Ethics and Principles of Ecological Design

The Three Ethics

This section by Heather Jo Flores

Ethics of permaculture

“Contact with the soil reminds us that we are an integral part of nature, rather than feeling shut out and excluded. The simple acts of growing and eating our own food, recreating habitats in which nature’s diversity thrives, and taking steps to live more simply are practical ways of living which connect us to an awareness of Nature’s seamless whole.” — Maddy Harland.

Care for the Earth, Care for the People, and….

Our work includes three foundational ethics.

First, care for the earth, because the earth sustains our lives.

Second, care for the people, because we need to look after ourselves and each other, and because people are the primary cause of damage to the earth.

And that brings us to…

That pesky third ethic.

In his monumental Permaculture: A Designer’s Manual (1988) Bill Mollison taught the third ethic as “limits to population and consumption.” Rosemary Morrow used “redistribute surplus to one’s needs” in Earth Users Guide to Permaculture. In Gaia’s Garden (2001) Toby Hemenway used “return the surplus.” I used “recycle all resources towards the first two ethics“ in my book, Food Not Lawns, How to Turn Your Yard into a Garden and Your Neighborhood into a Community (2006.) Jessi Bloom used “careful process” in her book Practical Permaculture (2016.) In David Holmgren’s, the third ethic is distilled into simply “fair shares” (whatever that means.) 

Nobody seems to agree, and you’ll encounter these ethical variations again and again on your learning journey, but the point that isn’t often made is that a thorough, multi-level understanding of what ecological design is and does can be found within the ongoing, sometimes controversial discussion about the third ethic.

The problem is the solution, as it were.

So, in the interest of deepening our understanding, let’s unpack a few different versions:

Limits to population and consumption.

Clear, specific, and controversial, this original version of the third ethic is a call to action that can trigger a lot of negative response. Without veering off into a treatise on the general aversion to discussing population, let’s just say that this version is probably the least commonly discussed.

Return the surplus.

This version of the third ethic reminds us that unused resources equal waste and therefore pollution, and we can increase cyclic opportunities by sending it all back around. This makes lots of sense, in some ways, but can be problematic because it’s too easy to assume something is a “surplus” when in fact somebody else might be already using it, or in desperate need of it. If we remove ourselves from the center of the design, and consider the needs of other species, the notion of “surplus” becomes confusing.

Fair share.

Sure. Ok. But who decides what’s fair? Lots of room for misinterpretation here. Lots of corners to cut. But this version is, for me, too much watered down, too easy to ignore, and I have seen too many privileged property owners yammering on about “fair shares” while exploiting volunteer workers and enjoying the first-world luxuries of the 1%.

Recycle all resources towards the first two ethics.

I’ve always been a pragmatist, and in Food Not Lawns I wrote, ”Recycle all resources toward the first two ethics, because surplus means pollution and renewal means survival.” I still very much appreciate and agree with this perspective, because it feels tangible, measurable. But I also feel that this version lacks precision. It lacks specificity. Recycle which resources? And how, exactly? The first two ethics? So, we recycle everything towards caring for the Earth and caring for the people? Sure, ok. But again, it feels kind of watered down. This version doesn’t do enough to say: “Hey! Step up! This is on you!”

Careful process.

This version asks us to consider the impacts of our actions, and to become aware of how our pursuit of happiness and “sustainability” could have negative effects on others. If we look at how humans have provided for ourselves throughout history, we see a trail of tears, carnage, and denial, all of which might have been avoided if approached with a more careful process. I find this version provocative and empowering but also lacking in accountability. To me, it feels like it could be too easy to say “I was careful, so it’s not my fault.” Because being careful isn’t enough. We have to be vigilant, and we have to be proactive, aggressive in our pursuit of balance.

Future Care.

