Andrew Millison

Introduction[edit]

Andrew Millison[1] is a Permaculture designer, instructor, and documentary videographer based out of the Pacific Northwest of the United States of America. He has been an instructor in the Horticulture Department at Oregon State University (OSU) since 2009 where he founded OSU Permaculture Design[2] which runs the premiere online university Permaculture program in the world.

Andrew’s focus at OSU has been educational media development, and he shares his research in story form on his popular YouTube channel. Andrew has travelled the world documenting large-scale and impactful land restoration projects, including India, Africa, and North America.

Life and Work[edit]

Biography/Career[edit]

Andrew began studying Permaculture at Prescott College in Arizona in 1996-2001. During this time, he started a Permaculture landscape design and build company focusing on rainwater harvesting[3], greywater[4] systems, and desert agriculture[5]. During 2001-2007, he spent his time running a design and build Permaculture landscape company, Millison Ecological Inc.. This was where he completed large-scale and high-profile projects which included a project with the rockstar Maynard Keenan and his Merkin Vineyard.

He also worked in an ecologically based Landscape Architecture firm. After completing his undergraduate and Master's degrees, he relocated to Oregon, USA. Once there, he focused on farm planning, permaculture housing projects, and water design. At this time he founded Permaculture Rising and Permaculture Design International[6]. Since 2009, Andrew has completed over 50 professional designs and consultations.

In 2009 Andrew started teaching at Oregon State University where he became the founder and lead developer of the OSU Permaculture Program, which has taught over 3,000 students in both for-credit and non-credit formats between 2009-2024. This includes both for-credit and non-credit courses, and both online and in person. His teachings haven’t been limited to OSU. In 2016, he hosted a free international online Introduction to Permaculture course through Oregon State University that boasted 45,000 students. He’s taught through several other organizations including the Ecosa Institute, Prescott College, the Cascadia Permaculture Institute, and has been a guest instructor in Permaculture courses throughout the United States.

Along with Andrew’s teaching, he’s also a documentary videographer who has travelled the world documenting Permaculture projects in places like Mexico, Egypt, Cuba, Senegal and India. He brings an innovative approach to his educational media by using an Augmented Reality Sandbox and “Lightboard” glass chalkboard to better illustrate the subjects he’s covering. He publishes the best of his educational media on his popular YouTube channel.

Education[edit]

M.A. Prescott College "Horticultural Preservation"

B.A. Prescott College "Ecological Design and Sustainability"

Board of Directors and diploma holder from Permaculture Institute of North America.

Academic Positions

  • 2009 - current Senior Instructor II, Department of Horticulture, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
  • 2001 - 2010 Adjunct Faculty, Prescott College
    • Prescott, Arizona.
  • 2004 - 2008 Graduate Advisor, Prescott College
    • Prescott, Arizona.

Non-Academic Positions

  • 2009 - present Lead Designer, Andrew Millison Property Design and Consulting, Corvallis, OR
  • 2007 - 2008 Landscape Designer, T. Barnabas Kane and Assoc. Landscape Architecture Firm, Prescott, Arizona
  • 2001 - 2007 Owner, Millison Ecological Landscape Design and Build Firm. Prescott, Arizona
  • 1998 - 2000 Farm Manager. Arcosanti Experimental Town. Cordes Junction, Arizona
  • 1997 - 1998 Landscape Foreman. Mariposa Designs Landscape Contractor. Prescott, Arizona

Projects[edit]

United States:

  • High desert Terraced Vineyard & Orchard, Jerome, Arizona USA
  • E. Oregon - Low-Income Senior Housing Facility
  • Arizona - Home Landscape Installation
  • S. Oregon - 5 Acre Homestead
  • Arizona - Vineyard Design and Installation
  • W. Oregon - 200 Acre Farm
  • W. Oregon - 20 Acre Homestead
  • W. Oregon - Water Rights Application
  • E. Oregon - Low-Income Senior Housing Facility #2
  • W. Oregon - Ecovillage Remodel

International/Overseas Projects[edit]

India:

  • Paani Foundation India
  • India’s Water Revolution

Mexico:

  • Mexico City’s Chinampas Mini Documentary: Collaboration with Oregon State University.

