HMI’s Online Learning Series Getting Started Introduction to Holistic Management course ran from August to October 2017 with 43 participants from the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Australia, China and Japan. This course focused on key Holistic Management planning concepts and principles to help participants manage their farm/ranch for the triple bottom line (social, environmental, and financial sustainability) and more effectively manage resources. Participants were excited to learn how to improve their ability to observe, understand, and make decisions based on what they can control. Through these new skills participants now have the knowledge and tools to improve their ability to work with nature and to increase productivity. Based on the survey responses, here are the changes that occurred:
Getting Started Introduction to Holistic Management® Whole Farm/Ranch Planning Course Survey Results
Knowledge/Behavior and Confidence Increase | % Increase |
Your ability to define your management team after session | 100% |
How to inventory your farms resources after session | 100% |
Your ability to develop a whole farm goal after session | 100% |
Your ability to identify needed systems and protocols to create a successful farm after session | 98% |
Ability to integrate social, economic, and environmental factors into your decisions after session | 94% |
Your ability to make complex on-farm or ranch decisions after session | 93% |
Your ability to assess ecosystem health after session | 92% |
Overall satisfaction with the instructor’s effectiveness | 100% |
Here’s the best things participant’s learned/experienced:
“Overall the course was great; I loved the online nature of it because I don’t have access to this kind of training in my area. Sometimes online can feel like you’re not really part of a community – not so with this course. There was great discussion and interaction, both during the webinars and on the discussion pages and I really loved that. The instructor was also great at responding to questions.”
“The course was excellent! The instructor is extremely helpful, interesting, and knowledgeable. The material was excellent and extremely useful. I’m really looking forward to learning more from H.M.I. Thank you very, very much for this course.”
“The tools learned for making decisions was very helpful and something I had not been exposed to. Each week had its own benefit.”
“Since I am new to the holistic management system, I think that learning to set holistic life/farm/ranch goals was the most useful, but the entire course was very, very useful.”
“This was a good introductory course and look forward to enrolling in additional courses soon.”
“Loved it!”
“Learning how to set a goal and define the holistic context was extremely valuable and the act of actually going through it with my management team I feel really strengthened our team.”
“Excellent course. Dedicated students. Honorable goals and lifestyles.”
“I think just being forced to stop and think about why we do things and how we do/should make decisions was really useful.”
“I found the assignments to be very helpful to my learning and understanding. I am definitely interested in furthering my Holistic Management education.”
“This is excellent material, I think the testing questions were the “aha” for us.”
“Very good, I enjoyed the lectures and the speaker was very knowledgeable.”
Featured Participants:
Judith Allen
“This course has prepared me with the tools needed for me to make a difference in the lives of others, while making an impact on the environment.”
John and Sandy VanDerWalker
“The most significant thing for us is the systematic way we learned to address change and expansion of the business. Looking at the entire enterprise of a farm and shifting that thinking to be applicable to the retreat center we manage has been an enlightening experience for us and has helped us make decisions as well as present possibilities to the board of directors more clearly and persuasively.” John and Sandy VanDerWalker Scott Point Poultry/Managers Samish Island Campground–Community of Christ.
Join us for our next Getting Started: Introduction to Holistic Management® Whole Farm/Ranch Planning Course!
Dates: January 17,24,31, February 7,14,21, 2018
Time: Live at 7:00-8:00 pm MST (also recorded for later viewing)
Scholarship Deadline: January 16, 2018
Registration Deadline: January 16, 2018
Instructor: HMI Certified Educator, Elizabeth Marks
Leave a Reply