Edible Ecosystems

with Sid Hill

Friday 21 June 2024

10am - 4pm (arrive at 9.30 for coffee/tea)

£120

Group Size - 10 people

How do we begin to design, create and manage an edible ecosystems?

Can we sensitively tend the land whilst also harvesting food?

Can we rediscover ways of introducing edible plants into our gardens and landscapes?

Edible ecosystems have existed for thousands of years, created and managed by indigenous people growing food and other useful plants in forests and grasslands.  Much of Sid’s work is inspired by these ancient practices and how we can bring some of this knowledge into our own gardens and landscapes in a practical way.   His passion is to create landscapes and plantings that echo wild plant communities, meadows, woodlands and wetlands, whilst producing food, restoring environments and improving peoples lives.

The day will begin by exploring Sid’s work and approach in designing, creating and managing ecological gardens. He will discuss his research and projects with edible forest gardens and edible meadows, their ethnobotanical history and principles in designed plant communities. 

Outside we will look at how we can practically implement these ideas.  Sid will explain how to prepare the ground for planting,  how to seed an edible meadow, and discuss holistic orchard management,  mulches, groundcover, layering edible forest gardens as well as how to select the best pot sizes, seeds and tools for the job. 

Suitable for home gardeners and professionals alike.

Sid Hill is a multi award-winning ecological gardener, designer and artist.  He was home educated and grew up helping to tend his parents forest garden in Portugal.  He studied ethnobotany and landscape design at The Eden Project and has been practicing ecological landscape design for 14 years.  He hopes to inspire others with his contagious fascination with plants and practical approaches to sustainability.

Lunch 

Alison will prepare a simple vegetarian lunch including produce from the garden. We will round up the day with tea and cake. If you have any specific dietary requests do let us know on the booking form.

What to Bring

Check the weather forecast before you travel and ensure you bring appropriate clothing, whether that’s waterproofs or sun hats, or possibly both!  You may wish to bring a notebook and camera too.

Getting Here

Directions will be emailed to you a couple of weeks before the workshop. Use Damson Farm rather than the postcode on Google Maps.

Cancellation policy

As a small business it’s not sustainable to offer refunds. However if you need to cancel your place up to 28 days before the event you will be offered a credit towards another workshop.   After that time, the offer only applies if we’ve been able to re-sell the place. It’s not possible to promote cancelled places for re-sale less than 4 days before the event.