Originated in the African Permaculture school and used by Maddy Harland and other well-known feminist teachers, this version echoes the “seven generations” consideration of many Indigenous and ancient traditions, and asks us to work for those who will live after we are gone. It asks us to embrace our role as “determiners” of the future, and to take responsibility for the future we’re creating with every action we take today. Yes, of course, and always. But this version takes us out of the present, and, to me, feels hyper-spiritual, almost evangelical. I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time concentrating on something that will happen when I’m dead.

So, where’s the common ground in all of these?

On one hand, we could just say “let’s use all of the above,” because every one of these versions has merit, and every version has flaws. But let’s look for common ground. The third ethic, by any name, always has two sides:

The first is about boundaries, limits, and self-regulation.

The second side is the sharing of resources.

But why is the combination of these two actions so crucially central that it shares the ethical throne alongside Care for the Earth and Care for the People?

Lately I’ve been working with an ethical triad that looks like this:

Parity

Parity is an old word with many meanings. It comes from the latin parere, which means “to bring forth.” In the 1700’s it meant “equality of rank or status,” as applied to the society that was unfolding during “the enlightenment.” In the 1950’s it was used to describe a “condition in which adversaries have equal resources,” and in the 1970’s it was often used to describe what women fighting for equal pay were trying to get.

These days, parity is generally defined as meaning equality, balance, and fairness.

At first glance, my ethical triad of People-Planets-Parity seems a play on the “triple bottom line” of the oxymoronic “sustainable development” movement: “People-Planet-Profit,” which is, I assume, what they chant to make themselves feel better about capitalist exploitation.

And, while I wasn’t thinking of the so-called green capitalists when I made my triad, I appreciate the connection, because, while I do see the value in obtaining a yield, the third ethic is all about asking ourselves who we are taking that yield from.

Think about that for minute. Think about it for an hour.

No, really. Go for a walk and think about what care, equality, and fairness really mean to you. Is your life more important than a flea? Why? More important than a bear? How about your neighbor’s life? Is yours more important than theirs? Why? Or why not?

Let’s talk about equity too. It’s not the same as equality.

So, does the short person get the taller chair so they can see the show as well as the tall person? Why? Or should the short person be required to bring their own chair, and the tall person required to stand at the back? Why?

How far does it all go, and who decides? And who has the authority to enforce these ethical laws?

On our quest for balance, wholeness, and sustainability, we have to be careful about trying to make everyone obey and conform. It doesn’t work that way. It’s complicated, and there is no one true path. But that doesn’t give us an excuse to stop trying.

Equality, equity, and the elephant in the room.

Indeed, it is precisely our failure to acknowledge the third ethic that so often divides the community. And the defiant refusal to address social justice, mental health, and decolonization, as part of a whole system design platform, characterizes a large and domineering faction of the movement.

Add to that the sad but plain fact that no small number of well-known “permaculture” teachers face multiple accusations of abuse, fraud, exploitation, and sexual harassment, and what we have left is a global community of highly-skilled designers doing some good work but being oft-overshadowed by a massive berm of seemingly unresolvable ethical differences that could threaten to discredit our movement as a whole.

#permaculturemetoo?

Yeah, it’s a thing. And I’m hardly the whistle-blower on this. We’ve all been riding the elephant in the room for decades now.

Fact: an ecological design cannot be implemented unless its inhabitants are willing to engage, collaborate, compromise, and actively participate in the ongoing evolution of it.

I started the Permaculture Women’s Guild (PWG) in direct defiance of the long-discussed, yet for the most part largely-enabled patriarchal power structure that continues to exist in the community. And my goal with PWG is to achieve, well, parity.

Parity is care, in action.

Parity is an overt effort to strike a balance, whether it’s equal pay, shared resources, giving credit where it’s due, or initiating a return of what was taken.

Parity is on the books, clear, defined, measurable. It is concrete. You can see it, document the effects of it, and replicate the process as needed.

Let’s add yet another definition of parity — one which inspires a metaphor that might be really helpful to our movement at this stage: In biology and human medicine, parity is when a fetus reaches a viable gestational age.

