Education & Training

El Ranchito connects children from low-income families with the natural world through extraordinarily fun and inspiring nature-immersion camps. We provide residential nature camp opportunities for 4th-9th graders in our Nature Discovery Camp and provide 10th-12th graders job skills training, high adventure outings, conservation work experience and a stipend through Conservation Corps. El Ranchito is project of the Shield Ranch Foundation in collaboration with Westcave Preserve and El Buen Samaritano Episcopal Mission. Learn more at www.elranchito.org.

The Permaculture Education Center's mission is to teach, consult, demonstrate, and help spread the word about Permaculture worldwide.

We offer the official 72-hour online Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) course and the Introduction to Permaculture Course, plus advice and tutoring from some of the world’s top professional Permaculture designers and teachers.

Our courses are eligible for university course credits and continuing education credits for both landscape architects and traditional architects. All of our courses are accredited internationally by the Permaculture Research Institute in Australia.

Community Website for events that result in progress for society. We also are the home for the Austin Progressive Potluckers: Austin's monthly potluck that lets you check out a group or organization over a delicious meal.

Austin Community College made an early commitment to prepare the Austin/RR workforce for a future in "Green Jobs." ACC led the I-35 Corridor (from DFW to S.A.) in planning a "Greening of the Trades." Our award-winning "Campus Sustainability" projects (go to: http://www.austincc.edu/sustainability/index.php), make ACC a leader in Walking-the-Talk! Whether you're interested in Green Biz., Green Construction, Renewable Energy, or Environmental Science...ACC can help. Start Here - Get There...You've Got Options!