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No PDC This Year


Permaculture Design Course
Eary bird pricing ends this Sunday, May 14th 2023

June 17 - July 1, 2023
Near Missoula, Montana


permaculture design course 2023 wheaton Labs

click here for PDC ticket prices


A Professional PDC:
The internationally-recognized Permaculture Design Certification (PDC) course has been taught around the world for almost four decades. Given permaculture’s early emphasis on agriculture, most of these courses have been oriented primarily towards an audience interested in homestead and farm design.

But as permaculture has been applied to an increasingly wide array of problems, the demand for PDC’s tailored to other audiences has also exploded.

One of the key emerging challenges is how to apply permaculture’s regenerative design tools in professional design contexts. To meet this need, Wheaton Labs has teamed up with Alan Booker from the Institute of Integrated Regenerative Design to present a PDC specifically targeted for design professionals such as engineers, architects, urban planners, landscape architects, and those interested in pursuing permaculture design at larger scales.



Course Overview:
The 2023 Wheaton Labs PDC is structured to meet all of the requirements for the 72-hour Permaculture Design Certification while also being aimed at a professional audience. The course is presented at a graduate school level, meaning that students are expected to already have undergraduate-level knowledge of physics, chemistry, and biology.

Many of the permaculture concepts have been updated and expanded using the latest in peer-reviewed science and professional practice.

Topics include:
  • Understanding the climatological, hydrological, and ecological context of your projects
  • Working with the emergent properties of complex systems
  • Designing in nested wholes to create systems that behave like ecosystems
  • Using GIS and other geospatial tools to perform hydrological and geotechnical analysis of large-scale projects
  • Using next-generation tools such as SFG Maps and the Regenerative Scales of Permanence
  • Creating designs that regenerate watersheds and restore soil fertility, produce nutrient-dense real food, and support healthy human communities


  • Since this is a design course, students will be assigned to small design teams and start working on design exercises on the first day. During the second week, students will transition over to working on their final design projects individually. The capstone of the course involves each student individually presenting their design project to the class.

    Students from previous years, many with several decades of professional experience, have commented that this course completely reframed the way they view design. Download the full course outline for more details on course content.

    For all the details, download the PDF outline




    Click Here for full course schedule




    Instructors

    Alan Booker -- Instructor
    Alan Booker is the founder and executive director of the Institute of Integrated Regenerative Design, which trains professional design practitioners to create systems that are ecosystemic, biocompatible, and regenerative. With a degree in electrical engineering, he has over 30 years experience in systems engineering and 20 years in sustainable and regenerative design.

    With deep hands-on experience designing large-scale sustainable systems, Alan is a LEED AP™ BD+C (LEED Accredited Professional in Building Design and Construction), WELL AP, Accredited Green Roof Professional (GRP), holds Living Futures Accreditation (LFA) for working with Living Building Challenge and Living Community Challenge projects, and is the creator of the Integrated Regenerative Design (IRD) framework and the Biocompatible Design standards. In addition to teaching Permaculture and Integrated Regenerative Design, he also provides consulting and workshops on earthworks, watershed management, soil remediation, composting, forest gardening, holistic management of pastureland, keyline design, aquaculture and aquaponics, Net Zero buildings and off-grid energy systems, and natural building systems.

    Chase Jones -- Instructor
    Chase Jones is a permaculture designer and consultant with a background in anthropology, conservation archaeology, ecology, and geospatial analysis. He is the co-founder of Biodesic Strategies, a permaculture design and construction service that offers ecological design and green infrastructure installation. Working throughout northwest Arkansas and surrounding areas, Biodesic Strategies also hosts educational and community events that promote the wider adoption of regenerative and sustainable design approaches.

    For the PDC, Chase will bring both his practical consulting experience and background in the geospatial sciences to the process of helping students understand the tools needed to capture site data, synthesize an accurate base map, and develop a working understanding of any design site.

    Paul Wheaton -- Host/Instructor
    Paul Wheaton is the founder of Permies, the world’s largest online permaculture community, and the founding director of Wheaton Labs.

    After starting his career as a software engineer and founding Coderanch, a popular online forum for programmers, Paul decided to pursue his interests in gardening and sustainable design, becoming a Master Gardener and discovering permaculture soon afterwards.