How many projects fail when they are in the first or second trimester? And why? What would happen if more of those projects could reach a level of development and self-awareness that they are ready to be born as their own entity into the world, to learn to walk and speak for themselves?

As of this writing, the long-term working models of thriving, sustainable ecological design are few and far between, with many of the very-close-to-it examples hiding those dirty abuse secrets under the tattered blue tarps and piles of hoarded resources (read: undistributed surplus/waste/imbalance/disregard for the third ethic.)

So, how do you define the third ethic?

Do you simply repeat that which you were taught, or do you engage in a daily praxis with an ethical foundation that you have rigorously and passionately investigated?

Because, if we can master the third ethic, then it can unlock the doors to the first two.

If we can tighten our design, strike a better balance in our emotional and social landscapes, and spiral back out to extend that balance, that awareness, that parity to the other humans and resources we’re working with, then perhaps we can, as a movement, birth a chance at survival as a species.

Except…there’s another elephant in the room.

Remember when I said parity is sometimes defined as “equality of rank or status”?

So, using parity in a permaculture context would imply that no species ranks higher than the rest.

Full stop.

What if we were to make the radical shift, in our consciousness as individuals, as a movement, and as a species, towards balancing the hierarchy of species on the planet, and pull ourselves, intentionally, from the top? How would that change the future?

Is it possible that letting go of our attachment to permanence, and accepting our inevitable extinction as a species, is actually the most ecological thing we can do?

Would an “all-species permaculture,” in the interest of working with nature, rather than against her, entertain the notion that human extinction might actually be part of a sustainable whole-system design?

Because, let’s face it:

Permanence goes against nature.

If we are truly going to embrace that pesky third ethic, that means we need to question the word “permaculture,” and question the assumption that we as a species are entitled to permanence on this earth. My purpose here is not to alienate anyone, but to integrate a broader and perhaps more inclusive perspective into the mind-shed we’re building and the global community it serves.

Extinction is natural. Yes, it has accelerated, at least during the timeline our puny human brains can comprehend. And universal law shows us that, once the cycle between order and chaos has tipped too far in one direction, it cannot be stopped until it pushes all the way back through again. If a rock is already rolling downhill and it’s heavier than you, you can’t stop the rock.

Can permaculture try to stop the rock? Should permaculture try to stop the rock? Or does that go against nature?

The scope and quality of our survival is largely dependent upon how we deal with the inevitable and sometimes horrible facets of humanity.

So, what’s our design strategy?

(Spoiler alert: I don’t know the answers.)

Be Here Now

All cataclysmic inevitabilities aside, ecological design, in practice, whether agricultural, structural, social, emotional, or any combination of the above, is simply loads of fun. A life centered on ecological design, on any scale, and by any name, is filled with wonder and abundance!

There is truly no place I would rather be than out in the yard, moving stuff around and trying to figure out how to connect elements together to make my home and garden more beautiful, more productive, less consumptive, less wasteful. When I take action toward caring for the earth, and toward designing my life in concert with my ecological community, it feels really good.

When you train your mind to remember ecological design theories, to pull them out like a master craftsperson would pull out her favorite chisel, then you begin to see everything around you in a different way. By putting our hands in the soil, we gain access to the wisdom of the earth, and by putting our heads together we learn how to use that knowledge for the benefit of all.

These slow, steady changes in the way you experience the world shouldn’t be taken lightly, nor should they be rushed. And, just reading this article won’t get you much farther than the armchair — you have to get out there and try this stuff in your own yard, in your own community.

You have to do the thing. Daily.

However, in closing this section, I feel the need to caution against allowing “permaculture” or any other catchphrase to replace critical thought, common sense, and a steadfast commitment to being present, available, vulnerable, and willing to do the work, on the ground, on the daily. And not just the land-work. The heart-work is just as important. That’s what the third ethic is about. That’s what this is. And that’s why we’re all here, together, today.

My own work stems from an autonomous, egalitarian approach that includes ecological design but also includes a wide range of other beliefs, philosophies, tools, and techniques, I believe that in this type of flexible, individualized approach lies our true power as a global movement.

Each of us has only herself to be, to blame, and to rely upon, and our own behavior is at the root of any social or environmental change. If we want peace, we have to be peaceful. If we want to live in paradise, we have to grow it.

Because flowers aren’t the only things that bloom in the garden — people do too!

And, when people participate in an ecological design, when we work hard to improve soil, purify water, plant trees, encourage wildlife, reduce pollution and waste…something deep inside of us shifts. We tune in to the subtle voices of nature. We become more aware of our bodies, more mindful of our impact on the environment, better at listening and communicating, and more able to overcome fears and obstacles.

So, let us engage as a community of individuals who think our own thoughts, do our own work, and yet trust and rely upon each other as we move toward a common and fruitful future. One step at a time, we can become adept at caring for the Earth, caring for the people, and finding a myriad of ways to communicate and demonstrate equality, sharing, and abundance.

Like yoga, like writing, like art, ecological design is a life-path, a daily practice. And, at first, you might not feel like you’re very flexible. Don’t worry about it. Just keep trying. Breathe in, breathe out, chop wood, carry water.

Principles of Ecological Design

Most of the time, when you see the term “permaculture principles” they come packaged in a set of twelve. However, there are so many more ecological design principles, scattered across “permaculture” books but also there are many similar lists in the books and traditions that came long before “permaculture” was a word. We’ve assembled a massive collection of all the other ecological design principles from a variety of sources below.

Many of the these phrases will sound familiar. Some are proverbs that go back as far as anyone can remember–truths of life that indigenous people used and shared. Others are based on newer explorations of ecology, psychology, and regenerative agriculture, and are representations of a more millennial thought process; one that we will need to continue to cultivate if we are to survive as a species. ​

As you read, each principle, consider it not in terms of whether you agree with or approve of what it says, but more so: imagine how each principle might be used to improve the beauty, efficiency, and/or ecological integrity of your home, garden, or community. And while, yes, you are welcome and encouraged to think critically and present debates and opinions, try to remember that you don’t know what you don’t know, and that nature has more to teach us than we could ever learn in a lifetime.

Caveat: this list was compiled specifically by Heather Jo Flores with the history of “permaculture”, by that name, in mind. This list is in no way comprehensive, and we very much recognize that pretty much every sentence on the list below could have been heard/used/learned in some indigenous context, at some point, and we acknowledge that we did not do the extensive research it would have required to really track down the sources of this knowledge. We present this timeline for you here so that you can contextualize the “permaculture principles” as typically presented, and so that you can see that these ideas were in no way created or owned by anyone. These, in simple terms, are ecological truths, and we learn them so we can work with, rather than against nature.

Download the following timeline as a PDF

The 8 Inuit Societal Values (traditional, ancient):

• Inuuqatigiitsiarniq – Respecting others, relationships
  and caring for people.
• Pijitsirniq – Serving and providing for family
  and/or community.
• Pilimmaksarniq/Pijariuqsarniq – Development of skills through
  observation, mentoring, practice,
  and effort.
• Piliriqatigiinniq/Ikajuqtigiinniq – Working together for a
  common cause.
• Tunnganarniq – Fostering good spirits by being
  open, welcoming and inclusive.
• Aajiiqatigiinniq – Decision making through
  discussion and consensus.
• Qanuqtuurniq – Being innovative and resourceful.
• Avatittinnik Kamatsiarniq – Respect and care for the land,
  animals and the environment.

Rachel Carson, Silent Spring (1962)

The Environmental Ethic:

1. Live in harmony with nature;
2. Preserve and learn from the natural places of the world;
3. Minimize the impact of man-made chemicals on natural systems;
4. Consider the implications of all human actions on the global web of life.

