Site Assessment & Analysis
Site Assessment and Analysis is the first step in developing a permaculture design for your property. In this step, you will take a deep dive into the influences, both natural and human, on your property.
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You will know more about your property than anyone else. For example, you know the wet spots and the dry ones as well as the amount of sunlight different areas receive. Observing your property is not a one-time event, but rather continuous throughout the design process and implementation.
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In this step, we are going to plot out the different influences on our property from sun and wind to pollution and water movement (see examples here).
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As part of your analysis, it is important to catalog the variety of influences on our property from those we cannot change to those we can. Here is a document you can use as the basis for your analysis.
General Resources
Google Earth Pro has a number of functions that allow you to analyze your site including past satellite imagery and elevation.
Open-source GIS mapping software. Very useful for downloading various maps to analyze topography and other geological influences.
Open-source website showing summer and winter sun angles, both current and past.
U.S. government data on annual precipitation, both predicted and observed.
Maps reflect the current hardiness zones for plants (i.e. the lowest tolerable temperature). Expected changes to these zones are available here.
Interactive application that allows you to find the general makeup of soil in your area. A specific site soil test will provide definite data.
Stafford County
County specific GIS with layers including zoning, planning, parcels, as well as flood and environmental data.
Municipal code
Stafford County Planning and Zoning Department
Virginia GIS Clearing House