Permaculture design is a method of landscape planning that can be applied to anything, from a home garden or farm to a city block or entire village. This free permaculture course uses design principles from nature itself and takes into account such things as how indigenous people used the land; how water, fire and wind flow through the land; and how soil, water, vegetation, buildings and habitats can be managed in a stable and enduring way.
Permaculture design is an ethically based, whole-systems design approach to create sustainable human settlements and institutions. Although rooted in horticulture and agriculture, permaculture design also touches on regional planning, ecology, animal husbandry, technology, architecture and international development.
In this free, online permaculture course, you will learn about the process, ethics and principles of permaculture design while diving into climate-specific design elements through interactive technology, videos, graphics, and readings. The course is designed to benefit everyone regardless of your learning style, time commitments or available technology.
Students who complete all course activities should expect to spend between two to four hours each week on course work.
M.A. in Horticultural Preservation
B.A. in Ecological Design and Sustainability
Andrew Millison brings nearly 20 years experience in designing and building permaculture projects to his teaching and wants to share that rich, real-world experience with his students.
See Andrew's Permaculture Design Certificate online course offered through Oregon State Professional and Continuing Education (PACE).
He has been studying, teaching and practicing permaculture since he took his first design course in 1996. He began teaching permaculture design at the college level in 2001 and has been an instructor at Oregon State University in the Horticulture Department since 2009. Andrew currently teaches the Permaculture Design Course and the Advanced Permaculture Design Practicum at OSU on campus and online.
Andrew first learned permaculture design in the drylands of Arizona, where he studied for his undergraduate and master's degrees at Prescott College. His focus was on rainwater harvesting, greywater systems and desert agriculture. He started a permaculture landscape design and build company and also worked in an ecologically-based landscape architecture firm.
In recent years, Andrew's focus has been more on broad scale farm planning, permaculture housing developments and obtaining water rights. In 2015 he founded Permaculture Design International, a collaborative design firm that works on large-scale global projects.
Filmed and edited by Andrew Millison
Featuring Andrew Millison
Books featuring Andrew Millison's work
Interested in participating in this course? Enter your email address to receive information about future free and paid courses from Oregon State University.
Open educational resources (OER) aim to increase the world’s access to knowledge through open textbooks and reusable digital components. OER at Oregon State is a unit within the Division of Educational Ventures. OER are for all classes, including on-campus, online, and hybrid. Learn more »