Dynamic Agroforestry - Refining Food Forests - Incorporating Fungi, Animals and Community Dynamics into Agroforestry Systems - April 30 - May 3
This course specifically focuses upon the management, design and evolution of food forests and agroforestry systems in 1-5 year stage of development – Utilising animals and fungal cultivation to diversify production of agroforestry systems and greatly enhance the ecological and economic functioning of the system.
This course is designed for more advanced students of Food Forestry seeking the opportunity to work within and manage established forest systems integrating learnings from Agroecology/Agroforestry/Permaculture/Syntropic Farming/Holistic Grazing/Mycology. The learning will primarily be through working and sharing together on projects driven by Forest Succession in and around the Northern Rivers Region of NSW. The purpose is to work in multiple sites at different stages of development within different soil types and microclimates to appreciate the broader context and nuances of food forestry in our bioregion.
Suited to: Practicing Students of Permaculture/Syntropic Farming/Agroecology that are seeking detailed guidance with management techniques and plant patterning in subtropical production systems.
Topics covered:
· Evolving food forests from simple, linear systems to complex, dynamic, diverse, organic form forest ecologies
· Exploring and managing specific guilds/consortiums of multi-strata food forest plant species incorporating animal fodder plants and bamboo species
· Composing and managing forest structure for the needs of specific crops/livestock with respect to nuance of site characteristics and production/management goals
· Identifying, creating and refining microclimates
· Advanced species selection and guild creation in our bioregion
· Evolution of banana and biomass tree management in advanced stages of succession
· Introduction of later succession species into established agroforestry systems
· Simple, Low Tech incorporation of Edible Fungi Cultivation in Forest Systems
· Design and Management of production systems for frost protection
· Cultivation and food preparation of a range of hardy perennial and bush tukka crops
Participants in this course will need to be familiar and competent with the use of hand saws, secateurs and machetes and will need each of these tools with them at all times of the course.
Participants are required to have completed a ‘Living Agroecology’ course or ‘Foundational Agroecology Training’ with us. You must be competent at utilising the ‘Strata/Lifecycle Analysis’ planning table for design and management of mutli-strata agroforestry systems. Some foundational knowledge of Permaculture ‘Zoning’ Principles will be useful also.
About the facilitators:
· Bunya Halasz is inspired by cultures that evolve creative practices of sustaining their material needs in a manner of deep reverence for their natural environment and all of its life forms. Through the lenses of Permaculture, Regenerative Agroecology and Successional Agroforestry, Bunya works as a designer, educator and gardening mentor. His work supports individuals and communities to grow food, fuel and fibre within ecologically regenerative systems as well as facilitating pathways of knowledge and skill sharing through courses and traineeships.
· Jsun Lau - Jsun’s deep respect for nature began with his childhood experience living in the South Pacific. He is a prollific collector of useful plants & fungi - pioneering and refining simple, low tech methods for innoculating and growing edible mushrooms in natural systems. For entertainment Jsun hunts plants and fungi for food and other resources including medicines, weaving materials and dyes. He is a plant and fungi alchemist who has two published books. Find him on Instagram under Jsun Lau and here is a link to some of Jsun’s epic fungi work for your perusal: https://mushroaming.wordpress.com/
· Tom Bjorksten of Misty Creek Agroforestry
Misty Creek Agroforestry is a mixed agroecological farm in the Northern Rivers of NSW. They integrate livestock and agroforestry in a highly productive system and market certified organic chicken, eggs, beef, brussel sprouts and more. They provide high quality, nourishing food to the local community while regenerating the land they are growing on. https://www.instagram.com/mistycreek.agroforestry/?hl=en
· Other Special Guest facilitators
Investment - $645 - early bird price of $595 avail until March 1
The Primary Venue for this course is our Living Classroom at ‘The Farm’ at Byron Bay with a couple of field trips to ‘Misty Creek Agroforestry’ at Booyong and the emerging ‘Afterlee Ecovillage’ near Kyogle
For more information contact:
Bunya - growingrootsgarden@gmail.com
This course specifically focuses upon the management, design and evolution of food forests and agroforestry systems in 1-5 year stage of development – Utilising animals and fungal cultivation to diversify production of agroforestry systems and greatly enhance the ecological and economic functioning of the system.
