Resilient Living Course — Perth City Farm

Learn practical permaculture skills for urban life | October 2026

Are you asking yourself these questions?

Is there a better way to live? How do I rely less on a system that feels increasingly uncertain? How do I build a life that actually feels good — not just busy?

If any of that sounds familiar, you’re in the right place.

What is the Resilient Living Course?

The Resilient Living Course is a five-day, hands-on program at Perth City Farm for people who want real, practical skills for urban life – not just inspiration.

Now running for the third time, this course brings together the best of Perth City Farm’s education offering into one immersive experience. You’ll work with your hands, make things you take home, and walk away each day with something tangible to show for it.

This is not a theory class. It’s practical, grounded, and designed specifically for people living in an urban setting – whether you have a backyard, a balcony, or just a windowsill.

What you’ll learn

Across five full days, you’ll cover:

• Productive food growing – soil health, compost and propagation
• Foraging and fermentation – edible weeds, healing plants and preserving food
• Urban wildlife and ecology – understanding your local environment, climate and water use
• Alternative energy and resilience planning – transport, energy use and preparing for uncertainty
• Community and alternative living – building community, sustainable careers and alternative living models
• The permaculture framework – ethics, principles and zones explained clearly and practically

Where a Permaculture Design Course teaches you to design a system, this course teaches you the actual how – the skills you can put to use immediately, no matter how much land (or lack of it) you’re working with.

Who is this course for?

Most people who join the Resilient Living Course aren’t beginners looking for a fun weekend. They’re busy people with careers, families and full lives who want a bit more confidence in how they do things.

This course is for you if:

• You’ve been curious about permaculture but don’t know where to start
• You want practical skills you can actually use in daily life, not just theory
• You’re ready to do something meaningful about the way you live
• You want to connect with like-minded people in Perth who care about the same things

You’ll leave with practical skills, a few new friends, and a different way of looking at everything – from your grocery shop to your backyard.

What past attendees say

“The hands-on aspect was what made this course – you’re actually doing things, not just listening.”

“More than just gardening. It genuinely inspired me – this is a way of life and a way of growing.”

“Practical, easy to understand, and immediately useful in daily life. I came away with so much.”

“A great introduction to permaculture – the activities were useful and the learning stuck with me.”

Course dates

Five days spread across three weeks – designed to fit around your life.

We split the five days over three weeks so you have time to reflect, absorb the learning, and put things into practice between sessions.

Where

Perth City Farm 1 City Farm Place, East Perth WA 6004

This course is exclusive to Perth City Farm – developed specifically to make use of our unique working urban farm in the heart of the city.

Secure your place

BOOK NOW — TICKETS VIA HUMANITIX

Tickets are limited. This course has sold out in previous rounds — we recommend booking early to avoid missing out.

About Perth City Farm

Perth City Farm is a not-for-profit sustainable community venue in East Perth. We’ve been growing food, building community and educating people about sustainable living for over 25 years. The Resilient Living Course is one of our most loved programs — practical, hands-on, and rooted in everything the farm stands for.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is this different to a Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC)? In short – it’s about half the length and cost, and cuts out the elements that aren’t relevant in an urban environment. A PDC has a big focus on design skills and homework so participants can work as a permaculture designer afterwards. The Resilient Living Course has been developed for someone keen to learn about permaculture and sustainable living to apply it to their own urban life – without the large time commitment or the need to work as a designer afterwards. PDCs are great, and our teachers teach those courses too, but not everyone needs or wants a full PDC experience to get the benefits of permaculture in their life.

What exact skills will I learn? So many – this is a kind of ‘best of’ of Perth City Farm’s adult education program. You’ll gain skills in:

• Applying permaculture zones, ethics and principles to your home, garden and life
• Creating a productive food garden
• Plant propagation including cuttings and seed saving
• Sowing, tending and harvesting food plants
• Making beeswax wraps
• Gardening for urban wildlife
• Making great soil including composting, green manure and weed tea
• Waterwise small space gardening – make your own olla
• Solar oven cooking
• Using animals in your garden: chickens, ducks and worms
• Fermenting vegetables, baking bread, making pestos
• Foraging for wild foods and identifying and cooking safe weeds
• Maintaining tools
• Using medicinal herbs including making herbal balm and oxymel
• Slowing down your life, spending less money and enjoying life more
• Supporting and developing more local and ethical economic systems

Plus so much inspiration, new connections and motivation to make changes in your life.

Who is this course designed for? The Resilient Living Course has been developed for someone keen to learn about sustainable living and apply it to their own urban life. It’s great for people who relate to any of these:

• Tried a bit of food growing but it wasn’t too productive and didn’t feel worth the time and effort
• Worried about issues like climate change, species loss, and inequality – and want to live a life that helps
• Looking for motivation, inspiration and skills to make some changes
• Seeking new values-aligned friends
• Curious about permaculture but without the bigger time and money commitment of a PDC
• Just generally love learning new things

How is this different to an online course? Online learning has its benefits, but for this kind of content, in-person on-farm education is where the magic happens:

• You learn new skills better when you try them yourself under the guidance of an experienced teacher – we’ll be out of the classroom frequently, hands in the dirt together
• You bond with other students and teachers, starting new friendships that will support you long after the course wraps up
• It’s easier to focus and stay engaged with a real person in front of you — and you’re more likely to show up because we’ll notice if you aren’t there!
• It’s way more fun and healthy to be out of your chair and in the garden
• It’s tastier –  there will be fresh farm morning tea prepared and share together each day, bring your own lunch as we gather under the trees for connection and break time. Yum! 🌿

Still have questions? Get in touch at [email protected] – we’d love to hear from you.