6-Weekend Intensive Permaculture Design Course

Join us and expand your knowledge of sustainable design systems.

During this Permaculture Design Course, participants will be introduced to the ethics, principles, and methods of Permaculture while learning how to design, create, and maintain agriculturally productive ecosystems and sustainable human settlements. View an Introduction to Permaculture video here.

This 72 hour intensive course is taught by experts within the fields of permaculture, regenerative agriculture, sustainable energy, water conservation, natural building, and more.

Come learn in this beautiful Texas hill country setting while cultivating a new community, create a comprehensive property design of your own, and gain the skills to build local markets for permaculture.

Register Now

VENUE

Simply Wyldwood – A sweet homestead in Wyldwood TX

Located ~20 miles east of Austin, Simply Wyldwood is a 10-acre homestead and mindful living retreat including a food forest at the edge of the woodland and an 800 sqft Yoga Barn (classroom). Enjoy strolling through the forest trails, touring the food gardens and visiting the chickens at the Hen Den. This beautiful homestead and permaculture inspired land offers a genuine and unique learning experience with abundant hands-on opportunity.

• Site Facilities:
• Camping available
• Indoor/outdoor bathroom facilities & outdoor shower available
• Kitchenette available: includes small coil stove top, microwave, hot plate, fridge/freezer, kettle

REGISTRATION & PAYMENT

Early Registration til July 1st: $995 for full course

Regular Registration: $1195 full course or $200 per weekend

• Register for the entire course & obtain your Permaculture Design Certification.
• OR you can take one or more weekend at a time, and complete your certification at a later date.
• Weekends 1 through 4 are open to all.

TO REGISTER  

• Complete the Registration Form Here to register for Fall 2022 PDC.
• A $250 deposit is required for the full course. Payment for individual weekends is required up front.
• Final payment is due by the first class. For alternative payment arrangements, email us.

CURRICULUM

Class Dates & Material Covered

WEEKEND 1 – September 10-11 Introduction to Permaculture Design – Patterns in Nature – Climate – Methods of Design

WEEKEND 2 – September 24-25 Geography – Trees & their Energy Transactions – Water – Holistic Context Development

WEEKEND 3 – October 8-9 Soils – Earthworks – Surveying – Mapping

WEEKEND 4 – October 22-23 Small-Scale Animal Systems – Built Environment – Alternative energy –  Permaculture Design for Zones 1 and 2

WEEKEND 5 – November 5-6 Permaculture Design for Zones 3 and 4 – Grazing Systems – Perennial Gardens – Agroforestry

WEEKEND 6 – November 12-13 Building a Market for Permaculture Design – Permablitz Organization – Sustainable Communities – Student Design Presentations & Graduation Ceremony

INSTRUCTORS

Additional guest instructors to be announced

KIRBY FRY – Southern Exposure 

The primary instructor, Kirby Fry, started out his journey with a degree in Forestry Sciences from Texas A&M University and soon after was building tree nurseries, terraces, and planting fuelwood forests with the US Peace Corps in the Highlands of Guatemala. He worked in the field with Bill Mollison and Allan Savory for over 2 years at Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Glen Rose, Texas at “the top of the Hill Country”.

Today, Kirby works building houses, gardens, and sustainable design systems. Kirby believes that we should be building houses and landscapes that pay us to live in them, that we can give back more to the earth than we take from it in a lifetime, and that we can create agriculturally productive ecosystems for humans better than nature can.

PETE VAN DYCK – Drought Proof TX

Pete Van Dyck grew up under the shade of oak trees and woke to the sound of roosters crowing on a homestead south east of Oklahoma City. Pete was a competitive swimmer for 12 years, where his deep connection with water began. After graduating high school, he volunteered to serve in the United States Navy and underwent some of the most rigorous military training in the world at Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL School.  After his service with the Navy, Pete decided to pursue a lifestyle dedicated to land restoration and prioritization of the health of the land, health of the water, and the health of humans.

Using the GI Bill, Pete attended a heavy equipment operator and construction course where he learned how to safely operate equipment and run job sites. Pete has attended many land planning & farm design design courses with world-renowned designers including Darren Doherty, Geoff Lawton, and Mark Shepard. He has also volunteered his services with Earth Repair Corps to farmers and homesteaders all over central Texas, helping them to conserve soil, water, and money. Pete runs a small business that specializes in soil and water conservation that has worked and consulted on over 60 sites around Texas in just 3 years. Now he lives in Blanco, Texas building a farm that will demonstrate how to regeneratively manage land while making a sustainable profit.

ROBERT LEAL – El Paso Permaculture Group

JENNA JASSO – LoveATX

Group facilitator and teacher. Jenna’s relationship to the land began with countless days spent exploring her grandpa’s ranch in south Texas.  Her interest in innovative technologies led her to earn a BA in Mechanical Engineering from UT Austin.  After university, she was dishearten by the prevalence of “greenwashing” in the corporate environment, and was reinspired when she found herself among a community of permaculturists in 2011.

Jenna has since been dedicated to living in accordance with the land and providing opportunities for others to do the same.  With LoveATX, she organizes educational events to encourage eco-conscious, regenerative living. Jenna was on the ground-breaking team that initiated Austin’s food forest on city park land, as well as, the team that activated a global front yard garden movement known as “Food is Free”.  Jenna is a certified permaculture designer who integrates permaculture into city culture and landscapes. She champions localizing and minimizing your needs, while doubly giving back to the earth.  Jenna currently stewards 5 acres in Del Valle, TX where she and her family live in a tiny home.

REBECCA BIRDWELL – Simply Wyldwood

Rebecca Birdwell’s journey to a sustainable lifestyle started 20 years ago as a public school educator who loved to grow food.  She realized how vital organic local food is to the overall health of the planet as much as to one’s personal body.  Every time she eats she asks “Can I grow this?”  She decided to venture into homesteading and leave her “day job”.  When asked what she would do if she didn’t work for someone else she would answer “Grow and Eat Plants in Yoga Pants”  all day long.  That cheeky rhyme sent Rebecca on a learning path to become even more knowledgeable in her craft.

Rebecca became certified as a Yoga/Meditation Teacher and Nature Therapy Guide and is now the steward of a 10-acre family homestead,  food forest, and woodland forest trying to grow enough food for everyone and raising chickens. She shares her knowledge by teaching others to grow mentally, physically, and spiritually through what she calls Nature Nourishment.  She enjoys hosting opportunities to help others connect with nature through forest bathing (Shinrin-Yoku), classic yogic meditation, and food production at Simply Wyldwood. The goal is to partner with the planet in a reciprocal relationship of “taking care of the land so that it takes care of you”.  Outside of her nature passions, she also enjoys singing and just simply living with her wonderful husband, two crazy cats, and sweet dog Pepper.