confirming your registration

2. In Person – You can travel to our office and drop off a money order or check made to Sonoran Permaculture Guild LLC, or cash, and a receipt will be issued to you at that time. Please E-mail sonoranpermacultureguild@gmail.com to schedule a time before you arrive to make sure someone is in the office. Our office is one and a half miles north of downtown Tucson.

3. By Credit Card – online registration

1. Click on the yellow ‘Buy Now’ button on this page.
2. When it takes you to the secure PayPal site, where it says ‘Description’, type the name of the workshop(s) or course you want to take – Example: Growing Food at Home. In the ‘Price per Item’ Box, put in the amount you are sending – Example: 42.00 – don’t use a $ sign, just the amount –  then click on the ‘Continue’ button.
3. This will take you to a page where you are given the option of paying with your PayPal account or with a credit or debit card. If using a credit or debit card, click on the ‘Pay with debit or credit card’ link.
4. Enter your Credit or Debit card info and press the ‘Continue’ button.
If this process doesn’t work, you can send us an email, and we’ll arrange a phone call to enter your card info.

If after I register and pay what if I need to cancel?

Our refund policy is as follows: Up to three weeks before the class, you will receive a full refund minus a $10 refund and processing fee. Up to ten days before the class you will receive one half of the class fee as a refund. If you cancel after ten days before the class date, there is no refund, but if you let us know you are cancelling at least two days before the workshop, we will give you some partial credit to use toward a future class. If the class you are signed up for is full with a waiting list, and we can fill your cancelled spot, you will receive a full refund minus a $10 processing fee up to the day of the class.

What if I have additional questions about what to expect in the classes?

Email the workshop registrar at sonoranpermacultureguild@gmail.com