Learning takes place at various local farms and home properties such as Maren Cook’s urban food forest near Frick Park in Pittsburgh.

The permaculture design course has been the foundational hallmark of permaculture education for the past four decades. Permaculture brings together food production and ecological restoration, helping gardeners, farmers and land stewards see how we can create solutions to food inequality, climate change and the ecological crisis. Through permaculture we can all learn to care for the earth, care for other people and do it with justice and equity. With a deep understanding of nature and ecology, permaculturists develop human managed systems to grow more food, support more biodiversity and make positive impacts in their communities. Our permaculture course is taught as a partnership with Three Sister’s Permaculture, Garfield Community Farm and Larkspur Design with certification through the Permaculture Institute of North America.

Learning to map a design takes place in the second half of the course.

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Beginning in 2024 our permaculture design course has been spread throughout the year with a monthly weekend intensive, usually on Saturdays. Each year’s cohort includes eight to fifteen students committed to finishing their PDC on calendar year. Instead of doing 80 hours of classwork in an intense two week course we’re spreading the classes throughout the year, giving students time to read, experiment, learn and ask questions between classes. We believe this model for the PDC will create better learning and teaching environments and it will allow students to go deeper into the practices and theory of permaculture throughout the course. The thirteen classes listed below will usually take place on the forth Saturday of each month. Some classes include a full day on the previous Friday and extend throughout Saturday. By completing each of the classes students will complete all other modules necessary to receive their official permaculture design certification through the Permaculture Institute of North America. The lead teachers of these classes are John Creasy of Wild Indigo Guild and Garfield Community Farm, Darrell Frey of Three Sisters Permaculture and Elizabeth Lynch of the Three Sister’s Permaculture. A very special weekend retreat happens in the spring at Lamppost Farm in Columbiana, Ohio, led by Steve Montgomery. Many other local experts will be included in select classes to augment the course, especially through local field trips.

All photos are from previous courses, permaculture related field trips or of Garfield Community Farm.

Integration of energy production, food and native plants!

Native and edible food forest design and implementation at Garfield Community Farm

The Total cost of the Permaculture Design Course is $2000 minus financial aid. A $200 deposit can be paid any time before January 10th of 2025 with $450 due in February, April, July and any remainder in October. Financial Aid may be applied for and could cover significant portions of the cost for those in need. The total course includes all of the classes below as well as a design apprenticeship at a local farm or with a local permaculture practitioner where design skills will be developed. For students looking to use permaculture design professionally, a portfolio quality design may be completed by the end of the course through the work of the apprenticeship.

Tentative Class Schedule

January - “Get to know one another” gathering

February - Introduction to Permaculture

March - Permaculture and Care of the Soul

April - Natural Building Workshop

May - Soil and Compost

June - Food Forest Design and Practice

July - Permaculture, Climate Change, Disaster Preparedness, Wilderness survival

August - Fungi in Permaculture Design and Biochar workshop

September - Urban Permaculture Homesteading and field trips to local sites

October - Season Extension, Bioshelters and Natural Building

November - Water Harvesting and Mapping in Permaculture