Permaculture Design Course
Fall 2026
Learn real world, hands-on, practical permaculture
Fredericksburg, Virginia - Hosted by the University of Mary Washington
September 18-20 ✺ October 3-4 ✺ October 24-25 ✺ November 7-8
Discover design strategies to work with nature instead of fighting it! You'll get your hands dirty and your wheels turning as we walk through the theory, concepts, tools, and techniques of permaculture design, from observation to execution.
Interested in a scholarship? Apply Here!
What You Need To Know
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$1,375 registration
Early Bird Registration thru July 1st ($200 off)
Additional 10% discount for Couples & Veterans
Please email pdc@shenandoahpermaculture.com for discount codes.
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This course will be held in Fredericksburg, Virginia based loosely out of the University of Mary Washington and Rappahannock Education Farm.
We will be traveling quite a bit on course weekends, with the full schedule to be announced closer to the start of the course.
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Dates:
Fri-Sun, September 18-20
Sat-Sun, October 3-4
Sat-Sun, October 24-28
Sat-Sun, November 7-8
Time: 9am–6pm
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Do you already have your PDC and are interested in getting more experience teaching? Check out our Teaching Apprenticeship Program!
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Two Scholarships are available for the Fall 2026 PDC. Apply Here!
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Our days will run from 9am - 6pm, with an hour off for lunch midday. The course will be taught, in Permaculture fashion, by moving from patterns to details. We will learn foundations and core concepts first, drilling down into the details as we move along. Each day we will spend time both indoors and outdoors as we focus on observational skills and hands-on activities. Field trips and farm tours help cement concepts and allow on-the-ground learning to take place in real time. Typical days will see us both indoors and out, often at multiple locations.
You’ll work in small groups to develop a final design project that applies all of the concepts learned throughout the course. Expect to spend some time outside of class on design homework that will be due weekends two, three and four. -
Anyone interested in developing a productive, efficient, and ecologically sustainable landscape, including backyard gardens, farms, homesteads, and communities. Permaculture Design applies to projects of all sizes and scales! This course will benefit the novice and the seasoned practitioner alike and is open to all regardless of experience. We have had students from many walks of life, including college students, extension agents, professional designers, homesteaders, soon-to-be retirees looking to plan their projects, apartment dwelling professionals, master gardeners and more.
If you're uncertain where you fit into a course like this, please reach out to us at pdc@shenandoahpermaculture.com.
Whoever you are, there's a place for you in our Permaculture Design Course.
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This course will be packed with field trips to regional permaculture projects and hands-on guest workshops. Students often tell us that these are some of their favorite parts of the course.
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Students receive free plant materials to take home to start their own projects. This varies seasonally, but previous examples include: Elderberry cuttings. Comfrey cuttings. Pawpaw seeds. Scion wood for grafting.
Students will create and take home some sort of mushroom product. This could be an inoculated log, bucket, cardboard roll, etc.
We will facilitate a seed swap during the course so that students may learn about new varieties and share their own seeds with the group.
There will be a potluck on one of the Saturday evenings that students are invited (optionally) to attend. This is always a highlight.
Students receive a free custom t-shirt.
Curriculum Overview
These are some, but not all, of the topics covered in the course.
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History of Permaculture
Principles & Ethics
Permaculture Around the World
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Soil Ecology
Soil Testing & Analysis
Soil Management
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Water Ecology
Understanding Water on Your Site
How to Sink, Store & Spread Water
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Orchard Design & Placement
Organic Orchard Management
Designing Plant Guilds
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Living the Ethics
Communication skills
Permaculture Cities
8 Forms of Capital
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Holistic Managed Grazing
Livestock for the Homestead
Silvopasture
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Mushroom Cultivation
Mycoremediation
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Zone & Sector Analysis
Crafting a Goals Statement
Client Interactions
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Reading the Landscape
Developing the Pattern Eye
Mapping 101
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Herbal Medicine
Medicinal Herb Cultivation
Fermentation
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Understanding Contour
Swales & Keyline Patterning
Ponds
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Our favorite Permaculture Plants
Plant ID
Plant Propagation
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Market Gardening
Permaculture Farms at Many Scales
Don't miss out!
Limited spots available.
FAQ
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In order to ensure the integrity of the Permaculture Design Certificate, SPI has a strict attendance policy for all PDCs. If students miss more than one full day of the course (8 hours teaching time total), they will not receive their certificates at the end of the course. Instead, they will be given the opportunity to make up curriculum missed by attending future SPI courses free of charge. Students who miss less than 8 hours of teaching time are still required to make up missed material through a written homework assignment, in which case they will still be eligible for certificates. There are no exceptions to this attendance policy and it is up to the student to pursue make up material and coordinate with instructors.
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There is a $300 non-refundable deposit required upon registration. This deposit will be retained by SPI in case of cancellation. If you withdrawal two weeks before the beginning of the course you will receive a full refund (minus $300 security deposit). Cancellation refunds will not be granted after the two week window.
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Lodging is not provided with the course.
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Students will be responsible for providing their own lunches. Heavy snacks, coffee, tea, and kombucha will be provided.