THE SUSTAINABILITY CENTRE
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    • Adult Courses >
      • Craft and Upcycling Courses >
        • Festive Fabric Crafts Course
        • Fabric Baskets Course
        • Felted Robin Workshop
        • Natural Cleaning Workshop
        • Natural Cosmetics Workshop
      • Wood Craft Courses >
        • Advanced Knife Skills
        • Gate Hurdle Making Course
        • Pendant Carving Course
        • Spoon Carving Course
        • Stool Carving Course
        • Trug Making Course
      • Willow Craft Courses >
        • Living Willow Tree Course
        • Willow Festive Decorations Course
        • Willow Frame Basket Course
        • Willow Garden Sculpture
        • Willow Garden Craft Course
        • Willow Weaving Weekend
      • Home and Garden Courses >
        • Clay Oven Building Course
        • Compost Toilets Course
        • Kitchen Gardening Course
      • Forest School Training >
        • Climbing Frames, Ropes & Ladders with Jon Cree
        • Forest School Leader Training
        • Forest School Taster Day
        • Supporting Children through Anxiety and Trauma with Jon Cree
      • Health & Wellbeing Courses >
        • Medicinal Herb Workshops
        • Mental Health First Aid Course
        • Youth Mental Health First Aid Course
      • Nature Connection and Folklore Courses >
        • Art, Sound and Meditation Course
        • Foraging, Fire and Folklore
        • Nature Led Meditation
        • Unwind in the Woods
      • Permaculture Courses >
        • Intro to Permaculture Design Course
      • Sustainable Land Management Courses >
        • Coppicing Course
        • Hedgelaying Course
        • Wildflower Meadows Course
        • Woodland Management
    • Online Experiences
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    • Cast Off
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      • Hedgehog Eco Challenge
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  • Projects
    • Beekeepers
    • Chalk Grassland
    • Compost Toilet
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    • Herb Garden
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    • Woodland Hall
    • Tree Bog
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    • Grow Now
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    • On The Wild Side
    • Meditation
    • Painting as Meditation
    • Weave From The Hedges
    • Young People
  • Shop and Bookings
    • Gift Vouchers
    • Online T Shirt Shop
    • Online Eco Shop
    • Shop At The Centre

​Adult Courses

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:
​
Join the waiting list

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10% Accommodation discount offer

We give special 10% discount just for course attendees, on our new South Downs Eco Lodge Accommodation from 2 nights or more.  Why not stay for 2 or 3 days and really enjoy your course. 
Find Out More & Book

2022

July


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Nature led Meditation 2
​SOLD OUT- next course September 7th

£25
​
Wednesday 6th July 2022​
FIND OUT MORE
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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Clay Oven
£110 - places available
​Saturday 9th July 2022​
FIND OUT MORE
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 lunch. 

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Advanced Knife Skills - SOLD OUT
£80
​
Saturday 16th July 2022​
FIND OUT MORE
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​
FIND OUT MORE
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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Trug Making - SOLD OUT
£210
Thursday 21st & Friday 22nd July 2022​
FIND OUT MORE
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.​

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Wildflower Meadows - SOLD OUT 
£75
​
Sunday 24th July 2022​
FIND OUT MORE
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. 
​​

August


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Woodland Management - 
SOLD OUT 
£80
​
Saturday 6th August 2022​
FIND OUT MORE
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​
FIND OUT MORE
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. ​

September


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Wooden Gate Hurdle Making - SOLD OUT
£110
​
Friday 2nd September 2022​
FIND OUT MORE
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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Nature led Meditation 3 - places available
£25
​
Wednesday 7th September 2022​
FIND OUT MORE
 Jonathon Huet will guide you gently through meditations and natural connection practices designed to restore your relationship with nature, bring healing to yourself and to our native land. ​

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Clay Oven - places available
£110
​
Saturday 10th September 2022​
FIND OUT MORE
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 lunch. 

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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​
FIND OUT MORE
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. ​

October


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Climbing Frames, Ropes and Ladders - places available
£95

Saturday 15th October 2022
FIND OUT MORE
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
FIND OUT MORE
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.
FIND OUT MORE
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​
FIND OUT MORE
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. ​

november


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Unwind in the Woods - places available
£80

Saturday 5th November 2022
FIND OUT MORE
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. Campfire soup and hot drinks  included.
                                                                                                                                              ​

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Coppicing -  SOLD OUT
£85
Friday 11th November 2022
FIND OUT MORE
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
FIND OUT MORE

​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
FIND OUT MORE
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
FIND OUT MORE
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
FIND OUT MORE
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
FIND OUT MORE
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.

december


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Willow Garden Sculpture - SOLD OUT​
£85
Friday 2nd December 2022
FIND OUT MORE
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


FIND OUT MORE
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
​


FIND OUT MORE
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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Felted Robin Workshop
 
​
£60

​Saturday 10th December 2022

​


FIND OUT MORE
Learn needle felting techniques to make your own robin on this workshop in the Hampshire South Downs. Discover how to make a festive decoration using just a felting needle to felt natural British wool fibres together. 
                                                                      ​

2023

January


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Fabric basket Workshop
 
​
£95

​Saturday 28th January 2023

​


FIND OUT MORE
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. 
                                                                      ​

February


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Natural Cosmetics  Workshop
 
​
£80 for one day, £140 for both days 

​Saturday 4th and/or Sunday 5th February 2023
FIND OUT MORE
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.                                                                     ​

March


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Kitchen Gardening Weekends
​

£290

Two weekends included:
18th & 19th March
17th & 18th June 2023
FIND OUT MORE
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 Foundation

​The 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 VISITORS

Please 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.


