In Land and Garden we will explore various methods of sustainable landscaping and plant propagation. Lost Valley's 87 acres of forests, gardens, greenhouses, and meadows provide a diverse range of landscapes for theory and hands-on practice.

Landscape Design Planning
Starting at the scale of the watershed, we will learn about the relationship between Lost Valley and surrounding lands. We will discuss issues such as soil conservation, the impacts of neighboring land use practices on Lost Valley's land and stream health, salmon restoration, and habitat connectivity. We will discuss permaculture and other progressive approaches to site analysis, ecological landscape design, native plants, and edible landscaping.

Organic Gardening
We will learn the basics and how they can be applied to a rural, urban, or suburban site. Subjects will include starting a garden on a new site, building soil, planting, seed saving, garden maintenance and watering, greenhouse growing, composting, and strategies for urban gardening. We will discuss various approaches such as double digging, biodynamic, and no-till.

Eco-forestry
We will use Lost Valley's forest as an example to learn how to restore forest ecology while producing low-impact value-added forest products. Subjects covered will include tree identification, ecological fire hazard mitigation, medicinal mushroom cultivation, and soil health.

Back to Core Subject Areas [0]