Course info:

We are all caretakers of land at some level, and we all exist in communities.

This Permaculture Design Course helps us deepen our knowledge of the natural world, and strengthen our design thinking at every step. With topics as diverse as soil science and social permaculture, this course gets us thinking and acting in ways that make the world a better place for people and planet. We’ll apply all of our learnings in a design project that we move through together, to learn the design skills you can later apply to your own place, community, and even your own life.

This is a non-residential course with morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea provided. Classes run from 8:30am – 5pm each day. There is a rest day on Sunday the 7th April.

Is this course for you?

The PDC has been taken by millions of people all over the world. If you’re a thinker, a do-er, a community member, a parent, a farmer, a gardener, an activist, an educator, or any kind of person who cares about the precious world we inhabit, then this course is for you.

We create a safe learning environment that avoids the stressful elements that you may have encountered in past educational environments – there are no exams, alarms or lengthy lectures to be found here, because all of those things inhibit learning. If you’re neurodiverse or have reading, or other learning needs, you are more than welcome on this course. Get in touch if you have any questions about this.

What is a PDC?

The focus of a PDC is on design. This is not a practical gardening course where you learn the best way to prune a tree or transplant a seedling. Some practical techniques may be included, but the focus of the course is to build your ethics, ecological knowledge and design thinking so you can make the best decisions to care take the land and community around you.

We cover these topics:

Permaculture ethics and principles

Design theory and applied design

Zones and sectors

Site analysis and assessment

Base mapping and design drawing

Climate

Pattern understanding

Soil

Water

Trees and forests

Social permaculture

Regenerative agriculture

Sustainable building

Alternative economics

Intentional communities

And even more...

For more info, head to our website https://www.growdoit.org/work-...

The teachers:

Brenna Quinlan is a permaculture educator and illustrator who has taught alongside the biggest names in permaculture, including Rosemary Morrow and David Holmgren. She is part of the Formidable Vegetable teaching team for the School Permaculture Tour program run in association with Resource Smart Schools Victoria, and she regularly teaches and collaborates with Milkwood Permaculture on their various projects. After living at Melliodora for four years, she’s now embarking on building her own house and garden in southern Western Australia. You can read more about Brenna here.

Greta Carroll is a permaculture educator and small-scale organic farmer currently based on Wadawurrung Country. She has previously taught for Permaculture College Australia, she is Chair of Permaculture Australia, and is a course facilitator for Permaculture for Refugees and Nettle and Snail. Passionate about accessible, inclusive education, Greta has built curricula and learning experiences for diverse groups. She has worked with people in displacement settings and refugee camps for over a decade, in Australia and internationally.

We also have a selection of subject-expert guest teachers.

Catering:

Seasonal, local, whole foods catering is provided by the amazing team at Denmark Grassfed Lamb. Dietary requirements are accommodated, we’ll ask about this in the pre-course email.

Getting there:

Denmark is a five-hour drive from Perth airport, and a 45-minute drive from Albany airport.

Locals taking the course may be able to billet those from out of town. Head to the Facebook event to organise this.

The bus service from Perth to Albany is quicker than the service to Denmark, and someone coming from Albany can likely pick you up.

Accommodation:

This is a non-residential course, so you will need to find your own accommodation. The Denmark Rivermouth Caravan Park is across the road from the teaching venue, and has excellent facilities and a cafe. They charge $70 for up to two people over the Easter weekend (up till the 4th April), and $50 for up to 2 guests for each night after that. You will have to book early for the Easter weekend as they often book out. Let them know you’re part of the course and they’ll try to keep course participants in a group.

Locals taking the course may be able to billet those from out of town. Head to the Facebook event to organise this.

If you get really stuck or are on a tight budget, we have camping room for a few people at our place, so get in touch.

Payment plan:

We do offer payment plans so you can pay the course fee over time. Purchase the “Deposit” option below and then contact us to set up this plan prior to the course so that the fee is paid in full by March 2024 (1 month before the course starts). Get in touch so we can organise the details.

Scholarship:

We offer one full price scholarship for a First Nations person, so please get in touch if this is you.

Cancellations and Covid:

If you need to step out of the course, we can refund the course fee, minus the deposit, if you cancel with one month or more notice. Alternatively, you can pass your place on to a friend, or use your fee as a credit towards another course.

This workshop will be run in accordance with Covid-19 guidelines recommended at the time. If you are unwell with flu like symptoms, please refrain from attending the workshop and get in touch to discuss options.

If the course is cancelled before it starts because of Covid-19 or any other reason, we will provide a refund minus the deposit, which will be used towards covering unavoidable costs.