Just Getting started

Hey, Im just getting started, and trying to use what I have.  We have some property, that is old farmland.  The house was flooded out.  Right now we just use the property to camp. There is a camper by the old house.  We use the house for storage at the moment.   Im looking for some good design software.  Here's what we are starting with.  

Hi Wendy and welcome to Permies!
Your property looks like it has a lot of potential. Is that a little pond and river?

When I did my PermacultureDesignCourse we just used paper and markers. That worked quite nicely and is very affordable. Parchment paper can be used to add different layers over one map.

Having an idea of the topography, like where the land dips, where high points are etc. is essential.

I'm sure someone here can point you towards a design software.

We also like the paper and markers or colored pencil.

We also use google Earth to help scale what is on paper.  I like that I can zoom in to the exact spot I am looking at.

In terms of design software, it really depends on your technical ability. Generally speaking, I would consider using earth.google.com and creating a map of your property. From there, you can add place marks for each thing. You can also use ArcGIS (for reference, this is what one agricultural museum made using ArcGIS: https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/bfde8c4a834745158e0a3f97d53c2c2e), but it can be more difficult to learn. In terms of designing specific things (ex: a chicken coop), AutoCAD is a good resource, but it can also be difficult to learn and costs money. I might consider using a window or light box and printing out various layers of a map and overlaying them so you can see it all at once. For my garden, I use growveg garden software and add custom plants for less common plants and make boxes to represent buildings and such. In terms of data collection, you can use shademap.app, FEMA flood maps, and topographical maps as they are available.