In an uncertain economy and changing world, local food security is an essential element to becoming sustaibable in this emmerging Green Economy. Join the campaign for local food security and learn how you can help to transform gardens, lawns, parks, and empty spaces into thriving edible landscapes that are beautiful, regenerative, and produce an abundance of delicious, locally grown food!
What is a Food Forest Garden?
Imagine a forest where every single tree is dripping with fresh fruits and ripening nuts. Every shrub is packed with delicious berries, and every other plant is a medicinal herb, culinary spice, or beautiful edible flower. Tubers and root crops are abundant underfoot, gourmet mushroom logs sprout in the shade, and hardy kiwi vines climb back up through the layers of this multi-functional forest of food.
Food forests are diverse gardens modeled after natural ecosystems designed to mimic the way a forest thrives and regenerates. A forest continuously nourishing all elements in the system and produce a vast diversity of outputs, but requires little or no inputs to sustain itself. By recognizing the self-supporting, mutually beneficial relationships of the elements in a forest - from tall trees, smaller trees, shrubs, herbs, ground covers, vines, nitrogen fixers, insectaries, fungi, animals, and more, the food forest garden designs a similar system but replaces the components that are in a common forest with species that are preferred edibles and more useful for humans. The forest then becomes a Garden of Eden, in which edible or useful plants are found from head to toe, where something in season is always ready to eat, and the system requires little or no maintenance to sustain and regenerate.
Where Can I Learn About Forest Gardens?
We recommend the book - Edible Forest Gardens, by Dave Jacke and Eric Toensmeier, http://www.edibleforestgardens.com
as well as Permaculture resources, practices, and philosophies.
The best way is to learn how to design and install a Food Forest Garden is by taking a hands-on course.
Upcoming Forest Garden Courses:
Hands-On Food Forest Workshop - May 16-17, Petaluma, CA
Forest Garden Immersion Course - April 23-26
Hands-on Training to Design and Implement Edible Landscapes
April 23-26, 2009
High Falls, New York
at Camp Epworth Permaculture Demonstration & Education Center
In Association with Appleseed Permaculture
Including
FOREST GARDENING, FOREST ECOLOGY, PERMACULTURE, PLANT PROPAGATION, PLANTING & MULCHING, GRAFTING, SOIL ECOLOGY, BASIC BOTANY, MUSHROOM, INOCULATION, FORAGING & WILD EDIBLES, DESIGN TOOLS, FRESH FOREST GARDEN COOKING, AND MORE
Course Description
This course immerses participants in the hands-on reality of designing and co-creating edible forest gardens. During the 4-day (Thu-Fri-Sat-Sun) course, participants learn how to design, establish, and maintain such Edible Forest Gardens of Eden.Together we will engage in the practical skills of forest gardening: propagation, grafting, planting & mulching, soil ecology, basic botany & horticulture, management & maintenance, plant identification, mushroom inoculation, foraging & wild edibles, community preparation of local medicines, and fresh forest garden cooking. Daily plant walks connect participants on a deeper level with a diversity of multifunctional herbs, trees, and vines. Participants share stories of their own forest gardening explorations, and a visit to an 11-year old local forest garden shows the evolution of these systems. We learn to weave forest gardening into our communities as well as into the soil.
Forest Gardening in the Northeast
This course functionally interconnects with other Forest Garden courses taught in the Northeast this season by providing cultural mentoring in the hands-on joys and challenges of starting and maintaining forest gardens. Our connection to the local community will culminate in adding another quarter-acre of forest garden to last year's acre-planting, and a celebration with the local permaculture community before returning home.
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Food Forest Agroforestry Workshop & Retreat in Maui
April 14-18, 2009
Maui, Hawaii
Hale Akua Garden Farm
Food, Fodder, Forage, Fuel, Fiber, Fungus, Fertility, Functional Farmaceuticals, Fertility Focusing on Pacific Island Tropical and Subtropical Forest Systems
Facilitators & Instructors
Penny Livingston-Stark
Doug Bullock
John Valenzuala
additional special guests
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Hands-On Food Forest Workshop - May 16-17
May 16-17
Petaluma, California
In Association Daily Acts & Permaculture Artisans
This workshop will consist of designing and installing a Food Forest on city land sanctioned by the city of Petaluma, California.
More information coming soon.
Facilitators & Instructors
Erik Ohlsen and friends
Organize and Install a Forest Garden Course in Your Town!
To organize a Food Forest Garden Immersion Course in your town contact:
Food Forests Across America on Visionary Culture Radio!
Monday April 6th, 8:00 pm PST
Call In :: 646-649-1957
Or Log In or Listen :: www.visionarycultureradio.com
Tune into Visionary Culture Radio with Laura Fox on Monday for a show on Food Forests Across America with special guest permaculture teachers from the east to west coasts of the U.S.
Special Guests Include:
Erik Ohlsen - Founder & Director - Permaculture Earth Artisans
Ethan Roland - Founder & Director - AppleSeed Permaculture
Marisha Auerbach - Founder & Director - Herb 'n Wisdom
Max Meyers - Director - Mendocino Ecological Learning Center
Jay Ma - Co-Founder, Director of Programs & Development - Living Mandala
John Valenzuela - Veteran Permaculture Designer, Educator & Consultant
Stay in Touch About Future Events & Updates