    Paul has now published hundreds of videos, podcasts, and articles promoting permaculture around the world, is the author of the book Build a Better World in Your Backyard, and is a frequent keynote speaker at conferences and events globally.

    Helen Atthowe -- Guest Instructor
    Helen Atthowe taught Master Gardener courses for 17 years, creating the manual for the course in Western Montana. Helen studied with Masanobu Fukuoka and has been learning how to pay attention to the land and apply his farming principles to her commercial organic farms for over 35 years, while also adding and developing ecological farming principles of her own. She has managed everything from permaculture food forests and vegetable gardens to a 2,000 acre organic commodity farm.

    She has an undergraduate degree in Agroecology, an MS in Horticulture, and research towards a PhD in Entomology, focused on how reduced-tillage affects beneficial organism populations and crop biological control.

    Matthew Stone -- Guest Instructor
    Matthew Stone has a BS in Biological Systems Engineering from Kansas State University. His studies focused on the confluence of environmental, agricultural, and bioprocess engineering and the interrelationships between those fields. He has worked in both a soil water research lab and agricultural engineering research lab studying how changes in long-term weather patterns affect soil hydrology and agricultural yields.

    He has over 3 years of experience in the landscape construction industry and currently works as an assistant project manager for a high-end residential landscaping firm, executing the construction of multi-million dollar installations in New England.

    Matt received his Permaculture Design Certificate from Alan Booker during the 2021 Wheaton Labs PDC and is now returning to help out with the 2023 course.






    2021 Participants!



    Tickets

    Work Trades for Permaculture Technology Jamboree, PDC, and SKIP
    Work 8 weeks in Bootcamp for a ticket to the PDC!

    click here for PDC ticket prices


    Filename: PDC-Outline-Flyer.pdf
    File size: 2 megabytes
    COMMENTS:
     
    Posts: 302
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    This looks awesome! So the blurb says arrive by 5pm Sat 17 June, what if you want to arrive a few days earlier? Would that be possible? Also I would be driving and happy to pick up food/people ect. as I passed through town, what would be appreciated (organic+ understood)? I'd be happy to bring seeds to share in making seed balls. The blurb also says "no pets" is this specifically cats& dogs or any animal that is not a service animal? I currently have 2 rabbits that are well trained in "pre composting" kitchen scraps and I may have a small flock of chicken pullets by then (also raised in the joyful verity of kitchen scraps) if they would be permitted to work for space. I understand that wild animals may be attracted to them and would not be upset at you (Wheaton Labs or PDC) if they became "bear snacks to go".
    PXL_20230121_011258272.jpg
    Enjoying home grown mushrooms
    Enjoying home grown mushrooms
     
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    Hello! We are trying to purchase two tickets to the 2023 PDC this summer and the link to purchase does not work. Can someone please help us purchase tickets at the super early bird price if any are still available?

    Here is the link:
    https://permies.com/forums/pay/checkout/6r25l9wqi4mw
     
    steward
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    Hal Schmidt wrote:Hello! We are trying to purchase two tickets to the 2023 PDC this summer and the link to purchase does not work. Can someone please help us purchase tickets at the super early bird price if any are still available?

    Here is the link:
    https://permies.com/forums/pay/checkout/6r25l9wqi4mw



    Hi Hal,

    I did some things, can you try again?  If the problem persists, try clearing your cache or using a different browser.  Let me know if it works - otherwise I'll take care of you one way or another.
     
    Hal Schmidt
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    Thank you! It works now! We are very excited for our first event at Wheaton Labs!
     
    gardener
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    Hal Schmidt wrote:Thank you! It works now! We are very excited for our first event at Wheaton Labs!



    You're welcome. Glad it worked for you.

    I sent you an email with the next steps.

    Thank you for your purchase.
     
    Hal Schmidt
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    So I know that the PDC listing says that it's for scientists and engineers and professionals, but would someone who is more of a beginner be welcomed and still benefit from the course? I see great value in all of the topics that will be discussed, especially when we get our land and decide on how to to design our system. Would love to hear others' thoughts and experiences!
     
    instructor
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    Hal Schmidt wrote:So I know that the PDC listing says that it's for scientists and engineers and professionals, but would someone who is more of a beginner be welcomed and still benefit from the course? I see great value in all of the topics that will be discussed, especially when we get our land and decide on how to to design our system. Would love to hear others' thoughts and experiences!



