Permaculture Design Course
At The Santa Cruz Permaculture Farm & Surrounding Region
The Santa Cruz Permaculture Design Certificate course, certified by PINA, the Permaculture Institute of North America, includes the internationally recognized 72-hour curriculum, augmented by an additional 38-hours of hands on practice and field trips. Plus, folks have the option to camp on site, and build community around the fire!
Our course brings in leading designers and teachers from around the region, each experts in different areas of permaculture. The Santa Cruz Permaculture network of instructors, alumni, community partners, and resources continues to grow each season, and by participating in our course, you become part of this network! Read interviews with our alumni here to learn how folks use the skills and knowledge they gain in this course.
Additionally, course participants work in teams throughout the program to design a holistic permaculture plan for a real-life site in the community. The hands-on learning, workshops, and readings throughout the course prepare students with knowledge and whole systems thinking strategies that allow them to create detailed and thoughtful designs.
Full Series: 6 Weekends Over 6 Months
Full series registration is available up until the day before the first session. Late registration is available and you can make up any missed weekends with the next session. Use the next cohort registration and select the class you’d like to join on our registration form. Email info.santacruzpermaculture@gmail.com with questions.
Pricing
- Full Tuition: $1295
- Partner / Spouse Tuition: $995 (When one partner registers for the full course, the second gets a discount)
- Early Bird Discount: $1195 (Register more than 30 days in advance)
- Super Early Bird Discount: $1095 (Register more than 60 days in advance)
- Teachers: $995 (Special price for For K-12, College and University Teachers)
- Youth: $795 (Special price for ages 13-18)
Fall 2023-Winter 2024
- Session 1: October 14-15, 2023
- Session 2: November 11-12, 2023
- Session 3: December 9-10, 2023
- Session 4: January 13-14, 2024
- Session 5: February 10-11, 2024
- Session 6: March 9-10, 2024
Session Times: Sessions typically run 9am – 5:30pm both days, with a lunch break.
Spring-Summer 2024
- Session 1: April 13-14, 2024
- Session 2: May 4-5, 2024
- Session 3: June 1-2, 2024
- Session 4: July 6-7, 2024
- Session 5: August 3-4, 2024
- Session 6: September 7-8, 2024
Session Times: Sessions typically run 9am – 5:30pm both days, with a lunch break.
Full Series: 2 Week Summer Intensive
Pricing
- Full Tuition: $1895
- Partner / Spouse Tuition: $1695 (When one partner registers for the full course, the second gets a discount)
- Early Bird Discount: $1795 (Register more than 30 days in advance)
- Super Early Bird Discount: $1695 (Register more than 60 days in advance)
- Teachers: $1695 (Special price for For K-12, College and University Teachers)
- Youth: $1395 (Special price for ages 13-18)
Two Week Summer Intensive
June 16-29, 2024
Our 2-week intensive covers the same curriculum as our 6-month course. Tuition includes catered meals and on-site camping.
The 2-week intensive is followed by our 8-day Advanced Permaculture Design Course. Please consider joining us for both courses.
Individual Sessions
If you don’t want to sign up for the full course but would like to sign up for an individual weekend, you’re welcome to do so! The tuition is $295 per weekend.
Social Permaculture, Community Development, & Design Presentations – March 2 & 3, 2024
Regenerative Design & Nature Awareness – April 13 & 14, 2024
Regenerating Watersheds & Soils – May 4 & 5, 2024
Personal & Economic Permaculture – June 1 & 2, 2024
Home Scale Permaculture: Creating Natural Homes & Edible Landscapes – July 6 & 7, 2024
What Is Permaculture & Whole Systems Design?
Permaculture is an ethically based whole-systems design approach that uses concepts, principles, and methods derived from ecosystems, nature connected communities, and other time-tested systems to create human settlements and institutions. It’s also been called “saving the planet while throwing a better party.” Learn more about permaculture.
Grounded in the context of Permaculture & Whole Systems Design, this course covers a wide range of topics, including:
- Food Forests
- Fruit Tree Pruning and Care
- Agroforestry
- Nature Awareness
- Rehydrating the Earth
- Creating Water
- Retention Landscapes
- Rainwater Catchment
- Gabions
- Berms and Swales
- Greywater
- No-Till Agriculture & Carbon Farming
- Preparing Garden Beds for Planting
- Cover Cropping
- Mycorrhizal Network & Fungi
- Soil Ecology
- Composting
- Natural Building & Cob Construction
- Plant Guilds
- Crop Planning
- School Gardens
- Urban Gardens & Orchards
- Sudden Oak Life
- Integrated Animal Husbandry
- Holistic Management & Rotational Grazing
- Local Food Systems
- Designing to Mitigate Disaster
- Bioregional Networks
- The World Café
- The Work That Reconnects
- Nonviolent Communication
- Financial Permaculture
- Alternative Currencies
- Economic Permaculture
- Public Banking
- Community Development
- City Repair
- Transition Towns
- Social Permaculture
- Intentional Communities & Ecovillages
- Neighborhood Resilience
Session Descriptions
All sessions include a mix of lecture and hands-on activities. Classes run from 9am-5:30pm each day.
