Instructor Bio’s

Kate Heiber-Cobb – Lead instructor for the PDC

Kate founded the Madison Area Permaculture Guild in the Spring of 2008 and continues to coordinate the grassroots organization. Through her business, Sustainability on Stilts, LLC, she designs, educates and consults on Permaculture.  Kate teaches at the Continuing Education Department of Madison College, Olbrich Gardens, and other venues.  She was honored as a Badger Bioneer in 2010 and received recognition from Oxfam as a Woman Leader in her community in 2011.  She serves as a Wisconsin Representative to the Great Lakes Permaculture Institute which is a regional hub of the Permaculture Institute of North America and also serves on the Board of Community Groundworks at Troy Gardens on the north side of Madison and beyond.  She previously served on the Advisory Board of the Edgewood College Sustainability Leadership Graduate Program, and on the Vision Team of Town & Country RC&D.  Kate received her PDC and Advanced PDC through Midwest Permaculture.  She received her Permaculture Teaching Certificate through Peter Bane and Sandy Cruz.

Marian Farrior

Marian coordinates volunteer ecological restorations at UW-Madison Arboretum.  She has a B.A. in Anthropology and a M.S. in Sustainable Systems with an emphasis in Permaculture. She has taught workshops and classes in permaculture, forest gardening, patterns in nature, and biomimicry. She also works as a consultant and facilitator for a variety of environmental and social change organizations, and as an edible landscape gardener and teacher. She is currently studying with herbalist Lola Stonehill. Her passion is apprenticing with nature and helping people to fall in love with Earth.