Welcome to the full Online Permaculture Design Course!
50+ hours of live online sessions - 25 hours of homework - Additional learning resources available
With guest teachers & virtual project visits
The Permaculture Design Course is a 72-hour often life-changing experience, accredited by the UK Permaculture Association.
The 7 modules of our online Permaculture Design Course bring us together as a learning community to explore practical and creative solutions for creating resilient ecosystems and designing abundant lifestyles and livelihoods. We will discover how we can work with, rather than against nature to fulfil our human needs whilst caring for the earth and the people.
The course has a strong emphasis on ecological and social design thinking and how this can be applied in different parts of our life and society. It offers us the opportunity to face the predicaments of climate breakdown and the biodiversity crisis and form our own healthy response to these challenges.
Each module consists of 7 to 10 live face-to-face teaching hours and some compulsory as well as voluntary homework. You will work on your own as well as in small groups exploring different subjects and designing a project of your choice that you will present to the group in the final module. On each of the 7 modules we will have a guest speaker, some of whom live in different parts of the world and are able to share their practice and perspective.
“I feel like I know a secret and want to share it with the world”
Your Online Learning Journey
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The sessions run on most Mondays and some Thursday nights and are generally 2.5 hours long with some variations. Times are all UK/London times; participants from anywhere are welcome and will only add to the richness of the course.
To receive the certificate, there is a requirement to join the sessions and complete the extra coursework including small online quizzes to test understanding and assess learning. Sessions will be recorded, so you can catch up if you do miss a session. On the final module you will create a design for a project of your choice, to put your learning into practice. You will also need to complete two small related practical projects of your choice and report on them.
Each module will include presentations, demonstrations, design exercises and inquiries in small groups, practical exercises to do at home, optional reading lists, optional video material.
Upcoming Dates:
Course dates (please note that module 5 and 7 are spread out along the duration of the course):
Module 1 - The Ecology of Wellbeing: January 11th, 18th, 25th and February 1st
Module 2 - Meeting the Landscape: February 15th, 22nd and March 1st
Module 3 - Water, Trees and the Land: March 15th, 22nd and 29th
Module 4 - Soil Ecology & Food: April 12th, 19th and 26th
Module 5 - People in Permaculture: April 8th, May 6th, June 3rd
Module 6 - Cities, Energy & Shelter: May 10th, May 17th and May 24th
Module 7 - Design & Celebrations: March 25th, April 22nd, May 20th, June 7th, June 10th
All sessions start at 6.30pm UK time and end no later than 9pm - some will be shorter.
See pictures and testimonies from some of our previous (in-person) courses here:
Certification
The course follows the curriculum as outlined bu the UK Permaculture Association and is accredited by the UK Permaculture Association with an internationally recognised Permaculture Design Course Certificate. Your main tutor on the course in a UK Permaculture Association Certified Educator.
Tutors
Lead tutor of the course is Michel Thill.
Michel has studied Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning with a special interest in the relationship between ecological and cultural renewal. He's come across Permaculture during his studies and was drawn to its ability to bring together ecological design, community/village building, social justice and personal change.
Michel has travelled extensively, staying in eco-communities across India and South-East Asia as well as Europe, learning about and applying Permaculture Design and Deep Ecology ideas and knowledge wherever possible.
Michel lives in South Devon applying Permaculture Design to land-based projects. Before that he was based in London teaching Permaculture and running various community and food growing projects through Social Landscapes. Inspired by Permaculture, Forest Gardening and Ecovillage Design principles, Social Landscapes seeks to create flourishing and resilient micro-cultures within London through transformative Permaculture training and engaging people in the outdoors to reinvent the public spaces they live in.
Michel has been teaching Permaculture and Deep Ecology across Europe over the last couple of years. He sees permaculture as a dance with nature, where nature takes the lead to create more harmonious places and futures for all.
