Delvin Solkinson

Delvin Solkinson is a community gardener, student and teacher from British Columbia, Canada. Delvin co-created and ran a federally funded youth program called ‘Eco-Tech’ which built community gardens and school gardens. He built the ‘Heart Gardens’ surrounding his tiny coastal rainforest village downtown core based on plants with a history of use by Coastal First Peoples and including an eco-education centre, seed bank and farmers market. Completing a Permaculture Design Certificate, Diploma and Masters Degree with Bill Mollison, the co-originator of Permaculture, was part of his life long learning. Delvin has done many in-person programs including 13 advanced courses and 14 teacher trainings with Permaculture elders like David Holmgren, Rosemary Morrow, Geoff Lawton and Robin Clayfield. Ongoing training included three additional Permaculture Education Diplomas, numerous Permaculture Design Certificate Courses, and a Doctoral Degree with Larry Santoyo of the Permaculture Academy. Co-facilitating the Group Diploma Adventure with Looby Macnamara, he is a Diploma Tutor with Permaculture Association UK. Delvin serves as the Diploma Program Co-ordinator for the Permaculture Institute. He is also a Senior Diploma Tutor with Permakultur Danmark. Delvin recently served as Dean and Lead Instructor with his wife Grace for the Permaculture School at Pacific Rim College on a 720 hour in-person Permaculture Design and Resilient Ecosystems Diploma. They built gardens and structures, raised animals and led a large teaching team including Indigenous Wisdom Holders. Together they teach, write books, create card decks and learning games, write articles and serve as social media managers for Permaculture Magazine. Delvin collaborated with Dr. Elaine Ingham and the Soil Food Web School to co-create Graham Bell’s legacy online Permaculture Design Certificate featuring 74 teachers from 22 countries. He is a true believer in the ability of permaculture design to support people from all walks of life.