The Orchard Project is bringing its popular Certificate in Community Orcharding (CICO) course to Bristol next month.
This unique course is designed to give budding orchardists all the skills they need to set up and run their own successful community orchard. Students learn from orchard experts at six face-to-face training days, with the flexibility to do most of their learning at home, via 100+ online resources.
Many former students have moved onto careers in urban food-growing, such as managing community gardens, working for organisations in the food sector, or as professional gardeners/designers. They have also enjoyed meeting other like-minded food growers and becoming part of a vibrant informal orcharding network.
“Bristol is a Sustainable Food City with some fantastic community growing spaces,” says Abby Cremin, Head of Operations and Programmes at The Orchard Project. “Students on our existing CICO Wales were coming from a wide area, including Ireland, Oxford, Bristol, Somerset and the wider South West. By moving the course to Bristol, we’re able to offer a more accessible venue and reach even more people.
“Our main training venue will be the excellent Avon Wildlife Trust Site (Grow Wilder). We are developing a great relationship with the team there, who are very supportive of our plan to use this venue as our course base.”
Subjects covered on the course include pruning, grafting, soil science, pests and diseases, caring for veteran trees, and fruit ID. It will also include a tour of Bristol orchards: Horfield Community Orchard; Royate Hill Community Orchard; and a large community orchard at Stoke Park Estate.
The 11-month course, which begins on 4 September, is limited to 17 students to ensure everyone gets the level of support they need. For more information and to book a place, visit: https://bit.ly/cico23