The 28th Annual
(1/2 hour NE of Columbus)
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Mark L. Shepard
Consulting Agroforester
Forest Agriculture
Enterprises LLC
P.O. Box 24
Viola, WI 54664
608-627-TREE
Mark L. Shepard, is the owner and manager of New Forest Farms in Viola, WI. Established in 1995, New Forest Farm is a typical row-crop farm that has been converted to a perennial agricultural ecosystem using oak savannah, successional brushland, and eastern woodlands as the ecological models. Trees, shrubs, vines, canes, perennial plants, and fungi are planted in association with one another to produce food (for humans and animals), fuel, medicines, and beauty. Hazelnuts, chestnuts, walnuts, and various fruits are the primary woody crops. New Forest Farm is one of the first generation of permaculture farms in the USA, and was one of Wisconsin's original Organic Valley Farms.
Mark is a 1985 graduate of Unity College in Maine where he majored in Ecology. He and his wife, