Noosa Forest Retreat; Community & Permaculture Course Center Qld

The PDC at Noosa Forest Retreat was life changing for me. As a passionate lover of all things self-development, attending this course was profoundly a case of finally finding
‘my-people’. I certainly wasn’t expecting to go as deeply as it did, my mind was blown so many times in just the first day alone. I want everyone to go and learn how they can confidently live a more sustainable life and develop useful skills that can create new streams of revenue while they are at it.

What an eye opening experience! Im leaving a new person filled with inspiration. It really was a re-"treat" as a young female traveller looking for strong connection with the land and people (though not knowing either before) I left feeling apart of a family and feeling a bigger future lies ahead.

As for facilities and catering it was beautiful think of yourself in a beautiful art filled tropical oasis property filled with magical people and wildlife being provided with wholesome organic meals with some ingredients grown from the land.🌈🐸🪻🏵🪴🌴🪺🌀🦜🦅🐟🪲🦠🦋🪶🪱🪱🪱🪱🪱🪱🪱🪱🪱

Being able to do a PDC in person in a beautiful forest is something I’ll never forget. The community was so welcoming and I made friendships I’ll always cherish

I feel very enriched by my time on the PDC at Noosa Forest Retreat. The teachers were varied and passionate and inspired me to look at my life, home and environment through the permaculture lense. We had a great group which made the communal living a nice experience. I feel changed in all positive ways and excited to be taking permaculture action. The only thing I’d change about the course is the way the design presentation was explained and the requirements - it was a bit stressful. But I guess growth comes from that too 💚

Thank you so very very much Ian and Deb, and all the dedicated people who are passionate about improving land and sharing all the amazing information to connect and heal land and transform lives. The information provided in this course has given me an ability to read the land in a way I never new existed, from reading contours, to creating swale's and making supercharged compost & soil. If you’re looking for a tree change or want to just eat from your garden then this course is a must. I will spread the word. Mycelium, Humus & Soil will save the planet ! Eternally grateful, Violette

The Noosa forest retreat is a living example and demonstration of the lessons you will learn through out the course.
The instructors are highly knowledgeable and great personalities that deliver the information with enthusiasm and energy, they are all walking the permaculture walk in their own lives so have heaps off stories and ideas that inspire creativity.
The course is heavily focused on theory aspects of the permaculture way of living but it will set you up to change your life and hopefully the world one project at a time.
My only struggle on the course was the lack of meat but there is a beautiful town(kin kin) not to far away when you can go if you need to supplement that dietary requirement and there is also a dedicated Student house and camp kitchen if you wanted to prep your own meat as all.
The meals that are provided are a vegetarians dream, they are straight from the garden and cooked with care and love.
Would highly recommend that if you are interested in permaculture you commit and implement the course.
Good luck.

Firstly, the land itself is rich with life and beauty. I loved waking and sleeping to its rhythms each day.

The program is led by Ian Trew, who’s passionate vigour is immediately felt. A host of other mentors brought in an abundant variety of knowledge and this helped me reflect on how my own unique expression of permaculture might look.

The theory-dense course requires focus and dedication to absorb the foundations of permaculture history, systems, and practice. The open class, filled with fresh air, light and natures’ songs, gave us the best opportunity to digest the knowledge being shared.

The commitment to vitality and joy shared by residents and neighbours showed despite macro ecological-political issues, there are communities devoted to living their solutions, and they are thriving.

Ultimately, I felt accepted here. I am only beginning my permaculture journey but this time in the Gully afforded me new bonds, deep reflection, and potential. I am so grateful x

100% Recommended! Ian and all NFR team are inspiring and knowledgeable, you will be in a safe space to learn about Permaculture and put your hands on soil and nature.

What a magical experience we have done with this amazing community, the amount of knowledge, wisdom that we have received from Ian and all the family from Bellbunya i will save it in my heart for ever. infinity gratefull for everything, permaculture is the way, life in sintropy, regeneration of the Mother Nature is our purpose. thank you all so much for such a dream make it true. we wish the best for everyone this 2024 and keep growing to the abundance life. love love love to all the community.
much greetings
Diego and Carolina from South America

The Permaculture Design Course (PDC) was a transformative experience for me. It involved unlearning a lot of what I had gathered through my years of formal schooling (and socialization via society/the media) regarding food production, health, economics, our relationship with other people and the non-human world. The unlearning created space for a deeper connection with myself and life. I became aware of the flows of energy in nature which allows us to design system that are in synchrony with the natural world. I expect that I will be unpacking the learnings from this PDC during the following months and years.

