Jo Barker Dip.Perm.Des
Jo has been passionate about Permaculture and its possibilities since 1990. She first did a Permaculture Design course in 1992. In 1998 she did the course: 'Teaching Permaculture Creatively' and recently completed her Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design. She has designed around 20 Permaculture gardens and projects. The design ethos also informed her work as a Landscape Architect in 100's of other projects.
From perennial food gardens to marketing plans, she has applied Permaculture design to mainly land projects as well as other projects. As a teacher she has facilitated 7 Introduction to Permaculture weekends and given over 30 public talks. She has assisted and been a guest tutor on Design Courses. She also runs bite-size Permaculture sessions as well as her own synergistic sessions combining Permaculture principles with energy medicine.
Jo's professional Landscape Architecture training included the Permaculture Design Course. She has mainly worked with communities in deprived areas. She has comprehensive experience of Forest gardening (and a huge passion for foraging and creating perennial food gardens), Organic & Biodynamic farming, Community Supported Agriculture. Jo spent two years running environmental education projects on waste, energy, nature awareness, tree planting and promoting Global Action Plan. She has assisted on many bush craft workshops building debris shelters and making fire. and run many Nature awareness / observation sessions. Helped make solar cookers. Jo supported one of the first schools in Kent gain its eco-school status.
She founded and facilitated East Kent Permaculture Group for 10 years, during this time she helped establish the Canterbury LETS system. Jo's helped build four straw bale buildings and had some Architecture training.
Her interest in people and helping them work out want they want in a permaculture design led her to train as a Life coach. This continues to inform the peoplecare projects she is involved with. Her work involves a lovely mixture of facilitating Permaculture courses, designing Permaculture gardens for communites and individuals, and Coaching.
Jo lives with her family near Canterbury.