Adult Courses |
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Our courses and workshops take place in our beautiful learning centre in the Hampshire South Downs, near Petersfield. Our courses are linked to sustainability in a number of ways: from crafting with natural materials and foraging for food and medicines to connecting us with nature and supporting our wellbeing. We aim to keep traditional skills alive which help support biodiversity and low impact living, as well as sharing innovative ways of doing things. We are proud to host a range of excellent tutors, including renowned permaculture teachers: Aranya and Caroline Aitken; Forest School pioneer, Jon Cree; bushcraft and nature connection leaders: Jonathon Huet and Nick Ward; herb and foraging experts and a host of highly skilled craft teachers.
As well as our Course Listings below, we also offer private bespoke courses for your organisation. Please contact us on courses@sustainability-centre.org for more information.
If there are no spaces available on the course you are interested in, do join our waiting list:
As well as our Course Listings below, we also offer private bespoke courses for your organisation. Please contact us on courses@sustainability-centre.org for more information.
If there are no spaces available on the course you are interested in, do join our waiting list:
2022
July
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Nature led Meditation 2
SOLD OUT- next course September 7th £25 Wednesday 6th July 2022 |
A progressive series of nature-led meditation workshops, each with an individual flavour. Jonathon Huet will guide you gently through meditations and natural connection practices designed to restore your connection with nature and to bring healing to yourself and to the land to which we belong.
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Advanced Knife Skills - SOLD OUT
£80 Saturday 16th July 2022 |
This knife skills training course in the Hampshire South Downs will explore how to use a fixed blade knife as a wood craft tool and how to realise both its potential and limitations. Starting at the very basics of knife anatomy we will discuss what makes a suitable knife for woodworking, whittling, Forest School or bushcraft.
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Foraging, Fire and Folklore - SOLD OUT
£25 Wednesday 20th July 2022 |
A series of seasonal events, each one a special evening experience of wild food foraging, Celtic fire and folklore. Bushcraft and Celtic folklore specialist, Jonathon Huet, will take you on a guided walk to forage for wild food and impart his knowledge on different native trees in each season.
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Wildflower Meadows - SOLD OUT
£75 Sunday 24th July 2022 |
This wildflower meadow course will equip you with the skills and knowledge to create, restore and enhance meadows, with a particular focus on chalk grassland. Whether you want to establish a mini meadow in your back garden or on a large scale, this course is for you.
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August
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Woodland Management -
SOLD OUT £80 Saturday 6th August 2022 |
A one day Woodland Management course for those working and educating in the forest. From woodland ecology and basic site surveying, to trees, woodlands, wildlife and the law, this course will give outdoor educators a sound knowledge of their environment and how to maximise its potential, whilst maintaining a minimal impact approach.
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Spoon Carving -
SOLD OUT £75 Saturday 20th August 2022 |
Learn how to carve a spoon, spatula and butter knife on this wood carving course in the Hampshire South Downs. Our tutor, Jonathan Huet, will teach you how to use a knife, saw, crook knife and axe to whittle items from locally harvested green wood.
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September
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Wooden Gate Hurdle Making - SOLD OUT
£110 Friday 2nd September 2022 |
Learn traditional wood carving techniques to make your own sweet chestnut gate hurdle on this one day course in the Hampshire South Downs. Using a shavehorse and other traditional hand tools including drawknife, twybil, brace, side axe and hammer, you will learn to create your own hurdles, which you will take home with you. Your hurdles can be used as a gate opening, part of a fence or simply to add decoration and structure to your garden.
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Introduction to Permaculture Design - places available
£75 deposit to reserve a place, £245 due in mid-August 2022 £320 Thursday 29th September - Sunday 2nd October 2022 |
This course is designed to introduce Permaculture principles but with an emphasis on supporting participants with designing their own homes and gardens. It is no ordinary 'Permaculture intro' course, and not quite a full Permaculture Design course either. Rather, through the course, Aranya will cover the key principles of Permaculture design theory and how we can apply them in redesigning our homes and gardens to be both more sustainable and abundant.
