Forest gardening
This two-day course visits four sites.
Saturday 29 - Sunday 30 June 2013
Both days of the course run 10am - 5pm.
Day 1: Seaford and Southease
Day 2: Brighton
(Click here if you would like to be notified about future runs of this course/event.)
You will learn how to grow fruit, nuts, salads and perennial vegetables as a low maintenance, highly productive garden ecosystem. Includes site visits.
What is a Forest Garden?
"A forest garden is a food-producing garden, based on the model of a natural woodland or forest. It is usually made up of fruit and nut trees, fruit bushes, perennial vegetables and herbs. It can be tailored to fit any space from a tiny back yard to a large rural garden." [Patrick Whitefield, How to Make a Forest Garden]
What will the Forest gardening course cover?
• Concepts and principles of forest gardening
• Crops, yields and other uses of forest gardens
• Design and selecting trees / plants
• Planting, establishment and maintenance
General gardening and basic fruit growing skills are not covered in depth on this course, but are necessary to practice forest gardening.
Who is the course for?
This course is open to anyone aged 16 or over, and no prior knowledge of the subject is needed. However due to its specialist nature it will be of interest to experienced gardeners and professionals as well as the complete novice. There will also be some practical gardening work, though this will be a small part of the course and students are welcome not to participate in this. We will be outdoors for much of the course and will be visiting four sites, if you have a disability that you think may affect your ability to attend the course, please contact us before booking to discuss how you can be accommodated.
Learning methods and outcomes
The course will start with a brief discussion about what participants want from the course. The course will be taught using a variety of methods; group work, presentations, discussion, and slides. By the end of the course you will have a basic knowledge of the ideas and principles of forest gardening as well as understanding some of the techniques necessary to put the theory into practice.The course will include four site visits and practical demonstrations of mulching / planting and tree care.
What does the Forest gardening course lead on to?
This short specialist course is not accredited. It does not lead on directly to any other courses. Previous participants have gone on to attend other courses run by Brighton Permaculture Trust, including permaculture design and fruit related courses.
Course tutors
Bryn Thomas, an experienced tutor/trainer who has been creating and maintaining forest gardens for over 18 years including the one the course visits at Seaford.
Stephan Gehrels will co-teach the course and will show us the garden he is creating at a school as well as sharing a short presentation on the forest garden at the Agroforestry Research Trust.
Pippa Johns will be showing us around her garden if she is available to do so, though we will be looking at it even if she is not free.
Venues and visits
Most of the first day will be held in Seaford, East Sussex. We will start at Chyngton school, less than 2 miles from Seaford railway station and Brighton & Hove bus route number 12. Click here for Brighton & Hove City Council’s journey planner. We will then travel to a forest garden nearby where much of this day will be spent in the established forest garden pictured on this page and planted/maintained by the tutor. We will then travel by lift share or train to the beautiful garden of Pippa Johns, which is close to Southease station and is located between Newhaven and Lewes.
The second day we will meet at Hertford Junior School, Brighton, to see the forest garden being developed there by Stephan Gehrels. We will then travel to Stanmer Park (near University of Sussex, Brighton). Here we will demonstrate some practical techniques for the creation and maintenance of forest gardens at Brighton Permaculture Trust's plot and look at the old orchards. Click here for directions to our meeting point at Stanmer Park.
Click here for details of local accommodation and to find out about Brighton Permaculture Trust supporters who can provide accommodation in their homes.
Reference resources
These books are recommended but it is not necessary for those attending to buy or read them:
• How to Make a Forest Garden by Patrick Whitefield
• Forest Gardening with Robert Hart
Internet:
• WeForest - Video clip setting benefits of forest gardening in a global context
Fees
Fees include tuition and refreshments on the second day of the course only.
£210 - Sponsored/organisation rate
£210 - Individual income more than 25k/yr
£170 - Individual income 18-25k/yr
£130 - Individual income less than 18k/yr
£90 - Individual, concessionary rate (please read below)
Concessionary rates are available to people in receipt of a state pension, means-tested benefits (including housing benefit, council tax benefit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance, income-related Employment and Support Allowance or the guarantee credit part of Pension Credit, Working Tax Credit (income does not exceed £16,190) and/or Child Tax Credit), and full-time students. Please bring evidence of this to the course.
We endeavour to make our courses/events affordable to all. Unfortunately we do not receive any external funding and as such rely on large amounts of voluntary input to run courses/events.
See the cancellations and refunds policy.
Booking the Forest gardening course
Booking is essential, as most of our courses/events are fully booked weeks in advance. However, if places are still available, then bookings can be made until midday the day before the course/event. A place is not secured until we have received the requested payment.
Please do not book unless you are able to pay for your place.
Paying for your place
Please read this section carefully.
When you complete the booking process, you will receive a confirmation email from us. If you haven't received that email within the next few hours, please contact us immediately, as this email contains vital information regarding your booking.
You can pay when you book your place using a credit/debit card or PayPal, or you can tick the 'Pay later' box (in the Event Fee section), which gives you the option to pay by BACS or send us a cheque after you have booked.
If you tick the pay later box, you will have 7 days to pay for your place. Bookings that remain unpaid on our system for longer than that will expire. You will receive notification of this expiration by email. If you then decide you want to come, you will need to contact us to see if there is a still a place available for you.
If you are booking within two weeks of the course, you will not have the option to pay later. Instead, you will need to pay immediately at the point of booking using a credit card or PayPal. This will also be the only option available if the course is nearly fully booked.
Be certain that you understand ALL the information on this page, then:
Register here for Forest Gardening, 29 - 30 June 2013
If places are available, you will automatically be taken to the booking form.
Contact us
For further information or if you have problems with your registration, please contact us.
