Regenerative Design, Engineering & Permaculture Courses
Bridge the gap between scientific environmental science and practical, hands-on land management.
Welcome to the Danial Lawton training hub. Whether you are a landholder wanting to drought-proof your property, a contractor aiming to master heavy machinery, or a practitioner stepping into whole-property design, our courses are built on real-world application and zero guesswork.
Combining a Master of Environmental Engineering with over 25 years of practical permaculture experience, our hands-on workshops and intensive training programs give you the exact frameworks, physics, and tools needed to build resilient, highly productive landscapes.
Why Train With Danial Lawton?
Moving soil and managing water are the most critical—and expensive—parts of any landscape development. Getting it wrong leads to blown-out budgets, failed dams, severe erosion, and lost topsoil.
Combining a Master’s in Environmental Engineering with 25+ years of intuitive permaculture experience, Danial Lawton delivers a world-class training curriculum. We don’t “wing it.” We give you the physics, mathematical tools, and machine-operating frameworks to design and build drought-proof, flood-resilient landscapes that last generations.
“Most earthworks fail because they rely on guesswork rather than hydrology. Learn how to calculate water flow, read land contours, and direct heavy machinery with scientific certainty.” — Danial Lawton (M.Env.Eng)
Below, you’ll find our current active courses alongside our core training pathways.
Get a 10% discount for booking 2 or more course at the same time ($3000 minimum spend).
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Funding & Rebate Eligibility (SEQ Landholders)
Grant Funding & Council BursarieGrant Funding & Council BursariesGrant Funding & Council BursariessGrant Funding & Council BursariesGrant Funding & Council BursariesPrimary producers, graziers, and landholders in South East Queensland (Moreton Bay, Gympie, Sunshine Coast) may be eligible for training subsidies:
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QRIDA Farm Business Resilience Program: Claimable educational expense for primary producers.
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Council Environment Grants: Subsidies available for landholders in target catchment zones.
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Landcare Member Discounts: Subsidized positions available through partnered Landcare groups.
Participants learn how to locate appropriate sites, conduct site design and surveying, and direct earthmoving equipment to establish features like dams, swales, terraces, road access, and level sill spillways under the guidance of dual Master’s Environmental Engineer Danial Lawton.
No prior experience is required. The curriculum covers foundational laser surveying, reading topographical contours, and machine operation safety, allowing you to gain practical experience at the controls of machines like excavators and bulldozers. However you will need to have done a course in or have a good understanding of permaculture earthworks.
The course is designed for landowners, rural acreage buyers, heavy machinery operators, permaculture designers, and agricultural managers wanting hands-on, engineering-backed training in precision earthworks and broadacre water management.
