We will learn the basics of regenerative land design, focusing on our native ecosystems here in the Driftless, with the goal of learning how to guide the development of healthy, diverse, functional, and productive ecosystems that provide essential goods and services to our community. We will learn how to rapidly build topsoil, sequester carbon, enhance biodiversity, and recharge aquifers, all while producing abundant nutrient-dense foods, high-quality fibers, and building materials. The course includes lectures and hand-on activities at on-farm field trips. Once we've learned the fundamentals of soil, water, ecology, and the human context, we will have the opportunity to put theory into practice by helping you develop your own regenerative design.
Details:
Dates: Wednesday and Friday mornings
April 3rd, 5th, 10th, 12th, 17th, & 19th
Times: 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Location: Thoreau College Campus, 224 WI-56, Viroqua WI 54665
Ages: Adult
Sliding Scale Course Fee Guidelines:
Supporter Level Ticket: $400
Sustainer Level Ticket: $350
Supported Level Ticket: $300
Instructor Bio - Peter Allen of Mastodon Valley Farm
Peter is an ecologist-turned-farmer that owns and operates Mastodon Valley Farm, a 220-acre regenerative farm in Southwestern Wisconsin where he has planted thousands of fruit and nut trees, and grazes cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, and poultry across their fertile valleys, steep hillsides, and restored native tallgrass prairie pastures, producing nutrient-dense meats which his farm sells in their meat CSA. He also built a traditional timber-framed house with the logs he hauled and milled on the farm where he and his wife Maureen have a busy homestead homeschooling their kids, gardening, milking a cow, and producing and preserving everything they need to thrive through the long Wisconsin winters. Peter combines his background with over a decade researching and teaching ecology, restoration, and complexity science in the University, together with a decade of running a regenerative farm to provide unique and effective consulting and educational opportunities, helping people design, build, and manage diverse, ecologically functional, and economically profitable agroecosystems. (Instagram: @mastodonvalleyfarm)