USU Extension
Permaculture

Resources

Official Permaculture Research Institutes & PDC Options

Permaculture Institute, Inc, headed by Jason Gerhardt (USA) and Natalia Vega (Costa Rica)
Permaculture Institute of North America (PINA), professional association of regional hubs across North America and Hawaii
Permaculture Research Institute, headed by Geoff Lawton (Australia)

Permaculture Design Course

Many permaculture design certification (PDC) opportunities are popping up across the USA. Before registering, however, you may wish to verify that the certification provided is recognized as valid by the Permaculture Institute USA (http://www.permaculture.org/). Permaculture Institute USA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promotion of permaculture through education, and by establishing professional practice standards for the permaculture movement. Founded in 1997 by Scott Pittman and Bill Mollison, the Institute’s work focuses on education and alliances.

Free online resources for obtaining a PDC and other permaculture training include, but aren't limited to:

Erik Ohlsen's Regenerative Landscape Business Training free, 2-part webinar series
Geoff Lawton's "The Permaculture Circle" free, 100+ videos, animations, and other resources
Permaculture Women's Guild PDC free, 52 weekly lesson course

Videos & Documentaries

View Video Library

Articles

Websites

Permaculture Design Research

Aikenhead, G. & Michell, H. (2011). Bridging Culture, Indigenous and Scientific Ways of Knowing. Don Mills ON: Pearson. ISBN: 978-0-132-10557-6 https://education.usask.ca/documents/profiles/aikenhead/bridging-cultures-description.pdf
Bevis, Leah EM., Barrett, Christopher B. (2020). Close to the edge: High productivity at plot peripheries and the inverse size-productivity relationship. Journal of Development Economics.
Borland, C. (2021). The Planetary Garden, Permaculture Ethics, and Frameworks of Care: Reclaiming Value of Care, Care Work and Nature Through Youth Education Programming. DePauw University. https://scholarship.depauw.edu/studentresearchother/28/
Brain, R., Adams, J., & Lynch, J. (2017). Mitigating projected impacts of climate change and building resiliency through permaculture: A community ‘Bee Inspired Gardens’ movement in the desert Southwest, USA. WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, 223(11), 505-515.
Chapman, J.M. & Schott, S. (2020). Knowledge coevolution: generating new understanding through bridging and strengthening distinct knowledge systems and empowering local knowledge holders. Sustainability Science, 15 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11625-020-00781-2
Ferguson, R.S. & Lovell, S.T. (2017). Livelihoods and Production Diversity on U.S. Permaculture Farms. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, 41:6, 588-613.
Ferguson, R.S. & Lovell, S.T. (2013). Permaculture for agroecology: Design, movement, practice, and worldview. A review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 34(2), 251-274.
Ferguson, R.S. & Lovell, S.T. (2017). Diversification and Labor Productivity on US Farms. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems.
Finn, R. & Phillips, L.G. (2023). On the certainty of entanglements with ecocide: pragmatic action for responsive pedagogy inspired by ecological psychology and permaculture, Educational Review, 75:1, 115-133, DOI: 10.1080/00131911.2021.2001438
Hostetler, M. (2020). Cues to care: future directions for ecological landscapes. Urban Ecosyst, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-020-00990-8
Kapyrka, J., & Dockstator, M. (2012). Indigenous Knowledges and Western Knowledges in environmental education : Acknowledging the tensions for the benefits of a “ two-worlds ” approach. Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, 17, 97–112. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ990624
Laursen, S., Puniwai, N., Genz, A.S., Nash, S.A.B., Canale, L.K., & Ziegler-Chong, S. (2018). Collaboration across worldviews: managers and scientists on Hawaiʻi Island utilize knowledge coproduction to facilitate climate change adaptation. Environmental Management, 62(4): 619-630. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-018-1069-7
Mang, P. & Red, B. (2011). Designing from Place: A Regenerative Framework and Methodology. Building Research & Information, 40(1), 23-38.
McCann, R., Spangler, K. & Millison, A. (2021). Life paths to leading systems-level change: Higher education's pitfalls and potential. Sustainability & Climate Change, 14(4). https://doi.org/10.1089/scc.2021.0005
Ross, N. (2023). Permaculture Curriculum for Public School Children in the United States. Hamline University. https://digitalcommons.hamline.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1919&context=hse_cp
Spangler, K.,McCann, R. & Ferguson, R. (2021). (Re-)Defining permaculture: Perspectives of permaculture teachers and practitioners across the United States. Sustainability, 13(10). https://doi.org/10.3390/su13105413
Yadav, S.P.S., Lahutiya, V., Ghimire, N.P., et al. (2023). Exploring innovation for sustainable agriculture: A systematic case study of permaculture in Nepal. Heliyon, 9(5). DOI 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15899

Extension Fact Sheets and Guides

Permaculture Design Plans & Manuals

Beacon Food Forest, Seattle WA.
Teal Farm, Huntington VA. Design Plan
Utah State University Moab, Moab UT. Design Plan

Utah State University, Moab, Moab UT. As-Built Garden Map and Key, designed by Claire Core:

Utah State University Moab Site Operation Manual

Utah State University, Moab New Campus Architectural Design Plans Phase 1: USU MOAB Feasibility Study (includes an entire chapter on permaculture design for the campus)