Starts: April 22nd, 2023

The first module of this course focuses on the restoration of natural ecosystems, meaning, ecosystems that are predominantly reserved for more than human life.

Over the month, you will learn about the causes of degradation (social, political, economic, ecological) to different natural ecosystems (ecosystems that are predominantly for non-human use) around the world. You will then be able to describe specifically how these causes of degradation arise.

You will be able to explain techniques used for restoring natural ecosystems such as temperate forests, tropical forests, deserts and oceans, by learning from practitioners that have been involved in the restoration of these ecosystem using specific case studies. You will also be able to analyse why the restoration of these ecosystems are not happening at the speed and scale needed. In addition, you will be able to evaluate ideas for how to overcome these barriers and start gathering information on how to create your own basic restoration plan.

The four teachers for this module are Alan Watson Featherstone from Trees for Life, who will be teaching you about his work of restoring the ancient Caledonian Forest in Scotland. John Button will teach you about his work to restore a tropical rainforest in India. Neal Spackman will walk you through how to restore deserts, with an example from Saudi Arabia, and Celia Gregory will share her work on restoring coral reefs. Each teacher teaches one lesson, with one lesson per week for the month.

Sarts: June 24th, 2023

Module two focuses on the restoration of agricultural ecosystems. After taking this module, you will be able to explain the techniques used in four different agricultural ecosystem restoration projects and methods from around the world.

You will be able to list several causes of land degradation (social, political, economic, ecological reasons), experienced by practitioners who have worked on these projects and with these methods. You will learn about the techniques they used to restore these agri-ecosystems, such as agroforestry, holistic grazing, regenerative ocean agriculture and permaculture solutions. 

After taking this module you will be able to explain the basics of these techniques for restoring land, discussing specific case studies. You will be able to compare the differences between agroforestry and other techniques used.

You will be able to analyse why restoration of agricultural land is not happening at the speed and scale needed, and what can be done to overcome these barriers.

You should then be able to take these learnings and apply them to your own restoration design.

The four teachers in this module are Patrick Worms from the World Agroforestry Centre, who will be teaching you about how agroforestry can be used to restore degraded landscapes and economies around the world. Rhamis Kent from the Permaculture Research Institute, will be sharing his story about how permaculture principles are being used to revive arid landscapes in Jordan. Precious Phiri from the Savoury Institute will be teaching you about how to restore landscapes using holistic grazing, and Joost Wouters from the Seaweed Company will be teaching you about powers of regenerative ocean agriculture. Each teacher teaches one lesson, with one lesson per week for the month.

Starts: August 26th, 2023

Module three focuses on restoring landscapes within urban environments. After this module you will be able to list the reasons why urbanisation is problematic for landscape health, and some of the reasons why ecosystems in cities are often degraded. You will learn directly from restoration designers who have restored urban landscapes themselves, using a range of techniques.

After taking this module you will be able to explain the basics of these techniques for restoring ecosystems in urban areas, discussing specific case studies.

You will be able to analyse why restoration of urban land is not happening at the speed and scale needed, and what can be done to overcome these barriers.

You will be able to take these learnings and apply them to your own restoration design.

The four teachers in this module are Lisa Shaw from Biomatrix Water, who will be teaching you about how to restore urban waterways with floating gardens and wildlife habitats. She is then followed by Daan Bleichrocht from IVN who started the Tiny Forest movement in the Netherlands.

Rishi Kumar who is the Executive Director of Sarvodaya Institute will then take you through urban garden design, how to transform suburban gardens into thriving edible ecosystems.

And lastly, Daniel Valdiviezo from Navi Village will teach you about how to build sustainable homes that regenerate the land around them, using resources in a circular way.

Each teacher teaches one lesson, with one lesson per week for the month.

Starts: October 28th, 2023

Module four focuses on business models that financially support and sustain the restoration of ecosystems. In this module, you will learn about why regenerative business models are needed, how they work, how to create a business model canvas, and learn directly from several regenerative businesses through examples. From these businesses you will learn what they do, how their business models work, what has been challenging for them when running their business, and how their businesses have been trying to overcome these challenges.

After taking this module you should be able to explain why our current mode of business is unsustainable, what the 4 returns framework means, what a business model canvas is and how to create your own. You should be able to create some income generating ideas for your own ecosystem restoration project that you will conduct as part of module 5. 

The teachers for this module are Simon Moolenaar from Commonland, who will teach you about Commonland’s 4 returns framework, Thomas Daneill from Old Tree, a fermented drinks business that creates diverse botanical ecosystems and sources his ingredients from them, Wil Crombie from Tree Range Chicken, a chicken company that creates agri forests to return chickens to the woods, and Ashleigh Brown from Ecosystem Restoration Camps, who will teach you about the income models the camps movement uses. Each teacher teaches one lesson, with one lesson per week for the month.

In this practical section, you will choose an ecosystem that is close to your heart and your home. Somewhere you really care about, that is damaged, and that you would like to restore. The task in module 5 is to create a basic ecological restoration plan, that includes a design, a budget, and a plan for how the work is going to be funded.

Full of new inspiration and information from modules 1-4, you will feel empowered to create a basic restoration design for your chosen ecosystem. This practical coursework should include a list of reasons as to why this ecosystem is degraded, taking the socio-economic, political, and ecological aspects into consideration. Tell us what that degradation looks like, then a list of techniques for how to improve ecosystem function at this site, and some income generating ideas to make the project happen.

You can also team up with fellow course participants in the same region or wishing to work on the same ecosystem as you, and do the coursework together.

You have a total of 2 months to complete module 5.