The Swansea Community Green Spaces Project provides support, advice and training to groups who run community gardens in Swansea. In 2024 we will support at least 12 groups with capital funding and many more besides with their grant funding applications. From April to July we ran an eight-part training course on community gardening; in the autumn we have a course on horticultural skills, as well as permaculture design. The Green Spaces team are also working on a feasibility study, looking at the challenges groups face to accessing green spaces in Swansea. We will use this study to produce a toolkit to help groups navigate land access issues and establish their green space more easily.
If you’d like to find our more, please contact Ollie at ollie@environmentcentre.org.uk
Upcoming Community Green Spaces Courses and Events
Careers in Horticulture - Six Session Course
NB. This course is now fully booked, to be added to the waiting list please email paul@environmentcentre.org.uk
Overview
These sessions will provide an intensive introduction to edible horticulture and agroecology for people interested in discovering routes into employment in the sector.
Why Attend?
Hands-On Learning: Get practical skills in real horticultural settings.
Expert Guidance: Learn from experienced tutors and practitioners in the field.
Sustainable Focus: Emphasis on agroecological practices, soil health, and carbon-negative systems.
Career Development: Ideal for those looking to enter the horticulture sector or expand their skills.
Each session includes a full day of training, ensuring that you leave with a deep understanding of the subject and practical experience you can apply immediately.
Book your spot now!
All courses are free but require booking due to limited availability. Please email Paul@environmentcentre.org.uk to express your interest.
The course will ideally be delivered at working horticulture sites with an emphasis on gaining practical insights. Each session will consist of a day’s training.
ALL SESSIONS FREE (PLEASE BOOK)
SESSION 1 - 16th October 2024 - Propagation
- Propagation bench practical skills: sowing, pricking out, watering, temperature control. Modules, blocks, seedbeds. Propagation equipment and tools. Composts. The theory: conditions of germination. Tutor - Josh Pike - Venue – Summit Good
SESSION 2 - 23rd October 2024 - Protected Cropping
- Crop covers for micro-climate and pest control, greenhouses, polytunnels, cloches and cold frames. Passive solar greenhouses. Creating microclimates. Temporary and permanent windbreaks. Principles of season extension. Tutor - Josh Pike - Venue – Summit Good
SESSION 3 - 6th November 2024 - Planning the Growing Year
- What to grow and when to start. Successional sowing for continuous supply. Seasonal specialities and rotations. Planning garden operations: weeding, watering, soil amendments, harvesting. Tutor – Simon - Venue – Cae Felin
SESSION 4 - 13th November 2024 - Working the Land
- Choices of tools and machinery appropriate to scale and crops. Cultivation choices: dig or no-dig.
SESSION 5 - 20th November 2024 - Soil Health
- The soil as a living system. Feeding the soil not the plants. Systems that build soil and sequester CO2. Carbon negative growing. Tutor(s) Blackhills CSA - Venue – Blackhills CSA
SESSION 6 - 27th November 2024 - Harvesting Storage & Marketing
- Picking and packing. The life of produce after picking. Cooling and washing according to scale. Routes to market, the CSA model. Tutor Niaomh (Shared Garden) - Venue - Summit Good
NB. This course is now fully booked, to be added to the waiting list please email paul@environmentcentre.org.uk
