Weekend Permaculture Design Course Tmpl

Course content

Spirals of erosion & points of intervention ~ People based designs ~ Boundaries & limiting factors ~ Observation skills ~ Site surveying ~ Permaculture ethics & principles ~ Design methods ~ Soil conservation & improvement ~ Green manures & dynamic accumulators ~ use of Micro-climates ~ Kitchen gardening ~ Integrated pest management ~ Water in the Landscape ~ Agroforestry & Forest gardening ~ Trees & their Microclimates ~ Patterns in nature ~ Sustainable economics ~ Urban permaculture ~ Green architecture ~ Non-land based design ~ Accelerated learning techniques ~ Seed saving & plant propagation ~ The Permaculture Association & Diploma WorkNet ~ Where next?

& lots more......

We use group work, discussions, videos, slide shows, observation, guided walks & practical activities as learning methods. These are supportive of different learning styles & for people with learning difficulties. We will also be visiting projects where permaculture theory is being put into action.

Design courses are not just about imparting information to the students, there is plenty of knowledge out there, the important thing is knowing how to use this & feeling confident to do so.

Empowerment is the essence of the course. We will be using practical and theoretical teaching methods to create a fun, lively & inclusive course. The course culminates in the main design activity that helps to consolidate all of the learning & empower students to take permaculture back into their own homes, lives & community. As a group we will benefit from collaborative learning & from having fun together. We don't expect any previous knowledge & recognise that everyone has their own unique skills, knowledge & areas of interest to bring to the course.

By the end of the course you will be able to:

• observe patterns in nature & apply what we learn to create guiding principles.
• use permaculture ethics, principles & design tools to create sustainable systems.
• understand the importance of caring for soil & water, & to know techniques for doing so.
• start using permaculture in your own life, towards creating a more sustainable lifestyle.
• understand how to apply permaculture design to both land-based & people based systems.

Anyone wishing to bring positive change in their lives

I have really enjoyed the [PDC] course. I particularly liked sitting in the woods and seeing layering reflected in nature. I really enjoyed making the [practice] design with my team and was surprised how quickly we were able to create it!

there was a very clear progression of ideas and delivery, a very good mix of practical and theory to reinforce learning, and I particularly liked the structured way of approaching design.