Adult Courses
Our courses and workshops in green living, rural skills and bushcraft take place in our beautiful learning Centre in the Hampshire South Downs, near Petersfield. We are proud to host a range of excellent tutors, including renowned permaculture teachers: Aranya and Caroline Aitken, Louise Ambrose - top Forest School trainer, medicinal herb experts and highly skilled craft teachers.
2018
December
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Hand-Sewn Book Making Course
£50 Friday 14th December 2018 10:00 - 15:30 Tutor: Angela Thames |
Fully Booked
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Make your own notebook, sketchbook or unique gift book, using three different hand-sewing techniques. You will take home 2-3 books made from decorative paper and card such as postcards, notecards, envelopes, packets and old calendars.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
2019 |
January
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Willow Garden Sculpture Course
£75 Thursday 10th January 2019 10:00 - 16:00 Tutor: Amanda Rayner |
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Decorate your home or garden with a willow sculpture of your choice! Learn how to willow weave any nature-inspired object be it dragonfly, heart, cat, dog, chicken, pheasant, obelisk or simple garden decoration.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Coppicing Course
£75 Saturday 19th January 2019 09:30 -16:30 Tutor: Les Brannon |
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This course will give you practical, hands on experience in the traditional art of coppicing.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Hand-Sewn Book Making Course
£50 Saturday 26th January 2019 10:00 - 15:30 Tutor: Angela Thames |
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Make your own notebook, sketchbook or unique gift book, using three different hand-sewing techniques. You will take home 2-3 books made from decorative paper and card such as postcards, notecards, envelopes, packets and old calendars.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Willow Frame Basket Course
£75 Thursday 31st January 2019 10:00 - 17:00 Tutor: Louise Arthur |
Fully Booked
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Spend the day immersed in creating your own basket using willow grown at The Sustainability Centre. Use your basket for gathering berries, mushrooms, eggs, herbs or displaying treasures.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
February
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Hedgelaying Course
£75 Saturday 2nd February 2019 09:30 -17:00 Tutor: Les Brannon |
Fully Booked
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Gain practical, hands on experience in the ancient art of hedgelaying (South of England style). Learn to lay a hedge using traditional tools.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Deer Butchery Masterclass
£135 Thursday 7th February 2019 09:30 - 16:30 Tutor: Jamie Corry |
Fully Booked
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A whole deer in a day course - learn butchery and cookery skills on this intimate, 4-person training course. We promise you the most delicious, melt-in-the-mouth meat that you will have ever tasted, all prepared by your own fair hands.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Deer Butchery Masterclass
£135 Friday 8th February 2019 09:30 - 16:30 Tutor: Jamie Corry |
Fully Booked
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A whole deer in a day course - learn butchery and cookery skills on this intimate, 4-person training course. We promise you the most delicious, melt-in-the-mouth meat that you will have ever tasted, all prepared by your own fair hands.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Fruit Tree Pruning Course
£65 Sat 16th February 2019 09:30 -17:00 Tutor: Tim Harland |
Fully Booked
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A practical, hands-on learning experience in how to prune various fruit and nut trees so that they are healthy and productive. Including some brief theory sessions in the classroom, this pruning course will be very practical giving participants the chance to experience the pruning process for themselves
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Willow Obelisks Course
£35 Thursday 21st February 2019 10:00 -13:00 or 14:00 - 17:00 Tutor: Louise Arthur |
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Experience the delights of creating a support for climbing plants like sweet peas or green beans using sustainable willow grown here at our centre. Come with enough space to transport your work home and plant-up your creation into a pot or directly into the ground.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Fruit Tree Pruning Course
£65 Saturday 23rd February 2019 09:30 -17:00 Tutor: Tim Harland |
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A practical, hands-on learning experience in how to prune various fruit and nut trees so that they are healthy and productive. Including some brief theory sessions in the classroom, this pruning course will be very practical giving participants the chance to experience the pruning process for themselves
Accommodation availability and prices. |
March
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Treehouses, Ropes and Ladders with Jon Cree
£95 - Saturday only £175 - Full weekend Saturday 9th - Sunday 10th March 2019 09:30 -16:00 Tutor: Jon Cree |
Fully Booked
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Learn how to make outdoor play structures for children from wood and rope, combined with natural features at your site. This course is for outdoor educators wishing to be a little more adventurous with creative play structures at their sites.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Eco-Refurbishment
£50 Saturday 9th March 2019 10:00 -16:00 Tutor: Sally Mareike |
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Learn to make your home more healthy, eco-friendly and economical on this one-day course. You will learn how to use low-tech and natural options to refurbish your space from using clay paint and insulating lime/cork plaster, to finding out where and how to source second-hand and new materials, as well as repurposing items.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Kitchen Gardening
£135 Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th March 2019 09:30 - 17:30 £135 for one weekend or £240 for both weekends (non-residential) Tutor: Caroline Aitken |
Fully Booked
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A seasonal weekend course 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.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Spoon Carving
