25 Feb, 2022
Follow your passion and immerse yourself in this Modular Permaculture Design Course held in the Beautiful Byron Shire. In this hands-on course you will discover how Permaculture principles can develop resilient systems, contributing to environmental, social and personal well-being. Through gaining a clear understanding of these principles, you will be able to apply them to your everyday life and surroundings – from a small home garden to commercial production.
You will learn how to design, build and maintain abundantly productive food gardens within sustainable human settlements and be shown how to work with an appreciation and understanding of nature’s patterns and cycles. There is an additional focus upon practical activities in the garden including no-dig gardening, seed saving, plant propagation, food forestry, Hugelkultur, tree maintenance, animal care, composting and more…
The course takes place over 14 days held as individual short modules on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays throughout the year. The foundational 72 hour International Permaculture Design Course (PDC) curriculum is covered – plus loads of hands on experience and field trips. This modular course is designed to support flexible, part time learning with the opportunity to complete all the modules within a 4 – 12 month period, depending on your availability to attend each one*. Upon completion of all 14 modules you will graduate with a Permaculture Design Certificate. The PDC course is held twice a year. The modules can be enroled in seperately but to take advantage of price savings, enrol in the PDC rather than in each individual module.
2022 course dates are:
Fri 25th Feb – Permaculture Ethics, Principles And Patterns with Bunya Halasz
Sat 26th Feb – Plant Propagation And Seed Saving with Bunya Halasz
Sun 27th Feb – Introduction To Permaculture Design with James Nash
Fri 11th March – Community Design And Social Permaculture with Dani Wolff
Sat 12th March – Trees And Perennial Crops – Creating Food Forests with Bunya Halasz
Sun 13th March – Vegetables – Integrated Organic Production with Bunya Halasz
Fri 8th April – Animals – Integrated Production Systems with Sharon Gibson
Sat 9th April – Settlements – Sustainable Housing And Appropriate Technology with James Nash
Sun 10th April – Water Systems For The Home And Landscape with James Nash
Fri 29th April – Soils – Organic Management with Joey Venables
Sat 30th April – Group Design Project with James Nash
Sun 1st May – Individual Design Workshop with James Nash
Sat 21st May – Ecology – Weeds, Pests And Diseases In The Garden with Joey Venables
Sun 22 May – Design Project Presentations and Locavore Feast with Bunya Halasz & James Nash
The course will incorporate field trips to the award winning Mullumbimby Community Garden, Urban Food Forests, Intensive Permaculture Production Systems, Bush Permaculture gardens and Natural Forest Ecosystems.
The teaching team, led by Bunya Halasz, has a diverse, complimentary and deep range of experience and skills.
Other Tutors Include: Sharon Gibson, James Nash, Dani Wolff and Joey Venables
This course offers a great introduction to permaculture and is suitable for anyone concerned with the environmental and social challenges around them who wants to help develop positive solutions. It would also benefit students interested in studying Permaculture Certificate III or IV with Byron Community College in the future.
11 Nov, 2020
Permaculture Demonstrator Skill Set (AHCSS000048)
This Nationally Accredited 4 unit Skill Set equips learners with the basic knowledge and practice of permaculture principles, how to select and maintain permaculture plant and animal systems, and ultimately how to research, communicate and demonstrate permaculture practices to learners. This skill set was designed to teach you how to understand and teach about permaculture. It is perfect for teachers in schools, community educators, people with passion for permaculture or who want to build their confidence and practice in sharing knowledge with others.
The course gives you a 4 unit credit in Cert III in Permaculture and qualifies you to teach Cert I and II Permaculture levels in combination with a Cert IV Training and Assessment. The course runs over 14 sessions online and face to face at CERES.
4 units of competency.
AHCPER301 Research and communicate information on permaculture principles and practices
AHCPER303 Maintain integrated plant and animal systems
AHCPER316 Select plant and animal species in a permaculture system
AHCPER321 Demonstrate permaculture practices to small groups of learners
Please read the course information at the CERES link for further details, fees and how to apply
Application/Enrolment Process
Those wishing to apply are asked to contact Karen Mengell, VET Co-ordinator on 9389 0127 or via email at karen.mengell@ceres.org.au for further information and discussion of individual needs prior to enrolment. CERES welcomes applications from those with disabilities. More information here
Registered Training Organisation
CERES is the registered training organisation offering this training – RTO no 3686. CERES is registered as an RTO with the VRQA and as such is only able to enrol domestic students in Victoria.
Image credit: Anja Williams, CERES PDC
4 Feb, 2020
Are you interested in learning permaculture skills to help make lives, homes and communities more sustainable? We offer the opportunity to immerse yourself in sustainable living in the Byron Shire, the green heart of the North Coast. Make like-minded friends in this highly practical course as you gain experience and confidence to transition your life and the lives of others towards a better future.
You will learn and be inspired by natural ecosystems, holistic philosophy integrating organic farming, animal systems, natural building, food preservation, systems thinking, community development and more. This course is the ‘trade equivalent’ qualification that prepares you to operate in a skilled and independent manner developing and operating permaculture systems.
The course will combine time in the classroom and out onsite at our purpose designed 1-acre permaculture site located at Mullumbimby Community Gardens (MCG) for hands-on experience.
During the course, you will be required to participate in weekly or fortnightly practical work at the MCG. Maintenance tasks include chicken care, watering seedlings and beds, turning compost and maintaining paths.
Byron Region Community College is a registered training organisation offering this course with the support of Mullumbimby Community Gardens (MCG) and Permaculture Australia.
You Will Learn:
Permaculture Principles and ethics
Integrated plant and animal systems
Seed saving and propagation
Establishment of urban permaculture systems
Planning and design of food forests and orchards
Building and installation of permaculture structures
Crop planning, maintenance, harvesting and cooking
Installation and maintenance of permaculture water systems
Plant, pest and disease management
Landscape and map interpretation
Soil health and soil types
Composting
Career and Employment Opportunities Include:
Urban and rural property design and implementation supervision
Permaculture and environmental information services
Development and management of sustainable land-use systems
Environmental management and community development programs
Education and training in permaculture and environmental management
Facilitation and coordination services
Eco-tourism enterprises and operations
Duration:
Tuesdays and Wednesdays 9am to 3.30pm
No classes over school holidays
This course is Austudy Approved.
Smart and Skilled funded places may be available for this qualifications – please call the college for more information on 02 6684 3374
RTO NO:90013
23 Feb, 2018 | APT news
Story by Chris Carroll and Virginia Solomon, February 2018
Qualifications in Permaculture are now available through the national Agriculture, Horticulture and Conservation and Land Management Training Package.
The package, that’s available for delivery Australia wide, incorporates Certificate I, II, III, IV in Permaculture and the Diploma of Permaculture.
This means that:
- registered Training Organisations (RTOs) can begin to offer this training
- schools can be offering recognised qualifications to their students and training their staff to teach it
- students looking for accredited Certificates and Diplomas can press the RTOs to add this training
- qualified permaculture people can do the same and offer to be employed to teach them at the same time.
Don’t forget that Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is one of the pathways into this training so, if you have background and experience, think about converting these to a nationally recognised qualification.
It is up to all of us to get the word out… nothing boosts supply like a demand!
If we approach the providers, if we ask for the training, if we agitate for permaculture qualifications being included as desirable knowledge in job ads, it will happen.
Seeing the expansion of permaculture education around Australia and internationally is very exciting!
APT information sheets
Download the APT information sheets:
For more information
Please email Permaculture Australia’s Education Working Group at education@permacultureaustralia.org.au for more information.
