Production Swales Workshop
27 & 28 September 2025
with Richard Lee
Day one an overview of Permaculture theory with a focus on landform and managing water in the landscape. Outline of the theory behind Production Swales, including the composting methodology used as well as selecting the perennial species to plant.
On day two we will have a practical session marking out contours with an aim to establish a Production Swale.
Richard Lee is an experienced permaculture practitioner, completing his first Permaculture Design Certificate under originator Bill Mollison in the 1990’s. He has also studied under other Permaculture Leaders including David Holmgren, Haikai Tand and Geoff Lawton. He holds qualifications in Social Ecology, Organic Farming and has built a career designing and delivering community engagement programmes with a focus on ecological restoration, waste to resource capture and edible landscaping
Richard's passion for permaculture, composting and edible landscaping led him to develop the “Production Swale" concept as a means to establish subtropical Food Forests on several sites in Northland and Auckland. This composting method is designed to feed perennial crops directly where they are grown whilst minimising labour input.
Syntropic Agroforestry Workshop
18 & 19 October 2025
with Dan Kelly
How do we grow a food forest from scratch? How can we design it so that each plant gets what it needs to thrive?
In this workshop Dan Kelly will share his experience how you can grow trees, shrubs, vegetables and grasses together. You will learn the principles of syntropy and get practical guidance on how to plant your food forest in a way that balances diversity with ease of management. Utilising a game-based format, you’ll select your own combination of plants to design a food producing forest organised according to syntropy’s rules.
Come and find out how you can grow food in a way that isn’t just inspired by nature but actively makes it better.
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Dan has a background working on market gardens, he started forest gardening 5 years ago. He manages a number of forest gardens around Auckland the largest being at Papatuanuku Kokiri Marae in Mangere. He is a teaching fellow in the School of Psychology at the University of Auckland. Dan is passionate about increasing the understanding and spread of agroecological knowledge.
