Planting Pioneers is Owned and Operated by Eric Seider

Eric Seider has been a permaculture consultant, designer, and educator since 2008, working all over the globe in almost all climates and topography.

Eric grew up in the suburbs of Rhode Island in The North Eastern United States, a cool temperate climate. His house was on 3/4 of an acre with a large garden, fruit trees, and a short walk to the beach. His family would collect fresh mussels for dinner and preserve the surplus from the garden. Though too young to appreciate it, it planted the seed that would resurface after graduating from university.

Eric studied graphic design at Rochester Institute of Technology, and wilderness survival with Tom Brown jr. at The Tracker School. Feeling trapped between two worlds the discovery of permaculture seemed the best way to utilize his design and wilderness education. The Greening the Desert video inspired him to take a Permaculture Design Course with world-renowned Permaculture Design Consultant Geoff Lawton and soon followed that with an internship at The Permaculture Research Institute of Australia at Zaytuna Farm. Eric traveled on consultancy and aid trips with Geoff and Nadia around Australia, Vietnam & China, joining Geoff and Nadia’s global permaculture consultancy team, Permaculture Sustainable Consulting. He also became a director of The Permaculture Research Institute USA, a national nonprofit with the aim of establishing self-replicating demonstration sites around the world. In 2009 Eric worked as a project manager for the Permaculture Research Institute of Jordan’s demonstration site. Working in such a harsh desert environment instilled in him a great appreciation for water conservation and maximizing resource use. The traditional Muslim setting illustrated the importance of culturally sensitive approaches & practices. As well as the importance of locals taking ownership of the project to build continuing success and influence.

Eric returned to the Permaculture Research Institute in Australia in 2013 to focus on teaching. While there he met Nicholas Burtner the Director of the School of Permaculture in Dallas, TX. Upon returning to the US, they remained in contact and decided to work together to expand the reach and scope of the organization. Eric made the move from New York To Texas in 2015.

To better understand his new surroundings Eric completed the Texas Master Naturalist Program for 2017 and additional training for the Texas Stream Team. The ecology of Texas is very diverse and of huge importance for migratory birds of North and South America. The Texas Stream Team utilizes citizen scientists to monitor the waterways all across Texas.

In 2018 Eric traveled to Tanna Island, Vanuatu in the south pacific to work on a Permaculture Demonstration Site and Farm to support a primary school.

In 2021 Eric moved to Northern California to be closer to family and has been converting a typical suburban house to a permaculture demonstration site.