We need YOUR input to grow permaculture education!
For those who’ve earned a Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC), you understand what a life changing experience this course is.
The principles, the patterns, the practices, the strategies – and the feeling that you’ve found something worth building a life around or from.
For most PDC grads, what comes next is at best a choose-your-own-adventure, and at worst, feeling lost in the churn. The gap between a PDC and a viable permaculture livelihood is as wide, varied and challenging as the different contexts we apply permaculture to.
The Permaculture Institute, Inc. is taking the lead on the Global Professional Permaculture Pathways Survey, sponsored by Utah State University and led by Jason Gerhardt, Roslynn Brain McCann, and Javan K. Bernakevitch.
This research project is grounded in a central question: how can we better help aspiring permaculture professionals build viable livelihoods?
To explore this question, we’re launching a global survey to understand what’s working, where the gaps are, and how post-PDC education can better support people moving into professional practice. The survey questions were designed with input from advisory calls with over 20 permaculture educators in a range of countries. The resulting report (incorporating insights from the advisory calls alongside survey results) will be shared globally and posted on this website, permaculture.org.
At its core, this work strengthens the permaculture movement through cooperation. By pooling insight across individuals experiences, businesses, organizations, and regions, we can improve the quality and relevance of permaculture education and better support people doing meaningful work at a time when regenerative solutions are urgently needed.
The survey is 8-10 minutes, anonymous, and your answers directly shape how, where, why, and when the movement supports PDC graduates in applying permaculture professionally.
If you’ve taken a PDC, you’re eligible to participate. Please fill it out and share it widely.
Take the survey here – https://usu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bqE0hKYXsobAG7I
The survey runs May 6 – July 6, 2026.
Thank you for sharing your experience to improve permaculture education for the next generations!