"A true conservationist is a man who knows that the world is not given by his fathers but borrowed from his children." - Audobon

Permaculture, a marriage of the words "permanent" and "agriculture" was first coined by Australian biologist Bill Mollison to describe a system in which conscious design is merged with agriculturally productive ecosystems. The permaculture design for the former Patterson Homestead laid the foundation for developing the site as a model for permaculture design in the Allegheny watershed region. Dan Hemenway's permaculture design course called for a massive retrofit of the Patterson farmhouse, complete with greywater recycling, composting toilet, solar greenhouse, root cellar, and solar hot water system. The acre immediately adjacent to the house would showcase various gardening methods, a diversified, multi-storied orchard, a springhouse, and other elements demonstrating the process of integrated permaculture design. Subsequently areas farther away from the house would reflect other scaled uses, such as grain cultivation, an ecologically managed woodlot and community garden areas. In addition to the site details, the report recommended developing links to Slippery Rock University departments such as environmental studies and the sciences, as well as to its food services department (in order to start a composting project and provide organic produce).

Two distinct gardening techniques are part of the permaculture plan. Their maintenance requirements and usage are indicated by zones; as the number increases the need for human maintenance and use decreases. Such gardens are designed to be highly diverse with the incorporation of fruit and nut trees, ponds for fish and fowl, and perennial and annual vegetable beds. Here activities are on a human-scale: cultivation, planting, and harvesting is mainly done by hand. Although still governed by principles of organic agriculture, more conventional gardening or farming methods are practiced on the few acres north of the Homestead. Here, individuals interested in sustainable agriculture apply their knowledge at a larger scale to reduce soil erosion and control weeds, use systems of trap crops or companion planting for pest control, and cultivate a variety of annual vegetable crops for sale on campus and to the local community - Source: Claire Anderson 1999.

Rainwater catchment systems consist of reclamined 55 gallon plastic apple juice barrels purchased from a local Amish farmer for the permaculture gardens.

In 1994 the continuous evolution of the permaculture design at the Macoskey Center continued in by short-term objectives to develop and maintain plantings. Additional efforts were organized by ALTER member Darrell Frey, as he was in charge of coordinating a new kiwi arbor, an ornamental garden near the parking lot and addition of dwarf fruit trees.- Source: Alternator Article, May/June 1994