This course will be held in Harrisonburg, Virginia based loosely out of the James Madison University School of Professional and Continuing Education (SPCE).

We will be traveling quite a bit on course weekends, with the full schedule to be announced closer to the start of the course.

Dates:

• Fri-Sun, September 19-21

• Sat-Sun, October 4-5

• Sat-Sun, October 25-26

• Sat-Sun, November 8-9

Time: 9am–6pm

Do you already have your PDC and are interested in getting more experience teaching? Check out our Teaching Apprenticeship Program!

Two Scholarships are available for the Fall 2025 PDC. Apply Here!

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.

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. 

• 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.