Can you imagine walking out into your garden and having a bounty of food to choose from?
A forest garden mimics the many edible layers found in a natural woodland, and the benefit of designing your own version means you get to decide what grows there. From herbs and fruit trees to unusual vegetable and spice crops, a forest garden can provide multiple harvests year-round.
Learn all the skills you need to design, create and manage your own forest garden through our six month accredited online course. It features the videos of Martin Crawford, author of several books on forest gardening and director of the Agroforestry Research Trust.
The course includes videos, handouts and online assessments, plus regular group tutorials, leading you to qualify for a Level 2 Award in Forest Gardening.
The Orchard Project has developed this course in collaboration with Martin Crawford; it is accredited by the Crossfields Institute.
COURSE STRUCTURE
The course requires around eight hours of your time per fortnight over a six month period. This includes watching the 20 teaching videos, reading the handouts, attending the group tutorials with your fellow students, and doing the homework.
There will be seven online tutorials which will take place via Zoom. The sessions will be run by friendly tutors and also feature expert forest garden or permaculture presenters. This is your chance to ask any questions you have about the course content and to have discussions with your fellow students.
The tutorials will be an hour and a half hour long and take place in the evening from 7pm – 8.30pm.
Course work includes nine pieces of homework and 10 assessed quizzes. Homework will be set fortnightly.
COURSE CONTENT
This course will teach you everything you need to know about designing, planting and maintaining an edible forest garden, including:
- Forest garden characteristics
- Windbreaks and shelter
- Managing different soils
- Maintaining fertility
- The role of mycorrhizal fungi
- Carrying out a site survey
- Useful trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants
- Designing the different layers of a forest garden
- Maintaining a forest garden
- Propagating plants and edible fungi
Some comments from previous students:
“I am really enjoying the course so far, its opening up an avenue of interest for me.”
“The course is excellent!”
For more information, or to find out when our next course will run, contact Sarah Mason, Training Co-ordinator.