Sustainable Solano PDC 2025 with Vital Cycles' Lydia Neilsen and Anne Freiwald

The 2025 PDC program (August 2025-Dec 2025) combines weekly online Zoom classes with five hands-on, two-day weekends in Benicia, CA, and a final presentation.

Sliding scale registration of $1,000-$1,200.

Select what you can pay. More details at the bottom of the page.

Find a detailed schedule below and more information, videos and photos here:

https://sustainablesolano.org/pdc/

PDC Blog

***August 22 is the deadline to register

Please pay by check to avoid eventbrite fees

What is a Permaculture Design Certificate Course?

This course lets you develop a broad understanding of permaculture and design that uses whole systems thinking, which looks at how everything works together as a part of a larger whole. This can apply to the environment, our internal state of being and our organizations and social systems. In this PINA-recognized Permaculture Design Certificate course, participants learn a standard 72-hour permaculture curriculum toward certification that is recognized around the world. Participants will also gain hands-on experience in designing and transforming a local landscape using design principles and incorporating the use of captured rainwater and greywater systems.

*Participants should expect to spend a significant amount of time out of class hours researching, studying and preparing the final project with their teams.

About Lydia Neilsen

PINA certified permaculture educator, landscape and habitat designer, specializing in water cycle restoration and passionate polyculture.

About Anne Freiwald, MPH

Community health and earth activist, permaculture educator and regenerative life and landscape designer, with 29+ years specializing in human ecology & community resilience.

Schedule

Aug 23-24: On-site weekend: Introduction to Permaculture, Design & Global Context of Permaculture

Sept. 12: Friday Focus: Bring Your Soil to Life! (online)

Sept. 13-14: On-site weekend: Design and Soil

Oct . 3: Friday Focus: DIY Water Harvesting (online)

Oct 4-5: On-site weekend: Water

Oct. 17: Friday Focus: Plant it and They will Hum (online)

Oct. 18-19: On-site weekend: Plants and Agroforestry

Nov. 7: Friday Focus: Finding the Heart in Your Community (online)

Nov. 8-9: On-site weekend: Invisible Structures

Dec. 6: On-site Design Presentations and Graduation

Online classes will be over Zoom from 5:30-7:30 pm. Weekend classes will be from 9 am-6 pm Saturdays and 9 am-5 pm Sundays in Benicia.

Questions or difficulty registering? Contact Nicole Newell at nicole@sustainablesolano.org

Tuition is offered on a sliding scale of $1,000-$1,200. Payments can be made in full over Eventbrite or by check or money order with a $500 deposit to hold your spot. If you register, but are unable to attend, refunds are available up to two weeks before the start of the course. Online refunds do not include any fees charged by Eventbrite and refunds for checks or money order payments will be made minus a $150 processing fee.

Work-trade agreements may be available for discounted tuition based on enrollment.

Sponsorship for scholarships comes from Tas-Cal Properties in collaboration with The Permaculture Institute

2025 Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) Course w/Vital Cycles