This weekend workshop will be led by Dave Jacke, award winning author of Edible Forest Gardens, and Chris Jackson, ecological landscape designer and educator. Read more about the teachers.

This workshop is part of the Seeds of Sustainability event series.

Evidence of planet-wide damage caused by humans abounds: polluted rivers and waterways, toxins in our soil and food, climate change, loss of biodiversity, peak oil and more. We stand on the verge of threatening our own survival, as well as that of other species. We cannot maintain our economy if we deplete the natural resources that support our jobs and businesses. People are asking, “What kind of future are we creating for our children and grandchildren?”

What can we do? As caring residents, now is the time to learn new ways to positively contribute to improving our community’s environmental and social health. We must heed the words of Einstein: “We cannot solve the significant problems we face at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” We need to ask, “What new ways of thinking will get us out of this mess and help us restore our world to health?”

We can look to nature for answers. Healthy ecosystems are based on interdependence and mutually beneficial connections. With nature’s help, we can heal landscapes, our community, our planet, and ourselves.

This workshop will give you the solid base of a holistic, ecological worldview, while simultaneously offering practical solutions that demonstrate how we can create a sustainable, abundant community. Ecological principles form the foundation of this way of seeing, and offer concrete directions for finding solutions to multiple problems with maximum effect for least effort. These principles apply at all scales, from your garden bed, to your neighborhood, to cities, to whole regions, and in every realm of human endeavor. We invite you to experience a new way of looking at our world, and through that lens, you will find empowerment and skills you never knew existed.

The workshop is limited to 90 people.

Schedule Each Day
8:00 am: Doors open for check-in (please arrive by 8:30 am)
9:00 am: Workshop begins
12:30 pm: Lunch
5:00 pm: Workshop ends

Food
Our goal is to provide as much organic and local food as possible.

Lunch
Box lunches with local produce, cheese, bread from New Pioneer Co-op
Bags of organic chips
U of I home baked 3” cookies
 

Taproot Childcare
Taproot Nature Experience will engage your children in nature while you attend the  weekend workshop. A sack lunch must be provided for each child. Discounted cost: $95 per child for both days. Learn more: www.TaprootNatureExperience.org

Cost
$125 per person ($110 for students).
Lunch and snacks are included.
Pre-registration is required.
Register online or send payment to Backyard Abundance, 637 Scott Park Drive, Iowa City, IA 52245