An Introduction to the Natural Garden - CPD For Gardeners & Designers. With: Andy Dean
Date: 23rd January 2025
Times: 10am - 4pm
Venue: Bath City Farm, Kelston View, Whiteway, Bath BA2 1NW.
Parking - There is a small car park on-site. Lift sharing is encouraged where possible.
🌿 Course Highlights:
Understanding the Extinction Crisis: Delve into the realities of biodiversity loss, unravelling its impact on our lives, local ecosystems, and the intricate web of flora and fauna.
Gardens as Ecosystems: Explore the role of gardens as vital contributors to the strengthening and support of our native ecology. Learn how your outdoor space can be a sanctuary for biodiversity, strengthening the interconnected relationships between native plants, insects, birds, and the entire ecosystem.
Responsible Gardening: Getting to know our gardens and ourselves as gardeners. Using observation and recording techniques to gain insights into the plants and creatures that inhabit our gardens, and learn how to practice the responsible sourcing, growing and tending of plants. Reading natural landscapes: Understand how a ‘natural’ landscape works. Learn how to set your objectives and expectations for your own garden and where to find valuable information to support you on your journey towards regenerative gardening.
Come away with a deeper knowledge of how to nurture plant and insect relationships for richer biodiversity and a set of guidelines, some just simple tweaks, that we can use to garden more responsibly.
🌿 The state of nature:
1 in 6 UK native species is on the brink of extinction. 41% decline in UK wildlife since 1970.
Britain faces the challenge of being one of the most nature-impoverished countries globally.
🌿 Join Andy for this Workshop:
Andy Dean will lead you through the nuances of gardening for nature recovery, imparting practical knowledge to navigate the challenges of our environment.
Andy has been working professionally with gardens since studying organic horticulture in 2003. His passion for the outdoors and the benefits that he believes that nature can give us led him to design, build and look after gardens over a 20 year period. As Associate Horticultural Producer of the BBC1 garden makeover TV show, Garden Rescue, he also managed the builds of well over a 100 gardens. Andy studied horticulture at Bristol Botanic Gardens and is a Permaculture Design Certificate (PDC) accredited designer. Andy’s work in bringing nature to people's gardens has shown him that nature is in need of us too. He now seeks to understand, comment and educate on gardening to support biodiversity.
🌿 Who Should Attend:
Whether you're a gardening beginner, an experienced enthusiast, or a professional in garden design, anyone keen on working closely with natural systems to enhance the ecological balance of their gardens will find value in this course.
🌿 Unlock the Art of Natural Gardening:
Let's grow thriving ecosystems and contribute to positive change, one garden at a time.
Programme: Arrive at 9.30am for a 10am start
Items to bring: Notepaper, pencil, packed lunch optional as there is a cafe on site.