Forest Gardening Design Course

Description Forest Gardening – Course Outline This course is now a hybrid of in-person teaching sessions at our research sites (including our world famous forest garden started in 1994) with leading expert and author Martin Crawford; as well as online videos, course lectures and a design exercise. Practical information on tree crops, shrub crops, perennials and ground covers will be complemented with visits to our forest gardens to look at our successes and failures, as well as to taste unusual leaf and fruit crops. See below for some of the endorsements we’ve had. Course enrolment will include: Two sessions at our research sites in Devon on the weekend you book. These sessions are longer than our normal tours and specifically designed to cover more of the design strategies for forest gardens. Access to all the materials in our extended online forest gardening /food forest course: 16 video episodes, 13 lecture episodes, online tours of our sites, pdf notes to online content (see https://www.agroforestry.co.uk/extended-online-fg-ff-course/ for full info) A design exercise with individual feedback The Devon-based part of the course will run 2.00 pm – 5.00 pm on Saturday and  9.30-12.30 on Sunday. Course fees – £329 (single) / £379 (2 people, 1 online access) Reduced rate places are sometimes available if you are low waged / unwaged – please enquire “Just wanted to say thanks for running such a great course. I feel as though lots of my questions have been answered and I’m really excited to start work on my own forest garden now. Your work is truly inspiring. “   AW, UK “Many thanks once again for a wonderful course the other week. I learned a great deal and felt very energised and full of ideas upon my return” JH, UK “Thank you again for the wonderful course in forest gardening. I went home inspired and with the maximum of useful practical information.”  SW, Germany “Just a quick note to say thanks so much for an excellent weekend. We learned so much and its really helped us to clarify the direction we want to go in with the land here.”  NR, UK “Thank you for a couple of very interesting days in Dartington. It was truly worth coming all the way from Denmark to learn from you and see your beautiful sites.”  LM, Denmark “Thank you for a truly wonderful weekend. I left feeling very inspired and encouraged.” EG, UK “I would like to say thanks for the forest garden course. It was very inspiring, stimulating, informative and fruitful.” AG, Denmark. Topics covered in the course include: Basics First principles – natural forests – definition – growth layers Why Forest Gardening – benefits Succession Design Design principles – questions – initial stages – collecting info Combining everything Design of clearings Design of edges – edge features – light (PAR) – types of edge – types of plants Design of hedges Design of paths Design of ground covers – functions – types Practicalities Preparation – converting grass to ground cover Planting Mulches – mulch types Seasonal maintenance Growing your own plants Species Species for clearings Species for edges Species for hedges Tree crops Shrub crops Climbers Perennials Perennial leaf crops Species for ground covers – paths – clearings – polycultures Annuals & biennials Root & bulb crops Fungi – below ground – above ground Plants for difficult sites More information You will be sent further course details and directions after you book. If the course you are interested in is full and you are able to attend at short notice, please email us and we can put you on a reserve list in case of a cancellation. Books will be available to buy in person in Devon.   Cancellation policy Because of the big demand for our courses – and because we rely as a small charity on the income to survive – we have to apply this policy strictly. Once you have booked, you will have immediate access to the online parts of the course (value £279) and this is non-refundable. The remainder of the course fee (£50) is covered by the policy below. In the event of the Devon-based part of the course being cancelled by us you will be completely refunded £50. We cannot be held responsible for any other fees or costs. In the event of you cancelling your place on the Devon weekend part of the course: prior to 8 weeks before the course you will get a £50 refund*; 4-8 weeks before the course you will get a £25 refund* less than 4 weeks before the course and you will not be due a refund . *  refunds to non-UK bank accounts will incur a fee of £15.00 which we have to deduct from your refund. If you wish to change your booking  dates for the Devon-based part of the course more than 8 weeks before the course dates, we will do our best to accommodate you but cannot guarantee availability for future dates. For less than 8 weeks before the dates, the refund policy above applies.