Edible Ecosystems Emerging: Food Forestry for the 21st Century
A 9-Day Forest Garden Design Intensive
With Dave Jacke, Matthew English, and Friends.
At Spiral Ridge Permaculture Gardens
and The Farm Community Center
Summertown, Tennessee
September 23-October 2, 2011
Forest ecosystems exhibit many beneficial properties we humans would be wise to emulate in our culture, agriculture and horticulture: they maintain, renew, fertilize and propagate themselves without human inputs; they build, store, and conserve clean air, clean water, nutrients, soil quality, and biodiversity; and they exhibit stability, resilience, and adaptability. These qualities emerge from the dynamics of the forest as a whole system, not from any one or more of the elements that comprise the forest alone. To design productive edible ecosystems that express these same qualities, we must understand forest structures, functions, patterns, and processes and use this knowledge wisely.
In this nine-day intensive course, you will dive deeply into the vision, theory, and practice of designing wholesome, dynamic, and resilient edible ecosystems using temperate deciduous forests as models. Dave Jacke and his teaching team will offer lectures, site walks, and experiential exercises to help you understand how the architecture, social structure, underground economics, and successional processes of natural forests apply in the design of edible ecosystems of all kinds. You’ll learn a variety of ecological design processes while designing a range of food-producing ecologies at our host farm. We’ll also engage with issues of garden management, economics, and the deep paradigmatic shifts required to succeed at cocreating “humanatural” landscapes and cultures. You will leave inspired and empowered to design food forests at home for yourself, and your friends, neighbors and clients.
Sliding scale (covers tuition and food): $1,100-$1,400. Amounts paid over $1,100 will go into the scholarship fund. Partial scholarships will likely be available. Contact the below for lodging information (some options on site, some off).
Sponsored by: Spiral Ridge Permaculture Gardens
Location: Spiral Ridge Permaculture Gardens and
The Farm Community Center, Summertown, TN.
To register or for info: 931-964-2375
http://www.spiralridgepermaculture.com
spiralridgepermaculture@gmail.com
This introduction, sponsored by the Financial Permaculture Institute and Design Recouse, lays the foundation for the full 72-hour design course, with introductions to ethics, principles, and tools for combining old country know how, natural patterns, and conscious design. Permaculture is a design science that takes a whole-ecosystem approach to sustainable development. The term, “Permaculture”, means “permanent agriculture” and “permanent culture”. Permaculture developed in Australia in the late 1970’s, by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, and has since spread throughout the world. Leaders of the sustainability movement are applying Permaculture principles and design methodologies to everything from gardens, home sites, village designs, businesses, and entire regional economies. Includes classes on creating healthy soils, and garden design. Check out the tentative schedule for more topics. Instructors include, Matthew English, Kevin Guenther, Cliff Davis and guests!
use a unique tool that incorporates natural design systems into problem solving on multiple levels. This 72 hour course is vigorous and in depth. Students who complete all segments of the course and individual project assignments will receive an internationally recognized Permaculture Design Certificate. See tentative schedule for topics. Includes class lectures, interactive class participation, design exercises, field trips, and dynamic learning opportunities. Instructors include Matthew English, Kevin Guenther, Cliff Davis, and guests.
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