PDC Student

Thanks for all your great feedback thus far in the course. I’m loving this course and how accessible it has been from home as an adult learner. It’s a perfect synthesis of a lot of things for me and I’m feeling incredibly inspired to build on what I’m learning.  It true that I’ve thought about permaculture design for a long time but couldn’t figure out how to make it work in person with work and then with kids for the last eight years. I’m surprised at how interactive it feels.

I love loved taking this course and am so excited to see where this knowledge takes me in the future. You have been a wonderful instructor.

The OSU Permaculture Design Course is a fantastic opportunity to better understand and manage the flows of energy through a diversity of design sites. Inspiring videos, engaged and knowledgeable instructors offering insight and guidance, and rigorous assignments challenge students to immerse themselves in learning about their place. Jump in with both feet! The more we can dig in, the more rewarding the experience.

I received wise council from Javan and Karen on site analysis and design, and was inspired by the knowledge of Andrew, Marisha, and the amazing cast of contributors to the course curriculum. Some of my favorite morsels from Javan are “sell your certainty and buy bewilderment,” “what we celebrate persists,” and his description of the incredible tool of assisting others to make design decisions based on their values.

Also awesome was the warm supportive environment in the student chat forums, rich with constructive feedback and exciting ideas. If you can, make sure to round out the phenomenal wealth of digital resources by picking up a field guide, and spending time listening to nature. OSU PDC offers a transformative experience!

I came to the course thanks to the recommendation of a friend just at the time we were able to finally buy the land we had always dreamed of. I thought the course would be useful in giving me a structure and framework to make a good plan for the site that fits with my values.

Now I simply cannot imagine how I could have done a proper site analysis and design without the course.
There is a huge wealth of input through the course materials (thankfully we can look at them afterwards as there is simply too much to take on board).

Even more valuable is the feedback, advice and encouragement provided by Javan specific to our situation. For example, thanks to Javan, the water analysis and water system design is a lot more thorough and incorporates elements we wouldn’t have considered otherwise.

Javan also supported me in thinking through the establishment phase of the food forest, and clarifying the important role animals can play to help prepare our site and build the soil where it is quite eroded.

One thing to bear in mind if you are thinking of doing the course in the 10-week timeframe: it is very intensive, you will feel as if you are eating, breathing and walking permaculture non-stop. If this is too much, you can switch to the more extended version. Finally, having the opportunity to follow the analysis and design process of some incredibly committed people with amazing visions and interesting sites throughout the world has been a true privilege and has added even more to the learning.

Many thanks again Javan. I’ve no doubt that all the instructors are amazing, but can’t help feeling very lucky we got you!

Thank you so much for all the wonderful feedback, the past ten weeks have been so informative and I am grateful for the experience.

Just want to echo the others: I am very grateful for having had this opportunity. I don’t know how we would have come up with a vision, strategy and plan for our site, let alone how I would have observed all the things I did thanks to the course. Of course there is a lot more to do, a lifelong time of learning and making the most of things.

Javan, thanks a million for your incredibly useful support, it is much appreciated. Your feedback has really helped me to crystallize some important elements in the design and look a lot deeper and further in many aspects (for example in the water design which has really evolved following your feedback).

What a privilege and inspiration to connect and learn from your wisdom and insights. Thanks for the really positive engagement.

Wishing you all the best of luck and lots of positive energy. The world is a much better place thanks to you :o)

OSU’s Permaculture program provides the essential tools for a micro/ macro paradigm shift that begins with yourself and ripples outward from there. Permaculture is self determination.

A BIG THANK YOU for your help and guidance throughout the course, it is very much more than what I’ve expected and I’ve enjoyed it a lot!
and Lastly, I would like to extend my gratitude to all the instructors, teachers, assistant and administrators, it’s been a joy and inspiration studying this course and I’ll definitely put these theories into action!

It’s so interesting how much we learn about our own sites as we work through the course, opens up so many possibilities I never would have considered regarding water use, layers and strategy. I can’t believe I farmed for so many years without having this knowledge/perspective.

Really ….  we’ve all just been winging it, assuming we had good ideas, not necessarily looking at the larger impacts each decision may make. Every farmer should take this course!