PDC 1

Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) course (created June 2014)

We will need a minimum of 10 students to go ahead. The course contribution is as follows:

10 students = $420

11 = $380

12 = $350

13 = $325

14 = $300

15 = $280 Deposit of $200 needed as soon as possible, say before July 5th, fully refunded if there are not 10 or more students... Course attendance and full completion of design entitlement to certificate. Morning and afternoon tea provided (organic ingredients).

Main location - Whistlestop Community Gardens, Tyrel Street, Stanthorpe

Curriculum based on Bill Mollison's Design Manual - topics include; What is Permaculture, Ethics, Principles, Methods of Design, Intensive Food Gardens, No Dig Gardens, Soils, Worms, Composting, Patterns, Edge Effect, Animals, Natural Pest Management, Food Forests, Wastewater, Water, Earthworks, Aquaculture, Climate, Microclimate, Urban Strategies, Trees, Energy Efficient Structures, Alternative Technology, Seed Saving, Nursery, Bioregional Strategies, Eco-Villages, Humid Tropics, Dryland, Cool Climate, Money and Finance

Landcare logo

The course is more theoretical than practical but includes a mix of classroom presentations, practical activities, design exercises, and a visit to 2 different properties to see Permaculture in action.

The course explores the creation of productive and sustainable ways of living by integrating ecology, organic gardening, architecture, land use, and social systems. Participants will cover the whole PDC curriculum with extra time for Stanthorpe specific themes.

Four sessions each Day,

1. 9.00 - 10.30 (1 ½ hours)

2. 11.00 - 12.30

3. 13.30 - 15.00

4. 15.15 - 16.45

Day 1 - 13 July

Day 2 - 20 July

Day 3 - 27 July

Day 4 - 10 August

Day 5 - 17 August

Day 6 - 31 August

Day 7 - 14 September

Day 8 - 21 September

Day 9 - 28 September

Day 10 - 12 October

Day 11 - 26 October

Day 12 - 9 November

Day 13 - 16 November

Day 14 - 30 November

Practical activities included (at Gardens):

13 July - build a compost pile (Day 1)
20 July - build a rocket stove (Day 2)
27 July - create a sheet mulch garden (Day 3)
31 August - construct an insect or bee hotel (Day 6)
14 September - sand play – designing water storage features and managing flow (Day 7)
28 September - use laser level to mark out and dig a swale (Day 9)
12 October - plant a swale (Day 10)
9 November - house design exercise for various climates (Day 12)
26 October - Excursion to Poziers area (pm) to see a farm and homestead

Presenters:

Denise Donnellan

Dylan Graves

Evita Shen

Radha Cohen

Ray Palmer

Terry Gilmour

Recommended reading:

Bill Mollison - Introduction to Permaculture

Rosemary Morrow - Earth users guide to Permaculture

Toby Hemenway - Gaia's Garden

Bill Mollison - A Designers Manual - widely available on the internet as a pdf file (88Mb)

Recommended watching:

Free videos on www.geofflawton.com (these can be provided on USB)

Free lectures by Will Hooker of NCstate Uni (these can be provided on USB)

Search YouTube for Bill Mollison, David Holmgren, Sepp Holzer, Robert Hart, Joel Salatin, Geoff Lawton, Verge Permaculture, Paul Wheaton

What is Permaculture?

According to Bill Mollison:

"Permaculture (permanent agriculture) is the conscientious design and maintenance of agriculturally productive eco-systems which have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems. It is the harmonious integration of landscape and people providing their food, energy, shelter, and other material and non-material needs in a sustainable way. Without permanent agriculture there is no possibility of a stable social order.

Permaculture design is a system of assembling conceptual, material, and strategic components in a pattern which functions to benefit life in all it's forms.

The philosophy behind permaculture is one of working with, rather than against, nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtless action; of looking at systems in all their functions, rather than asking only one yield of them; and of allowing systems to demonstrate their own evolutions." -Permaculture: A Designers' Manual, 1988

Update (15 Jan 2015):

All the PowerPoint presentations are now available on Google Drive.

(1 Feb): Found this great resource about/of the Designer's Manual:

https://treeyopermacultureedu.wordpress.com/about