Egypt:

  • Ancient Water: Permaculture in Egypt

Senegal:

  • How 8,000 Food Forests Grew Africa’s Great Green Wall

Hawaii:

  • Native Hawaiians Reclaim their Watershed

Featured Articles/Publications[edit]

Publications and Intellectual Contributions - Other[edit]

Journal Article:

  • Millison, A. (2013). e-PDC: The Case for Online Permaculture Education. Published. www.permaculturenews.org

Broadcast Media:

  • Millison, A. (2014, March). Interview on KCUP (Newport, OR) radio show "Collective Emergence".

Digital Media:

  • Andrew has over 150 in-depth videos, mini-documentaries and series on his Youtube channel (@amillison).

Magazine/Trade Publication:

  • Millison, A. (2012). "Re-villagize": Patterns to Build the Neighborhood. Published.
  • Millison, A. (2012). Permaculture Activist Magazine (article): "Re-villagize": Patterns to Build the Neighborhood.
  • Life Paths to Leading Systems-Level Change: Higher Education's Pitfalls and Potential Written by Roslynn G. McCann, Utah State University; Kaitlyn Anita Spangler, Virginia Tech (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University); and Andrew Millison, Oregon State University
  • Permaculture Design: Tools for Climate Resilience by Andrew Millison

Website:

  • Millison, A. (current). Website (www.andrewmillison.com).
  • Oregon State University. (current). Permaculture Design Program. (https://workspace.oregonstate.edu/osu-permaculture-design)
  • Millison, A. (2013). Online Article (www.permaculturenews.org): "e-PDC: The Case for Online Permaculture Education". https://www.permaculturenews.org/2013/07/12/e-pdc-the-case-for-online-permaculture-education/  
  • Millison, A. Ebook (https://open.oregonstate.education/permaculture/): “Introduction to Permaculture”.

Articles Written about Andrew:

  • “Oregon State University Professor’s Youtube Videos are Going Viral” by Jacob Devaney
  • Prescott, Arizona: EcoHood Ideas Take Root in Older Neighborhoods by Susan Defreitas
  • Free online permaculture course at OSU: Design sustainable landscapes by Kym Pokorny | For The Oregonian/OregonLive
  • Oregon State University Permaculture - Andrew Millison
  • Natural Home Earth Movers: Andrew Millison by Susan Defreitas
  • ‘Permaculture May Stem Climate Change’ by R. Avadhani
  • Augmented Reality Adventures in Teaching Horticulture by Shannon Riggs Executive Director of Course Development and Learning Innovation, Oregon State University Ecampus
  • How Climate Change Threatens the Wine Industry by Ben Adler

Publications that include Andrew’s work:

  • Practical Permaculture: for Home Landscapes, Your Community, and the Whole Earth by  Jessi Bloom, Dave Boehnlein
  • The Permaculture City: Regenerative Design for Urban, Suburban, and Town Resilience by Toby Hemenway
  • Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-scale Permaculture by Toby Hemenway

Filmography/Podcasts[edit]

Podcast interviews:

  • Earth Repair Radio with Andrew Millison
  • Getting Familiar With The Power Of Permaculture And Land Regeneration with Andrew Millison
  • Water Systems Around the World by Carmen Porter of Song and Plants with Andrew Millison
  • India's regenerative water movement - Andrew Millison interview by Climate Water Project
  • Andrew Millison: "Geomorphology, Permaculture, and The Good Work" The Great Simplification by Nate Hagens

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "My Profile | Permacultureglobal.org - the interactive map and database of the Worldwide Permaculture Network". permacultureglobal.org. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  2. ^ University, Oregon State. "Permaculture Design Certificate Online". workspace.oregonstate.edu. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  3. ^ "Rainwater harvesting", Wikipedia, 2024-01-04, retrieved 2024-02-02
  4. ^ "Greywater", Wikipedia, 2024-01-15, retrieved 2024-02-02
  5. ^ "Desert farming", Wikipedia, 2024-01-28, retrieved 2024-02-02
  6. ^ "Andrew Millison". horticulture.oregonstate.edu. Retrieved 2024-02-02.