Permaculture Design Course

Early Bird discount tickets on sale now!

Like a mighty tree, permaculture design offers a strong framework for creating abundance and resilience in harmony with nature and has roots that go deep and wide. 

Permaculture can be used in all aspects of living including food, money, health, community, land management, buildings, education and technology.  It has a proven track record in delivering genuinely sustainable and regenerative human settlements, ranging from households to entire regions. Drawing on the science of systems ecology, practitioners tap into the power of nature and human creativity, and are inspired by traditional cultures and some of the great thinkers of our times.

Course outcomes

By the end of our course, held over 12 Saturdays, you will:

• Have tools for living with more ease, in harmony with the planet

• Understand how permaculture applies to food, money, technology, buildings and more

• Be able to apply the permaculture regenerative design framework to any place

• Deepen your understanding of how nature works

• Join an alumnus of millions of permaculture practitioners around the world.

"This course taught me much more than I expected. The value and depth of the teaching and discussions could not have been anticipated. It was enlightening. An absolute pleasure."

- Ash, June 2025 Northey PDC graduate.

What will you learn and do?

Our PDC balances practical techniques with foundational 'systems thinking' knowledge and eco-literacy. Some of the things you will do on our course include:

• practice observational skills for understanding natural patterns

• site measurement, inventory and mapping

• create site designs, including a project of your choosing

• calculate water harvesting volumes and requirements

• learn about earth works to capture and store storm water

• practice food growing techniques such as no-dig gardening and cover cropping

• exploring food growing systems such as food forests and aquaculture

• undertake soil testing and devising soil rebuilding strategies

• research the growing and cooking of perennial vegetables for the subtropics

• selecting animal breeds suitable in permaculture systems

• practice group decision making techniques

• explore community financial systems

• observe passive solar building design, insulation and glazing systems

• cooking with a solar oven or rocket stove.

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

We have lots of fun along the way - it's a great way to learn - and you'll get time to relax in our peaceful gardens.


Who is this course for?

This course is for:

• Householders - both renters and homeowners - wanting to build resilience, grow food, and reduce expenses

• Tree changers with land to look after

• Career changers transitioning to a sustainable livelihood like environmental education, land management, international development or ecosystem repair

• Professional designers and community workers looking to incorporate genuine sustainability into their practice

• People wanting to create a more relaxed lifestyle to support their health and wellbeing

• Anyone seeking to live in a way that cares for the Earth and cares for People.

Global qualification

The PDC is a globally recognized qualification that has been taught since 1982 and is the 'gold standard' in permaculture education.  Practitioners in Australia and abroad are working in education, design consulting, community development, niche food processing, sustainable agriculture, international aid and ecosystem repair. Others are simply using the knowledge, skills, resources and connections flowing from the course to enhance their lives. The PDC content and processes differ throughout the world in response to local needs and context, but all are based on the original program taught by co-founder Bill Mollison. Our course runs for 72-hours with the content deliver over twelve 6-hour sessions.

On completion of the course requirements, you will receive a Certificate of Completion.  The course requirements include attending 11 of the twelve days, completing the design project and researching a 'permaculture plant'.

What's our course like? 

Northey Street City Farm is a major urban permaculture demonstration site where students get the opportunity to learn every day from 30 years of practice. Our 2.5 Hectare site includes intensive vegetable gardens and agroforestry systems, one of the region's most ecologically sustainable buildings, workshops and tool sheds, a plant nursery and composting setups. We have over 150 fruit trees on site and a riparian ecosystem repair area.  Our team has extensive experience in social permaculture including running social enterprises.  

Every day of the course we do hands-on experiential learning in the gardens and other areas. Students get to work on an individual design project of their choosing starting from week one and have access to our unique member's library with over 400 titles.  

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 over 25 years at Northey Street and had over 800 graduates since 2007.  

Click here to for more details about the course facilitators.

"This was a really valuable experience. I got so much more than I expected from this course." 

- Sue, June 2025 Northey PDC graduate.

Course Format and Flow

This course runs on Saturdays, 8.30am to 4.30pm, from the 30th of August to the 29th of November, 2025. There are two Saturdays off (4 October and 22 November), with the latter one being for students to work on their final design project. It is recommended that students allow up to two-hours per week to work on their projects and review the course content. Two optional mid-week design webinars are also offered (dates to be confirmed).

Our PDC progresses through these stages:

1. Foundations - ecology, ethics and principles.

2. Patterns in nature

3. Design processes and methods

4. Ecological literacy - soils, water, animals, cultivated ecology and trees

5. A day-long group design exercise

6. Social and economic permaculture

7. Appropriate technology

8. Sustainable buildings

9. Project presentations and where to from here?

At the beginning and end of each day we do a group lesson reflection to help students remember the day's teachings.

The one day a week format allows plenty of time to absorb and apply the teachings gradually as the course progresses.

Included in your course fees

• Extensive resources and handouts to complement course outcomes

• Design from day one and all through the course rather than just an end exercise

• Learning from experienced teaches who 'walk the talk'

• Hands on experience at a 31-year-old permaculture site in Brisbane

• Three 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

• Access to our unique members' library with over 400 permaculture-related publications

• 10% off all items for sale in our nursery.

"As my first official introduction to permaculture, my experience and time with the students and teachers at Northey Street have far exceeded my expectations. Thank you so much for providing such a great and supportive learning experience." 

- Ren, June 2025 Northey PDC graduate.

Fees

• Full Price - $1,500

• Concession - $1,100

• Early-bird Full Price - $1,350 (closes 31st July 2025)

• Early-bird Concession - $950 (closes 31st July 2025)

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 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).

Payment plans
A limited number of Payment Plans are available to people on low incomes. Three payments are made - firstly, before the early bird discount ends, a second payment at least seven days before the course starts and the final payment before Day 3 of the course. This option is not available to First Nations Part-Scholarship students. If this option interests you, please contact Gav on adultedn@nscf.org.au.

First Nations Part-Scholarships
All of our PDC's have two part-scholarship positions available for First Nations (Aboriginal / Torres Strait Islander) people. The fees are on a 'pay as you feel' basis with up to 75% off the full ticket price. Please note that payment plans are not applicable to this offer. If you are interested in this opportunity, please contact Gav via the office phone on 3857 8775 or email adultedn@nscf.org.au.