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October
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Climbing Frames, Ropes and Ladders - places available
£95 Saturday 15th October 2022 |
A one day course tutored by Jon Cree in building your own play structures with rope and natural materials. This course is for educators wishing to be a little more adventurous with creative play structures at their sites, building them out of wood and rope and combining these with the natural features at your site.
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Supporting Children through Anxiety and Trauma - places available
£95 Sunday 16th October 2022 |
This CPD training course shares knowledge and opens discussions about how outdoor learning practitioners and teachers can support children through times of anxiety and trauma. Renowned Forest School trainer, Jon Cree, will call on current neurological understanding and share practical ideas to help you understand and support childrens’ emotional wellbeing.
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Willow Frame Basket - SOLD OUT
£85 Friday 28th October 2022. |
Willow weaving training course in the Hampshire South Downs. Participants will make a hand woven gypsy style frame basket from sustainable willow. Use your basket for gathering berries, mushrooms, eggs, herbs or displaying treasures. Suitable for beginners or improvers with some manual dexterity, hand strength and patience!
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Natural Cleaning Workshop - SOLD OUT
£75 Saturday 29th October 2022 |
This workshop will teach you how to make a variety of tried and tested recipes to enable you to start making your own natural cleaning products from simple ingredients that can be found in your cupboards or easily and cheaply bought. This workshop is hands-on, so you will have a whole variety of products to take home with you along with detailed handouts. Kinder to you, the earth these products will save you pennies and are quick and easy to make.
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november
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Coppicing - SOLD OUT
£85 Friday 11th November 2022 |
This course will give you practical, hands on experience in the traditional art of coppicing. You will work on a section of hazel woodland here at the Sustainability Centre which is being coppiced as part of a wider woodland management plan to undertake conservation work on site. Working in pairs using traditional hand tools such as billhooks and bow saws, you will cut the stools and drift the rods, layering in order allow new plants and habitats to form.
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Forest School Leader Level 3 - places available
£1175* * Arrangements can be made to pay by instalments: £200 to reserve a place, £500 by the start of the course, £475 by 28th Feb 2023 Modular course start date: Tuesday 15th November 2022 |
This training course is essential for anyone wishing to lead Forest School programmes in their own setting. It covers learning theory and practical skills, plus gives participants the confidence and knowledge needed to establish and deliver their own Forest School programmes. Participants must attend four modules, 10 training days in total between November 2022 and May 2023. Times: 9am - 5pm |
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Natural Cosmetics Workshop - places available
£80 for one day, £140 for both days Saturday 19th and/or Sunday 20th November 2022 |
Come spend the day learning how to make natural everyday beauty/bathroom products from ingredients you can find in your kitchen cupboards, herb gardens and amongst the hedgerows. We will be making a variety of products including balms, oils, hair conditioner and toothpaste. Products that are kind to you, the earth, reduce single-use plastic and will save you pennies. Perfect to make for yourself or to give as gifts.
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Mental Health First Aid Course - places available
£225 Tuesday 22nd and Wednesday 23rd November 2022 |
This two day course qualifies you as a Mental Health First Aider. It teaches you how to spot the signs and symptoms of mental ill health and provide help on a first aid basis. MHFA won’t teach you to be a therapist, but just like physical first aid, it will teach you to listen, reassure and respond, even in a crisis.
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Hedgelaying Course - SOLD OUT
£85 Friday 25th November 2022 |
On this training course in Hampshire, you will gain practical, hands on experience in the ancient art of hedgelaying (South of England style). A local hedge will be laid using traditional tools i.e. billhook, broad axe and hand saws. The stock proof barrier created will then be trimmed by hand and secured with stakes and top binding. You will also learn about the history of hedgerows in our landscape and their habitat importance.
