Permaculture Food Forests are intentional cultivated forest gardens that contain native and cultivated plants, which provide yields for humans and ecological functions.  Essentially, a low-maintenance forest that's completely edible!

What Are The Benefits of a Food Forest?

A food forest is a sustainable and natural way to produce healthy and organic food.

By learning how to tend your specific soil and develop plant communities you'll be able to improve your yield and provide nourishing and healthy food for you and your family.

This course will teach you how to design a food forest for your unique climate and needs using permaculture principles and ecology.

 Permaculture Food Forests Self Study - Ongoing - Register at any time 

In this course, you will learn about the permaculture food forest concept and how it can be applied to create an intentional food forest in your bioregion. This food forest will offer yields and ecological services throughout the year.

Upon completion of the course, you will be able to:

• Explain the food forest concept and how it can be useful in your community.
• Describe climatic considerations, historical plants and cultivation strategies for your area.
• Understand various plant relationships that can contribute to high diversity and resilience in your food forest.
• Make strategic decisions about which species to include in your design to meet your needs and steward your local environment.
• Consider yields and maintenance needs throughout the year.

Each week, you will be creating a journal of relevant plant species that could be useful for a food forest design. If you choose to go further in this subject, we offer a Permaculture Food Forest Design Practicum in Fall that will guide you through a design process on a site of your choice where you can include these plants in an appropriate design for your site conditions.

 Permaculture Food Forest Practicum - Offered Fall, Winter, and Spring Semesters

This course follows the Permaculture Food Forests Self Paced Study to help you take your knowledge of Food Forests further by developing a design for a food forest on a site of your choice.

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:

Assess a landscape for a Food Forest

Consider soil and water resources to support your food forest

Suggest plant relationships for your design

Outline yields that can be harvested over time from your food forest

Throughout each week of this course, you will be working with an instructor who will guide you in your design process. You will incorporate the information that you gathered about potential plants in your food forest during the Permaculture Food Forests Self Paced Study in your final design.