Stroud Permaculture Design Course Autumn 2017

Course Information and Booking Form

Contact:

Seb Buckton T: 07557 508025 E:

Helen Pitel T: 01453 762957

This is the Permaculture Association 72 hour PDC Permaculture Design Course and we follow their PDC Core Curriculum syllabus, while adding a unique local Stroud flavour to it. All students who complete the course are awarded the Permaculture Association Certificate for the PDC.

September 12th to December 5th 2017.

Twelve weekday evening sessions on a Tuesday plus weekend field trips and practicals.

All sessions from 6.45pm to 9.30 pm. No session on Tuesday 24th October (half term).

Venue: The course is based in Whiteshill, Stroud, Glos, with visits to local and regional Permaculture projects, The venues we use will depend on final course numbers, but will include Helen Pitel's Permaculture Project 'Tin Bath House', which is now registered as a Permaculture Association LAND Centre.

Course content

It’s a lively, vibrant and interactive course which attracts a really diverse and interesting group of people. It’s great for getting to know the ‘green scene’ in Stroud and meeting other like-minded people, who care about the planet. A ‘must–do’ course for everyone who hopes to live more lightly on the earth - and grow their own carrots!

The weekly sessions include talks, workshops, slideshows and activities on Permaculture Design principles and practice. Starting with a short introduction to Permaculture we will look at design methods towards creating healthy, sustainable and productive systems. Sessions include organic growing, soil, buildings, energy, community, waste reduction, local economy and sustainable living. Lead teachers are Helen Pitel and Seb Buckton with Adrian Leaman and Fred Miller, all bringing Permaculture wisdom and skills to lead you on your Permaculture learning journey.

Design Project. We will be studying practical Permaculture design methods and you will work as part of a small group towards a practical design either for your own garden/allotment or a local community project. Your group will be expected to do a short presentation of your plans and ideas at the end of the course. Support and resources will be available throughout to help you with this project. A practical design skills day is included in the course programme.

Field visits and practicals – a range of opportunities to visit Permaculture sites and projects will make up part of the course. These give you the opportunity to see Permaculture in action and gain practical experience, in a range of settings. Options are still being planned but will include:

  • Tours of key Stroud organisations and projects
  • Visit to Bristol Permaculture projects
  • Foxfield Farm Permaculture Association LAND project
  • Practical sessions in living soils and Permaculture gardening, woodland management and woodland skills

You will be sent a timetable and details of visits before the start of the course so you can check your availability in advance.

Learning outcomes

  • Understanding of the principles, ethics and practice of Permaculture Design.
  • Confidence to apply practical design solutions to your own house and garden or community projects.
  • Practical methods to minimise your ecological impact and build confidence and ideas for starting your own projects.
  • Make links within your community and participate in positive changes to your immediate environment.
  • Signposting to further study, volunteer opportunities, local and regional networks and resources.

Cost

Full fee is £375, low-waged (<£12K) household is £280 and unwaged household is £150.

** EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT: book before May 31st for £350/£260/£125 **

We prefer full payment at the start of the course but 2-3 instalments can be arranged on request.

Please talk to us about this if you are unclear about your status. This course is not subsidised and is run on a not-for-profit basis. Any profit from the course is used to develop local projects supporting community sustainability.

Costs of activities is included in the fee, apart from transport and food on field trips. We keep visits as local as possible and car-share to keep it cheap and keep our CO2 emissions low!

Special offers for participants

We have secured the following benefits for anyone doing the course:

  • 30% OFFall books published by Permanent Publications - you can view what is avaiable here:
  • 10% OFF all other books, DVDs, tools and products featured on the Green Shopping website (
  • A copy of the course text Permaculture Design by Aranya (worth £14.95) is included in the cost of the course.

Special requirements

Please contact us if you have any special requirements. We will advise on accessibility of field trip sites before you choose.

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Stroud PDC 2017 Booking Form

To book your place, please return your booking as soon as possible. Places are limited and will be offered on a first confirmed basis. Booking will be confirmed on receipt of a £50 deposit (£30 deposit for concessions). The remainder is to be paid in the first week or by instalments by prior arrangement.

Do feel free to get in touch with Helen or Seb if you have questions or need more information on anything about the course.

Refund policy:

If we cancel the course for some reason your deposit will be refunded. If you want to cancel your deposit is refunded if you inform us no less than 14 days before the course starts. If notification is later than that we cannot refund your deposit unless we are able to fill your place. In this case a full refund will be issued. Once you have started the course the full fee will be payable.

Name ______

Address______

______

Post Code______

Phone ______

Mobile______

Email ______

Amount to pay:

Please tick: £375/£350* full

£280/£260* (low waged household)

£150/£125* (unwaged household)

Deposit enclosed / paid online______(£50 full, £30 other)

* early bird discount if booked before May31st 2017

Please email your completed form to Seb at and transfer the deposit to S Buckton, sort code 08-92-86, Account no. 11441988.

Please put 'PDC17' and your name as the reference.

Or alternatively print and post your form with deposit cheque payable to Seb Buckton.

Post to: Seb Buckton, Common Edge, 5A Kings Road, Rodborough, Stroud, GL5 3SE.