Courses

Join Milkwood Permaculture's Nick Ritar, Keyline and permaculture legend Darren J Doherty and Jesse Lemieux of PRI Canada for an amazing two weeks of permaculture theory, practical workshops and intensive design exercises exploring permaculture at Milkwood Farm.

A Milkwood Permaculture Design Certificate provides an exceptional grounding in Permaculture design and theory. Our PDC graduates leave our courses ready to design and implement permaculture principles into a wide range of scenarios; from urban permaculture systems to small farms, suburban blocks and overseas aid projects.

The class size for this course is strictly limited to 24 students to ensure effective learning outcomes for everyone, and students emerge as accredited Permaculture Designers.

Permaculture is set of principles that result in sustainable and productive systems. Systems for living, architecture, food production, land management and community. No chemicals and no excuses. Just good, thoughtful, innovative and effective design for the needs of our species.

"Though the problems of the world are increasingly complex, the solutions remain embarrassingly simple"
Bill Mollison (co-originator of the Permaculture concept)

Why take this Permaculture Design Certificate Course?

Milkwood Permaculture provides the PDC course in an intensive residential format, with small class sizes for each course. This means more time for questions, discussion, demonstration and for lots of hands-on practical sessions.

This PDC will be taught in combination within both a classroom and a living, breathing permaculture system; incorporating design exercises and practical workshops. 

Examples of designing for energy conservation, food production systems, nutrient cycling, holding water in the landscape and community strategies for resilience will be addressed with a combination of rural, urban and community-scale examples. All workshops during the course will also focus on Permaculture in practice and the skills you acquire will translate to any environment.

"I have done several permaculture courses now and I would say that Nick Ritar of Milkwood is definitely the best and most dynamic permaculture teacher I've experienced. His inclusive style of teaching and his effective design coaching, combined with his extensive knowledge and experience, has activated me towards becoming a permaculture designer. Thanks again, Milkwood." - Paul Jordan, Project Officer + budding Permaculture Designer

Our PDC is based on the curriculum set out by the Permaculture Institute, and uses Bill Mollison's "Permaculture: A Designers Manual" as its central text. We also blend into this curriculum new material from a range of other world-leading thinkers and activators on subjects like transition, food security, regenerative agriculture, urban water harvesting and many more.

This course is FarmReady approved. Farmers, primary producers, land managers and their families may be eligible for a full reimbursement of the costs for this workshop, including travel and accommodation. Go to our FarmReady page to see if you're eligible. The FarmReady course number for this course is: FRTC0409

Sessions will include the following:

• 

  Permaculture principles and ethics
• Permaculture design for urban and rural situations
• Creating a balanced soil food web
• Pattern Understanding
• Designing water into landscape (or streetscape)
• Passive water harvesting and drought-proofing
• Intensive food and animal systems
• Orchard and food forest design
• System planning + intergration
• Design for different biospheres: tropics / drylands / cool climates
• Appropriate technologies for future communities
• Trees, water and energy cycling
• Strategies for building healthy, resilient communities
• Farm walks and explaination of Milkwood's permaculture system
  

This PDC accreditation can lead to further training, teaching, international aid work, local design work or just implementation of Permaculture principles within your own life and surrounds, depending on your own personal trajectory.

About the teachers:

Nick Ritar is a permaculture designer, consultant and educator who works extensively across a wide range of bioregions, farms, watersheds and city environments. He is recognized nationally as a leading advocate on how permaculture principles can contribute to food security through good design and regenerative farming and living. Nick's full profile.

Jesse Lemieux runs both Pacific Permaculture and the Permaculture Research Institute in Canada. His background in biology and waste-streams brought him to permaculture in 2006 and since that time he has established himself as one of north america's key permaculturalists and thinkers. Jesse's full profile.

Darren J Doherty has had extensive experience across the planet in Permaculture project design, development & management, with a focus on retrofitting broad-acre agricultural systems, and has been acclaimed as a pioneer in this important & often overlooked field. Darren's full profile.

Included in your course fee:

Your course fee includes a copy of the course curriculum as set out in Permaculture: A Designers Manual. Your course fee is all-inclusive for the duration of your stay at Milkwood Farm, including all meals and camping on-site (BYO camping gear). Meals are organic country cooking with omnivore or vegetarian options, with a high ratio of yummy organic produce coming from Milkwood Farm itself. See our Staying at Milkwood page for full info on accommodation and facilities.

During the course:

Class starts on the morning of Sunday 6th February and concludes in the afternoon of Saturday 19th February, with a day off in the middle on Saturday 12th. Students are welcome to arrive the afternoon before the course, and head off the morning after the course's completion.

Classes run in a rough 9am - 5pm format, depending on the material of the day. Outside class hours, students are welcome to interact with the farm and its daily chores, go for a swim, go for a bushwalk or make use of our extensive library of Permaculture and sustainability texts.

Booking into the course

You have several options to secure your spot in the Milkwood Autumn PDC course.

• Option 1 - Take advantage of the early bird discount rate and pay $1530 now. This offer is only available until the 6th December. Click the green button at right to pay via PayPal or your credit card.
   

• Option 2 - Pay a deposit of $300 now and pay the remaining $1400 of the full course fee ($1700) by the 23rd January. Click the gold button at right to pay via PayPal or your credit card.

Once you've booked into this course, we will contact you via email regarding food preferences, what to bring along with you, and any further info you might need or request regarding camping and transport to/from Milkwood Farm.