Hancock Permaculture Center about us

The 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.

The Center actively promotes permaculture-based businesses and lifestyles through support of:

Permaculture education and outreach
Eco-friendly home design and construction
Water conservation and home heating alternatives
Greenhouse gardening and locally grown organic food
New business development based on permaculture principles

"What permaculturists are doing is the most important activity that any group is doing on the planet.”

David Suzuki

OUR HISTORY

The Hancock Permaculture Center was established in 2004 by Andrew Leslie Phillips, a garden designer specializing in natural stone, and a certified permaculture practitioner. A native of Australia, Andrew spent seven years in Papua New Guinea as a government patrol officer, radio journalist and filmmaker before coming to New York in 1976. He produced award-winning investigative radio 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.

Andrew has two PDC courses under his belt; with Geoff Lawton and Andrew Jones, New Orleans, 2004 and Bill Mollison and Geoff Lawton, Melbourne, 2005.

Andrew consults in permaculture through his consulting organization: Permaculture Design Solutions

In 1997 he launched Stone and Garden, a garden design and permaculture consulting service, which he still operates. His quest for natural stone for patios 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. 1,189) 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 of the Delaware at a point known locally as “The Wedding of the Waters.” Hancock is 140 miles northwest of New York City on Highway 17 (soon to be Interstate 86).

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.