Session 1 – Regenerative Design & Nature Awareness
- Explore the principles and ethics of permaculture
- Learn design processes and methods for articulating client goals and desired outcomes, and site analysis
- Study ecology and employ natural patterns as a design tool
- Participate in a World Cafe with fellow students to access the collective intelligence of the community
- Practice nature awareness and observation
- Learn to add value to current systems and practices through the lens of regenerative design
Session 2 – Regenerating Watersheds & Soils
- Learn about watersheds, climate, and the importance of slowing, spreading, and sinking rainfall to rehydrate the earth
- Study simple water harvesting systems from home to broadacre scale, including rainwater catchment methods and greywater design
- Explore the characteristics and management of healthy soil ecology with hands-on lessons and time in the garden
- Build a compost pile and prepare the garden soil for planting
- Find contour by making a-frame levels and build a berm and swale to slow and sink water into the soil
Session 3 – Personal & Economic Permaculture
- Learn and practice nonviolent communication
- Participate in a Work that Reconnects workshop and learn about the Spiral of the Work That Reconnects
- Discuss and reflect on Right Livelihood and your role in the Great Turning
- Explore strategies for mitigating disaster through community resilience, permaculture design, and creating disaster plans
- Gain an understanding of financial permaculture, challenges with our current economic system, and concepts like money and banking
- Learn about topics like alternative currencies, public banking, and ways to align your investments with your values
- Discuss how to translate ecological principles to a variety of social, economic, and educational settings
- Discuss public placemaking examples like City Repair in Portland
Session 4 – Home Scale Permaculture: Creating Natural Homes & Edible Landscapes
- Learn about natural building techniques
- Gain hands-on experience building a small structure with cob
- Learn about crop planning strategies
- Tour the UC Santa Cruz Farm and Chadwick Garden
- Explore the application of permaculture methods to educational curriculum design and the creation of school garden programs
- Study food forests and fruit trees
- Define and design “guilds” or constructed plant communities
- Discuss local food issues and the importance of localization
Session 5 – Broad Scale Permaculture For Ecosystem Regeneration: Integrated Animal Husbandry & Forest Management
- Tour local gardens and broadacre ranches that are applying permaculture principles to their animal husbandry practices, such as holistic grazing
- Learn about forest management practices, including Sudden Oak Life
- Implement Sudden Oak Life strategies
- Study and practice fruit tree pruning
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can make up material you missed during the next session.
Full Series: 6 Weekends Over 6 Months
Full series registration is available up until the day before the first session. Once the series has begun, you are free to sign up for future sessions with the series.
Pricing
- Full Tuition: $1295
- Partner / Spouse Tuition: $995 (When one partner registers for the full course, the second gets a discount)
- Early Bird Discount: $1195 (Register more than 30 days in advance)
- Super Early Bird Discount: $1095 (Register more than 60 days in advance)
- Teachers: $995 (Special price for For K-12, College and University Teachers)
- Youth: $795 (Special price for ages 13-18)
Fall 2023-Winter 2024
- Session 1: October 14-15, 2023
- Session 2: November 11-12, 2023
- Session 3: December 9-10, 2023
- Session 4: January 13-14, 2024
- Session 5: February 10-11, 2024
- Session 6: March 9-10, 2024
Session Times: Sessions typically run 9am – 5:30pm both days, with a lunch break.
Spring-Summer 2024
- Session 1: April 13-14, 2024
- Session 2: May 4-5, 2024
- Session 3: June 1-2, 2024
- Session 4: July 6-7, 2024
- Session 5: August 3-4, 2024
- Session 6: September 7-8, 2024
Session Times: Sessions typically run 9am – 5:30pm both days, with a lunch break.
Two Week Summer Intensive
June 16-29, 2024
Our 2-week intensive covers the same curriculum as our 6-month course. Tuition includes catered meals and on-site camping.
The 2-week intensive is followed by our 8-day Advanced Permaculture Design Course. Please consider joining us for both courses.
Your Guides For This Course
David Shaw
John Valenzuela
Lydia NeIlson
Miles Taylor
Lee Klinger
Della Duncan
Kanyon Sayers-Roods
Greg Richardson
Speaker
-
Dave Shaw
Permaculture Institute of North America:
Address
2091 Route 130
Harrison City, PA 15636
Session 6 – Social Permaculture, Community Development, & Design Presentations