OSU PDC Student

This course taught me that permaculture is really a connected view of things that matter, food, energy and structures (physical but also social, economical etc).

Javan Bernakevitch as instructor of our group was tremendously helpful in getting the knowledge into an assignment of over 130 pages where not one page is superfluous. Indeed, the assignment leaves no stone untouched (literally as it requires digging holes). The required designs cover the many connected aspects of permaculture in a practical way.

The designs are no less practical than planting crops because the edible result relies as much on a good design as it does on working with the earth.

I fully recommend the course, the inspirational videos of Andrew and Javan, and the excellent feedback Javan provides. A big thank you!

First of all, thank you for your thorough guidance throughout the course.

I had tough times managing my time for sight visits, various surveys and assignment works, however it was such a rewarding experience knowing the ecology around my site and exploring permaculture design for the first time.

The flexibility and the level of details were superb and I am happy that I applied to this course.

Thank you again Javan.

After being captivated with permaculture by some books. I found that OSU PDC was about to start so I dove right in. I didn’t regret it, as they did a great job guiding me through principles of permaculture and in showing me techniques for land design.

The Project Portfolio Template created in Google Slides was a nice straight forward format for quickly presenting work and for creating accurate maps.

Javan brought energy and a multitude of personal experiences to the zoom meetings, and was very helpful in clearing my doubt and giving me ideas for my design.

I would definitely recommend the course to anybody wanting to apply the principles of permaculture to their lives and landscapes.

First of all, thank you very much for everything! Going through this course under your guidance has been an amazing experience and a true pleasure.

My experience in the class surpassed my expectations. Javan is an excellent teacher – he wants students to succeed and it shows through his encouragement. He works with students at their level. It was great hearing him share his knowledge and expand upon questions asked by students. His passion for the subject is contagious.

I left the course feeling inspired and with a great foundation. Going forward, I know what steps I can take to further my experience in the field.

I had been self-studying permaculture for several years and found OSU’s free online content very useful.  After purchasing a property in the spring of 2021, I decided to pursue OSU’s Permaculture Design Certificate to strengthen my experience and develop the skills I need to design and create my own permaculture paradise.

I am extremely grateful to have completed this course and feel the value far exceeded the cost.  The course fostered my deep dive into permaculture and the local ecology, and helped me make the most out of the observation and research phase.  The exercises prompt you to analyze your site holistically, and organize your project, so that the final design almost comes together on its own.  The template consolidates and structures what could otherwise have been an overwhelming amount of content.  It was also an extremely productive series of exercises for me as a first-time homeowner to better understand my property and how all of my systems work.

I feel particularly fortunate to have had Javan Bernakevitch as my instructor.  His depth of knowledge, personal experience, and patience in answering my many questions helped me fully understand my project.  I also appreciated his philosophical approach to permaculture, from values-based decision making to finding your zones of brilliance.

Ultimately, taking this course saved me time, labor, and money, and I personally recommend it for anyone considering a PDC.

Thank you so much Javan for guiding us! You were so kind and gracious with the feedback (truth be told I was kind of dreading that part of the course before I started) but you were so encouraging and awesome that I think I actually got over my fear of failure completely!

This course was awesome, I learned a lot, got to connect with a lot of awesome people and I am so looking forward to seeing all of your projects implemented!

Javan, man, it was a tremendous blessing and joy taking this course under your care and stewardship. Thank you so much for sharing yourself and your passion with us. I really appreciate all of your advice, the questions you posed that allowed me to look from various vantage points, and the many gems you bestowed upon us during office hours. Permaculture is pretty new to me, I’m still reading Mollison’s book, so I really can’t thank you enough because you didn’t take a second of time with us for granted and you were a wellspring of knowledge. I know that in everything you did you wanted to give us a significant step up in our abilities as future designers and to those like me who are so new to the world of Permaculture, that was HUGE. You played a crucial role in helping me develop my observational skills and the freedom you allowed us to have with our presentation opened up to some surprising places of creativity within me. It was such a fun, challenging and rewarding experience and I’m so excited to continue with my education, design and journey.

Your feedback meant a lot to me, and it has since week one. My wife listens to your feedback videos with me, and your encouragement meant a great deal to her too. You didn’t know it, but she was also a student of yours this year and she says she likes the cut of your jib!