This day will look at all the ways we encourage wildlife into the garden to increase biodiversity, how to really work with and not against nature in all its guises. Learn the purpose of all aspects of nature in your garden eco-system and thus understand its contribution or message in term of the balance in your system. Weeds are a fantastic unused resource - learn how to keep them in balance, use them, eat them, mulch with them... Guaranteed to make you come away with ways to stop the battle and start the co-creation on your patch!
Price £30 per person (accompanied kids under 12 free) and includes a tour of Foxfield and refreshments. Places limited so please book early.

Come and learn how to make cob from clay, sand and straw which can be used for a pizza oven, rocket stove or in this case, to plaster the inside walls of our new strawbale Roundhouse. This will be messy so wear old clothes and wellies for trampling unless you fancy bare foot! Gloves will be provided.
Price £30 per person (accompanied kids under 12 free) and includes a tour of Foxfield and refreshments. Places limited so please book early.

A look at how to extend the growing season in your greenhouse or polytunnel without using any heating. How to collect rainwater and irrigate without time and effort on your part or reverting to mains water. We will look at quirky ways to increase the sustainability of your indoor growing space, interesting crops to extend the season, a novel look at weeds and all things permaculturey.
Price £30 per person (accompanied kids under 12 free) and includes a tour of Foxfield and refreshments. Places limited so please book early.

This is a special opportunity to gain hands on experience implementing Permaculture systems under the guidance of experienced and internationally active Permaculture Designer Rico Zook and SOIL*SUN*SOUL Team. For one month we will live as a community designing, implementing and learning about the many different regenerative systems that are part of a functioning and productive holistic farm ecosystem. This is an in depth opportunity to live and work on a developing permaculture farm in the beautiful Pyrenees north of Barcelona Spain.
Week 1: Invisible Structures & Design:
This first week will set the solid foundation the 4 Week Permaculture in Practice Internship.Here we will have an overall look at our collaboratively created learning ecosystem.We will get a deeper look at the site itself and its Permaculture systems.
Week 2: Water and Earthworks:
All physical land systems are literally grounded in the earth. The Water and Earthwork aspect to macro scales of understanding about water and landscape for designing, working and shaping the earth as the foundation for regenerative systems;
Week 3: Annual and Perennial Production Systems:
With focus on our regenerative production landscapes we will dive deep into how to produce all our food needs in a regenerative way using annual and perennial species with the integration of suitable animals.
Week 4: Sustainable Forest Management and Economic, Social and Invisible Structures Design:
Being surrounded by a big oak forest thats protected by the government we will have the opportunity to share with you about how to manage a forest ecosystem in a regenerative way.We also will talk about Fire Preparedness and Preventive Management Strategies as we are located in a Fire Prone Landscape.We will share with you some insights on Ecological Beekeeping and Ecological Mushroom Production.
all infos here: https://www.soilsunsoul.net/applied-permaculture-practitioner-training--...

These courses are relevant to farmers and growers, and gardeners – and the likes of gardening/agricultural researchers and journalists. The focus of the day will be practical, considering how the soil health principles discussed apply in real life and how we translate them into practice. It will act as a good introduction for those wanting to get started on both understanding soil biology and supporting its healthy development.

We will cover the basics of The Soil Food Web, in a concise format, using a microscope to bring the various characters in our soil to life. We’ll consider their roles and how they interact, as a symbiotic community which provides many benefits including creating the vibrant material called humus, and we’ll look at how conventional agriculture is impacting our soils - how cultivation, fertilisers and chemical sprays impact soil biology and us. This will be taken to another level by illustrating how the nutritional quality of food and our own health are affected, as well as that of the wider planet.

Considering application of these principles we will compare the various composting techniques, focusing on hot/thermophilic composting and how to establish an ideal Fungi to Bacteria ratio (F:B) to maximise crop production and optimise quality. Application manner and timing will be discussed as well as how to make it go further by using compost extracts or teas.

In our current economic climate, with both growers and households coming under increased financial pressure, the issues surrounding farming are not easily solved. However some potential solutions to these problems will be presented by highlighting alternative, innovative approaches - from Ireland, UK and around the world.

More information on the website: www.regenag.co.uk (one other date in Devon; 13/3/2018)

These courses are relevant to farmers and growers, and gardeners – and the likes of gardening/agricultural researchers and journalists. The focus of the day will be practical, considering how the soil health principles discussed apply in real life and how we translate them into practice. It will act as a good introduction for those wanting to get started on both understanding soil biology and supporting its healthy development.

We will cover the basics of The Soil Food Web, in a concise format, using a microscope to bring the various characters in our soil to life. We’ll consider their roles and how they interact, as a symbiotic community which provides many benefits including creating the vibrant material called humus, and we’ll look at how conventional agriculture is impacting our soils - how cultivation, fertilisers and chemical sprays impact soil biology and us. This will be taken to another level by illustrating how the nutritional quality of food and our own health are affected, as well as that of the wider planet.

