Foodscaping Our Cities
Join us for an in-depth look at the benefits of foodscaping in suburban and urban enviornments!
Our local suburban and urban landscapes are currently filled with lush green grass, ornamental shrubs and malnourished populations. On Wed., Oct.8 and Thurs., Oct. 9, join Matt Lebon of Custom FoodScaping and Jeremy Lekich of Nashville Foodscapes for an in-depth look at how foodscaping in our region can transform traditional ornamental gardens into food oases full of edible landscaping, food forests, community orchards and more!
Foodscaping Our Cities Lecture
Wed., Oct. 8 | 6 – 8 p.m.
Phipps Botany Lecture Hall
$25 members | $30 nonmembers
The Foodscaper envisions cities full of edible landscaping, food forests, community orchards, pollinator-attracting gardens, water-harvesting landscapes and communities nourished on locally grown fruits and vegetables. This presentation will share the work that is being done to achieve this vision and all that remains to make our cities more vibrant, bountiful and healthy.
One-Day Foodscaping Workshop
Thurs., Oct. 9 | 8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Phipps Special Events Hall
$200 members before Sept. 9; $230 after Sept. 9
$225 nonmembers before Sept. 9; $255 after Sept. 9
Spend the day with Matt Lebon of Custom FoodScaping and Jeremy Lekich of Nashville Foodscapes for an in-depth look at how to transform traditional ornamental gardens into food oases. From growing vegetables to adding native perennial food crops, learn how adding food to a landscape can be beautiful and more sustainable. Of course, water can be a limiting factor; learn how to use rainwater to nourish and irrigate the landscape.
This program is geared towards avid home gardeners and landscape professionals, including but not limited to master gardeners, landscape designers, landscape architects and horticulturists.
Course Objectives: By the end of the course, participants should be able to:
- Share design ideas with clients for incorporating foodscaping elements into your projects and future offerings.
- Plant confidently with proven foodscaping plants for our climate.
- Gain new strategies for thoughtfully managing rainwater in ecological landscapes.
Scroll down to view the workshop schedule!
Workshop Schedule
8:30 – 9:30 a.m.
Highlight of Past Projects
This class will offer a showcase of the various projects foodscaping can bring to our communities. We’ll take attendees on a tour of foodscape projects, residential and commercial, and share some of the stories behind the landscapes.
9:45 – 10:45 a.m.
Raised Bed Garden Design
The trend of raised garden beds is growing quickly. There is a great opportunity for ecological landscapers to incorporate raised beds into the landscape. In this presentation, we’ll talk about many tips for success in designing and building a raised bed garden.
11 a.m. – Noon
Going Beyond the Garden
Once you get people excited about growing vegetables, a whole can of worms opens up—strawberries, blackberries, grapes, mushrooms, asparagus and so much more! There is a whole world of easy-to-integrate fruits, fungi and edible perennials that can seamlessly integrate into a veggie garden periphery or an existing ecological landscape. This class will walk you through crops, design considerations and how to find success.
Noon – 12:45 p.m.
Lunch Break
12:45 – 1:45 p.m.
Edible Landscaping – The Plants That Make It Possible
Many folks are discouraged from growing edibles because they don’t know which plants do well in our climate or they're worried about pest and disease issues. This lesson will walk you through the plants that do well in our climate and leave you with numerous ideas for easy-to-grow fruits and edible perennials. In addition, this class will cover hardy, edible plants that thrive where others struggle, helping you transform neglected corners into productive, resilient landscapes.
2 – 3 p.m.
Rain Catchment and Water Management
Water can be one of the most challenging forces on a site—but with careful observation and thoughtful design, it can become one of your greatest assets. This class covers both passive and active strategies for managing rainwater, including cistern systems, swales and berms, rain gardens and dry creek beds. Learn how to use rainwater to nourish and irrigate the landscape, as well as prevent erosion.
Meet the Instructors
Matt Lebon
Matt Lebon is most passionate about creating magical food moments. He is driven by the belief that food connects us all. By cultivating food crops with a reverence for Mother Earth he believes we can begin to heal our bodies and the land. Matt got his start with farming as a Peace Corps volunteer in Paraguay, where he was initially bit by the gardening bug. He went on to study ecological design and work on several farms. For five seasons Matt worked at the EarthDance Organic Farm School. Now with Custom Foodscaping, Matt is a practitioner and designer of edible landscapes and gardens
Jeremy Lekich
Jeremy Lekich was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee by two hippy parents who fostered a sense of reverence in him for the more-than-human environment. He received a Bachelor of Science from Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, North Carolina (near Asheville) and majored in biology, where he focused on plants and systems design. During this time, he also got a Permaculture Design Certificate and, more importantly, he was introduced to the magic of the forest and all the wondrous wild edible and medicinal plants that are our neighbors. In 2010, Jeremy founded Nashville Foodscapes and in 2014, Jeremy co-founded Compost Nashville. As of January 2021, Nashville Foodscapes became a worker-owned cooperative. Jeremy is a community resilience enthusiast and believes in the power of a localized economy and an inspired, well-fed community. Nashville Foodscapes is a full-service design/build foodscaping company. Our mission is to cultivate biodiverse and nourishing landscapes in Middle Tennessee. As a worker-owned cooperative, we practice just and abundant relationships to food, land, and labor. We strive to honor the past, improve the present, and embrace our responsibility to the future.
More Events You’ll Enjoy
-
Garden Railroad: The Age of Dinosaurs
Opening Sat., Oct. 4
Journey to the prehistoric with miniature dinosaurs from the Mesozoic! -
Native Plants of Southwestern Pennsylvania and Their Bird Associates and Pollinators
Now Open
Enjoy beautiful illustrations of the native plants and their fellow pollinators of southwestern Pennsylvania! -
Story Time
WEDNESDAYS; 10:30 A.M. AND 1 P.M.
Kids will love visiting Phipps to listen to our storyteller weave tales about gardens, animals and other fun topics. Open to the first 40 ticketed participants (whether children or guardians) and must be booked in advance using our online ticketing system.
REGISTRATION REQUIRED
