White House Author

Ryan Harb, MS, LEED AP, facilitates the UMass Amherst Permaculture Initiative, a unique and cutting-edge sustainability program that transforms grass lawns and neglected landscapes into edible, educational and ecologically designed gardens. The UMass Permaculture Committee is the core group of students who design and implement these gardens, host events, organize volunteers, and network with surrounding communities and beyond. Together, they have created one of the first university permaculture initiatives in the nation that has involved over 1,000 individuals and 300 local youths from K-12 schools and Big Brothers Big Sisters Organization. By establishing new gardens each year, they demonstrate how permaculture can feed an exponentially growing population in an environmentally sustainable and socially responsible manner.