Hancock Permaculture Center

The Hancock Permaculture Center is located in Hancock (Delaware County), New York, and dedicated to the philosophy and practice of permaculture in the upper Delaware and western Catskills bioregion.  

• Permaculture education and outreach.

• Seminars and conferences promoting sustainability including the Transition Town movement.

• Workshop teaching, facilitation and mentoring.

• International outreach and connectivity towards nodes of permanence.      

• New business development based on permaculture principles.

TESTIMONIALS

• Studying permaculture with Andrew Phillips and the inspired people he brings together, has been a gift that continues to enrich my life through profound friendships and a deep framework for thought and action.

Russell Honicker.

 • Permaculture classes with Andrew set me on a new course. The focus around my home and garden is now on the path to sustainability using permaculture principles. I have given four talks to local groups on the subject within a year of completing the course. The information and companionship of like-minded people was simply wonderful. Thank you Andrew!

Teri Stratford. 

• Andrew and company, (Russ and Maria especially) at the HPC, were a jewel to find along the NY Southern Tier.  The permaculture certificate and education they provided have been an inspiration and invaluable tool towards helping the development of the permaculture movement in Syracuse, NY through our efforts at the Alchemical Nursery Project.

Frank Raymond Cetera, President
The Alchemical Nursery AlchemicalNursery.org

• The time for Permaculture is now! In this age of agribusiness, peak oil, and resource depletion, implementing Permaculture principles in our lives reunites us with the essence of what it means to live wisely in the natural world. Taking the Permaculture Design course at Hancock Permaculture Center was an amazing experience that continues to inform my life's direction. The course is deep, fascinating, and lots of fun! The teaching, the learning, the digressions, the hands-on projects, the comradery, the yummy, healthy food...it was all great. I'm looking forward to more...

Adrienne Eisenberg. 

• I took my first PDC course at the Hancock Permaculture Center and it was a real eye-opener for me--the beginning of a fascinating adventure into the world of natural ecosystems. It was also great fun spending time outdoors, eating Shenaqua's fabulous meals and working with a group of very special teachers, including Andrew Jones, Andrew Phillips and Ethan Roland."

Cheers,
Gusti Schwartz

I took the Hancock PDC in the Fall of 2006 with 3 colleagues from New York City.  It was a bonding experience for the four of us and with our teachers, who continue to nurture and support us in our endeavors.  We were inspired by what we learned to  found TriState Foods Not Lawns to promote these sustainable concepts in workshops, lectures and permablitzes.  Andrew Phillips helped us start the PDC at the Open Center, and he, Andrew Jones and Shenaqua Sookhoo-Jones continue as guides on our paths of using our knowledge.

Lois M. Sturm. http://www.tristatefoodnotlawns.org/

OUR HISTORY

The Hancock Permaculture Center was established in 2004 by Andrew Leslie Phillips, journalist, writer and garden designer specializing in natural stone, and a certified permaculture practitioner. A native of Australia, Andrew spent seven years in Papua New Guinea as  patrol officer, radio journalist and filmmaker before coming to New York in 1976. He produced award-winning investigative radio documentaries and film documentaries on a wide range of environmental and political issues for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, National Public Radio and later for WBAI Community Radio in New York City where he was program director (1989-93). He taught journalism, radio and “sound image” as an adjunct professor at New York and other universities for 15 years.

In 1997 he launched Stone and Garden, a garden design and permaculture consulting service. His quest for natural stone led him to Hancock, “the Bluestone Capital of the World.” In 2004 he relocated to the area and set up the Hancock Permaculture Center.  

ABOUT HANCOCK

 

The village of Hancock (pop. 1,500) sits on the Pennsylvania border in the western Catskills, at the headwaters of the Delaware River.  It is here that the east and west branches of the river join to form the main stem at a point known locally as “The Wedding of the Waters.” Hancock is 140 miles northwest of New York City on Highway 17.

In addition to its designation as “Bluestone Capital of the World,” logging plays an important role in the economy of Hancock. So does tourism. Hancock boasts critical habitat areas for some of the finest wild trout fisheries on the east coast, making it a veritable mecca for fly fishing enthusiasts. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has documented the area as a year-round habitat for several mating pairs of the American bald eagle.

To learn more about the economy, resources, and history of Hancock, visit www.hancocknewyork.com.  

Andrew Jones: Board member of the Permaculture Research Institute in Australia and the U.S and has co-taught courses with Geoff Lawton. A background in international emergency response and post-conflict development and rehabilitation, he is a native of Australia. He teaches internationally and is an international permaculture consultant and alternative health trainer. Andrew is a life coach specializing in raw food and healthy living.

 Kyle T. Murray: Received Catskill Mountain native who brings youthful energy to this group. Studied permaculture with Andrew Leslie Phillips, Hancock Permaculture Center, Albert Bates and Christopher Nesbitt, Maya Mountain Research Farm, Belize. Alumni Paul Smith College of the Adironcacks. Studied Natural Resource Management and Land Surveying. Skills and project experience include land surveying and forestry, arboriculture, watershed management and natural building.

Cynthia Robinson: Brings a solutions-based approach to her passion for Permaculture and Urban Farming. She received her Permaculture Design Certificate at the Hancock Permaculture Center and has studied Urban Permaculture with Jude Hobbs of Cascadia Permaculture Institute. Currently she splits her time between NYC and Milwaukee, working and studying with Will Allen at Growing Power.  She has a background in Brand Strategy and Design.

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 Maria Grimaldi: Graduated Hancock Permaculture Center, 2008 and is a graduate of the CUNY BA Program with a BS Degree in Environmental Psychology from the Graduate School and University Center City of New York. She was instrumental in developing Operation Greenthumb with the City of New York, establishing hundreds of Community Gardens on vacant lots throughout NYC in the late 1970’s. In the 1980’s she was assistant to the administrator of Central Park. She now lives in Sullivan County, New York near Youngsville and Livingston Manor developing Panther Rock Organic Farm into a Permaculture model. She is a member of NOFA-NY (Northeast Organic Farming Association) and a former Cornell Cooperative Extension Sullivan County Agricultural Program Educator and a director of the USDA-NRCS (Natural Resources Conservation Services) Sullivan County Soil & Water Conservation District.

  Russell Honicker: Received his permaculture design certificate with Hancock Permaculture Center. A freelance photographer, he has traveled widely in Central America for Newsweek, New York Times Magazine, The Village Voice and other venues. Energy, social justice, foreign policy and sustainability issues are reflected in his work. He is skilled in masonry restoration and stone installation and makes a mean loaf of bread. Lives in Cooperstown N.Y.

Dr Nancy Eos: Family & holistic medical doctor, attorney, Hancock Permaculture Center graduate, and  treasurer of an international foundation.  She furthered her Permaculture study in 2008 with Dave Jacke and is a graduate of the first Financial Permaculture course in Hohenwald TN.  She is active with Transition Towns Sullivan and a promoter of Transition Towns Delaware.  She is particularly interested in Local Living Economics promoting economic multipliers such as state based or local credit cards, local stock exchange companies, time dollar enterprises, local business funding, local bulk procurement, local small stock exchange, green taxing, direct distribution, the Deli Dollars concept, and Think Local First campaigns.