Séan O'Farrell

Depending on the class, this workshop will focus on subjects such as landscape history, geology, soil formation, soil physical, chemical and biological characteristics. The focus will also be on above and below ground biodiversity relationships, soil fertility and nutrient rich food. The linkages to water infiltration, water holding capacity and climate change resilience will be clearly demonstrated.

I use some props to facilitate the knowledge transfer on these topics. These can be a bowl of soil with multiple plant species growing in it and then also a household sponge to demonstrate water infiltration, water holding capacity and climate resilience.

The next part of this workshop deals with ecological strategies to manage pests and these include crop rotation, companion planting, minimum till, cover crops, pollinator friendly plants to attract predators of the pests.

We finish with a display of organic produce, vegetables and meats. We relate this to food miles, sustainability and low carbon living.

This workshop is a journey through energy flow from the sun through the primary producers, the primary, secondary and tertiary consumers and of course the decomposers. We explore food chains, demonstrate the concept of ecological food webs and the different pyramid of numbers. We investigate predator/prey relationships and also factors that control a population.