Soil Food Web's Regenerative Design Webinar: Permaculture & Soil Health
By Soil Food Web Foundation, David Holmgren, Dr. Carla Portugal, Dr. Adam Cobb
TL;DR: This webinar series explores regenerative design, integrating permaculture with soil biology for resilient ecosystems.
- Learn permaculture and soil biology for ecosystem health.
- Implement water harvesting and soil building techniques.
- Design productive gardens with perennials and guilds.
- Integrate small animals for pest control and fertilization.
- Transform suburban landscapes for self-sufficiency.
Why it matters: Understanding regenerative design principles can help create resilient and productive spaces, addressing climate challenges and fostering self-sufficiency.
Do this next: Explore passive water harvesting methods suitable for your property to capture rainwater effectively.
Recommended for: Homeowners, farmers, gardeners, educators, and policymakers interested in practical regenerative design and permaculture application.
The Regenerative Design from the Ground Up webinar series, hosted by the Soil Food Web Foundation, integrates permaculture design principles with soil biology to foster resilient, fertile ecosystems. Featuring experts like Dr. Carla Portugal and Dr. Adam Cobb, soil scientists specializing in soil food web approaches, alongside David Holmgren, co-originator of permaculture, the series provides practical, field-tested strategies for regenerative living. Webinar 3, titled 'Designing Abundance with David Holmgren: Lessons from Four Decades of Permaculture,' is scheduled for March 31, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. Pacific Time (11:00 p.m. London time). Holmgren draws on over 40 years of experience, particularly his RetroSuburbia framework, to teach actionable techniques for transforming suburban landscapes, backyards, high-rise apartments, or traditional blocks into high-yield, resilient systems. Key methods include passive water harvesting to capture and store rainwater efficiently without mechanical inputs, soil building through compost teas, mulching, and fostering microbial life via soil food web principles, productive garden design emphasizing perennials, guilds, and succession planting for year-round yields, and small animal systems like chickens or ducks for integrated pest control, fertilization, and nutrient cycling. The series also introduces new permaculture course offerings from the Soil Food Web Foundation's Permaculture Design Certificate, a legacy of permaculture elder Graham Bell, equipping land stewards, farmers, gardeners, educators, and policymakers with tools for implementation. Hosted by permaculture teachers Kavi Reddy and Delvin Solkinson, it emphasizes human attitudes for enabling complete biological communities through guardianship. Practical insights cover redesigning suburbs for abundance amid climate challenges, with demonstrations of how to retrofit homes for self-sufficiency. Participants gain inspiration and concrete steps, such as site analysis for water flows, zone planning for efficiency, and animal integration for closed-loop systems, making it ideal for regenerative practitioners seeking to apply permaculture ethics—care of the earth, care of people, fair share—in urban and suburban contexts. The content goes beyond theory, offering real-world examples from Holmgren's Melliodora farm and soil biology labs, ensuring attendees can immediately implement strategies for ecosystem restoration and food security.