Permaculture design course

Our PDC is a 9 week experience from 7 May to 25 June with a mix of weekends, evenings and self-paced at home activities. Minimum 3 hours work required per week including activities, inspiring videos and reading material.

We focus on urban design solutions, however the design principles you learn can be applied to larger suburban or broadacre sites. We offer optional extra volunteering sessions where you can get extra hands-on experience. The 9 week program gives you time to absorb and reflect how you can incorporate permaculture ethics and principles into your life and you will complete a permaculture design for a site of your choice. 

Our course curriculum is drawn from Mollison/Holmgren/Morrow curriculum and deeply indebted to John Champagne of Brogo Permaculture Gardens PDC curriculum and design methods taught by Elemental Permaculture.

We cover the following topics throughout the schedule:

• Week 1 // Sat 7 May // 9:30am – 4:30pm - Introductions: History, opportunities, ethics and principles of permaculture, Zone 0 Eco Homes

• Week 2 // Wed 11 May // 6pm – 9pm - Ecological themes in permaculture, patterns in nature, map reading, site analysis and Zone 1 – Home Food Gardens

• Week 3 // Wed 18 May // 6pm – 9pm - Water, soils, and earthworks, Zone 2 Orchards & Food Forests

• Week 4 // Wed 25 May // 6pm – 9pm - Seeds, plants, forests/trees and climate. Zones 3 and 4

• Week 5 // Sat 4 and Sun 5 June // 9pm – 5pm – Field trip to inspiring sites in Sydney and Wollongong, Zone 5

• Week 6 // Wed 8 June // 6pm – 9pm - Appropriate technology, designing for disaster, ecovillages

• Week 7 // Wed 15 June // 6pm – 9pm  Integrated pest management, living with weeds, aquaculture, animals and wildlife

• Week 8 // Wed 22 June // 6pm – 9pm  Design Studio

• Week 9 – Social permaculture, right livelihoods, working in permaculture, design presentations and party!

About the facilitator

Jacqui Besgrove has over 10 years experience working as a permaculture designer as ¼ of Permablitz the Gong!, through her own private consulting practice Earthrise Permaculture and has experience applying permaculture design principles to social enterprise settings with her work at Green Connect and now as Operations Manager for Pocket City Farms. She is currently the course convenor for Restorative Ecologies: Permaculture Principles and Practice as part of the UNSW Master of Environmental Management program and is an MEM graduate herself. Jacqui is passionate about urban solutions and promoting permaculture principles and practice within our cities and suburbs to increase resilience and show how much fun radical downshifting can be.

Jacqui will be joined throughout the course by a range of exciting, external guest speakers.

Payment plans are available on request // limited spaces available.

Lunches are provided for the weekend sessions, dinners are provided for the evening sessions.