The Organic Research Centre have an exciting opportunity for a farm from the north of England to participate in a co-design workshop at the Agroforestry Show in Hertfordshire on 10th and 11th September. This will be an opportunity to develop a potential agroforestry design based on your objectives and farm context and invite feedback, ideas and lessons learned from farmers, researchers and advisors at the show. A complimentary ticket for the 2 days and contribution toward travel and subsistence costs will be provided.
In advance of the show, ORC will work with the farm to identify the key objectives, farm context and potential constraints to develop some potential scenarios and interactive maps to be shared on the ORC stand in the Training Barn. A workshop will be scheduled during the show to invite people to participate in a discussion to explore those scenarios, making space to learn from each other and explore different perspectives from farmer experience, research evidence and practical considerations. We will explore together opportunities for different spatial configurations and species mixtures, considering practicalities such as legislation, planting and management, as well as financing and funding opportunities, breaking down the initial steps to designing an agroforestry system.
This is building on the enthusiasm generated by an online co-design workshop held with Gowbarrow Hall Farm, in which ReForest Living Lab members fed back on different scenarios for integrating more trees into the grazing system at Gowbarrow, providing insight into the practicalities of different planting configurations/row spacings and trade-offs between fencing costs and potential reduction in grazing land with the benefits for shade/shelter, access to browse and environmental benefits. You can watch the recording from the workshop below:
Please express your interest to katie.b@organicresearchcentre.com with a brief description of your potential agroforestry project/ideas and to confirm your availability to attend the show by July 14th.
