We’ve just finished up our Spring Permaculture Design Certificate here at Milkwood Farm, and I thought I’d share some of the (yet again) truly impressive design work that came out of it. Some great permaculture designs for both urban and rural systems.
One of the Spring PDC students described their new understanding of permaculture as: “like a basket of tools for humanity: an intersection of biology, geology, climatology, philosophy, social justice and humanitarian issues and history, packaged into a viable way of providing needs of everyday living.” Read More »
We’ve been fielding a lot of questions lately on what exactly a Milkwood Permaculture Design Certificate course (PDC) consists of. In short, it’s an exceptional and intensive foundation course in permaculture theory, from which students emerge with solid design skills.
The application of these design skills are broad – some people use their new knowledge to design their current (or future) farm, their suburban block, or their apartment courtyard. Some of our graduates have used what they learn overseas to design futures for their communities, some have used the design skills to re-design their businesses, and many go on to teach permaculture, in a range of community and classroom scenarios. Read More »
Nick just finished up co-teaching a Permaculture Teacher Training course with Rowe Morrow on Sunday, which was by all accounts an enlightening 7 days of how the heck to communicate core design concepts to a wide range of different types of learners.
Amongst the varied and wonderful students present was Jasmine Whyte from communicatecreative, who produced this simple and gorgeous diagram of PDC (Permaculture Design Certificate) outcomes, which we’d like to share with you… Read More »
Milkwood PDC’s frequently produce motivated folks ready to take on and transform their communities. We place huge emphasis on ensuring excellent student outcomes and we see permaculture design skills as something that you’ll never stop learning, so we don’t pretend that this 2-week stint is all there is to it. But it sure is a hell of a start.
Our on-farm PDCs also prioritize people care and incredible farm-grown food to nourish body and soul throughout the 2 week intensive course. We have everyone from home-makers to bankers to teachers to international aid workers attend, and the consistent student feedback is that a Milkwood PDC enhances, affirms and motivates people’s existing knowledge and skillsets to go out there and be the change they want to see in this world.
Just a note that we’re running a part-time Permaculture Design Course in Sydney that starts on the weekend of the 17th March. It’s in a one day a week format (you chose from Saturday or Sunday class, no class on the Easter weekend), and it’s going to be great.
This will be our third part-time PDC in Sydney, and it’s an awesome format to study permaculture in if you live in Sydney and can’t get away (or take time off) for a two-week intensive PDC. Read More »
At the Permaculture Design Course we just finished in Sydney, Adam Grubb got everyone truly inspired about the power of Permablitz. A good permablitz is an valuable opportunity to participate in design, community, digging, growing and learning, all in one day.
Following on from Adam’s excellent ‘How to run a Permablitz really well’ talk that he gave during his visit (video of the talk is below), there’s been a few videos come to light that really help understand just why a permablitz is so darn cool. So I thought I’d share them with you… Read More »
More beautiful shots by Cathy X from our current Urban Permaculture Design Certificate that Nick is teaching in Sydney.
Featuring Michele Margolis’ amazing urban permaculture garden, Adam Grubb teaching soil, and permaculture design! And mini bulldozers, of course… Read More »
Our current permaculture design course in Sydney is producing a heap of exciting, creative and actually doable urban design, but not as you might know it. 40 urban folks have taken up paper and software, and also cross-stitch and dioramas to help them re-imagine home.
I love watching people design. Especially people who are thinking holistically, thanks to good information. Every time we run a permaculture design course, no matter where it is, we see the results of a group of switched-on folks who have re-designed their known spaces with permaculture principles in mind…
Recognizing simple pattern in nature is easy, and it’s the basis of bio mimicry. But just as crucial as recognizing these natural patterns, is thinking about how you can use them to create. That’s where the design comes in.
Figuring how to integrate natural patterning into permaculture designs for homesteads, communities, farms and cities in a beneficial way is a core concept in Permaculture theory. Read More »
The second week of our Winter 2011 Permaculture Design Certificate, we were lucky enough to have David Holmgren, co-originator of Permaculture, presenting for the whole day. I don’t think anyone will forget this day in a hurry.
Apart from walking us through his 12 principles with elegance, enthusiasm and what is clearly an extremely deep appreciation for how natural system function, David emphasized what is for me a new way of explaining what the heck permaculture is: ecological design theory applied to an everyday context. Right on. Read More »
