The Change Makers Tasmania & Sustainable Living Tasmania present:

The Permaculture Orchard: Beyond Organic

A feature-length educational film that will teach you how to set up your own permaculture orchard at any scale.  Based on 20 years of applied theory and trial and error, biologist and educator Stefan Sobkowiak shares his experience transforming a conventional apple orchard into an abundance of biodiversity that virtually takes care of itself. The concepts, techniques and tips presented in this film will help you with your own project, whether it is just a few fruit trees in your urban backyard, or a full-scale multi-acre commercial orchard.

Stefan Sobkowiak

Trained as a biologist and landscape architect, Stefan has taught fruit production, landscape plants and design, and natural history of vertebrates at Montreal’s McGill University. He owned a landscape design firm for 20 years, developing hundreds of projects for private, institutional and municipal clients. He’s been teaching permaculture in Quebec since 1995. Stefan is the owner of Miracle Farms since 1993.

Film contents

• creating habitat for birds / pollinators
• natural pest control techniques
• the trio system / plant combinations
• the shrub + herbaceous layers
• seed planting of annuals
• planting fruit trees / drainage considerations
• tree training vs. pruning
• grafting / overgrafting
• starting your own trees vs. buying trees
• mulch options with a focus on plastic mulch and why/how
• drip irrigation
• the importance of cultivar selection
• the grocery aisle concept
• spraying / fungi control
• tree protection
• frost protection

This screening is part of 'The Change Makers Tasmania Documentary Festival', an itinerant festival that brings documentaries to community organisations to inspire positive change. Find out more at thechangemakers.com.au