Online -Permaculture Design Course (PDC) 2027
A full accredited Permaculture Design Course
Join Chris Evans with lead tutors Barbara Scheltus, Tomas Remiarz, and an amazing panel of international guest tutors 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. Cost includes a year's membership of the Permaculture Association.
*Early bird discount - 10% off, if booked before Sept 20th 2026*
Dates
January to June 2027
(see dates below)
Cost
£285 - £470
(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
…. it's nice to be in a learning environment that has a heart.
This has been an exciting and empowering course for me. The best course I have ever done. It is a milestone in my life and is truly changing my life
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.
Practical Information
Booking
For enquiries and booking please email Emma at applewoodcourses@yahoo.com
Book by 20th September for super early bird rates of 10% reduction on these prices:
• Low waged <£14K - £335
• Waged >£14K - £395
• Bursary Support £470 (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
- Pre-course social 28th Jan
- Session 1: Sat 30th Jan
- Session 2: Sun 31st Jan
- Session 3: Sat 13th Feb
- Session 4: Sat 27th Feb
- Session 5: Sat 13th March
- Session 6: Sat 10th April
- Session 7: Sat 24th April
- Session 8: Sat 8th May
- Session 9: Sat 22nd May
- Session 10: Sat 5th June
- Session 11: Sun 6th 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.
Barbara Scheltus has been practicing permaculture since 2005 and has spent the last 17 years co-creating Bogata Šuma, a permaculture homestead, food forest, learning centre and eco-campsite in rural Croatia. Her work is rooted in hands-on experience of designing regenerative landscapes, hosting volunteers and courses, and building community around ecological living.
She has studied with internationally respected teachers including Rosemary Morrow, Mark Shepard and Looby Macnamara, and continues to deepen her practice through collaboration with educators and practitioners such as Delvin Solkinson, Looby Macnamara, Emma Gorbutt, Chris Evans and Tomas Remiarz. Barbara brings a practical, people-centred approach to permaculture, weaving together ecological design, Cultural Emergence and everyday resilience.
For regular updates and photos
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