Courses

This course is now fully booked, but fear not! You can join the waiting list by contacting us here, or browse our future PDC courses here.

Join Nick Ritar (Milkwood), David Holmgren (co-originator of permaculture) and Cam Wilson (Forest Edge) for an amazing 12 days of permaculture theory, practical workshops and intensive design exercises exploring permaculture in both urban and rural contexts.

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 sizes 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.

"What Permaculturists are doing is the most important activity that any group is doing on the planet." - Dr. David Suzuki (venerated ecologist, geneticist, author + broadcaster)

About our Part-Time format:

We're presenting this PDC in a format that allows you to really intergrate Permaculture into your daily life,  one day per week, for 12 consecutive weeks. Choose from either the Saturday class or the Sunday class, whichever suits you best. And if you need to swap days for a week, that's no problem.

We're offering this PDC in this way because we recognise not everyone can take 2 weeks out of life to do one of our on-farm PDCs. Plus for some, one day a week is just a better style of learning. Our PDC courses are an intensive learning experience that for some are best absorbed bit by bit, which gives you time for both contemplation and action so that you can truly put Permaculture into practice as a result of your PDC experience.

About this Permaculture Design Course:

This PDC will be taught in combination within both a classroom and a community garden environment, incorporating design exercises and practical workshops. While the core curriculum of the PDC will remain the same as our on-farm courses at Milkwood Farm, this PDC will focus on Permaculture in the urban context.

Examples of designing for energy conservation, food production systems, nutrient cycling, holding water in the landscape and community strategies for resilience will all be addressed with urban examples. All workshops during the course will also focus on Permaculture in practice within city and suburban areas.

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.

All Milkwood Permaculture PDCs are FarmReady approved, however FarmReady is now fully subscribed until July 2011. 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
• Site visits to wonderful Permaculture gardens and amazing community initiatives
• An all-in PERMABLITZ on the Monday of the June long weekend. See last year's legendary effort here.
  

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 the lead teacher on this PDC. Nick 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.

David Holmgren is an ecologist, ecological design engineer and writer. He is perhaps most well known as co-originator of the permaculture concept with Bill Mollison. Through the spread of permaculture around the world, his environmental principles have exerted a global influence. David's full profile.

Cam Wilson is a permaculture designer and teacher whose passion, design talent and practical skills have resulted in him working alongside and being mentored by some of the best permaculture designers and teachers in the country. Cam has worked, designed and taught permaculture in a wide range of climates and cultures, from Cairns to Tasmania, in Asia and the Pacific. Cam's full profile.

Included in your course fee:

Your course fee includes workshops for the duration of the course and tea + coffee + fruit during the day. For lunches, we usually put in a joint order to a great little organic cafe around the corner, LoveGrub - or feel free to bring your own.

We also make available an extensive library of Permaculture and associated texts, which students are welcome to browse, borrow and work with throughout the course. You can also buy a discounted copy of the course text Permaculture: A Designers Manual at your course.

Course dates:

Saturday class: 9am - 5pm each Saturday from May 14th until July 30th 2011 (12 days in total) - CLASS FULL -

Sunday class: 9am - 5pm each Sunday from May 15th until July 31st 2011 (12 days in total)

Class choice is on a first-come, first served basis. If you need to swap classes for a week or so that's no problem, just let us know. Please book early as places are strictly limited.

In keeping with the permaculture ethic of 'fair share', we're also offering substantial discounts to members of permaculture groups, community gardens and other community groups in the Sydney basin. Contact us for details.