Growing Forest Botanicals - IC

Are you a land steward or someone who advises them and wants to learn more about forest farming? Is so, join Interlace Commons, Wild Hudson Valley and Little Hogback Farm for a one-day intensive.

Forest farming, an ancient form of agroforestry, involves growing medicinal, edible, decorative, and craft crops under the canopy of a forest. This practice is utilized as a conservation and production management strategy that can enhance forested landscapes by planting botanical species that can produce future income from the resulting harvests. Additionally, it can improve forest health by increasing plant diversity, supporting wildlife habitat, and reducing the impact of harvesting wild non-timber forest products (NTFPs).

The increasing interest in agroforestry among land managers has created a greater need for knowledge exchange. Join us to learn about the principles, design considerations, benefits, and potential challenges of cultivating forest botanicals.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the foundations of forest farming

• Learn to assess a forest site for botanical production

• Identify forest botanical crops and their requirements

• Learn cultivation techniques

• Learn how to manage forest botanical systems over time

• Understand what ethical and legal stewardship means

This workshop is organized by the following organizations:

Interlace Commons, a nonprofit focused on education and research, with a goal of expanding agroforestry throughout the Northeastern United States.

Wild Hudson Valley is a forest farm and educational organization with a mission to inspire learning and build connection through shared experiences in nature, history, and wild foods. Through their diverse programming, Eco Camp weekends, Wild Harvest Boxes, and native plant seed and nursery stock, the goal is to connect the past with the present and inspire others to become stewards of our planet. 

Little Hogback Farm is an 800-tap maple sugaring operation nestled in the Green Mountains of Vermont. The farm specializes in sustainable forest management to produce the highest-quality 100% Pure Vermont maple syrup, maple sugar, and maple confections.