About the Course
Join us for this two-day class to learn the fundamentals of thinking like an ecosystem and tending your garden holistically. Whether you're focused on vegetable, floral, medicinal, or any other type of production, we’ll introduce you to strategies and techniques that prioritize soil vitality, maximize beneficial relationships between plants, insects, birds and animals, and that work with the earth’s own patterns and processes, rather than against them. We’ll cover a variety of big picture concepts that help gardeners navigate the seemingly endless decisions we face each year, as well as a constellation of practical techniques, tools, and “hacks” that address common challenges related to drought, pests, diseases, and more. Whether you are a beginner or a long-time dedicated grower, this course is likely to help you along in your journey. Note: This will be 50% indoor and 50% outdoor demo, rain or shine. Please inquire for handicap accessibility and support.
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With the exception of our expedition programs, most of our courses are hosted within a 30 mile radius of Charlottesville, VA. The diverse nature of our programs is best served by a constellation of sites that includes both public and private land. To protect the safety and privacy of our host site partners as well as the safety of our participants, we do not disclose the addresses or coordinates of our sites online. Upon registering for a course — or no later than 2 weeks prior to its start date — all participants will receive details and directions to the public, pre-course meetup location, from which we will caravan to the host site.
Instructor(s)
As a naturalist, wilderness guide, farmer, and grassroots educator, Chris Grataski has spent nearly two decades working at the intersection of social and ecological issues. Rooted in a reverence for the mystery and complexity of the living earth, and with an enduring commitment to justice and decolonial futures, his work revolves around sowing seeds for a world beyond crisis and collapse. As a guide and educator, and as the founding director of SRI, he is passionate about weaving connections between ecology and embodied practice that help folks discover their innate kinship with the wild. He and his 12-year old son live in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, where they can often be found looking for animal tracks, swimming in local rivers, or hanging out at the skatepark.
Chris Grataski
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