Dates to be announced
Learn how to grow fruit, nuts, salads and perennial vegetables as a low maintenance, highly productive garden ecosystem.
Watch a video of instructor Bryn Thomas talking about forest gardens.
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]
Have a virtual look around a forest garden in this fantastic video produced for Permaculture magazine.
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.
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 Zoom sessions will be taught using a variety of methods; group work, presentations and discussion. On the site visits we will be looking at how the application of forest gardening can work in different settings.
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.
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 since 1994.
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.
Venues, visits and accommodation
Sun 12 Sept, 10 am to 1pm Zoom
Sun 19 Sept, 10am-1pm, Site visit Goddards Green (Burgess Hill),
Sun 26 Sept, 10 am to 1pm, Hertford Jnr School, Hollingdean (Brighton)
Sun 3 Oct, 10 am to 1 pm, Zoom
On the second day of the course we will meet at a private forest garden in Goddards Green:
Gaybrook
High Hatch Lane
Goddards Green
BN6 9LH
On the third day of the course we will meet at Hertford Junior School, Brighton, to see the forest garden being developed there by Stephan Gehrels.
If you intend to book accommodation, please check availability before booking a place, as accommodation in Brighton can be hard to find, especially over the summer months.
Get details on local accommodation and 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:
Watch a video clip setting the benefits of forest gardening in a global context.
Fees
Fees include tuition and refreshments on the second day of the course only.
- £247.50 – Sponsored/organisation rate
- £247.50 – Individual income more than 25k/yr
- £200 – Individual income 18-25k/yr
- £152.50 – Individual income less than 18k/yr
- £84 – Individual, concessionary rate (check eligibility)*
* Concessionary places are limited. If places are not available check back two weeks before the course/event as more may be available then.
We endeavour to make our courses and events affordable to all. Unfortunately, we do not receive any external funding for most of these and rely on large amounts of voluntary input.
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.
If you have completed the booking process but you haven’t received a confirmation email from us please contact us to check your booking has gone through.
If you are booking within two weeks of the event, or the event is nearly full, you will not have the option to pay by cheque or BACS. Instead, you will need to pay immediately using a credit/debit card or PayPal.
Be certain that you understand ALL the information on this page, then:
Book the 12 Sept – 3 Oct 2021 course
If the course is fully booked please use the Make an enquiry button below to ask to join a waiting list.