Come on a mini-beast safari and learn more about the creatures, who may call your garden home.

Pest control becomes easy when you change your perspective from having a garden to having an ecosystem. Develop understanding of population dynamics and pest predator interactions and how nature corrects imbalances.

Look at how common pests can be managed with minimal effort. Improve the resilience of your garden through making a few small changes or implementing a simple project or two. Explore how flowers can increase the resilience of your garden, as well as appreciating their aesthetics. Bring along samples from your own garden for identification and discussion.

Topics:

Good vs bad bugs
Population ecology
Building resilient garden ecosystems
Flowers for attracting beneficial insects
Pest control methods
Queensland fruit fly

This workshop involves a combination of theory in a classroom setting, demonstrations and hands-on practical activities including:

Exploring my six acre property to discover and identify some of the wildlife and insects
A garden tour to look at some of the specific plants and methods used to increase garden ecosystem resilience

Thank you Duncan for a very inspiring workshop. It’s great to see your passion and enthusiasm yet again. Who would have thought that garden pest control could be so easy ?! An amazing sunny day made the hunt for bugs in your vegetable garden even more enjoyable.

Michele G

Workshop participant

By the end of the class you will have a greater understanding of the ecology of your garden. This underpinning knowledge is important for all aspects of gardening. You’ll never look at ‘pests’ the same way again!

What to Bring:

Enthusiasm for learning
Your lunch
Water bottle
Notebook and pen
Closed toed, practical shoes (consider bringing gumboots)
Appropriate Clothing as Kyneton can be cold and wet in autumn
Any insects or bugs from your garden that you wish to identify or chat about (actual specimens in a jar, or photos of specimens)

About the facilitator

I’m Duncan Cocking and I’ve been growing fruit and vegetables since I was four years old. I support others to grow food and reconnect with nature through my business Leaf, Root & Fruit. I'm passionate about reconnecting you to nature via gardening. I write about growing food and living sustainably. I'm a cool-temperate gardener and permaculture educator with 12 years of experience hosting workshops.

During my classes, I focus on the science behind how gardens grow. This gives you an understanding of the built-in resilience of plants. Rather than always finding problems to fix with sprays and other products, you will have a renewed focus on relaxing, observing your garden, and enjoying it. Understanding “why” minimises the amount of work you have to do in your garden.

“Fabulous workshop. You know your material so well and are able to deliver it in easily digestible form. I learned things I didn’t realise I needed to know. I loved having the science explained to counter some of the gardening folklore I’ve accepted without questioning…”

Wendy P.

Workshop participant

About the facilities

In 2019 my young family and I moved from Melbourne to make a tree change to Kyneton, a small town 80 km north-west of the city in Victoria, Australia. Since then, I have been busy developing a permaculture-inspired garden ecosystem.

The property has an onsite classroom, with heating supplied by a wood burner. A split system acts as a back-up source of heating and cooling. The light filled, colourful classroom is kitted out with a large screen for running presentations (I promise that these presentations are almost entirely pictures and rarely contain words). The classroom has basic tea and coffee making facilities, ample car parking and a dedicated toilet.

My demonstration orchard contained within a netted enclosure provides opportunities for workshop participants to explore all aspects of growing fruit trees, and contains many examples of espaliered trees. I have designed and planted an extensive berry patch, market garden beds and edible forest gardens. The kitchen garden demonstrates food growing in a more typical backyard setting.

Participants from all over the state attend our workshops. I look forward to hosting you at this exciting event.

Cancellation Policy:

If the workshop cannot go ahead due to unforeseen circumstances then an alternative date will be scheduled and participants will be given the option to attend on the new date or accept a full refund. Otherwise, to maintain viability of these workshops, there are strictly no refunds. Thanks for your understanding.

Natural Pest Control Made Easy