We have 5 courses in 2025 to choose from:
Saturday 22 – Sunday 23 February 2025
Saturday 26 – Sunday 27 April 2025
Saturday 14 – Sunday 15 June 2025
Saturday 20 – Sunday 21 September 2025
Saturday 11 – Sunday 12 October 2025
This two-day course runs from 9.30am to 5pm in Brighton.
We also run a mostly online Introduction to permaculture course.
This course introduces the basics of permaculture design. It aims to inspire and empower you to use permaculture design in your everyday life.
What will the Introduction to permaculture course cover?
This course will cover the history, various definitions, design process, ethics, principles, other design tools and case studies from a range of applications.
You will use this theory to co-create a design over the two-day course.
Please note that attending this course does not qualify you to use the term ‘permaculture’ as part of your work as a professional or with the public, such as being a gardener, a teacher, a designer, giving talks about permaculture, etc. In order to do this you need to go on to complete a permaculture design course such as our Permaculture design course (Building sustainable communities).
Who is the Introduction to permaculture course for?
This course is for people concerned about the state of the world, who want to look at those challenges and create solutions. It is open to anyone aged 16 or over. No prior knowledge of permaculture is needed.
Learning methods and outcomes
The course will be taught using a variety of methods; group work, games, presentations, discussion, video and slides. We will spend some time outdoors at one of our community food growing projects. By the end of the course, you will have a basic knowledge of some of the permaculture ethics and principles and how to apply them.
What does the Introduction to permaculture course lead on to?
This course is an ideal starter for anyone interested in a full permaculture design course. You need to have completed an Introduction to permaculture design course to take Brighton Permaculture Trust’s Permaculture design course (Building sustainable communities). You can also go on to explore other specialist courses.
Course tutors
The course will be led by some of the following tutors, with assistance from trainee teachers:
Stephan Gehrels received his Permaculture Diploma in 2009 and runs school environmental projects in Brighton.
Hannah Wilde completed her Permaculture design course in 2014, is working towards her Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design and has been teaching on courses since 2017.
Fran Pickering has been with Brighton Permaculture Trust since 2003, received her Permaculture Diploma in 2009 and is a long standing member of the Management group.
Polly Charlton completed her Permaculture Design Course in 2018 and is on her Applied Permaculture Diploma Pathway with five designs signed off and implemented.
Venues/Accommodation
February, April and October 2025 courses:
Old Boat Corner Community Centre
Carden Park, Carden Hill
Hollingbury
Brighton
BN1 8GN
Get directions
June and September 2025 courses:
Earthship Brighton
Stanmer Park (near University of Sussex)
Brighton
Sussex
South East England
Get directions to Stanmer Park.
If you intend to book accommodation, please check availability before booking a place, as accommodation in Brighton can be hard to find, especially over the summer months.
Get details of local accommodation and Brighton Permaculture Trust supporters who can provide accommodation in their homes.
Recommended introductory material
The following provide good introductions to permaculture. It is not essential to have covered this material before the course.
- series of short films introducing application of permaculture design: Living with the Land
- Introduction to permaculture by David Holmgren, co-founder of permaculture, free download: Essence of permaculture
These books are recommended, but it is not necessary for those attending to buy or read them.
- Permaculture design – step by step, Aranya
- The Permaculture Way, Graham Bell
- Permaculture – a beginner’s guide, Graham Burnett
- Introduction to Permaculture or Permaculture One, Bill Mollison
- Permaculture In A Nutshell, Patrick Whitefield
Fees
Fees include tuition, refreshments, handouts and information sheets.
- £247.50 – Sponsored/organisation rate
- £247.50 – Individual income more than 25k/yr
- £200 – Individual income 18-25k/yr
- £152.50 – Individual income less than 18k/yr
- £84 – Individual, concessionary rate (check eligibility)*
* Concessionary places are limited. If places are not available check back two weeks before the course/event as more may be available then.
We endeavour to make our courses and events affordable to all. Unfortunately, we do not receive any external funding for most of these and rely on large amounts of voluntary input.
See the cancellations and refunds policy.
Booking the Introduction to permaculture course
Booking is essential, as most of our courses/events are fully booked weeks in advance. However, if places are still available, then bookings can be made until midday the day before the course/event. A place is not secured until we have received the requested payment.
If you have completed the booking process but you haven’t received a confirmation email from us please contact us to check your booking has gone through.
If you are booking within two weeks of the event, or the event is nearly full, you will not have the option to pay by BACS. Instead, you will need to pay immediately using a credit/debit card or PayPal.
Book the 22-23 February 2025 course
Book the 26-27 April 2025 course
Book the 14-15 June 2025 course
Book the 20-21 September 2025 course
Book the 11-12 October 2025 course
*To be added to the waiting list for a course that is fully booked please use the Make an Enquiry button at the bottom of this page.