Here are a few of the workshops that we will be hosting at Inspiration Farm as part of
Transition Whatcom's ReSkilling series. For more information or to see other classes being offered at Inspiration Farm during the rest of the year visit,
http://www.inspirationfarm.com 27th- U-bar Building Workshop $145 limited to 6 people. Build your own custom Broad fork out of recycled materials and then recycle your rototiller! Not a common tool in the US, though every gardener wants one. The U-bar is similar to a spading fork, but rather than turning the soil, it aerates down 10" to 20” without mixing the soil strata, maintaining soil health and life force. Perfect for biointensive
gardening. Long handles provide extraordinary leverage, allowing a person of average strength to loosen large areas with less time and effort it would take with a conventional fork. Using mostly recycled steel pipes and bar stock, you can build a U-bar spicily suited for you. Mild metal working skills are helpful to cut, grind and weld your new tool. I will help with the welding.
March
13th- Practical Permaculture $30 - $60 A hands on approach to implementing some
Permaculture principals. Zones, sectors, ethics, mapping,
compost and guilds This fun information stacked day will provide practical ways to design your environment into an integrated system of abundance and productivity. Using design strategies we will explore ways of stacking elements within a system to be more productive and self regulating. The morning will be
class presentations and discussion, the afternoon will be a site tour and hands on session working with guilds, sheet
mulch, keyhole beds and integrated
composting systems.
27th- Fruit Tree Food Forest & Permaculture Guild Plants $30 - $60 Plant a garden and eat for a year, plant a Forest Garden and eat for decades! This hands on workshop will give you a strong understanding for designing, planting and orchestrating a
perennial food forest. Northwest fruit and nut tree cultivars suited to our bioregion, guild plants that fertilize, attract pollinators and mulch will be covered. By stacking the layers of systems one can imitate the productivity of a forest by capturing and storing available nutrients,
water and sunlight. Once established it will continue to provide for most of its own needs, and produce food for decades!
April
3rd- Critters on the MOVE! Portable Animal Shelters $30 - $60 Incorporate animals and let them do what they do best, weed, feed and fertilize. Sheep & Goat rotations, Duck box,
Chicken tractors, Pigorators. Learn about different types of low cost housing and containment for a variety of critters. Integrated animal husbandry practices for small to medium sized herds and flocks. Work with rotations to better manage
pests, parasites and manure distribution.
17th 18th- Mind Body and Soil $165 Healthy soils = Healthy people. Learn more about Soil,
Compost, Biodynamics,
Biochar, Worms and Teas. Just how do these all work together to create better soils that allow you to grow the most nutrient dense food possible. Soil is more then just dirt, it is a universe teaming with a diverse array of interconnected micro organisms working together to perform multiple functions. Learn how to support this community and in turn sequester
carbon, build soil, grow healthy disease and drought resistant plants and eat from a more nutritious garden as a result.