£65 Saturday 23rd March 2019 10:00 - 16:00 Tutor: Jonathan Huet |
Fully Booked
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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.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Permaculture for Children - Nurture
with Nature £50 Saturday 30th March 2019 10:00 - 16:00 Tutors: Morag Gamble & Evan Raymond |
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An opportunity for teachers, parents, caregivers and education leaders to explore some of the many ways in which permaculture can inspire children, nurture ecoliteracy and open minds to make positive choices for the future.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
April
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Woodland Folklore
£60 Saturday 6th April 2019 10:00 - 16:00 Tutor: Jonathan Huet |
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Discover the spiritual practices of the Celtic Bard: stories, poems, woodland traditions and meditation. This unique course will take you through an in-depth exploration of the trees, plants, landscape and seasons.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Clay Oven
£100 Saturday 6th April 2019 09:30 - 16:00 Tutor: Dr. Sara Collins |
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Learn the techniques to build a clay oven at our beautiful site in the Hampshire South Downs. Participants will learn how to construct the oven from builder’s sand, clay, wood shavings and bricks. The course includes a pizza meal cooked in a completed cob oven.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Wooden Stool Making
£95 Friday 12th April 2019 09:00 - 16:30 |
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Learn green woodwork techniques and make your own rustic stool on this training course in the Hampshire South Downs. Our expert tutor will teach you how to use traditional hand tools and woodcraft skills, to craft your stool from locally grown wood.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Willow Rope Weave Basket
(intermediate course) £135 Saturday 13th & Sunday 14th April 2019 10:00 - 17:00 Tutor: Louise Arthur |
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An intermediate willow basket making weekend course in the Hampshire South Downs. Make a beautiful contemporary willow basket with rope weave siding. Participants will use waling patterns to create a dense rope effect on a round base. Previous experience making stake and strand baskets independently required..
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Medicinal Herb Workshop
Boost Energy & Kickstart Immunity: Leaves & Flowers £20 Saturday 27th April 2019 10:00 - 12:00 Tutor: Sarah Hillyer |
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Learn how to start your own medicine chest from foraged finds with our new course run by our much-admired local herbalist, Sarah Hillyer. This course is hands-on and practical, and will teach you how to make your own simple tincture to take home with you.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
May
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Foraging, Fire and Folklore
£20 Thursday 2nd May 2019 18:00 - 20:00 Tutor: Jonathan Huet |
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A special evening experience of wild food foraging, Celtic fire and storytelling. 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. The walk will end with a primitive fire-lighting demonstration.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Trug Making
£140 Saturday 4th & Sunday 5th May 2019 10:00 - 17:00 Tutor: Dominic Parette |
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This course will cover the construction of a traditional trug made from sweet chestnut and white willow. Learn from a professional trugmaker how to cleave, shave, steam-bend and soak the wood and make your own garden trug. This course is designed for a range of abilities encompassing all levels of expertise, including beginners
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Medicinal Herb Workshop
Help Heart, Blood & Nerves: Fortifying Flowers £20 Wednesday 8th May 2019 18:00 - 20:00 Tutor: Sarah Hillyer |
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Learn how to start your own medicine chest from foraged finds with our new course run by our much-admired local herbalist, Sarah Hillyer. This course is hands-on and practical, and will teach you how to make your own simple tincture to take home with you.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Blacksmithing Introduction
£125 Saturday 18th May 2019 10:00 - 17:00 Tutor: Joe Tyler |
Fully Booked
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Our learning centre in the Hampshire South Downs, near Petersfield, provides the perfect backdrop to discover the traditional art of Blacksmithing. Nestled amongst forest and chalk downland, you will learn the principles of blacksmithing and weld an item from reclaimed material to take home with you. teaching blacksmith, Joe Tyler.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Blacksmithing Introduction
£125 Sunday 19th May 2019 10:00 - 17:00 Tutor: Joe Tyler |
Fully Booked
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Our learning centre in the Hampshire South Downs, near Petersfield, provides the perfect backdrop to discover the traditional art of Blacksmithing. Nestled amongst forest and chalk downland, you will learn the principles of blacksmithing and weld an item from reclaimed material to take home with you. teaching blacksmith, Joe Tyler.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Willow Obelisks
£35 Wednesday 29th May 2019 10:00 - 13:00 Tutor: Louise Arthur |
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Willow weaving training course in the Hampshire South Downs. Experience the delights of creating a support for climbing plants like sweet peas or green beans. If time allows we will also make willow hurdles for herb borders. Come with enough space to transport your work home and plant up your creation into a pot or straight into the ground.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Willow Dragonflies and Fish
£35 Wednesday 29th May 2019 14:00 - 17:00 Tutor: Louise Arthur |
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On this training course in the Hampshire South Downs, you will learn how to weave a dragonfly in a spiral 'corn dolly' weave in brown willow and how to make a wishing fish with a 'figure of eight' weave. This course follows a morning course on making a willow obelisk, so there is the option of attending two different willow craft courses in one day. .
