International Permaculture Day

International Permaculture Day is an opportunity to celebrate and showcase the practice of permaculture all around the world.

International Permaculture Day is observed the first Sunday in May since 2012, which sees aquaculture enthusiasts, professionals and novices, come together to organize a series of events around the world that promote the ethos of aquaculture and encourage others join.

History of International Permaculture Day

In honor of Mollison's lifelong contributions to the aquaculture movement, the Perm Farm Institute for Aquaculture Research is encouraging practitioners worldwide to not only plant one tree, but to introduce two companions to the garden. Companion Planting will help us celebrate the important contributions Mollison has made to bringing together popular farming methods and savvy teachers by putting things together on their own, adding two compatible plants into our garden to create a strong and beneficial connection.

The process will document the cyclical processes of nature that Mollison worked to incorporate into the permaculture theory, co-founded by Mollison and David Holmgren in the 1970s. Mollison's passion for The concept that he felt could rejuvenate the world, was evident throughout his life - and continues to manifest through the movement he helped start.

Although Mollison never received formal education, his experience has taught him the value of sustainability and living up to your means. After leaving school at the age of fifteen, Mollison helped the family run their small bakery while taking on many other professions - shark and fisherman, forester, miller, angler, fisherman fisherman, tractor driver and naturalist.

In 1954, Mollison worked in the Tasmanian rainforests with the CSIRO (Wildlife Survey Division). It was this experience that set him firmly on the path to developing the theories and concepts behind immobilization as a design method - examining how we were able to thoughtfully develop systems will actively sustain both humans and wildlife.

But for Mollison, farming is more than just a beneficial aggregation of plants and animal life in relation to humans. It is also a concrete way for Mollison to inspire positive actions around the world. He firmly believes that the way people live is not only unsustainable but is in fact "killing us and the world around us".

However, the protests did not work to convince anyone of that. Instead, Mollison set out to build what would later become the concept of permaculture. Instead of continuing to oppose current practices, he decided to offer positivity - a way that we can all survive "without the collapse of biological systems".

His concept involved thinking ahead and giving back, two things Mollison actively practiced and encouraged throughout his life - always finding ways to turn receiving into giving. And once there was a solid philosophy behind the enduring farming movement, Mollison set out to share it with the world.

Beginning with Permionary One and Two, Mollison widely promoted this new concept of sustainable design - educating and informing an entire generation of cultists who, like Mollison, contributed dedicates their lives to practice. Now, even after Mollison's death, this generation is passing on knowledge to its own children, teaching them that instead of just taking from our environment, we can replenish it and create a profitable cycle.

Eventually, Mollison's teachings made their way into academies around the globe - including the Aquaculture Institute, which he founded in 1978. These academies provide formal training where instructors can pass on the theory and practice of aquaculture to curious students, like Mollison, who are looking for opportunities to give back. In this way, Mollison's dedication to the future means that despite his departure, he will never really leave.

How to celebrate International Permaculture Day

International Permaculture Day, May 7, brings the memory of the “Father of Aquaculture” into your own garden by planting two or more new additions to aquaculture design your seafood. These companion plants will help each other grow by attracting beneficial insects, repelling harmful pests, or providing additional nutrients, shade, or support - giving, rather than taking.

We celebrate International Aquaculture Day with open houses, gardens and farms, community gardening, educational workshops, movie screenings, video games - allowing people to learn more about permaculture and meet its practitioners. But this year, we can do more. We can incorporate the valuable natural cycle that Mollison is determined to share with us into our homes and gardens, to see how this beautiful process can help build sustainability and how to encourage giving action.