Permaculture Living

Welcome! Meet your instructors

Meet David Holmgren, Kirsten Bradley and Nick Ritar: your guides for a 12-week journey from uncertainty about the future to calm, capable action in the present.

How this course will work

This lesson gives you a solid grounding in how the course and learning platform work: where to find support, connect with others, and get the most from your experience. You’ll learn how the modules roll out each week, how to engage with the community, and where to go when you need help or inspiration. It sets the stage for your journey so you feel confident, organised, and ready to dive into the permaculture principles ahead.

What is Permaculture?

Discover how nature's design solutions can transform your daily life, from food growing to community building and everything between.

Permaculture ethics

Ground your actions in earth care, people care and fair share to create abundance while reducing your environmental footprint.

Permaculture principles

Explore the 12 permaculture principles that form the foundation for everything you’ll learn in this course. Simple tools for making thoughtful, sustainable choices.

Define your goal for this course

We'll guide you through the process of creating a personal goal statement that focuses your actions, makes your heart sing and helps you make lasting change, rather than spinning your wheels.

Tell us your goal

In this lesson you'll commit your goal statement into your Action Plan. It'll keep you focused throughout the course and beyond and build accountability for real results. You'll come back to this goal statement each time you choose to add a new project to your Action Plan. Your goal statement will keep you realistic so you only commit actions that work for your context. 

Observe & Interact - with David Holmgren

Slow down and read your environment using all five senses to spot opportunities for positive change right where you live.

Action: Learn 5 of your local wild & useful plants

Identify wild edibles and medicinals growing outside your door, building resilience skills while reconnecting with your local ecosystem.

Action: Research the life cycle of a product you use

Trace one everyday product from creation to disposal, revealing hidden impacts so you can make smarter choices that reduce waste.

More ways to observe and interact

Tune your home and habits to what nature’s already doing: cool rooms naturally, map food networks nearby, read your soil and waterways, and spend more time outside noticing patterns that matter. Build confidence fast with simple observations that cut bills and calm climate anxiety

Select your observation practice for this week

Pick the action that fits your life right now and commit to your first real step toward sustainable living this week.

Catch & Store Energy - with David Holmgren

Capture seasonal abundance in all its forms, from summer harvests to rainwater to finances, building reserves for lean times ahead.

Action: Get started with preserving

Transform glut into gold through fermenting and bottling, turning excess produce into nutritious food that feeds you for months.

Action: Harvest rainwater at home

Set up simple systems to capture free, nutrient-rich rainwater, slashing bills while keeping your garden thriving through dry spells.

Other actions for capturing energy

Create buffers that make life easier: raise seedlings in a mini greenhouse, stock a smart pantry, audit home energy and explore solar/hot-water options, and grow storage crops like beans. Learn practical tactics that lower costs and keep your household steady through change.

Pick an energy-capture action to add to your plan

Commit to one energy-storing practice that fits your life, then receive your personalized action plan to track your progress.

Obtain a yield - with David Holmgren

Reconnect to natural cycles and value every yield, from fresh food to stronger relationships, building resilience beyond money.

Action: Grow your own sprouts and microgreens

Harvest fresh vegetables in days using kitchen countertop space and items you already have at home.

Action: Use what you have to create abundance and community

Transform surplus zucchinis, skills or time into community connections through swaps that create abundance for everyone.

Additional strategies to obtain a yield

Grow wins you can taste: protect gardens from wildlife, start a robust herb patch, trial three climate-suitable veggies, and use a time audit to carve out growing hours. Solve pest hassles, beat “where do I start?” overwhelm, and see results in both harvests and headspace.

Choose a yield-boosting action that works for you

Select the action that fits your life and build your personalized permaculture journey one achievable step at a time.

Apply self-regulation & accept feedback - with David Holmgren

Recognize when to slow down and measure impacts, preventing burnout while building truly sustainable habits that last.

Action: 3 day locavore challenge

Experience the richness of your local food system, cutting carbon footprint while discovering seasonal flavors close to home.

Action: Calculate your carbon footprint

Measure your household emissions and take practical steps that actually reduce your climate impact where it matters most.

