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Whatcom PDC Course 2024

Re-Skilling for a Regenerative Culture

June – July – August

Whatcom Permaculture Design Course Overview:

For the most up to date information on this course visit please visit the Whatcom Permaculture site

Over 4 weekends and 1 immersive week, we will explore the foundations of regenerative culture. By learning core Permaculture skills, we will connect to our capacity to observe, interact and re-integrate with natural systems.

Course content will include:

  • Permaculture ethics and design principles
  • Observation and critical thinking
  • Reading the landscape techniques
  • Pattern recognition
  • Basic Earth Science (i.e. soils, climate, hydrology, ect)
  • Water management (ex. earthworks, grey water)
  • Perennial plants, trees and guilds
  • Bioremediation
  • Herbalism
  • Personal and interpersonal skills
  • Structures and building
  • Surveying and mapping
  • Solar design
  • system resilience and disaster preparedness
  • Community structures and alternative governance
  • and, more tidbits along the way.

This learning community will use a mix of lectures, small and large group discussions, reflection/observation exercises and lots of hands-on skills practice. We will also provide suggested reading material and videos to be reviewed on your own time as primers for our in person sessions. You can expect some homework toward the end of the course.

Course Format:

The course will be a mix of in-person weekend sessions, a week-long intensive, on-line presentations, plus mid-week bonus hands on project sessions for those hungry for more.

4 great weekends and a five day camp out intensive!

The weekend dates are:

June 8th & 9th; 15th & 16th; July 6th & 7th;  13th & 14th 

Camp- July 29th – Aug. 2nd

Weekends will run from Saturday morning to Sunday evenings.

Locations: Inspiration Farm and Queen Mountain Homestead, two prime Northwest working model permaculture sites.

The first three weekends will be hosted at Queen Mountain Homestead, on the north side of Bellingham. Overnight camping is available onsite and welcome.  An outdoor kitchenette will be available for simple food prep.

Weekend Meals & Refreshments: bring your own lunch and a potluck item to share on Saturday eves; coffee, tea and water will be provided throughout.

Additional Independent Student Design work sessions on July 21st

This will be a time for students to get together with their design teams to socialize and work on their projects in an unstructured way.

Dates hosted at Inspiration Farm are July 13th & 14th Plus the 5 day camp Intensive, July 29th – Aug. 2nd

We will dive deeper into content during the week-long campout, while giving you an immersive taste of Permaculture living at Inspiration Farm.  In addition to more hands-on practice, you will work with a team of fellow students on a capstone design project. Your team will present your project to the whole learning community at the end of the week. The final day will also include a certification and course completion ceremony, a celebratory feast (loved ones welcome), and a talent show of epic proportions.

Meals & Refreshments: During this week, fresh lunch and dinner meals will be prepared on-site by a local chef; breakfast will be DIY with seasonal ingredients provided for you. Coffee, tea and water and fruit will be available throughout.

The Whatcom PDC Core Team:

From Inspiration Farm

  • Brian Kerkvliet – lead instructor
  • Alexandra King – Finances, Admin, Animals and hands on

From Queen Mountain homestead

  • Paul Kearsley – lead instructor
  • Jane Campbell – lead instructor
  • Elizabeth Chace – Social PC
  • Ryan Chace – Site help and hands on

More outstanding presenters to be announced

Learn the skills to work with nature to create integrated Permaculture systems of abundance and productivity! Food, Soil, Shelter, Energy, Water and a lot more: Design strategies and methods for truly sustainable, regenerative human integration with that natural systems and our ecosystem.

Permaculture Design Process week Camp Out:

Building on the foundation presented the first weekend sessions, knowledge and skills will be expanded and tied together. Leading to a final real life design exercise, mapping and placing elements within a holistic design. Including: Shelter Building, Solar Design, Climatic considerations, Community Structures, Urban Design, Animal Husbandry, Alternative Governance.

Design groups will present to the class for critique and comment. On-site Camping and meals will compliment the last five days at Inspiration Farm. This will provide opportunities to immerse in the design process and partake in after hour activities.

Permaculture Design useful in a wide range of professions.

Tailored for: Students, landscapers, architects, developers, homesteaders, community planers, farmers, gardeners, or those seeking to be certified in permaculture design.

What Does PERMACULTURE DESIGN CERTIFICATION (PDC) Curriculum Cover?

The curriculum covers a wide variety of subjects. The weekends are stand-alone with the first 4 sessions being a broad overview of design principles and strategies and the last week focusing on their practical application. The two weeks constitute the 72-Hour Design Permaculture Certification Course as designed by Permaculture co-founder, Bill Mollison. Participants who complete the full two-week curriculum earn the internationally recognized Permaculture Design Consultant Certification. To date, thousands of permaculture designers worldwide have been certified through this course, and now comprise a global network of educators and ecological activists who influence major corporations, individuals creating new business alternatives, and groups of committed people working together to change the way we view and design into our landscapes.

The order of topics in a course may change due to the presence of guest instructors, and emphasis on certain subjects may shift due to the needs and focus of the participants, such as urban or rural residents, city planners, farmers, and so on. This course will not make you an expert in any of the individual subjects covered, although in many cases we go into considerable depth. The point of the course is to introduce you to the relationships and synergies among the disciplines that permaculture connects.

Permaculture creates an ecology made up of the many tools and concepts used to design sustainable communities. You will learn what these tools are and how to decide which to use, and when. The course will show you how these subjects connect leaving you with a whole systems design strategy to work with.

More information can be found at Whatcom Permaculture.

This information is subject to change as we continue to organize the content.

PDC Course Pricing

Early Bird price, $1,700! Pay before March 1st and get a discount!

Full price: $2,000, after March 1st

Benefactor Fee: $2,200 will help provide scholarships to others

Includes all course materials, camping, field trips and a week of amazing local meals.

Some Scholarships are available, contact us for more details.

Click to Register