RESTORATION
AGRICULTURE
WORKSHOP

Bethel, NY
May 20-22, 2022

For fellow farmers, nature-lovers, permaculture geeks, and all who have a deep desire to build the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible…

 

Join us for this 3 day workshop with Mark Shepard, best-selling author of “Restoration Agriculture”, to immerse in the principles and practice of growing food - guided and supported by the vast intelligence of nature - where human thriving also supports and nourishes Earth and our fellow beings.

Topics include...

  • Principles of Restoration Agriculture
  • Ecologically integrated water management
  • Eco-region and plant communities
  • Edible trees / shrubs and the foundation of a perennial agriculture ecosystem
  • Integrated grazing and silvopasture management
  • The economics of Restoration Agriculture
  • Open Q&A

 


In addition to classroom learning, you will also have the opportunity to witness a Restoration Agriculture system being implemented, right on the land where the workshop is taking place. This includes a tour and discussion (of the why and how) of a swale/berm system that was put in place last Fall, and (weather permitting) a live demo of planting the tree and shrub layers of a polyculture food forest.

LOGISTICS

Where: Bethel, NY, 2 hours northwest of New York City, 5 min away from the original Woodstock '69 Festival grounds!

When: May 20-22, 2022, 12-5pm on Friday, 9am-5pm Sat and Sun

Price: $400 - $650 sliding scale

Food: Continental breakfast and lunch are included in the workshop price

Lodging: Limited onsite lodging available, ranging from sleeping bag space in a yurt for $40/night, bunk beds for $70/night, to luxury guest rooms for $100-$150/person/night. Local motels/inns/campsites also available. Details provided post registration

YOUR INSTRUCTORS


Mark Shepard, Lead Instructor

Mark Shepard is the award-winning author of “Restoration Agriculture: Real-World Permaculture for Farmers”, and “Water for Any Farm - Applying Restoration Agriculture Water Management Methods on Your Farm”.

 

Restoration Agriculture is developed from his experiences at New Forest Farm, located in Viola, Wisconsin. It was once a worn-out rowcrop farm and has since become a 106-acre showcase commercial-scale perennial agricultural operation. It is considered by many to be one of the most ambitious sustainable agriculture projects in the United States. 

 

Trained in mechanical engineering and ecology, Mark has combined these two passions to equipment and processes for the cultivation, harvesting and processing of forest-derived agricultural products. He is a certified permaculture designer and teaches agroforestry, permaculture, and his innovative systems of water management around the world. He has also been a founding farm member of The Organic Valley Cooperative, the world’s largest organic farmer’s marketing co-op, since 1995.


Johann Rinkens, Tree Planting Demo Guide

Johann is an ecological designer and experienced agriculturalist consulting and advising on regenerative land management. He is the co-founder of Fields Without Fences, a forest garden farm and permaculture design service, and teaches extensively on the subjects of permaculture design and agroecology. His background in anthropology, agrarian land rights, and over fifteen years of work in the field as an organic farmer, combine to inform his perspective on integrated, place based, and functional ecological design. Approaching landscapes from a restorative perspective, Johann is motivated by the inherent balance of natural systems, and an eagerness to continue to evolve his understanding to reflect that elegance of design.

SUGGESTED READING

Restoration Agriculture - Real-World Permaculture for Farmers

          
Water for Any Farm - Applying Restoration Agriculture Water Management Methods on Your Farm

YOUR HOSTS AND THE LAND

Bing and Navlyn have recently become stewards of 150-acres in Bethel, NY, historically Munsee-Lenape territory. The land used to be a dairy farm, and was more recently used as a retreat space.

During the pandemic, Bing and Navlyn had the chance to spend time with this land, and fell in love with living a life of deeper connection with and service to Nature. Their intention is for this land to be a space for us to re-discover right-relationship with ourselves, Nature, and each other, and to drawn inspirations from the land for how to be in the world. They are currently in the process of bringing to life an "Enchanted Food Forest"- a diverse, regenerative silvopasture system, on the disused open fields that were formerly pasture.

At this workshop, participants will get to witness the beginning of that polyculture food forest that will one day produce hickories, black walnuts, persimmons, mulberries, elderberries, blueberries, lindens (edible leaves), medicinal herbs… and support animals such as chickens, ducks, cows, pigs, and the various wild beings who already call the land home.