More ways to self-regulate and accept feedback

Build habits that last: get water-wise, run a simple waste audit, practice clear household communication, declutter responsibly, and unfurl one unhelpful habit. Learn feedback loops that prevent burnout, reduce waste chaos, and keep family life running smoothly.

Choose a self-regulation habit you can actually sustain

Select the self-regulation practice that fits your life and commit to meaningful change you can actually sustain.

Use & Value Renewable Resources & Services - with David Holmgren

Break free from fossil fuel dependence by harnessing sun, shade and natural cycles that power your home without cost or carbon.

Action: Make natural home cleaning products

Replace toxic cleaners with simple vinegar, soap and soda formulas that protect your family's health while slashing household waste.

Action: Start a worm farm

Convert kitchen scraps into liquid gold fertilizer using free worm labor, even in apartments or on balconies without equipment.

Other actions for choosing renewables

Shift everyday systems toward renewables: try low-toxin home routines, BYO reusables, wood energy where appropriate, short “go-renewable” experiments, and switching to green power. Gain practical skills that cut bills, reduce exposure to nasties, and shrink your footprint.

Choose a renewable-resources action that suits your context

Select the renewable resource action that aligns with your goal and receive your updated personalized permaculture action plan.

Produce No Waste - with David Holmgren

Shift your thinking from waste to resource, transforming everyday materials into garden fertility and closing household loops naturally.

Action: Do a 5 day no waste challenge

Break free from single-use plastics with practical swaps that protect oceans and wildlife while simplifying your daily routines.

Action: Repair & care for your everyday items

Extend the life of what you own through simple repairs and maintenance, keeping useful items working while reducing environmental impact.

Additional ways to reduce your impact

Turn waste into wisdom: plan low-carbon local getaways, keep organics out of landfill (from kitchen setups to compost toilets), buy second-hand with confidence, and centre real food. Expect a tidier home, fewer bins, and a lighter impact without extra time drain.

Choose a waste-reduction action that sticks

Select the waste-reduction action that aligns with your goals and fits your lifestyle, creating meaningful change you can sustain.

Design from patterns to details - with David Holmgren

Read landscape patterns like nature does, transforming confusion about where to start into confident design decisions for any space.

Action: Make a base map of your property

Create a scale map revealing your property's hidden opportunities, ending costly mistakes before you dig or plant.

Action: Start a perpetual garden diary

Track seasonal patterns and microclimates so you plant at the right time in the right place, every time.

More ways to see patterns before details

Design with bigger rhythms: understand your local climate, plan life by seasons, align sleep with daylight, connect with Traditional Owners, and sort life admin like wills with care. Reduce decision fatigue and build context-fit plans that stay resilient year-round.

Choose a pattern-focused action to build momentum

Pick your pattern-focused action and watch your personalized plan grow with each principle you complete.

Integrate rather than segregate - with David Holmgren

Connect household systems so waste becomes resource, garden supports kitchen, and chickens provide both eggs and soil fertility naturally.

Action: Re-use greywater at home

Capture shower and sink water to feed your garden year-round, building drought resilience with systems from simple buckets to elegant reedbeds.

Action: Keep chickens

Plan a chicken system where kitchen scraps become eggs and manure, pest control becomes free, and beneficial loops replace constant inputs.

Other strategies for integration before segregation

Turn isolation into community resilience: gentle guerrilla gardening, regular shared meals, hosting small local events, joining a garden/permaculture group, supporting a neighbour, or welcoming volunteers. Learn how tiny social loops solve “collapse anxiety” better than going it alone.

Choose an integration action to strengthen home + community

Select your action for this priinciple and update your personal plan, creating connections that strengthen both household systems and community bonds.

Use small & slow solutions - with David Holmgren

Challenge the fast-paced consumer culture with steady habits that build lasting resilience, proving small changes create powerful transformation.

Action: Take your lunch

Build healthier eating habits while cutting costs and waste, using reusable containers to nourish yourself and the planet.

Action: Start a home seed bank

Become a seedkeeper by saving locally adapted varieties, creating food security for your family and community across generations.

