This course specifically focuses upon the management, design and evolution of food forests and agroforestry systems in 1-5 year stage of development – with some practical work also in later stage forest management of established camphor forest to establish diverse native rainforest regeneration with an enrichment of bush tukka species for food production and economic return. We will also explore techniques of biological soil development that are economically and ecologically appropriate for food forest and agroforestry systems.
Suited to: Practicing Students of Permaculture/Syntropic Farming/Agroecology that are seeking detailed guidance with management techniques and plant patterning in subtropical production systems.
Note: any aspiring participants who have not completed ‘Agroecology in the humid subtropics’ please contact Bunya on growingrootsgarden@gmail.com to share your previous experience.
This course requires pre-requisite knowledge and hands-on experience.
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 including local Bush Tukka Plants
Composing and managing forest structure for the needs of specific crops/livestock with respect to nuance of site characteristics and production/management goals
Evolution of banana and biomass tree management in advanced stages of succession
Introduction of later succession species into established agroforestry systems
Soil Food Web and Fungal Composting Techniques
JADAM (derived from Korean Natural Farming) - Easy and Low Cost Liquid Fertilizers and Microbial Inoculations
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
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.
Dr. Kevin Glencross is a research fellow who has been working in Asia/Pacific and subtropical and tropical Australia on applied research in agroforestry- integrating trees in agricultural systems. He has a particular focus on traditional agroecological systems and publications that address biodiversity conservation, soils and catchment protection, climate change resilience, food security, carbon sequestration, agroecology and ecotourism.
Flavia Renata Assuncao is a children’s educator with a Degree in Pedagogy from Federal University of Sao Carlos, Brazil. She has been working in Schools with Permaculture Concepts creating composts, organic vegetable gardens as well as recycling and social economy programmes with children since 2002 in both Brazil and Australia. She is a passionate writer and photographer with an eye for detail and a beautiful curiosity of the natural world
Bryan and Mikaela from Alchemystic Fungi see fungi as an inter-connective matrix enmeshing all of nature's organisms which they weave into their educational offerings. They freely share their successes, pitfalls, procedures, recipes, ideas and trials. They aim to use practices that touch the earth lightly by minimising single use plastics and recycling waste as naturally and optimally as possible. Through the use of nature’s organic processes and creative innovation they inspire many and continue to shift the paradigm of how we can work more deeply interconnected with nature. www.alchemisticfungi.com @alchemistic.fungi
The dates for this course are Thursday September 28 - Monday Oct 2
All days 8.30am to 5.00pm
Investment: $795
The Primary Venue for this course is our Living Classroom at ‘The Farm’ at Byron Bay with a field trip to ‘Namabunda Farm’, Alstonville in the later 2 days of the course - more details shared upon enrolment
For more information contact Bunya, growingrootsgarden@gmail.com