This course is designed for more advanced students of Food Forestry seeking the opportunity to work within and manage established forest systems integrating learnings from Agroecology/Agroforestry/Permaculture/Syntropic Farming/Holistic Grazing/Mycology. The learning will primarily be through working and sharing together on projects driven by Forest Succession in and around the Northern Rivers Region of NSW. The purpose is to work in multiple sites at different stages of development within different soil types and microclimates to appreciate the broader context and nuances of food forestry in our bioregion.
Suited to: Practicing Students of Permaculture/Syntropic Farming/Agroecology that are seeking detailed guidance with management techniques and plant patterning in subtropical production systems.
Topics covered:
· Evolving food forests from simple, linear systems to complex, dynamic, diverse, organic form forest ecologies
· Exploring and managing specific guilds/consortiums of multi-strata food forest plant species incorporating animal fodder plants and bamboo species
· Composing and managing forest structure for the needs of specific crops/livestock with respect to nuance of site characteristics and production/management goals
· Identifying, creating and refining microclimates
· Advanced species selection and guild creation in our bioregion
· Evolution of banana and biomass tree management in advanced stages of succession
· Introduction of later succession species into established agroforestry systems
· Simple, Low Tech incorporation of Edible Fungi Cultivation in Forest Systems
· Design and Management of production systems for frost protection
· Cultivation and food preparation of a range of hardy perennial and bush tukka crops
Participants in this course will need to be familiar and competent with the use of hand saws, secateurs and machetes and will need each of these tools with them at all times of the course.
Participants are required to have completed a ‘Living Agroecology’ course or ‘Foundational Agroecology Training’ with us. You must be competent at utilising the ‘Strata/Lifecycle Analysis’ planning table for design and management of mutli-strata agroforestry systems. Some foundational knowledge of Permaculture ‘Zoning’ Principles will be useful also.
About the facilitators:
· Bunya Halasz is inspired by cultures that evolve creative practices of sustaining their material needs in a manner of deep reverence for their natural environment and all of its life forms. Through the lenses of Permaculture, Regenerative Agroecology and Successional Agroforestry, Bunya works as a designer, educator and gardening mentor. His work supports individuals and communities to grow food, fuel and fibre within ecologically regenerative systems as well as facilitating pathways of knowledge and skill sharing through courses and traineeships.
· Jsun Lau - Jsun’s deep respect for nature began with his childhood experience living in the South Pacific. He is a prollific collector of useful plants & fungi - pioneering and refining simple, low tech methods for innoculating and growing edible mushrooms in natural systems. For entertainment Jsun hunts plants and fungi for food and other resources including medicines, weaving materials and dyes. He is a plant and fungi alchemist who has two published books. Find him on Instagram under Jsun Lau and here is a link to some of Jsun’s epic fungi work for your perusal: https://mushroaming.wordpress.com/
· Tom Bjorksten of Misty Creek Agroforestry
Misty Creek Agroforestry is a mixed agroecological farm in the Northern Rivers of NSW. They integrate livestock and agroforestry in a highly productive system and market certified organic chicken, eggs, beef, brussel sprouts and more. They provide high quality, nourishing food to the local community while regenerating the land they are growing on. https://www.instagram.com/mistycreek.agroforestry/?hl=en
· Other Special Guest facilitators
Investment - $645 - early bird price of $595 avail until March 1
The Primary Venue for this course is our Living Classroom at ‘The Farm’ at Byron Bay with a couple of field trips to ‘Misty Creek Agroforestry’ at Booyong and the emerging ‘Afterlee Ecovillage’ near Kyogle
For more information contact:
Bunya - growingrootsgarden@gmail.com