Saturday 13 – Sunday 14 September 2025
This two-day course runs from 9.30am to 5pm in Stanmer Park, Brighton.
Unlock the power of nature-based design to create resilient, productive and wildlife-friendly gardens that adapt to climate challenges. Learn hands-on techniques for soil health, food and medicine growing, water conservation, companion planting, and biodiversity — and watch your garden flourish sustainably year-round.
What will the Practical permaculture gardening course cover?
This is a hands-on weekend exploring beneficial growing relationships, eco-friendly pest control, mulching and no dig systems and planting to maximise yields/increased harvests. You’ll spend a large part of the weekend in our forest garden at Stanmer Park, applying your learning, with the chance to develop your own designs toward the end of the weekend.
You’ll explore through practical permaculture activities:
- growing annual and perennial food crops and companion planting,
- designing for a low-maintenance/no-dig garden,
- increasing and maintaining soil fertility, to achieve a healthy and plentiful harvest throughout the year,
- composting, chemical-free pest control and home-brewed plant-feeds,
- cultivating to attract beneficial wildlife,
- rainwater harvesting, and much, much more.
Who is the course for?
This course is open to anyone aged 16 or over who is interested in applying Permaculture ideas in their home garden, community garden or allotment. It is suitable for complete beginners as well as those with some experience who wish to increase the sustainability and productiveness of their plots. You may have some prior knowledge about, or qualifications in, Permaculture but this is not a necessity as we will cover some basic theory.
This hands on course will be taught largely outdoors.
Please note that, unfortunately, this course is not suitable for wheelchair users.
Course tutor
Fran Pickering is an experienced permaculture teacher who has worked on our site for over 12 years, so has an in-depth knowledge of our land, with years of experience and experiment.
Venue
Stanmer Park (near University of Sussex)
Brighton
Sussex
South East England
Get directions to Stanmer Park.
Accommodation
If you intend to book accommodation, please check availability before booking a place. Get details on local accommodation and Brighton Permaculture Trust supporters who can provide accommodation in their homes.
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 your 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 Practical permaculture gardening 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 cheque or BACS. Instead, you will need to pay immediately using a credit/debit card or PayPal.