We recently completed the online PDC from Noosa Forest Retreat while travelling around Australia. The online platform and course material suited us perfectly and we really enjoyed the journey from learning the basic permaculture principles to being able to confidently create our own design document. Ian's passion and energy for sharing his knowledge definitely came through in the online videos. Definitely recommend.

Ciao from Italy. Very well designed course, really interesting. It is very useful to be able to review the recorded lectures. The materials provided in the various modules (handouts, charts, etc.) are really useful and very thorough. We were able to attend the course even though we were working. Our tutors are very helpful and punctual.
Highly recommended!

I completed my PDC from Noosa Forest Retreat last year and it was a wonderful experience. I did it online as I couldn't find any in-person option that I could attend whilst looking after my two kids, but I liked that I was able to do it at my own pace, and access the content or re-watch the videos whenever I needed. Ian Trew and the PDC team are very knowledgeable and inspiring, the content provided is invaluable in every aspect, not just for permaculture, and the feedback for the assessments was always thorough and informative. I also got a chance to meet Ian in one of the Gardening Days at Bellbunya, and it was just as inspiring but with the added bonus of being hands-on and surrounded by beautiful people and environment. Thank you to all the PDC team, definitely recommend!

The Noosa Forest Retreat 2021 Permaculture course experience for me was mind blowing. I entered the course with very little expectations and was completely blown away by the level and detail of knowledge that was shared with us all on such a broad holistic level. For me personal I really resonated with the direct correlation between the environment/ecosystem which we live in and our own journey to perfect health, living in pure alignment with nature. Thank you so much to Ian and the PDC team.

I’m full of inspiration after this PDC, lifechanging experience 🌼

We just completed our Team PDC Online with Noosa Forest Retreat and the fabulous Ian Trew, and his team. The course is both insightful and practical and we have gone from being complete permaculture novices to community educators in a few short months! My advice to others interested in creating a sustainable future for themselves and others around them, is to get stuck in and do it! This course will give you the skills and knowledge to achieve great things, who knows what doors will open for you because of it! It's not for the faint hearted, but if you are willing to commit to it and do the hard graft, your success in this course and in life, is guaranteed! Learn, Grow, Live!

Participating in the Permaculture Design Course in Aug 2020 was a deeply rewarding experience for myself and my family. It was much much more than learning how to grow food. The brief to students from the operators included to bring an open mind. If you truly allow your mind to be open through the course, you will feel into a human experience you may have not allowed yourself for some time. Not without it's challenges, both social and personal, however navigating these challenges in a group with a community mindset and the permaculture principles as the guide, awakened a deeper sense of purpose and understanding of the connection to the collective and cycles in nature and society. We made new friends with like minded people and are now proud to be part of a community, working together for a greater cause. Social, spiritual, economic, climate, science, food sovereignty, music, art, connection, healing, knowledge sharing and I could go on and on.

Permaculture has given me the knowledge to understand my place in this world.
It is simultaneously the most humbling and uplifting knowledge to have.
I feel very lucky to have connected with Noosa Forest Retreat during a wonderful natural building course. The moment you arrive you know you are in a special place where special things happen. The community are so welcoming and inclusive and the land is so naturally beautiful. Being a part of that and building a natural structure there with an awesome group of people, including my son, was truely a fantastic experience.
During that time I was introduced to some permaculture principles and was compelled to do the Permaculture Design Course which I completed the following month. The access to such important knowledge is facilitated brilliantly by the teachers who are always there to support you and answer all your questions. The course is beautifully catered for and the connections you make with nature and the great individuals this course seems to attract make it such a profoundly special experience. Personally I found the course mind blowing and am constantly being inspired by that in every aspect of my life.
Since then I am so glad my son has completed this course and he too is inspired by having this knowledge in his life. We have been united in our permaculture journey and continue to be a part of the Noosa Forest Retreat extended community and participate in projects there often. Now they can't keep us away!

The minute we got to Noosa Forest Retreat we could feel an incredible positive and uplifting atmosphere. We were welcomed by super friendly people and felt part of the community immediately. The permaculture tour from Ian was simply mind-blowing - I have only met a few people with such incredible knowledge in my life and wished I could have stayed longer at this magnificent place to learn more about permaculture and alternative ways of living. Thanks Ian and the Noosa Forest Retreat community for such a great afternoon! We’ll be back :-)

I just finished my PDC in Noosa Forest Retreat and I'm really happy with it! Life changing for sure! I enjoyed every topic, learned a lot and great teachers! The guest speakers were also very inspiring! The environment were we had the classes was very peaceful, perfect for a PDC. It was a very intens course but I'm feeling so good right now! I go for sure further with permaculture!
Thanks for this life changing event!
Miche