Permablitzes change urban landscape, one garden at a time

Two years ago, Stacey McDougall bought her modest Tuxedo home for its central location — and because she saw potential in the lot.

McDougall’s yard is similar to many urban lots. There are a few small flowerbeds, some trees and shrubs, and a number of raised beds she installed last year to grow vegetables, but mostly her yard is occupied by grass.

McDougall wants to make better use of her outdoor space. That's why on a sunny May day, a small group of volunteers gathered at her house for a permablitz — a day in which a group of people converge on an urban space to install a permaculture design.

Permaculture is defined as a system for designing sustainable human habitat. It's turning into a movement and permablitzes are helping it spread. There are almost 100 permablitzes scheduled in Calgary this season.

“I like to cook and eat good food,” McDougall says. “I want to be able to grow enough food to preserve it over winter so that I can reduce my reliance on industrial agriculture and grocery stores.”

She’s also a knitter and plans to grow plants that produce natural dyes to colour her yarn.

But the raised beds McDougall installed last year haven’t met her needs. They dry out too quickly, she says. “And it took two beds just to hold the tomatoes I planted. There just wasn’t enough growing space for me.”

McDougall installed eight raised beds on her own last summer — transporting the soil, planting the gardens and maintaining them by herself. Today’s permablitz means McDougall will have one day’s worth of help from volunteers to take her yard to the next level.

Hong Chuong-So went to McDougall’s permablitz to learn. She's already attended two others, and she plans on having a permablitz at her home late this summer.

“I came here to gain experience,” Chuong-So says. “I’ve always wanted a garden and permaculture makes sense because it’s low maintenance and self-sustaining. Food grown at home tastes better, you have direct access to it and it’s cheaper and more nutritious than what you can find in a grocery store.” She's signed up for another permablitz at the end of the month.

Adrian Buckley, founder and owner of Big Sky Permaculture, designed the plan for McDougall’s property, and helped bring permablitzing to Calgary last year.

Buckley says the permablitz phenomenon came out of Melbourne, Australia, in 2006. It started with one permablitz and has grown into a network of 80 or more blitzes happening there each year.

The concept is straightforward: the host of the permablitz needs to ensure a permaculture design is in place for the property, provide all the materials required and provide a meal for participants. The host also must participate in three other permablitzes in order to receive one.

Buckley describes the permablitz as “a very potent form of activism.” He says that both he and fellow permaculture designer Rob Avis are saturated with work.

The work at McDougall’s home consisted mostly of digging. Buckley explained the design at the beginning of the day and shortly after, the shovels came out.

Work begins constructing what’s called a swale, which looks like a level trench and will run through McDougall’s garden, passively harvesting water. McDougall is going to use a tube to reroute water that falls on her roof (which, for the most part, ends up in the storm sewer) into the swale where it will circulate throughout her garden, reducing her water requirements.

The digging continues most of the day. Participants are introduced to an Egyptian tool called a water level, which ensures the swale is level. Aromatic (and free) coffee grounds are used along with soaked cardboard to lay the foundation of the garden.

Buckley and McDougall talk about the long-term plans for the lot, which include a food forest of apples, plums, raspberries, hazelnuts and cherries. She also wants a covered walkway, a small pond, a wicking bed alongside the house, dye plants, vegetables and insect-attracting plants.

After only a short while of shoveling sod, I remembered how much work gardening is. McDougall’s plans seem overwhelming. The group that converged on her property is a small one and by the end of the day I wondered how she’s feeling about the progress.

“A lot of work’s been done today,” she replies. “It’ll be pretty easy for me to finish it.”

McDougall describes the permaculture design being applied to her yard as a self-sustaining system. The system is designed to require less (or no) water, less (or no) chemical fertilizers or pesticides, and less labour.

Indeed, permaculture aims to mimic natural ecosystems, and it appears the permablitz is becoming a self-sustaining system in Calgary as well.

Follow Adrienne Beattie on Twitter: @AdrienneBeattie