Regenerative Food Production: Theory & Practice

A Living Classroom Intensive with Growing Roots Permaculture

Immerse yourself in the theory and practice of regenerative food production through a comprehensive, hands-on course held in The Farm’s Living Classroom. Drawing on permaculture, agroforestry, agroecology and traditional agricultural systems from around the world, this intensive program offers participants the opportunity to learn alongside experienced regenerative producers within working, evolving systems.

Over 13 days of guided learning, participants will explore systems that have been in development for more than eight years, working with natural succession to build soil, sequester carbon, create closed-loop nutrient cycles and produce abundant food, fuel, fibre and farmaceuticals. This course balances deep ecological understanding with practical, on-the-ground skills designed for real-world application.

Who this course is for

This course is ideally suited to:

• New landholders in the Northern Rivers and surrounds

• Land managers with a focus on ecosystem health

• Aspiring market gardeners and farmers

• Landscapers interested in edible foodscapes

• Students of permaculture, syntropic farming and agroecology seeking detailed, subtropical production guidance

What you’ll learn

Participants will gain practical skills and guidance in:

• Ecological fundamentals with a local focus

• Whole-site and farm design

• Incorporating trees and perennial plants into food systems

• Seasonal vegetable production

• Regenerative soil management

• Animal integration in intensive horticulture

• Cabinet timber production

• Apiary and natural beekeeping

• Plant propagation and seed saving

• Pruning and microclimate creation

• Harvesting, cooking and preparing hardy tropical perennial foods

• Understanding the local regenerative economy

Field trips

The course includes several field trips to explore agroecology across different contexts, including:

• Afterlee Ecovillage (Kyogle)

• Namabunda Farm, Alstonville — a Bush Tucker agroforestry project developed with the Bundjalung Tribal Society

Car pooling options will be available.

Facilitators

This course is facilitated by the Growing Roots Permaculture and Living Agroecology teams, including:

Bunya Halasz
Designer, educator and gardening mentor working through permaculture, regenerative agroecology and successional agroforestry to support food, fuel and fibre systems grounded in ecological reverence.

Matt Willis
A hands-on agroforestry practitioner passionate about learning by doing, observation, and creating resilient, beautiful edible ecologies.

Kenji Kuwahata

Specialist guest tutors include

Dr. Kevin Glencross — Research fellow specialising in agroforestry, traditional agroecological systems, biodiversity, soils, climate resilience and food security.

Mikaela & Bryan (Alchemystic Fungi) — Educators exploring fungi as connective ecological systems, sharing low-impact cultivation practices and circular approaches.

Willow Hankinson — Beekeeper with over 20 years’ experience in natural beekeeping and Kenyan hive construction.

Course details

Dates:
March 5–8
April 17–19
May 22–24
June 12–14

Times: 8:30am–5:00pm daily
Location: The Farm, Byron Bay

Investment:
$1,545 early bird (book before 31 December)
$1,645 full fee
(GST inclusive)

Enquiries

For more information, contact Bunya
Email: growingrootsgarden@gmail.com