Like most kids from suburban New Jersey, I grew up disconnected from the earth compared to the Native Americans that I’m learning to live like today. But I was not completely disconnected; I loved to be outside and despised video games. I would spend a lot of time “suburban canoeing” in polluted rivers and “party bagging” on the Vineyard during the summer. We would forage for bags of beer cans and redeem them for money at Our Market. The natural hunter-gatherer inside me was itching for the natural world and I didn’t even know it! As I got older I began to observe the world and ask questions. Simple questions such as why are we here, where does our food come from, and could I survive without all these modern technologies eventually led me to the world of permaculture.

My first big step was the organic vegetable garden. I never enjoyed helping my dad with the garden as a kid until I started asking those questions, like where does our food come from? I decided I needed to grow my own food and I got really into it. I looked forward to checking on my plants every day after school. At the time I thought organic farming was the answer to all the questions I was asking. But then I started to hear about something called permaculture, or permanent agriculture. A couple of people I know mentioned a kid my age who was trying to get a permaculture garden at his high school just a few towns away. I needed to meet this kid. I thought I was the only kid in New Jersey interested in growing food.

I got in contact with the kid, whose name is Charlie Zelhof, and I visited his garden which covered his entire front and back yard! I was amazed and a little bit overwhelmed by his knowledge but I also was hooked. I read all the books and articles about permaculture I could find. I found out that permaculture is a design system that mimics natural ecosystems. I found out that anything you can think of could be designed using permaculture principles including farms, economic systems, gardens and school systems.

Studying permaculture led to learning about the current issues we face, such as the collapse of industrial civilization, peak oil, food security, climate change, etc. These issues are not pleasant. Humans have had an overall negative impact on our environment. But this has not always been the case. Indigenous people who were closely connected to their local ecosystems often increased diversity and productivity of plant species with advanced forms of permaculture. Just like the indigenous people of the past, we can have a positive impact on the land. We need to plant trees. Not just any trees, but trees that produce food for us and for future generations. We need to create edible perennial ecosystems that are resilient and stable like natural ecosystems. Ecosystems that can withstand flooding, drought, high winds and other extreme weather conditions associated with climate change. By switching to a perennial-based food system we can remove carbon from the air, reduce our dependence on oil, improve our health, build soil, improve biodiversity, prevent soil erosion and have a great time!

I have been thinking about permaculture on Martha’s Vineyard for awhile. With so many wild edibles growing already, it would not be that hard to mimic existing ecosystems to grow perennial food crops. What if farmers did not have to till their fields or add nutrients to the soil every year; instead they could plant food forests that would sustain themselves like natural forests and require less maintenance every year.

This past summer Rebecca Gilbert from Native Earth Teaching Farm in Chilmark and I came up with a plan to plant one of the first permaculture gardens on Martha’s Vineyard. The Edible Forest Garden will include many rare and new underutilized perennial crops that should come as a pleasant surprise to many people. The garden will function as a mother to other permaculture gardens on the Vineyard.

Today, Sept. 30, from 2 to 6 p.m., we will lay the foundations of the garden by using sheet mulching and planting beneficial fungus. All are invited to attend and be part of one of the first permaculture projects on the Island. Come to the farm and learn how to design and plant your own permaculture garden!

Kevin Brennan is a senior at Westwood High School in Westwood, N.J. He has spent his last two summers on East Chop.