Santa Cruz Permaculture

Learn skills, build community resilience.

about us

Santa Cruz Permaculture nurtures a thriving, just and sustainable world through courses, consulting and farming. 

We operate a network of sites in the region including a 26-acre farm and wilderness center. Built and led by master designers and teachers from around the world, we provide hands-on learning and community development through our programs to prepare people with the knowledge, skills, and whole systems strategies that allow them to implement resilient and beautiful permaculture designs.

our courses

Each of our courses cover a wide variety of permaculture topics, each emphasizing a particular level of skill and focus. We operate at multiple sites across the central coast, with field trips throughout the region.

most popular courses

A weekend course spanning 6 months which includes the internationally recognized 72-hour curriculum, augmented by an additional 38-hours of hands on practice and field trips.

A weekend course to learn the best practices for orchard establishment and management, designing year round productive vegetable farms & gardens, and preserving the harvest.

A 6-month in-depth experience for those looking to apply permaculture principles to agriculture, land stewardship, and personal projects and development.

8 courses to choose from for all experience levels

our farm

We steward a beautiful 26-acre farm near Davenport, California that's pushing the limits on regenerative agriculture to increase biodiversity, resilience, and community. We amplify permaculture education and provide a place of meeting for conversations that matter.

Upcoming courses & Events

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testimonials

"Don’t be fooled. This is not a basic permaculture design course. By the time you graduate you will have a better understanding of who you are, what you really care about, and how to design and implement our collective future. Also, the family you become a part of is priceless. I recommend this course for anyone interested in anything. It applies to all aspects of life."
Jaime Longoria
"The SCPDC course introduced me to so many amazing people, and set me up for success on my journey in a huge way. I’m so excited to say that I’ll be returning to take their Food Forest class starting this August! If you’re considering signing up for one of their courses, do it. You will not regret it."
Julia Herring
"This course explained permaculture to me as a smorgasbord of opportunities. As someone who came to the course not knowing where I could find a place, it was amazing to see how many welcoming places there are to help make positive change now."
Siobhan Stuart
"I took this course as a way to help rebuild after the fires of 2020. I got much more than souls and water. I learned that the relationship I've created with my land is the foundation of change because in permaculture, humans and nature are one and a team. I'm not rebuilding the land, I'm on a journey with the land."
Nicole Anderson
"What I took away most from this course was the interconnectedness between ourselves and the planet. How one system feeds into another and how permaculture principles give you a third dimensional lens."
Jen Knudsen
"I came to learn about permaculture design but found so much more then design. I found a community, connections, self awareness, growth."
Cassie Baez
"The great thing about Santa Cruz Permaculture is how David draws on leading teachers and experts from around Northern California to bring so much diverse expertise into teaching this course. It’s mind expanding."
Daniel Enking
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