Charles Birch and John Cobb, The Liberation of Life: From the Cell to the Community (1984)

Six Principles of Natural Systems

1. Nothing in nature grows forever. There is a constant cycle of decay and rebirth.
2. Continuation of life depends on the maintenance of the global biogeochemical cycles of essential elements, in particular carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur, and phosphorus.
3. The probability of extinction of populations or a species is greatest when the density is very high or very low. Both crowding and too few Individuals of a species may reach thresholds of extinction.
4. The chance that a species has to survive and reproduce is dependent primarily upon one or two key factors in the complex web of relations of the organism to its environment.
5. Our ability to change the face of the earth increases at a faster rate than our ability to foresee the consequence of change.
6. Living organisms are not only means but ends. In addition to their instrumental value to humans and other living organisms, they have an intrinsic worth.

Bill Mollison, Permaculture: a Designer’s Manual (1985)

The Prime Directive of Permaculture: the only ethical decision is to take responsibility for our own existence and that of our children’s.

Principle of Cooperation: 

cooperation, not competition, is the very basis of future survival and of existing life systems.

The Ethical Basis of Permaculture:

• Care of the Earth: Provision for all life systems to continue and increase.
• Care of the People: Provision for people to access those resources necessary to their existence.
• Self-imposed Limits to Population and Consumption: By governing our own needs, we can set resources aside to further the above principles.

Rules of Use of Natural Resources:

Reduce waste, hence pollution;

Thoroughly replace lost minerals;

Do a careful energy accounting; and

Make a biosocial impact assessment for long term effects on society, and act to buffer or eliminate any negative impacts.

Life Intervention Principle: 

In chaos lies un­paralleled opportunity for imposing creative order.

Law of Return: 

Whatever we take, we must return, or Nature demands a return for every gift received, or The user must pay.

Directive of Return: 

Every object must responsibly provide for its replacement. Society must, as a conditions of use, replace an equal or greater resource than that used.

A Policy of Responsibility (to relinquish power):

The role of beneficial authority is to return function and responsibility to life and to people; if successful, no further authority is needed. The role of successful design is to create a self-managed system.

Categories of Resources:

Those which increase by modest use.Those unaffected by use.Those which disappear or degrade if not used.Those reduced by use.Those which pollute or destroy other resources if used.

Policy of Resource Management:

A responsible human society bans the use of resources which permanently reduce yields of sustainable resources, e.g. pollutants, persistent poisons, radioactives, large areas of concrete and highways, sewers from city to sea.

Principle of Disorder:

Order and harmony produce energy for other uses. Disorder consumes energy to no useful end. Neatness, tidiness, uniformity, and straightness signify an energy-maintained disorder in natural systems.

Law of Entropy (Asimov): 

The total energy of the universe is constant and the total entropy is increasing.

The Basic Law of Thermodynamics (Watt): 

Energy can be transferred from one form to another, but it cannot disappear, or be destroyed, or created. No energy conversion system is ever com­pletely efficient.

Principle of Cyclic Opportunity: 

Every cyclic event increases the opportunity for yield. To increase cycling is to increase yield. Cycles in nature are diversion routes away from entropic ends-life itself cycles nutrients-giving opportunities for yield, and thus opportunities for species to occupy time niches.

Types of Niches:

• Niche in space, or “territory” (nest and forage sites).
• Niche in time (cycles of opportunity).
• Niche in space-time (schedules)

Principle of Stress and Harmony: 

Stress may be defined as either prevention of natural function, or of forced function; and (conversely) harmony as the permission of chosen and natural functions and the supply of essential needs.

Principle of Stability: 

It is not the number of diverse things in a design that leads to stability, it is the number of beneficial connections between these components.

Set of Ethics on Natural Systems:

• Implacable and uncompromising opposition to further disturbance of any remaining natural forests;
• Vigorous rehabilitation of degraded and damaged natural systems to a stable state;
• Establishment of plant systems for our own use on the least amount of land we can use for our existence; and
• Establishment of plant and animal refuges for rare or threatened species.

Information as a Resource: 

Information is the critical potential resource. It becomes a resource only when obtained and acted upon.

