** The next course will start in September 2026, contact sarah@theorchardproject.org.uk to be added to the waiting list**
Learn the skills you need to design, create and manage a forest garden through our seven month accredited online course, featuring the videos of Martin Crawford, author of several books on forest gardening and director of the Agroforestry Research Trust.
You will learn from videos, handouts, interactive quizzes and online assessments plus regular group tutorials, leading you to qualify for a Level 2 Award in Forest Gardening. This course is accredited by the Crossfields Institute. We’ve been running our Award in Forest Gardening course since 2021, this is the seventh iteration and will be known as AFG7.
Some of our students have moved onto careers in horticulture or food-growing or are now working for organisations in the environmental sector (including The Orchard Project!). They have also enjoyed meeting other like-minded growers and enjoyed becoming part of our informal network.
“I loved the course. I just remembering thinking, I think I want to do this forever!”
“I very much enjoyed the forest gardening course and feel that I learned a lot which I can use both in my work and also in my personal surroundings”
“Very informative, learning with kind and patient tutors and alongside interesting students. Would highly recommend to others.”
“This is such an inspiring and fascinating course, I can thoroughly recommend it.”
“I really enjoyed the site visit, it provided me with some different ideas, and I loved seeing how working in a forest garden engages a community, provides spaces for folk to visit and socialise and learn.”
Course structure
This course will teach you everything you need to know about designing, planting and maintaining a forest garden, including: Forest garden characteristics; windbreaks and shelter; managing different soils; maintaining fertility; the role of mycorrhizal fungi; carrying out a site survey; useful trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants; designing the different layers of a forest garden; maintaining a forest garden; propagating plants; and edible fungi.
You will be assessed via quizzes and written homework. Before booking, please have in mind a site where you would like to plant a real or imaginary forest garden. To complete the assessments on survey and design you will need to have access to your chosen site which can be a community space, public park or private land such as a back garden, allotment or field. For clarity, you don’t have to actually plant up the site however having physical access to a site to make observations and take measurements is required. When booking we will ask you to provide a postcode for your potential site.
Workload
Course work includes 13 pieces of homework and 11 assessed quizzes. Homework will be set fortnightly, and you will need to allow about 8 hours a fortnight to watch the videos, take the quizzes and do the homework. Please note it’s similar to doing a GCSE level but we can be flexible; if the accreditation is not for you, you can attend without being assessed for the Level 2 Award.
Logistics
To support the online materials our Training Co-ordinator, Sarah Mason, is hosting seven monthly, interactive online tutorials. These highly recommended Zoom tutorials are 19.00 – 20.30, with the following guest presenters confirmed:
Alan Carter, experienced forest gardener and author of ‘A food forest in your garden’ will be sharing his favourite forest garden plants and his experience of growing a forest garden on an allotment plot in Scotland.
Pippa Chapman forest gardener, permaculture designer and author of ‘The plant lover’s backyard forest garden’ will be sharing her experience of creating forest gardens in small spaces.
Lewis McNeill is the Orchard Project’s most longstanding orchardist. Lewis has a passion for ecology and will be teaching about soil.
Jo Homan, our own expert forest gardener. She started up Edible Landscapes London in 2009. She is currently exploring setting up a commercial agroforestry project near Bristol. Jo will share her knowledge of forest garden design.
Witchhazel Wildwood, part of The Orchard Project’s Welsh team, an experienced permaculture designer and educator and founder of Coeden Fach Community Tree Nursery will share best practices for site surveying
Rakesh ‘Rootsman Rak’ Permaculture design teacher, forest garden specialist and Reggae DJ will share his wealth of experience on designing forest gardens with communities
Tutorial dates
Mon 8th September – Course intro
Tue 14th October – Soil – Lewis McNeill
Mon 10th November – Survey – Witchhazel Wildwood
Mon 8th December – Plant choice – Alan Carter
Mon 12th January – Plant choice – Pippa Chapman
Mon 23rd February – Design – Jo Homan
Mon 16th March – Design Q&A – Jo Homan
Mon 23rd March – Community Forest Gardens – ‘Rootsman’ Rakesh
Forest Garden Site Visit
We are delighted to include a site visit which will take place on Sat 20th September, venue TBC.
This is a great opportunity to experience a mature community forest garden project in person. Whilst this day is optional we’d highly recommend attending as it’s a chance to meet your fellow students and gain inspiration for your own project.
Cost
£800 (general x 20) – (full course & accreditation)
£570 (concessionary* x 5) – full course & accreditation (payment by instalments available)
£570 (unaccredited x 2) – full course without accreditation (payment by instalments available)
£420 (materials only) – access to online materials only, no tutorial access.
*Concessionary Places: For those who are unemployed, economically inactive or on low income (below £20,000 p.a.).
Pay-by-instalments: If you wish to pay-by-instalments please contact Sarah@theorchardproject.org.uk prior to booking this ticket to gain the access code. The full cost of the course is £800, you need to pay an initial deposit of £160 then set up a monthly standing order for £128 starting on 1st September and ending on 1st January (£128 x 5). For concessionary and unaccredited tickets, you will pay an initial £160 deposit and then £82 per month for 5 months (£82 x 5).
Please contact Sarah Mason if you have any other queries.
External Links for financial support:
Professional Gardeners’ Trust
Thomas Wall Trust
Perennial
