Forest Gardening Regenerative Design
The ultimate goal of forest gardening is not only the production of crops, but also the
cultivation and perfection of new ways of seeing, of thinking, and acting in the world.
Forest Gardening is the art and science of growing plants in patterns that support mutually beneficial relationships, which create a garden that takes its vision from nature and the natural ecology of a young forest. We can grow fruits, vegetables, herbs, medicinal plants and other valuable plants. By mimicking the way, nature creates healthy ecosystems, we can create beautiful, high-yielding diverse gardens that are largely self-maintaining. It offers a design system that supports a diversity of landscapes from rural to dense urban settings. We achieve the same benefits natural systems demonstrate: stability, resilience, self-maintenance, self-renewal, and increased nutrient conservation at personal and ecological levels.
It is the most regenerative form of gardening existing in humanity. Integrating knowledge from permaculture, agriculture, ecology, biology and other natural living sciences into a wholistic set of evolving tools and practices, forest gardening is one of humanity’s greatest prospects for establishing a flourishing future.
It is about returning to a place of honouring our relationship and connection to Nature, of sacred partnership with the living planet and reinventing whole, connected, thriving ecosystems that sustain and regenerate all life.
“Gardening is an active participation in the deepest mysteries of the universe.”
~Thomas Berry
Forest Gardening:
Ecological Resilient & Rewilding Design
(Online Live 3-Month Course) April 3 - June 26, 2024
“I have found through years of practice, that people garden in order to make something grow; to interact with nature; to share, to find sanctuary, to heal, to honor the earth, to leave a mark. through gardening, we feel whole as we make our personal work of art upon our land.” ~Julie Moir Messervy
This program is for those who are committed to the future of native plants by educating and inspiring tomorrow’s foragers, wildcrafters, herbalists, forest gardeners, permaculturists and ecologists. It offers a rigorous and intensive immersion into propagating and cultivating edible and medicinal plants. Learn how to achieve the same benefits natural systems demonstrate: stability, resilience, self-maintenance, self-renewal and increased nutrient conservation at personal and ecological levels. Discover how a genuine working relationship with Earth and the Plants is the cornerstone for enduring personal, community and environmental health and happiness.
Ask the Herbalist: Regeneration, Herbalism & Biodiversity
4-Week Series Online Monthly Themes Date TBA
“Something new is happening, a new vision, a new energy,
a new sacred story is coming into being in the transition from one era to another.” ~Thomas Berry
Bioregional Herbalism embraces the concept that a genuinely wholistic healing style needs to draw on available natural resources within your region. Bioregional Herbalism is a pathway to natural wellness. Build your resilience by discovering how to engage with bioregional plants as allies and develop personal intuition and connection for yourself and the natural world.
Regeneration & Resilience:
Soil Ecology, Permaculture & Native Plants
(Online Live 4-Week Series) April 4 - June 24, 2024
“A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people.“ ~Franklin D. Roosevelt”
Discover how to design a permaculture landscape from growing soil to creating finished plant medicines. Learn about permaculture herbs and creating a sacred medicine sanctuary. Our focus will be on the practical hands-on-learning of herbal medicine including wild plant identification, harvesting and the art of wild-crafting of herbs and herbal preparations, and personal plant projects. The art of assisting the growth of herbs ensures a personal healing loop between the planter and the planted. There is no better remedy than one nurtured with care and intention from preconception to packaging. Learn in-depth the uses of a handful of herbs and how to make basic herbal remedies. Design a regenerative herbal lifestyle for yourself and the whole family.
The Ecological Herbalist:
Roots of Herbalism
(Online Live 4-Week Series) July 4 - 25, 2024
“The keystone of forest gardening is a paradigm shift in our own human consciousness. From monoculture mind to polyculture mind; From separation to unity; From exploitation and manipulation to respect and interdependence; From intervener to ecosystem participant.” ~Dave Jacke.
Dive deeply into the vision, theory, and practice of designing wholesome, dynamic, and resilient ecosystems using temperate deciduous forests as models. Through site walks, experiential exercises, and design projects to help you understand how the architecture, social structure, underground economics, and successional processes of natural forests apply to herbal ecosystems’ design. You’ll come to understand a variety of ecological design processes while designing a range of compilation of food-producing ecologies at our demonstration and research gardens.
Ethical Foraging:
The Art of Wildcrafting:
Herb Walks
Friday Evenings April - Sept
“Be Seasonal, ethical & gentle. ‘We need a renaissance of wonder. We need to renew, in our hearts and in our souls.”
~Fennel Hudson
You spoke, we listened! The Ethical foraging herb walk series have been redesigned to make it an even more valuable and enjoyable learning experience. Changes feature a more academic approach to learning, smaller class size, more hands on activities, more sampling of nature’s best wild flavours, more walks and topics in a shorter time period.
Gardening Like the Forest
Designing the Ecological Landscape
June 1 - 2, 2024
“What is Paradise? But a Garden, an Orchard of Trees and Herbs, full of pleasure, and nothing there but delights.”
~William Lawson, 1618
Healthy forests maintain, fertilize, and renew themselves naturally. Envision living in an intentional, resilient, forage-able ecosystem in your yard, and it grows your food and medicine! Imagine meeting your own needs while regenerating healthy ecosystems at the same time. Forest gardens mimic the structures and functions of natural forests while growing food, fuel, fibre, fodder, fertilizers, farmaceuticals, and fun.
The Sevenfold Path:
Unleashing Your Inner Hero
Residential Apprenticeship Program
A 23 - Day Experience Date to Be Announced
In a social and ecological crisis, what can we as individuals do to improve the world? This mentorship offers grounded skills, knowledge and perspectives that open the way to a more regenerative future for yourself and the Earth. This hands-on experience unlocks skills and potential, passions and insights that open a forest of possibilities. A Sevenfold Path Educator is someone who can ‘walk-the-talk’. Individuals who are potent catalysts for change sincerely desire to be part of the global transition. The world needs people who choose to embrace the invitation to be emissaries of conscious evolution. Pioneering souls who can ‘live the solution’ in all areas of their lives.
