Working with Trees: Building Resilient Gardens for a Changing Climate
Learn how to work with trees as powerful allies to create resilient, productive gardens that can adapt and thrive in a changing climate.
Why are Trees important in a Changing Climate?
The Story Behind the Course
When we turn on the news, it is easy to be swept away by feelings of overwhelm. We are confronted by global crises, climate catastrophes, and the loss of biodiversity. It is hard to see what we, as individuals, can do to change this. But there are many positive steps we can take, and they begin right outside our back doors or in our communities.
Like many of you, we have seen and experienced the changing climate in our own gardens—from unpredictable, heavy rains to extreme winds and scorching heat.
But we have also seen how resilient and abundant a garden can be when we stop fighting these changes and start working with nature instead.
That is the heart of this course. For over two years, we— Jo Holleran and Karen Noon —have been collaborating to pool the best of our knowledge, passion, and experience into a a journey to teach others what we have learnt.
We have spent the last decade applying permaculture principles to our own gardens, watching it transform not just how food is grown, but how we are personally interacting with the natural world.
We created Working with Trees as a focused, standalone course because we believe that trees are the ultimate tool for future-proofing your garden.
They are the anchors of a resilient landscape, capable of managing water, building biodiversity, and creating microclimates that protect other plants and non human creatures that share our world.
What You Will Learn
This online course is designed to to make planting and managing trees simple and approachable. Whether you have a sprawling rural plot or a modest urban or suburban garden, we will guide you to make confident, long-term decisions that will benefit your space for decades.
We will cover:
- Choosing the Right Tree: How to select species that will thrive in your specific soil and changing local climate, rather than just surviving.
- Designing for Microclimates: How to use trees strategically to create shade, block wind, and protect your other plants.
- Planting for Resilience: The crucial steps to take during the first year of planting to ensure deep, drought-resistant root systems.
- The Forest Garden Approach: How to build a low-maintenance, multi-layered garden where trees, shrubs, and ground cover support each other naturally.
You are not just planting a tree; you are designing your peace of mind for the future.
Join us, and learn how to build a garden that grows stronger with every passing season no matter what the weather.
Note: This module is a perfect introduction to our approach. If you enjoy this learning experience, it naturally leads into our signature 6-week blended learning course, Future Proof Your Garden in a Changing Climate, where we apply these same resilient design principles to your entire outdoor space.
Explore the Course Curriculum
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1Working with Trees