ECO Workshop offers course on edible landscaping

Press release
from the Environmental & Conservation Organization – Hendersonville

(HENDERSONVILLE, NC, February 23, 2013) – Looking for an investment with a great return? It may be no further away than your own yard. Fruit and nut trees offer valuable nutrition, save hundreds of dollars and provide a wonderful habitat for birds and other animals. Join ECO, the Environmental and Conservation Organization and permaculture designer and Useful Plants Nursery founder Chuck Marsh in a workshop on Tuesday, March 19th to discuss investing in your land which will bear fruit for your kitchen and your pocketbook.

Chuck Marsh will offer inspiring, yet simple and practical ways to transform your gas guzzling lawn and tired old yard into a highly productive edible ecosystem. You can create, starting right outside the kitchen door, your own “garden of eatin’” that conserves water and energy while providing you and your family with fresh, nutritious, fruits, vegetables, medicinal plants, and urban livestock. This workshop will get you off on the right foot toward designing your way home again.

According to Marsh, “One of the things our community lost during the industrialization of agriculture is the sense of community that comes from growing and sharing food. We also lost the resilience that comes from becoming more self-sufficient and the substantial cost savings when food comes from the yard or neighborhood rather than from stores that sell food from thousands of miles away. One of the most economically sound and environmentally safe ways to protect our family and our community is through developing orchards that can survive for 150 or more years, produce 150-300 pounds of fruit a year when its mature, offering thousands of dollars in dividends with a small initial investment.”

*** SPECIAL OFFER ***
Participants at the Workshop can order fruit and nut trees prior to the workshop and pick them up at the workshop. These plants are grown without the use of synthetic pesticides at the nursery located at Earthaven Ecovillage. Contact Useful Plants Nursery at 828-669-6517 or visit the web site: http://www.usefulplants.org.

Chuck Marsh is a long time bioregional inhabitant, permaculture teacher, designer, and consultant, and elder activist. He is a co-founder of Earthaven ecovillage, the founder of Useful Plants Nursery, senior partner in Living Systems Design group, and all round advocate for cultural transformation.

This class is offered by advanced registration only and a $15 registration fee is required. The course is scheduled for Tuesday, March 19 at 6:30 PM. The workshop will be held at the ECO Conference Room, 121 Third Ave West, Suite 4, in downtown Hendersonville. To register, contact ECO 692-0385 or register online at www.eco-wnc.org.