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Forest School Taster Day
£50 Thursday 30th May 2019 10:00 - 14:30 |
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An experience day for teachers and parents to give a taste of the Forest School approach to learning in our beautiful woodland site in the Hampshire South Downs. Have a go at fire lighting, den building, tool use, plus other woodland crafts and activities.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
June
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Cordial Making
£65 Saturday 8th June 2019 10:00 - 16:30 Tutors: Jill and Ian Sainsbury |
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Learn how to make tasty drinks from hedgerow ingredients on this cordial making course. Our tutors will guide you around our beautiful Education Centre in the heart of the South Downs, teaching you to identify and forage tasty ingredients from our local hedgerows. The class will then move into the kitchen where you will prepare and turn your delicious ingredients into syrup to take home.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Blacksmithing Weekend
£260 Saturday 8th to Sunday 9th June 2019 10:00 - 17:00 Tutor: Joe Tyler |
Fully Booked
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An exciting weekend discovering the traditional art of blacksmithing, this course will teach you to create your own products including jewellery, intricate candle sticks, fire pokers or paper weights from reclaimed metal material.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Clay Oven
£100 Saturday 15th June 2019 09:30 - 16:00 Tutor: Dr. Sara Collins |
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Learn the techniques to build a clay oven at our beautiful site in the Hampshire South Downs. Participants will learn how to construct the oven from builder’s sand, clay, wood shavings and bricks. The course includes a pizza meal cooked in a completed cob oven.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Foraging, Fire and Folklore
£20 Wednesday 19th June 2019 18:00 - 20:00 Tutor: Jonathan Huet |
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A special evening experience of wild food foraging, Celtic fire and storytelling. 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. The walk will end with a primitive fire-lighting demonstration.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Kitchen Gardening
£135 Saturday 22nd & Sunday 23rd June 09:30 - 17:30 £135 for one weekend or £240 for both weekends (non-residential) Tutor: Caroline Aitken |
Fully Booked
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A seasonal weekend course 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.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
July
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Medicinal Herb Workshop
Bolster your Body: Leaves and late flowers £20 Wednesday 10th July 2019 18:00 - 20:00 Tutor: Sarah Hillyer |
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Bolster your Body will take place in July as your body requires strengthening. The leaves and flowers you find on this summer course will help to strengthen bodily systems such as your gut, heart and lymphatic system.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Roundwood Timber Framing
£410 Tuesday 16th - Friday 19th July 2019 09:30 - 17:00 Tutors:Dylan Walker and Paddy Cox |
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The first part of two hands-on courses in building with roundwood timber using traditional tools and techniques, working with local wood sourced from our site. The courses can be booked individually for an introduction to roundwood timber framing, or they can be bought together for a deeper learning outcome. The second course will take place in September.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Clay Oven £100 Friday 26th July 2019 09:30 - 16:00 Tutor: Dr. Sara Collins |
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Learn the techniques to build a clay oven at our beautiful site in the Hampshire South Downs. Participants will learn how to construct the oven from builder’s sand, clay, wood shavings and bricks. The course includes a pizza meal cooked in a completed cob oven.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
August
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Blacksmithing Two Day
£260 Thursday 15th & Friday 16th August 2019 10:00 - 17:00 Tutor: Joe Tyler |
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An exciting two days discovering the traditional art of blacksmithing, this course will teach you to create your own products including jewellery, intricate candle sticks, fire pokers or paper weights from reclaimed metal material.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Gate Hurdles
£85 Thursday 29th August 2019 09:30 - 17:00 Tutor: Les Brannon |
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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.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
September
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Roundwood Timber Framing
£410 Monday 2nd - Thursday 5th September 09:30 - 17:00 Tutors:Dylan Walker and Paddy Cox |