Practical Design Considerations:

The systems we construct should last as long as possible, and take least maintenance.These systems, fueled by the sun, should produce not only their own needs, but the needs of the people creating or controlling them. Thus, they are sustai­nable, as they sustain both themselves and those who construct them.

We can use energy to construct these systems, pro­viding that in their lifetime, they store or conserve more energy than we use to construct them or to maintain them.

Definition of System Yield:

System yield is the sum total of surplus energy produced by, stored, conserved, reused, or converted by the design. Energy is in surplus once the system itself has available all its needs for growth, reproduction, and maintenance.

The Role of Life in Yield:

Living things, including people, are the only effective intervening systems to capture resources on this planet, and to produce a yield. Thus, it is the sum and capacity of life forms which decide total system yield and surplus.

Limits to Yield:

Yield is not a fixed sum in any design system. It is the measure of the comprehension, understanding, and ability of the designers and managers of that design.

Undistributed Surplus is Pollution:

Any system or organism can accept only that quantity of a resource which can be used productively. Any resource input beyond that point throws the system or organism into disorder; oversupply of a resource is a form of chronic pollution.

Bill Mollison and Remy Slay, Introduction to Permaculture (1991)

Principles of Permaculture

• Work with nature, rather than against the natural elements, forces, pressures, processes, agencies, and evolutions, so that we assist rather than impede natural developments.
• The problem is the solution; everything works both ways. It is only how we see things that makes them advantageous or not (if the wind blows cold, let us use both its strength and its coolness to advantage).
• Make the least change for the greatest possible effect.
• Everything gardens, or has an effect on its environment.
• The Yield of a System is Theoretically Unlimited: the only limit is the knowledge, information, imagination, and creativity of the designer.
• Relative Location: Elements in a system are viewed, not in isolation, but for the multitude of functional interconnections that they can have with the other elements of the design to enhance harmony.
• Each Element Performs Many Functions: By stacking functions, the designer has the forethought against the failure of one or more elements.
• Each Function is Supported by Many Elements: Maximizing beneficial connections between elements creates stability.
• Energy Efficient Planning: Through thoughtful design, we can make the most from the least. (zone planning, sector planning, slope)
• Use Biological Resources: By including a plant or animal in our design, we can increase our opportunities to save energy and increase yield.
• Energy Cycling: Each cyclical opportunity in the system increases the opportunity for yield.
• Small-Scale Intensive Systems: It’s all about scale. Smaller systems are easier to respond to.
• Accelerating Succession & Evolution: Natural ecosystems develop and change over time. By observing these systems, we can design for effective restoration and productivity.
• Diversity: Functional relationships between elements creates stability and design opportunities.

Rosemary Morrow, Earth User’s Guide to Permaculture (1993)

Attitudinal Principles

• Work with Nature, Not Against It
• Value Edges and Marginal and Small
• See Solutions Inherent in Problems
• Produce No Waste
• Value People and their Skills and Work
• Respect for all Life
• Use Public Transport and Renewable Fuels
• Calculate Food Miles
• Reduce Your Ecological Footprint
• Design Principles
• Preserve, Regenerate, and Extend all Natural and Traditional Permanent Landscapes
• Water: Conserve and Increase all Sources and Supplies of Water, and Maintain and Ensure Water Purity
• Energy: Catch and Store Energy by All Non-polluting and Renewable Means
• Biodiversity: Preserve and Increase Biodiversity of all Types

Strategic Principles

• Focus on Long-term Sustainability
• Cooperate, don’t compete
• Design from Patterns to Details
• Start Small and Learn From Change
• Make the Least Change For the Largest Result
• Make a Priority of Renewable Resources and Services
• Bring Food Production Back to the Cities

Sim Van Der Rym and Stuart Cowen, Ecological Design (1997)

• Solutions grow from place
• Ecological Accounting informs design
• Design with Nature
• Everyone is a Designer
• Make Nature Visible

