Austin Community College PDC Course Outline
This course is broken into two 9-week courses that overlap for six
weeks. The second course builds on the first, creating a dynamic PDC
course. They meet on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 5-9 pm for
13 weeks total. Students who complete both courses earn a PDC
certificate, and those who complete Perm I leave with a solid foundation
in Permaculture design.
Texts referenced and used in class:
Permaculture, a Designers' Manual, Bill Mollison; Introduction to
Permaculture Mollison, Bill with Reny Mia Slay. (2nd Edition); Gaia’s
Garden by, Toby Hemenway; Earth User’s Guide to Permaculture by,
Rosemary Marrow; Texas Organic Vegetable Gardening by J. Howard
Garrett and C. Malcolm Beck; The Sustainable Vegetable Garden by, John
Jeavons and Carol Cox; Slow Money by, Woody Tasch; Toolbox for
Sustainable City Living, by Scott Kellogg and Nancy Pettegrew;
Permaculture, Principles & Pathways Beyond Sustainability by, David
Holmgren
Permaculture I
Tuesday classes
Class 1 Introduction
Introductions and logistics
House keeping intro
Permaculture History
Ethics
Principles
Solution based movement exercise
Class 2 Patterns in Nature
Check in- Principle review
Input/output game
Design MethodologyPatterns in nature: macro to micro
Climatic patterns
Characteristics of climate zones
Class 3 Water
Water- where is all of the water?
Water cycle review
Slow it, spread it, sink it – earthworks,
ponds, and tanks
Permaculture II
Thursday classes
Contour mapping exercise using water
level and A-frame:
Key line design, berms and swales
Rain garden design
Rainwater catchment- design, Austin
rebate system
Rural and urban grey water strategies
Black water strategies and some cool
systems
Class 4 Site Analysis
Site analysis: sun, water, wind, fire
List all possible flows, each student maps
flows/create sector compass of course
site
Relative location game – small groups,
create a base map of class site, have many
objects depicting design elements. Groups
place them on map in relationship to
flows and using relative location
~~~Choose class project topic~~~
Class 1 Design Project Introduction
Principle and design methodology review
Design project intro – hand out and read
check-list, solidify due dates and
expectations
Hands on deepening – tending the
gardens, compost, animals
Design intro game – make a basemap out
of natural materials, use 3-d objects to
create permaculture system
Class 5 Soil
Each student brings a jar of soil from
home for ribbon and jar test
Soil- nitrogen and carbon cycle, soil food
web
Soil map of Central Texas compared to
soils in different climate zones
Soil structure, plant nutrients,
distribution of elements, pH
Organic farming practices for soil health
Soil rehabilitation
Compost, compost crops for each season
Vermicomposting
Class 2 The Built Environment
History of natural building
Earthen building techniques
Cobb demonstration
Home design for Central Texas- semi-arid
climates
House design strategies for different
climate zones
Appropriate energy conservation
technology
Class 6
Organic Gardening & Plant Pallet
List all of functions for plants
Integrated Pest Management
Plant pallet for Central Texas
Plant walk focusing on functions of plants
Slide show- strategies and styles of
organic gardening,
No-till vs. till
Class 3 Cultivated Ecology Zone I
Zone I design
Schedules and checklists
Zone I garden tour
Zone I design game
Compare home garden strategies for
humid tropics, dryland, cool and cold
climates
Class 7 Trees and Catastrophe
Trees and their energy transactions
Creating guilds, super guilds
Designing for catastrophe: Fire, flood,
economic collapse, tornado, hurricane
Class 4 Zone II and III DesignPerennial Food Forest
History of Food Forestry
Succession review
Food forest tour and design story
Food forest design game – to scale, adding
to existing food forest
Class 8
Urban Permaculture
Permaculture Kitchen Indoor and outdoors
Seed saving
Propagation in our greenhouse
~~~Project Check-in~~~
Class 5 Animals in Design
Hands on learning- implement plants
from previous weeks lesson
Animal design strategies for urban and
rural settings
Compare animal strategies for each
climate zone
Hands on learning: raising bugs for
chickens
Class 9 Project presentations
Each student will present a project on an
area of interest under the Permaculture
Umbrella
Class celebration local food potluck
Class 6 Aquaculture and Design
workshop
Case for aquaculture
Aquaculture design strategies for
different climate zones
Tour our set up, ask questions, test water
Check in about design projects
How to draw to scale lesson
Review/practice mapping flows/sector
compass
Class 7 Invisible Structures
Building community
Legal structures, economics,
delocalization strategies, creating
communities, business model ideas
Create your permie community game
Class 8 Design Workshop
Brainstorm design elements and
relationships
Students work on their design projects
Instructor available for consulting and
questions
Class 9 Design Presentations
Present design projects
Were to go from here?
What to do with a PDC?
Certification
Celebration