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A hands-on course in building with roundwood timber with traditional tools and techniques, working with local wood sourced from our site. During this 4 day course, you will be laying out roof rafters and braces to a roundwood timber cruck frame using winter felled wood, finishing with a standing frame.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Clay Oven £100 Saturday 14th September 2019 09:30 - 16:00 Tutor: Dr. Sara Collins |
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Learn the techniques to build a clay oven at our beautiful site in the Hampshire South Downs. Participants will learn how to construct the oven from builder’s sand, clay, wood shavings and bricks. The course includes a pizza meal cooked in a completed cob oven.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Jam and Chutney Making
£65 Saturday 14th September 2019 10:00 - 16:00 Tutor: Jill & Ian Sainsbury |
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Learn how to make delicious preserves from foraged and home grown ingredients on this training course in the Hampshire South Downs. We will make a chutney and a fruit jam on the course and participants will be able to get hands-on with every stage of the process.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Foraging, Fire and Folklore
£20 Wednesday 18th September 2019 18:00 - 20:00 Tutor: Jonathan Huet |
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A special evening experience of wild food foraging, Celtic fire and storytelling. 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. The walk will end with a primitive fire-lighting demonstration.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Introduction to Permaculture Design
£300 Friday 27th - Monday 30th September 09:30 - 17:30 Tutor: Aranya Refreshments and lunch included |
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This course is designed to introduce Permaculture principles but with an emphasis on supporting participants with designing their own homes and gardens. Our expert tutuor, 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.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Spoon Carving
£65 Saturday 28th September 10:00 - 16:00 Tutor: Jonathan Huet Hot drinks included |
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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.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
October
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Children in Permaculture Training Course
£60-245 based on income Saturday 5th & Sunday 6th October 09:30 - 16:30 Tutor: Lusi Alderslowe & Rakesh Rootsman Rak Refreshments included |
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A weekend permaculture course for parents, grandparents, teachers and others to engage children in all aspects of permaculture. Composed of both indoor and outdoor sessions we will learn how permaculture ethics and principles can be applied to education, in how we speak, the activities we engage in and in the spaces we design.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Kitchen Gardening Intensive
£135 Saturday 26th & Sunday 27th Oct 09:30 - 17:30 £135 Tutor: Caroline Aitken Refreshments included |
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A seasonal weekend course 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.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Willow Frame Basket
£75 Thursday 31st October 10:00 - 17:00 Tutor: Louise Arthur Refreshments included |
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Willow weaving training course in the Hampshire South Downs. Participants will make a hand woven gypsy style frame basket from sustainable locally grown willow. Use your basket for gathering berries, mushrooms, eggs, herbs or displaying treasures.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
November
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Unwind in the Woods:
A day of whittling and meditation £70 Saturday 9th November 2019 10:00 - 16:00 Tutor: Jonathan Huet Hot drinks and campfire cooked lunch included |
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Combining meditation and an introduction to basic whittling techniques, this workshop will give you the time and space to get away from a hectic everyday life and connect with nature. You will be guided to fully engage your senses in the relaxing skill of wood carving. Following a warming campfire cooked lunch, you will visit one of our yurts for a meditation session incorporating woodland folklore.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Natural Cosmetics
£65 Saturday 9th November 2019 10:00 - 16:00 Tutor: Dee Dade Refreshments included |
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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.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Natural Cosmetics
£65 Sunday 10th November 2019 10:00 - 16:00 Tutor: Dee Dade Refreshments included |
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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.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
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Natural Cosmetics 2 day
£120 Saturday 9th & Sunday 10th November 10:00 - 16:00 Tutor: Dee Dade Refreshments included |
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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.
Accommodation availability and prices. |