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Youth Mental Health First Aid Course - places available
£225 Tuesday 29th and Wednesday 30th November 2022 |
Youth Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) is an internationally recognised training course for anyone who works with, lives with or supports young people aged 8-18. We train the adults in a young person’s life to have the skills and confidence to step in, offer first aid and guide them towards the support they need. In doing so, they can speed up a young person’s recovery, stop issues from developing into a crisis, and ultimately save lives.
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december
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Willow Garden Sculpture - SOLD OUT
£85 Friday 2nd December 2022 |
Learn how to use willow to weave a small animal into an abstract sculptural form for your garden. Suitable for beginners or improvers, your tutor will be able to advise on a suitable project to match your skill level. Previous participants have made: dragonflies, hearts, foxes, chickens and pheasants. This course will take place indoors.
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Willow Festive morning:
Stars and Rush Angel £40 Thursday 8th December 2022 Friday 9th December 2022 |
Join a creative morning workshop, learning how to make large willow stars and rush angels. We will be crafting with sustainable UK grown materials to form these popular folk designs. All the materials and tools will be supplied with the guidance of Louise from Rough Around the Hedges. These sessions fly by so why not come early for breakfast in the Beech Café?
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Willow Festive Afternoon:
Willow and Ivy Yuletide Decorations £40 Thursday 8th December 2022 Friday 9th December 2022 |
In this afternoon workshop, try your hand at creating natural yuletide decorations for your door, porch or hallway. We will fashion wreaths and spheres from locally grown willow with the guidance of Louise from Rough Around the Hedges. To adorn you 3D sphere, ivy and mistletoe will be provided. You can bring extra foraged materials to add to you wreath or continue to decorate it at home.
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2023
January
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Fabric basket Workshop
£95 Saturday 28th January 2023 |
Upcycle pre-loved clothing or favourite fabrics to make beautiful coiled fabric baskets. A great way to keep some of your children’s favourite outfits they’ve outgrown or your partner’s favourite old shirts and turn the materials into a decorative basket of memories for your home. In the morning you will learn hand-stitching techniques to create the fabric coiling and in the afternoon you will start a second basket using a sewing machine or continue with hand stitching if you prefer.
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February
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Natural Cosmetics Workshop
£80 for one day, £140 for both days Saturday 4th and/or Sunday 5th February 2023 |
Come spend the day learning how to make natural everyday beauty/bathroom products from ingredients you can find in your kitchen cupboards, herb gardens and amongst the hedgerows. We will be making a variety of products including balms, oils, hair conditioner and toothpaste. Products that are kind to you, the earth, reduce single-use plastic and will save you pennies. Perfect to make for yourself or to give as gifts.
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March
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Kitchen Gardening Weekends
£290 Two weekends included: 18th & 19th March 17th & 18th June 2023 |
A four day course, split over two weekends, on creating and managing a successful and abundant food garden. The course will include hands-on practical sessions and all the theory you need to make your kitchen garden grow and keep your larder full.
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Earthworks Trust & Earthworks FoundationThe Sustainability Centre is owned and operated by The Earthworks Trust (Charity No.1079866). Our trading company is Earthworks Foundation. All profits go to support our charity The Earthworks Trust. SITE VISITORSPlease be aware that our 55 acre site is privately owned. Customers and clients are welcomed at their own risk. All visitors are reminded that this is a countryside site and all tracks, paths and car parks are informal, uneven and may not all be suitable for people with mobility issues. As we are located in the South Downs National Park dark skies zone, there is no lighting on site after dark. We advise sturdy, appropriate footwear at all times and use of a torch at night. |
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Main AddressThe Sustainability Centre
Droxford Road, East Meon, Hants GU32 1HR 01730 823166
Reception01730 823166
info@sustainability-centre.org |
South Downs Eco Lodge & Camp SiteSouth Downs Eco Lodge
The Sustainability Centre Droxford Road, East Meon, Hants GU32 1HR 01730 823549
accommodation@sustainability-centre.org Cafe01730 823755
infobeechcafe@gmail.com |
Burials01730 823425
burials@sustainability-centre.org Education01730 823166
education@sustainability-centre.org Courses01730 823166
courses@sustainability-centre.org |