    Hal, the course is geared for learners who have a strong technical background but little/no experience with permaculture, so obviously these folks do well. I have also noticed that learners who show up with a good amount of exposure to permaculture concepts but a limited background in the sciences can do well, but might have to spend some extra effort catching up to speed on the chemistry, biology, and physics concepts. Folks that have neither a technical background nor familiarity with permaculture concepts can definitely get overwhelmed.

    If a learner is the type who gets really frustrated when they can't catch every concept, then coming in without an adequate background in either the technical fields or permaculture is probably not a good fit. On the other hand, a learner whose temperament allows them to take a more relaxed approach and simply pick up on those parts for which they are ready would likely do fine. They would certainly miss a good amount of the more advanced content, but would learn plenty that they could take home and put into practice.
     
    Posts: 5
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    Hi there!

    Will there be recordings of this PDC available for purchase, similar to the Virtual PDC and Appropriate Technology course on Permies?

    I have wanted to attend a PDC for Scienists and Engineers for some time, however they're almost always in the States (I'm in Australia).

    Hoping there might be an option to watch or download the recordings at a discounted rate. The course outline looks elite!

    Cheers,

    Vaughan
     
    Alan Booker
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    Vaughan Griffin wrote:Hi there!

    Will there be recordings of this PDC available for purchase, similar to the Virtual PDC and Appropriate Technology course on Permies?

    I have wanted to attend a PDC for Scienists and Engineers for some time, however they're almost always in the States (I'm in Australia).

    Hoping there might be an option to watch or download the recordings at a discounted rate. The course outline looks elite!

    Cheers,

    Vaughan



    Vaughan,

    No, there won't be any videos for this PDC. Paul has expressed some interest in possible doing this, but I have resisted for several reasons.

    Perhaps the biggest of the reason is that having cameras and microphones going fundamentally shifts the environment of the course. It moves from an intimate discussion just between those of us in the room over to a space where everyone is aware that what they are saying is being recorded. When I allowed recording of a couple of sessions during the 2022 PDC, I was immediately aware of how the mood in the room shifted and how much less certain students interacted. I want to protect the shared space that we all create when we come together for two weeks to learn together.

    There are other reasons, such as the fact that I designed the curriculum to unfold as a combination of presentations and active learning that can't be captured via video, and that I tell a number of stories given to me by elders who said they should only be told in person. But mostly it's because many people find the course to be a transformational experience and I find that cameras get in the way of that experience.

    If you can manage to find a way to come join us, we would love to have you. If not, I would encourage you to find a more local group that you can share the experience with.

    Alan
     
    Vaughan Griffin
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    Thanks for your response, Alan.

    The impact on the sharing dynamic and transformational experience sounds substantial, and I can respect your need to protect the stories of elders.

    If I can encourage you to publish some notes about the course (having removed sensitive subjects), that'd be excellent. Otherwise, do you have any book recommendations about the concepts within the course?

    It's definitely a course I'll look forward to completing at some stage in the future, if I can get over there. It also sounds like you have a strong connection to culture in your work, which I deeply respect.

    Love your work, and best of luck with the course all attending!

    Vaughan
     
    gardener
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    If you want to hear from the instructors from last years PTJ, Paul just put out a 3-part podcast. The 3rd installment, just came out today

    2022 PTJ Recap Podcast Part 3
     
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    When does the early bird ticket price end?
     
    Beau M. Davidson
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    Valerie Toungette wrote:When does the early bird ticket price end?



    Hi Valerie,

    I think it's at a certain number of ticket sales or a cutoff date, whichever comes first.  While I don't know for sure, I think it's getting close to expiring.  Sorry I don't have better information for you!  Best bet is to go ahead and pick it up.
     
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    Valerie Toungette wrote:When does the early bird ticket price end?



    Heads up! Early bird pricing ends this Sunday, May 14th!!
     
    Monica Truong
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    It's week two of the PDC at Wheaton Labs, folks! Listen in  on Paul as he talks with Brandt (last year's PDC student) compare this year and last year's PDC, both with Alan Booker as the main teacher. Get the inside scoop.
     
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    Grow a Salad in Your City Apartment E-book by Rosemary Hansen
    https://permies.com/t/98392/ebooks/Grow-Salad-City-Apartment-book
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