ABOUT OUR PERMACULTURE DESIGN COURSE

This unique course, delivered on Saturdays over 17 weeks in Brisbane, gives you the knowledge and skills to observe and design from natural patterns to create productive gardens & properties. You will learn how to grow your own food, apply appropriate technologies, use resources wisely, build on living systems and rebuild communities.

This course is running on fourteen Saturdays, 8.30am to 4.30pm, from 10 August until 30 November 2024. There are three Saturdays off (21 and 28 September, and 23 November), with the latter one being for students to work on their final design project.

Learn to:

Build Resilience through Connectivity
Facilitate Regeneration of the Earth
Create Abundance through Design

The Permaculture Design Course (PDC) builds from its foundation in ethics and design principles to develop strategies giving you the techniques and tools to inspire critical thinking.

Our skilled educators will give you the attention you need with more time for questions and conversations. We will dive deep into our subjects and have time to discuss your personal projects. We've been running the PDC for 25 years at Northey Street and had over 800 graduates since 2007.

YOU WILL LEARN

The history of permaculture and agriculture and the foundational concepts of the permaculture ethics and design principles
To design from ecological pattern literacy, systems thinking, using Ethics and Design principles, designing from the whole, differentiated into parts
To use the Scale of Permanence to give realistic outcomes for any design
Climate analogues and how varied micro-climates affect your site
The patterns of our intent and that of our landscapes, elements and their functional connections in your design to minimize waste
To value our soils: soil biology, amendments, uses and putting it all together
About trees and forests and how we can integrate them into our systems
How we can cultivate our ecology to produce food based on our unique needs by including annuals, perennials, forest gardens and animals into our systems
About appropriate technologies and green buildings
To enhance our communities and local economies through social permaculture design
A practical understanding of the design process through group and individual design work.

Click here for details about the course content and learning outcomes.

INCLUDED IN YOUR COURSE FEE

Extensive resources and handouts to complement course outcomes.
Design from day one and all through the course rather than just an end exercise.
Teachers whose conceptual understanding of the permaculture design process complements their broad range of knowledge and experience to create an immersive learning environment.
Hands on experience at a 30-year-old permaculture site in Brisbane
Four months devoted to studying and living permaculture. We like to take our time going over the course material, with plenty of time for hands-on activities, group process and design, creating community and fun.

PAYMENT

To book, you can either pay the full amount up front through Humanitix, or pay a $300 deposit, and pay the rest later. If paying just the deposit, the remaining funds must be directly deposited to Northey Street City Farm 30 days before the course begins for Early Bird tickets, and 7 days before for General tickets. For bank details or any questions about booking and payments, contact info@nscf.org.au

PAYMENT PLANS

A limited number of Payment Plans are available to people on low incomes. Three payments are made - firstly, before the course starts, a second installment before Day 4 and a final payment before Day 7. If this option interests you please contact the Adult Education Coordinator on adultedn@nscf.org.au.

MEMBER DISCOUNT

Current members of the Northey Street City Farm Association are eligible for a 5% discount on course fees. Please email us at info@nscf.org.au for the discount code, (which is entered AFTER selecting your preferred ticket type).

FIRST NATIONS SCHOLARSHIPS

Each of our NSCF Permaculture Design Courses has two part-scholarship positions available at half price (totaling $800 each person) for a First Nations (Aboriginal / Torres Strait Islander) person. If you are interested in this opportunity, please contact Emma Brindal on edufarm.mgr@nscf.org.au or call the office on 3857 8775.

To apply for a First Nations part-scholarship, complete the application form HERE.