Online -Permaculture Design Course (PDC) 2026
A full accredited Permaculture Design Course
Join Chris Evans with lead tutors Barbara Scheltus, Tomas Remiarz, and guests tutors Looby Macnamara, Morag Gamble, Alice Gray, Clare Bonetree, Paul Paine and Ansiima Casinga Rolande, for this full PDC where you will learn how to bring permaculture design principles and ethics into all areas of your life. Course participants will be awarded the Permaculture Association (Britain)'s internationally recognised Certificate in Permaculture Design.
Dates
January to June 2026
(see dates below)
Cost
£275 - £450
(payment plan available)
Facilitators
Chris Evans - lead tutor
Barbara Scheltus
Tomas Remiarz
Looby Macnamara
& Guests
Course Description
Our course team will deliver eleven live teaching sessions on zoom that will bring permaculture to life with a mix of interactive lectures, group work and design exercises. We will draw on our own decades of experience from our own work, and that of the wider permaculture network. In addition, we will invite inspiring guest speakers to share their specialist subjects. In between sessions will be many opportunities to practice designing on your own site or a local project, and to deepen the learning with your own exploration of videos, handouts, websites and literature. You will be also able to team up with others in a peer group for mutual support and inspiration.
As this is an online course, you can join us from wherever you are. We look forward to a diverse group of students from many backgrounds and different parts of the world sharing their experiences and perspectives.
"I wildly underestimated how life-changing this course would be" (2025 participant)
What you will learn
Empowerment is the essence of the course. We will be using diverse online teaching methods that will get you outside and interacting with your home, work and garden environment for over half of the course to create a fun, lively & inclusive learning environment. Running as a thread through the course is a design activity that helps to consolidate all of the learning & empower students to apply 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.
During the course you will:
- have 38.5 hours online contact over 11 x 3.5-hour zoom sessions (including interactive time and breaks); participants must attend at least 9 sessions to receive accreditation
- 40+ hours self-directed learning in-between the online sessions, with observation and design activities, group tutorials and peer group exercises
- a chance to apply permaculture design principles and process on a real home design of your choosing
To see a full list of all the topics covered during the online PDC see course overview below
Appreciation from 2025 participants
The course was amazing and I learned an incredible lot. It was beautifully structured. It was intense but very, very enjoyable
Really excellent course
I loved the interaction between us all and the sharing of experiences and knowledge.
This course has been truly transformational. It has been healing, even though what needed to be healed was invisible. I have never managed to truly connect with my garden before.
This course opened up new pathways of connection and enthusiasm and love of permaculture for me. I can honestly say it has been one of the most influential courses I have ever done, in terms of empowering me to see potential in working on the land, and in instilling a love of this way of life into me. Thank you all.
New knowledge and skills learned in a very relaxed and enjoyable way.
Practical Information
Booking
For enquiries and booking please email Emma at applewoodcourses@yahoo.com
-
• Concession price - £275
• Low waged <£14K - £315
• Waged >£14K - £365
• Bursary Support £450 (this will enable us to provide free/subsidised bursary places)
10% discount if you sign up a friend!
Who do you know that could also benefit from learning permaculture skills for life? We are offering a 10% discount on your course fee if you can sign up a friend to attend the course. This offer is available any time after you book your own place, right up until the course starts.
The course cost includes a year's membership of the Permaculture Association Britain.
Making Payments
We offer this sliding scale on an honesty basis to try and make courses more available for low-income groups. We trust that you will pay what is right for you. Payment by installments are also accepted - please let us know your needs. Secure your place with a £50 deposit.
Dates
Session 1: Sat 31st Jan
Session 2: Sun 1st Feb
Session 3: Sat 14th Feb
Session 4: Sat 28th Feb
Session 5: Sat 14th March
Session 6: Sat 21st March
Session 7: Sat 18th April
Session 8: Sat 2nd May
Session 9: Sat 16th May
Session 10: Sat 6th June
Session 11: Sun 7th June
Sessions are on Saturday mornings 09.30-13.00pm
(session 1 and 2, and 10 and 11 will be on the same weekend, so Saturday and Sunday mornings)
Note - participants must attend at least 9 of the 11 sessions to receive accreditation
Applewood Permaculture Centre
Online Permaculture Design Course 2026
Course Overview
Topics
Online tools’ orientation PDC overview: aims, structure, content
Course culture/ Course Goals
What is Permaculture? Origins, Definitions, Components
Permaculture in Practice - Examples
Permaculture Ethics
How Nature works
Parable of the chicken
Permaculture Principles
Building blocks/ Limits/ Resource Audit
Design projects - Goal setting, Peer groups
Design process – Overview, Observation
Design concepts: Zones & Sectors
Mapping & Site survey
Garden planning
Soil basics, conservation & improvement
Plants and Polycultures
Design process: Analysis
Design Tools & Methods
Landscape profile
Cultural Emergence
Trees & Microclimates
Water in the landscape
Design process: Design stage
Working effectively in groups
Earthworm Housing Co-op Story:
Co-operative living and working
Project management
Design Process: Implementation & Maintenance
Animals in permaculture
Rewilding
Forest Gardens
Self-care and Interdependence
Urban PC
Building and Retrofitting
Commercial permaculture/ Fair Shares
Designing futures
Diploma Q&A
Design your future
Frequently Asked Questions
Not found what you need to know?
Visit our FAQ page for more information or email Emma at applewoodcourses@yahoo.com
Facilitators & Venue
Chris lives at Applewood with his partner Looby and children Shanti and Teya. He has taught permaculture in the UK, Europe, Nepal, India, U.S.A. and Mexico. He is also a UK assessment level tutor for apprentices working towards their diploma in applied permaculture design with the Permaculture Association Britain.
Looby Macnamara is co-developer of the Cultural Emergence toolkit with Jon Young. She is an experienced permaculture teacher, author and designer. She is author of 4 books, Cultural Emergence, People and Permaculture and 7 Ways to Think Differently.
People and Permaculture is the first book to directly translate the principles and design methods of permaculture from land to people. Looby enjoys using creative teaching methods to create a fun and collaborative learning environment.
Tomas has been working in permaculture since 1997. He is author of Forest Gardening in Practice. Over the years he has designed and helped to create private and communal gardens, commercial and amenity woodlands, wildlife reserves and ecological restoration sites. He has taught many courses in permaculture and related subjects, both in the UK and across Europe.
I am Ansiima Casinga Rolande, an award-winning permaculture educator, Permayouth hub leader, and nutrition advisor from Nakivale Refugee Settlement in Uganda. My passion lies in promoting resilience and sustainability in refugee communities through permaculture design, women empowerment, and arts education. As the founder of FOLONA (For the Love of Nature), I lead a registered community-based organization that focuses on permaculture projects and women’s reproductive health, including making and distributing reusable sanitary pads.
Morag Gamble is an international permaculture ambassador and educator. As founder of the Permaculture Education Institute, she teaches educators and designers on six continents, has led programs in centres such as Schumacher College, lectured in food politics, established a national community garden network and through her registered charity, the Ethos Foundation, helped create a regional refugee-led permayouth education program.
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