Toby Hemenway, Gaia’s Garden, (2000)

Core Principles for Ecological Design

• Observe. Use protracted and thoughtful observation rather than prolonged and thoughtless action. Observe the site and its elements in all seasons. Design for specific sites, clients, and cultures.
• Connect. Use relative location, that is, place the elements of your design in ways that create useful relationships and time-saving connections among all parts. The number of connections among elements creates a healthy, diverse ecosystem, not the number of elements.
• Catch and store energy and materials. Identify, collect, and hold useful flows. Every cycle is an opportunity for yield, every gradient (in slope, charge, temperature, and the like) can produce energy. Reinvesting resources builds capacity to capture yet more resources.
• Each element performs multiple functions. Choose and place each element in a design to perform as many functions as possible. Beneficial connections between diverse components create a stable whole. Stack elements in both space and time.
• Each function is supported by multiple elements. Use multiple methods to achieve important functions and to create synergies. Redundancy protects when one or more elements fail.
• Make the least change for the greatest effect. Understand the system you are working with well enough to find its “leverage points” and intervene there, where the least work accomplishes the most change.
• Use small-scale, intensive systems. Start at your doorstep with the smallest systems that will do the job and build on your successes.
• Optimize edge. The edge—the intersection of two environments—is the most diverse place in a system and is where energy and materials accumulate or are translated. Increase or decrease edge as appropriate.
• Collaborate with succession. Living systems usually advance from immaturity to maturity, and if we accept this trend and align our designs with it instead of fighting it, we save work and energy. Mature ecosystems are more diverse and productive than young ones.Use biological and renewable resources. Renewable resources (usually living beings and their products) reproduce and build up over time, store energy, assist yield, and interact with other elements. Favor these over nonrenewable resources.

Principles Based on Attitudes

• Turn problems into solutions. Constraints can inspire creative design, and most problems usually carry not just the seeds of their own solution within them but also the inspiration for simultaneously solving other problems.
• Get a yield. Design for both immediate and long-term returns from your efforts: “You can’t work on an empty stomach.” Set up positive feedback loops to build the system and repay your investment.
• The biggest limit to abundance is creativity. The designer’s imagination and skill usually limit productivity and diversity before any physical limits are reached.Mistakes are tools for learning. Evaluate your trials. Making mistakes is a sign you’re trying to do things better. There is usually little penalty for mistakes if you learn from them.

Heather Jo Flores, Food Not Lawns: How to Turn Your Yard into a Garden and Your Neighborhood into a Community (2006)

• Look Deep
• Emphasize Diversity on All Scales
• Recognize and Respond to Natural Patterns
• Be Specific
• Put Everyone to Work
• Prohibit Waste
• Use It, Move It or Lose It
• Replace Consumption with Creativity
• Let Autonomy Reign
• Keep Your Chin Up
• Cyclic Considerations: waste, water, soil, seeds, cosmos, society, wilderness, self, and chaos.

Homework

At the end of each topical module you will find these “homework” sections. The work here is optional, though strongly recommended, as pertains to what exactly you want to get out of this course.

Again, please note that the only REQUIRED assignments for your certification are in the 11 classes of the Design Studio.

Questions for Review

1. What are your personal ethics and do they align with the ethics?
2. How do you feel about the third ethic? Which of the definitions makes the most sense for you? Write out a succinct statement that communicates your own take, then share it for discussion in our student group.
3. Have you started thinking about a name for your design project? Choose something that communicates your ethical purpose. 
4. Make some time to really ruminate on that list of principles. Can you find places where these principles are showing up? Go for a walk, do some journaling, and cultivate your ability to recognize these opportunities.​ (Note: you could choose to include a map of these locations in your final design project.)

Recommended Hands-On

​Make a set of flash-cards with your favorite ecological design principles!

Using either a digital tool like Canva, or paper and art supplies, get creative with these ideas and build yourself a learning tool that you can use and share. Get the kids involved!