Additional small, slow actions to take

Lean into steady change: walk or ride locally, plant and tend a tree, reuse packaging, run a buy-nothing swap, nurture a sourdough, right-size your home and workload, and manage your own temperature. Build momentum with habits that save money and outlast willpower spikes.

Select a small, slow solution you'll stick with

Commit to the small, steady practice that fits your life, building momentum through consistent action rather than overwhelming leaps.

Use & value diversity - with David Holmgren

Understand how diversity acts as your insurance policy against uncertain futures, building resilience in gardens, health and community.

Action: Supporting your local pollinators

Create pollinator havens with flowers and native plants that bring bees, butterflies and birds back while boosting food production naturally.

Action: Make your own probiotic drinks

Brew kombucha and kefir at home to strengthen gut health and immunity with living foods far cheaper than store-bought supplements.

More ways to embrace diversity

Widen your safety net: expand edible variety, create habitat for critters, open a gate with neighbours, share your garden, learn a new skill, and trade some gym time for productive outdoor movement. Improve yields, health and community ties in one go.

Pick a diversity strategy to strengthen your resilience

Commit to the diversity action that excites you most and add it to your growing permaculture action plan this week.

Use edges & value the marginal - with David Holmgren

Find abundance in overlooked spaces where land meets water, forest meets field, discovering the most productive zones hiding in plain sight.

Action: Mushroom growing & gathering

Safely identify wild mushrooms or cultivate oyster varieties at home on coffee grounds, adding nutrient-dense protein without buying supplies.

Action: Seaweed foraging & cooking

Gather ocean superfoods from shorelines for your kitchen and garden, accessing free mineral-rich nutrition coastal cultures have treasured for centuries.

Other actions for valuing edges

Work the margins for big returns: cook outdoors, join a food co-op, explore your neighbourhood’s overlooked spaces, make simple kid-friendly structures, and add non-monetary exchanges to your week. Expect richer skills, lower costs and more joy at the fringes.

Choose an edge-valuing action that fits your life

Commit to one edge-focused action that fits your context and receive your updated plan celebrating the abundance in marginal spaces.

Creatively use & respond to change - with David Holmgren

Embrace the future with a positive mindset, shifting from disempowerment to becoming the change our planet desperately needs.

Action: Rise up for our Earth

Channel your concern for the future into action, make choices and use your voice at all levels to demand liveable futures.

Action: Revisit your personal goal statement

Refine your vision for the year ahead, creating a compass that guides big decisions from job changes to purchases.

Additional strategies for responding to change

Turn worry into agency: create an emergency plan, repair instead of replace, cut ties with harmful brands, add a meat-free day, divest ethically, reduce screen time, gain first-aid skills, and put your talents to work. Build personal and community readiness that actually feels good.

Select your response-to-change action for the journey ahead

Select your response to change, to complete your personalized action plan, that will help empower you, your family and your community for the future.

You did it! Now where to from here?

Celebrate your transformation from anxiety to confident action, claim your certificate, and continue your permaculture journey with your community's support.

A Community of Learners and Doers - Just like you.

You'll be welcome into our Permaculture Living Community - a private community of thousands of keen learners just like you, where you can share pics of your projects, get feedback, meet people with shared interests and ideals, stay motivated, and get all your questions answered by us and your community!

Live Class Meetups.

Every two weeks we have a group Face-to-face video call, hosted within our course hub (no tech to install). We'll notify you when each call is coming up, join if you can, but if you miss it, no worries, catch the replay! All students get access to our archive of previous call recordings as well, which are a treasure-trove of great answers (and questions) all about permaculture living.

Personal Guidance - for as long as you like!

Throughout your course, you can ask questions in any lesson, and we'll answer you personally. Same goes for your student community. And then there's the regular Live Class Calls, where you can hop in and ask your questions face-to-face, or in the chat, we don't mind.

And the best bit? There's no end point. Just like your course access, the guidance that comes with this course is ongoing - we're here for you for as long as you need.

.... you get LIFETIME ACCESS to EVERYTHING!