The Stables Project

Eco-studies

This years program will be the equivalent of 1/2 day per week throughout the academic year but structured into 1 project which will involve the whole group , plus a series of one-day sessions which will involve first year students.

• Horticultural tasks this term will  include winter fruit tree and soft fruit pruning, composting, seed saving, water harvesting and conservation
• We will be working at different community projects in York, The lolliplot an edible communal garden for children with hearing loss, york environment centre and the stables edible garden
• On the Introduction to permaculure sessions we will  investigate how permaculture design can be used to design ecological and productive systems in homes, gardens and communities. We will watch DVDs about how permaculture is being used in other countries and visit some practical examples in york This module has the option of being accredited with The National Open College network
• Nature conservation, including visits and practical tasks at local nature reserves.

• Block studies this term include
• Harvesting, processing and preserving apples,
• These sessions will be mainly practical with documentation of key elements covered

 

(Mulching the mandala bed using cardboard and straw mulch to exclude weed growth and conserve water evaporation around the fruit trees)

Previous students designed  and created an edible demonstration garden at York environmental centre to show how permaculture design can be used to convert small piece of land to grow a wide variety of food, with very little maintenance required. This work was accredited with the N.O.C.N

 

Designing the edible garden at  Y E C            The edible garden one year later

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