FROM THE RANCH | Urban Ecosystem Agriculture Train the Trainer Series Announcement

The Huntington would like to invite applications for Urban Ecosystem Agriculture, a train-the-trainer course to be held between September 3, 2011 and January 21, 2012. This series is designed to empower Master Gardeners and garden educators with a practical knowledge base of techniques and theory necessary to establish productive, resilient gardens based on principles common to functioning ecosystems. Properly designed, implemented, and maintained, these gardens hold promise of less work, less outside inputs, and greater resilience to disturbances (plus they literally buzz with life)!

Darren Butler and Scott Kleinrock will provide intensive training on topics including applied ecology and urban agriculture, living soil systems, water and irrigation, Mediterranean climate food forestry, and practical design for urban agriculture. Classes will be held from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm on Sept 3 and 17, Oct 1 and 15, Nov 5 and 19, and Jan 14 and 21. A $150 deposit is required upon acceptance into the course. Need-based scholarships are available. The deposit will be refunded upon completion of at least 42 out of 48 hours of instruction. Notifications of acceptance will be sent by August 13.

Download Application Here

Primary Instructor: Darren Butler

Darren Butler is a Consulting Arborist, Ecological Designer, Sustainable Landscaping Specialist, and Teacher. His recent projects include designing food forests in residential landscapes, which are forest-like systems that produce food with minimal maintenance once established. He has appeared on several episodes of "Weekend Gardening" for a large international television audience as an expert horticulturist and landscaper, on NPR radio, in newspapers, in other national media, and as an arborist expert witness. He has taught many courses on gardening, horticulture, sustainability, permaculture, design, and related topics in a wide variety of venues, including Sustainable Landscape Design and Diagnosing Plant Problems for the University of California Master Gardener Program in Los Angeles since 2006, and various courses for Descanso Botantic Gardens including Small-Space Food Gardening and Drought-Tolerant Landscaping.

Instructor: Scott Kleinrock

Scott Kleinrock is a garden designer focused on the creation of resilient edible ecosystems. He is the Ranch Manager at the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens where he manages the herb and children's gardens, consults on design projects, and runs the Huntington Ranch: an experimental urban agriculture field station dedicated to exploring and interpreting approaches to productive gardening in the semi-arid and urban conditions of Southern California. Scott has designed and consulted on a variety of urban agricultural spaces including residential and community-based projects. He holds a bachelor's degree in communications studies from UCLA and is currently a master's candidate in landscape architecture at Cal Poly Pomona, where his thesis research focuses on intensive approaches to vegetable production in containers.

Here's the Info:
Urban Ecosystem Agriculture
Train-the-Trainer Course 2011

Instructors: Darren Butler and Scott Kleinrock
Location: Auditorium and Ranch, Botanical Center, The Huntington
Format: largely lecture, some Ranch visits
Times: 9:00 – 4:30 with hour-long lunch (lunch on your own, bag lunch recommended)

Class topics and dates

Sept 3: Introduction to Urban Ecosystem Agriculture

Sept 17: Applied Ecology and Urban Agriculture

Oct 1: Understanding and Improving Soil for Urban Agriculture

Oct 15: Living Soil Systems

Nov 5: Water, Irrigation, and Urban Agriculture

Nov 19: TBD

Jan 14: Introduction to Mediterranean Climate Food Forestry

Jan 21: Practical Design for Urban Agriculture

Enrollment cap: 25
Target audience: Master Gardeners and other with ability to implement the practices with community partners
Application form: e-mail, fax or mail PDF application
Fee: $150 refundable deposit with scholarships available; deposit refunded with completion of at least 42 hours of instruction
Acceptance notification: August 13, 2012  

Scott Kleinrock is the Ranch project coordinator at The Huntington.