Permaculture Design Certification (PDC) Course

A Permaculture Design Certification (PDC) course presented in collaboration with Northwest Conservation District. This program is designed to immerse participants in information, ideas, and inspiration on how to design sustainable, regenerative systems for your home and property.

Permaculture is a design philosophy that aims to meet our essential needs through systems that mimic the patterns and relationships found in natural ecosystems. To understand permaculture, we first need to observe nature deeply and be informed by it.

Your home is its own eco-system. By studying permaculture, you can apply principles of environmentalism and sustainability to ensure the maximum productivity of your home and land, while minimizing the resources required to maintain it.

Course Details

• Cost: $1450 (Members) | $1500 (Non-Members)  (Payment plans available)
• Location:  The Studio at Flanders Nature Center, Woodbury.  (Field trips to local sites may be scheduled)
• Dates: Saturdays:  January 10 & 24 | February 7 & 21 | March 7 & 21 | April 11 & 25  
• Time: 9 AM to 5 PM (All classes are held in-person at Flanders. In the event of inclement weather, the program will be held online.)

What You’ll Learn

Design Your Home for Sustainability & Resilience

• Mimic Nature: Learn to design landscapes, gardens, and even social systems by observing and imitating patterns found in healthy ecosystems for maximum efficiency and stability.
• Resource Efficiency: Discover how to conserve water, build nutrient-rich soil, produce no waste by cycling resources, and use renewable energy to create abundance.
• Climate Change Solutions: Gain tools to create sustainable systems that can mitigate climate impacts, promote biodiversity, and improve local food security.

Develop Practical Skills & Knowledge

• Ecological Design: Acquire hands-on skills in site assessment, earthworks, water harvesting, composting, and creating productive, diverse systems.
• Problem-Solving: Learn to identify challenges and see them as opportunities for creative, ecological solutions in various contexts.
• Food Production: Gain the ability to grow your own food sustainably, reduce reliance on conventional agriculture, and increase food security. 

Cultivate a New Perspective

• Observe Like Nature: Develop a heightened ability to see interconnections between elements, understand natural patterns, and interpret landscapes.
• Shift Your Mindset: Overcome despair by understanding positive roles you can play in creating a better future and fostering ecological connection.
• Connect with Ethics: Embrace the core ethics of earth care, people care, and fair share, guiding your actions and decisions. 

Enhance Your Life and Career

• Personal Transformation: The study and practice of permaculture can be a life-changing experience, offering a renewed sense of hope and purpose.
• Community & Networking: Join a global community of like-minded individuals, opening doors to collaboration, new friendships, and potential career paths.
• Career Opportunities: Develop skills that can lead to new income streams, sustainable businesses, and right livelihood in fields like ecological design, regenerative farming, and sustainability education.

Apply it Everywhere

• Beyond the Garden: Permaculture principles can be applied to design homes, manage resources, choose technology, and even shape educational practices and community interactions.
• Local & Global Impact: Design solutions specific to your local ecosystem while contributing to a global movement for ecological balance and community resilience.