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2016 Autumn | Agriculture and Food Systems, Education & Outreach, Sustainability

Permaculture: Why Isn’t Everyone Doing It?

Student(s):

Tessarae Mercer

Program or Department(s):

  • Program on the Environment
  • University of Washington

Site supervisor(s):

Sarah Geurkink

Partner(s):

  • The UW Farm

Faculty advisor(s):

Eli Wheat, Program on the Environment, University of Washington

For my project, I interned at the UW Farm to expand and improve the Permaculture Garden on site. Due to the negative environmental impacts of conventional farming, it is important to utilize alternative and sustainable farming methods, like permaculture. The purpose of my project was to understand possible barriers that might prevent farmers from integrating permaculture into their current agricultural systems, and from there, determine potential solutions to help overcome them. To accomplish this task, I conducted extensive literature review on the subject and paired it with my first-hand experience on the farm to answer my researchable question.