6 weekends between April 26th and October 19th 2025
at Global Generation’s Paper Garden in Canada Water
The Permaculture Design Course is a 72-hour often life-changing experience, accredited by the UK Permaculture Association.
Over the period of 6 months we will come together as a learning community to explore practical and creative solutions for building resilient neighbourhoods and designing abundant eco-systems.
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 practical emphasis on ecological and social design thinking and how this can be applied in different parts of our lives and society.
The Permaculture Design Course also offers us the opportunity to face the predicaments of climate breakdown and the biodiversity crisis and form our own healthy response to these challenges.
“I feel like I know a secret and want to share it with the world”
Dates & Learning Journey
On each of the days we’ll be starting at 10 am and finish at 5.30 pm.
Over the duration of the course, you will be working in small groups to complete a design project. There is design time on the various weekends to complete the project. You might also decide as a group to do some extra work between the weekend. You will be given extra material to explore in between the weekends to further your learning in your own time.
To receive the certificate, there is a requirement of making at least 9 of the 12 days - or demonstrate by other means that you have caught up through conversations with other participants and the additional material that we will providing.
See pictures from some of our previous courses here:
Venue - Global Generation’s Paper Garden
The course will take place at Global Generation’s Paper Garden, located in Canada Water.
We’re collaborating with Global Generation for the third year in a row. The organisation shares our values and is well connected to the diverse local community. It is a perfect space for an urban permaculture design course with plenty of opportunity for practical learning in the garden.
From their webpage, about the garden:
“The Paper Garden has been created on the site of the old Daily Mail printworks in Canada Water. In 2021 it moved from its original location on the site of the old printing press to its current site of the former paper warehouse. It provides an invaluable community-focused green space in this rapidly developing area. (…) Local primary school children, families, young people and businesses have been transforming the site, reusing the site’s original materials wherever possible and co-creating abundant growing spaces.”
What will the course cover?
“Permaculture is dancing with nature and nature leads the dance.”
Much of our Permaculture Design Course is focused around our most fundamental human needs. The design methodology and the permaculture principles that are thought can be used by anyone and be integrated in any job or life situation, far beyond gardening. You will learn about the permaculture way of setting up food systems, interacting with the natural world, building community, organising people – all of that inspired by the example of the natural world.
Anyone, previous knowledge and experience or not, are welcome.
Topics covered on the course include, but are not limited to:
. Ethics and principles of permaculture
. Systems thinking, design process and methodology
. Observation, map making, site and community surveys
. Soil science and land regeneration
. Cultivated ecology: gardens, farms and agroforestry
. Climate crisis & response
. Community dynamics & organisation
. Urban challenges and urban permaculture, including retrofitting homes
. Energy conservation and renewable energy
Each weekend includes theory taught in an interactive way and some practical hands on work. During the small group design sessions you will have the opportunity to integrate the things you learn during the course and you will have support from the tutors.
We will share handouts and other helpful information on an online learning platform. There is an opportunity to get involved with the Story Garden and Global Generation’s work as well as other Social Landscapes events and we encourage you to build learning groups with other course participants to support each other through sharing, experimenting and reflecting.
Tutors
Lead tutor of the course is Michel Thill. Guest tutors and teachers will be joining on various days of the course and will be announced at a later stage.
Michel has studied Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning with a special interest in the relationship between ecological, personal 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.
He has been teaching permaculture and deep ecology across Europe over the last 8 years and is a Certified Educator with the UK Permaculture Association.
MORE INFO TO FOLLOW ON OTHER FACILITATORS
As most years, Dre from the Social Landscapes team is going to be a facilitator on part of the course.
Linda Rowles from Urban Forest Collective CIC will join us for a fun day of cobbing - building with natural materials.
Adi from Adi’s Urban Mushrooms will join us for an introduction into the world of fungi and mushroom cultivation.
What do past participants say?
“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 fill in the form below. We will then be in touch with payment details. A deposit payment will complete your registration and secure your place.
If you have any questions, please contact Michel on michel@sociallandscapes.co.uk or 07901 036220.
The course is offered on a sliding scale to make it affordable to a wider group. Payment by instalments is also possible, in which case you will be asked to have paid minimum half the course fee before the first day of the course in April 2025.
Please make your choice of price with an awareness to what it’s worth. By paying the higher rate of £780, you will enable us to open up concessionary places offered at £390.
If you would like to apply for a concessionary place, please let us know when filling the form. If you can’t afford any of the rates, please consider raising money for the course or get in touch to explain your reasons and we can see how we can make it work.
The income brackets below are loose guidelines.
Income below 24000pa – £585
Income more than £24000pa or ‘pay it forward’ option – £780
Concession for those with an household income below 16000pa – £390 - please note that there is only a limited number of these available
Please click here to see our Cancellation & Refund Policy.