What do past participants say? (for in-person courses)
“The course was a fantastic learning process and a truly enjoyable experience. The tutors were very knowledgeable and transmitted Permaculture as an approach to living, thinking, doing, making and being. The ethics, principles and thinking tools of Permaculture have become a new mindset.” – Raquel, PhD student in Food Policy
"It has completely changed my perspective towards every aspect of my life: my health, my relationship with family and friends, my relationship with the Earth." - Anonymous
“An inspirational personal growth adventure that I would recommend to everyone. The urban PDC is particularly useful for building practice into your daily lives and offers a response to many issues that we are facing whilst building a supportive family and community of Permaculture practisers to encourage future creativity. The tutors are the warmest and exciting people and Treadwell is a space of calm, enthusiasm and mindfulness. “ – Sam
"The course gave me direction and the opportunity of transforming a passion into a job." - Anonymous
“Studying the Permaculture method within an urban context was both empowering and thought-provoking. Presented with such realistic opportunities for positive change within the confines of the city and studying with likeminded people was extremely heartwarming. The mixture of practical and theory along with passionate teachers and guest speakers plus a variety of venues kept my interest and allowed for genuine integration of the teachings. I’m well prepared for continued use of the Permaculture tools and happily supported by the community that I’m now a part of, I cannot recommend this course enough.” – Zoe, Finance Assistant at Comic Relief
Pricing & Registration
To register for the course, please make your payment below. Our courses tend to fully book, so don’t wait too long.
If there are any questions, please contact Michel michel@sociallandscapes.co.uk or 07901036220.
The course is offered on a sliding scale to make it affordable for everyone.
Please make your choice of price with awareness to what it’s worth: the course offers 55 hours of live teaching plus compulsory as well as voluntary homework; there will be multiple teachers on the course bringing with them a wide range of knowledge and experience; and you’ll walk away with a Permaculture Design Certificate awarded by the UK Permaculture Association. Paying the normal fee of £420 is a total of less than £8 per hour of live learning and just covers our cost (incl. basic pay for the facilitation team). Paying more supports the other non-profit work of our organisation and opens up concessions for people not being able to afford the full price.
If you have done an Introduction to Permaculture Course with Social Landscapes before and don’t want to do it again, select a price option excluding module 1.
If you can’t afford any of these, please consider raising money for the course or get in touch to explain your case and we can see how we can make it work for you with a consession.
There is the option to pay in instalments. You can select the £100 deposit option as a price and we will be in touch with you to pay the rest later. You will be asked to have paid a minimum of half the total price by the start of the course and the full price two months prior to the end.
Please click here to see our Cancellation & Refund Policy.
You can’t afford to pay for the course? Why not raise money for it, either through ‘We The Trees’ or through your own means. The course total will only need to be paid by September 2020.
FAQ
(do get in touch with any other questions)
Are there any materials that we need to take part in the course?
You will need a computer, access to the internet and ability to use zoom. Most of the material you will get during the course will be digital. Between module 2 and 6 you will be required to do 2 practical projects. They can be projects of your choice and don't need to be large. Depending on what you chose to do, you will need to buy materials, for example a compost bin, soil, seeds, pots for planting. You can also source a lot of this material second hand to keep extra expenses low.
On the final module you will need to create a design, which you can start working on earlier if you wish. For this you can either use computer software, of recommended, paper, pens, rulers and tracing paper. You can also use baking paper instead of tracing paper. You then need to either scan these designs or take photos of them to present them online.
Are there any download materials and resources that we will take away from the course?
Yes, for each module you will receive a PDF file with additional information on the materials covered. You Will have access to an online learning platform which will include extra coursework, as well as links to articles, videos, films and book recommendations. You will have access to all the videos and slideshows to go through the sessions again in your own time.
What are the real gaps between an online and in-person course?
The online and in-person courses are different and each have their pros and cons. The online course allows you to go over the sessions again in your own time. If you miss a session, you can easily catch up. There will be guest teachers working on different projects, people we can't call in for the in-person courses. The in-person course has the advantage that people build probably more of a sense of community and togetherness. Although there will also be opportunities to exchange with the group online away from the main teaching sessions. On the in-person course you will design in a group for a given project. On the online course you will chose your own project in your own place. On the in-person course, we are able to do practical exercises together as a group, on the online course you will be encouraged to do some of these, such as soil testing, making a compost, on your own.
Is the UK permaculture certificate globally recognised or only within the UK?
The certificate awarded by the UK Permaculture Association is internationally recognised. There are many organisation awarding Permaculture Design Course certificates, although many courses are not quality controlled. The UK Permaculture Association is one of the most active and respected Permaculture bodies in the world.