Considering application of these principles we will compare the various composting techniques, focusing on hot/thermophilic composting and how to establish an ideal Fungi to Bacteria ratio (F:B) to maximise crop production and optimise quality. Application manner and timing will be discussed as well as how to make it go further by using compost extracts or teas.

In our current economic climate, with both growers and households coming under increased financial pressure, the issues surrounding farming are not easily solved. However some potential solutions to these problems will be presented by highlighting alternative, innovative approaches - from Ireland, UK and around the world.

More details on the website: www.regenag.co.uk; one other date, in Somerset (15/3)

ABOUT THE COURSE
This course is designed to introduce Permaculture principles but with an emphasis on supporting participants with designing their own homes and gardens. It is no ordinary 'intro' course, and not quite a full Design course either. Rather, through the course, Aranya will cover the key principles of Permaculture design theory and how we can apply them in redesigning our homes and gardens to be both more sustainable and abundant.

Permaculture is about working with nature to make a better world for us all. It offers us an approach that helps us to identify the best tools and techniques for each of our own unique circumstances. You'll learn about green building, energy efficiency, permaculture design, soil, water conservation, forest gardens and much more.

You will use group work, discussions, video, slide shows, observation and practical activities as learning methods. These are supportive of different learning styles and for people with learning difficulties. Design courses are not just about imparting information to the students - there is plenty of knowledge out there - the important thing is knowing how to use this and feeling confident to do so.

ABOUT THE TUTOR
Aranya has been hooked on permaculture since 1996. Completing his Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design in 2003, Aranya started teaching the following year. He discovered this made his heart sing, so he made it his main focus. Since then he has taught almost 80 two-week design courses, something he has no intention of stopping. He feels that it's a privilege to have the opportunity to teach "something that can make a real difference in all our lives".

An active member of the Permaculture Association for fifteen years, he served first as a trustee and subsequently as a member of several working groups. He regularly writes articles and produces short videos for his You Tube channel.

Free online course, open to all with an interest in soils and growing food!

Become a citizen scientist and help improve your soil and the environment Where can you find all sorts of useful and important information about your environment? You might be surprised to know it’s beneath your feet, in the soil. On this course you will discover interesting things about your own soil and become part of the new GROW Citizen Observatory European-wide community. You will collaborate with other growers and scientists to discover the impact global soil practices have on major issues like the environment and food growing. Now is the time to make a difference, join us, improve your soil and become a citizen scientist!

Topics include:

• Citizen Science and Fieldwork
• Soils, Growing Sites and Plant Health
• Climate, Temperature and Moisture
• Landscape Representivity and Cover
• Soil Components
• Global Challenges for Soil
• Regenerative Techniques
• Landscape Ecosystems
• The GROW Observatory

This course is the first in a series of free online courses from the GROW Observatory. Coming up in April - learn more about your own growing space and take part in the first ever permaculture citizen science experiment on polycultures!

http://re-green.gr/event/plasters-and-paints-2018/
Natural Materials for a healthy and durable construction course aimed to discover some of the ancestral techniques to cover walls, floors, ceilings and outdoors. Practices of plastering, stuccos, tadelakt technique and paintings with traditional formulas elaborated by hand exploring LIMEs, GYPSUMs, EARTHs and natural COLORS.

With this course we intend to share a deep and complex knowledge as much as exciting and beautiful, on the natural matter and the ancestral techniques that we have inherited after thousands of years of practice. We will combine theory and practice, in a permanent coexistence, stimulating curiosity and experimentation. We will begin by familiarizing ourselves with the materials: their origin in the territory, their transformation and manipulation to become a construction material, their cycles, their combination with other materials, the preparation of the mixtures, etc. We will work on samples and tests that help to understand the behavior of each material according to its nature and the technique used. To strengthen learning we will do tests on the following techniques:

– plastering lime and sand
– plaster stuccos ·lime stuccos + tadelakt type stuccos
-natural paintings + mineral coloring earths

Depending on the progress of the course we can introduce more techniques, such as the mixture of lime and gypsum, graffiti, tiling, stained glass, clay mixtures, etc.

This course is an intensive 9 days offering interactive practical and in depth theory sessions daily and most evenings ~ requiring full attendance moving as a group, therefore even local attendees are expected to stay on -site – please also expect to have fun!

An Introduction to Lime & Clay Plasters - Why Natural Plasters are essential for the health of your Straw Bale Building and are great for your health!
- History
- Lime Carbonation
- Eliminate Condensation
- Making Clay Plasters from Earth
- Manufactured Products
- Realistic Costs