Permaculture studies: Permaculture Fundamentals, notes on lectures 1 & 2

A while ago I stumbled across a free permaculture design course here: http://www.permaculturedesigntraining.com/ . I've always wanted to attend one of these but have never felt comfortable with spending so much money on myself with so many other demands on the purse. I'm going to give this course a try, I'm not going to promise to complete it but it will be interesting to see how far I get. To help keep me accountable I have decided to share some of my notes and thoughts about these free lessons here. Please note that I actually watched these over a month ago but have delayed posting this as I wished to finish some further reading on the subject.

Permaculture

Dead hedge, the brushwood will dry and rot down offering a
fantastic habitat for the wildlife and some kindling for the fire.

I've always been interested in permaculture though I have no idea of where I first heard of it. Growing up in the vicinity of Glastonbury probably meant that I could have picked up on the idea from anywhere! I've read a few books over the years and also enjoy a subscription to Permaculture Magazine (I love this magazine, you never quite know what the articles are going to be about, they cover a wide range of different subjects).