​Charity Number ​​ 1079866

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Main Address

The Sustainability Centre 
​Droxford Road,
East Meon, Hants
​GU32 1HR
01730 823166

Reception

01730 823166
​info@sustainability-centre.org

South Downs Eco Lodge & Camp Site

South Downs Eco Lodge
​The Sustainability Centre 
​Droxford Road,
East Meon, Hants
​GU32 1HR
01730 823549
​​accommodation@sustainability-centre.org

Cafe

01730 823755
infobeechcafe@gmail.com  

Burials

​01730 823425
​burials@sustainability-centre.org

Education

​01730 823166
​education@sustainability-centre.org

Courses

01730 823166
​courses@sustainability-centre.org

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  • Home
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    • All About Us >
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      • Map
    • Find Us
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    • Contact Us >
      • Join Mailing List
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  • What's On
    • Evening Talks
    • South Downs Green Fair
    • Talk & Tour
    • Art Exhibitions >
      • Past Exhibitions
      • Pete Levy
    • Room & Space Hire
    • Terms and Conditions
  • Courses
    • Adult Courses >
      • Craft and Upcycling Courses >
        • Festive Fabric Crafts Course
        • Fabric Baskets Course
        • Felted Robin Workshop
        • Natural Cleaning Workshop
        • Natural Cosmetics Workshop
      • Wood Craft Courses >
        • Advanced Knife Skills
        • Gate Hurdle Making Course
        • Pendant Carving Course
        • Spoon Carving Course
        • Stool Carving Course
        • Trug Making Course
      • Willow Craft Courses >
        • Living Willow Tree Course
        • Willow Festive Decorations Course
        • Willow Frame Basket Course
        • Willow Garden Sculpture
        • Willow Garden Craft Course
        • Willow Weaving Weekend
      • Home and Garden Courses >
        • Clay Oven Building Course
        • Compost Toilets Course
        • Kitchen Gardening Course
      • Forest School Training >
        • Climbing Frames, Ropes & Ladders with Jon Cree
        • Forest School Leader Training
        • Forest School Taster Day
        • Supporting Children through Anxiety and Trauma with Jon Cree
      • Health & Wellbeing Courses >
        • Medicinal Herb Workshops
        • Mental Health First Aid Course
        • Youth Mental Health First Aid Course
      • Nature Connection and Folklore Courses >
        • Art, Sound and Meditation Course
        • Foraging, Fire and Folklore
        • Nature Led Meditation
        • Unwind in the Woods
      • Permaculture Courses >
        • Intro to Permaculture Design Course
      • Sustainable Land Management Courses >
        • Coppicing Course
        • Hedgelaying Course
        • Wildflower Meadows Course
        • Woodland Management
    • Online Experiences
    • Gift Vouchers
    • Discounts and Benefits
    • Courses Waiting List
    • Contact the Courses Team
    • Courses Terms and Conditions
  • Accommodation
    • Bed & Breakfast
    • Eco Hostel
    • Yurts
    • Camping
    • Large Groups
    • Gift Vouchers
    • Things to Do >
      • Walking and Cycling Breaks
    • Booking Enquiries
    • Accommodation Terms and Conditions
    • Accommodation COVID Information
  • Children's Activities
    • Wood Mouse Forest School
    • Family Holiday Activities >
      • Family Day Time Activities
      • Family Overnight Adventures
      • Advanced Wilderness Skills
  • Schools
    • Our Education Ethos
    • Earth Protectors Conference
    • Day Trips
    • Residentials
    • Farm Tours
    • Saxon Experience
    • Forest School
    • Alternative Education >
      • Young Natural Ambassadors
    • We Can Come to Your School
    • Colleges and Universities
    • Training for Teachers
    • Meet the Team
    • Useful Information & Booking Forms
    • Contact the Education Team
  • Burial Site
    • South Downs Natural Burial Site
    • Funeral Charges
    • Information Pack
    • Flowers and Planting
    • Attending A Funeral
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  • Our Future
    • Ready Steady Grow
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    • Cast Off
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    • Art & Craft
    • Grow Now
    • Health
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    • Meditation
    • Painting as Meditation
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  • Shop and Bookings
    • Gift Vouchers
    • Online T Shirt Shop
    • Online Eco Shop
    • Shop At The Centre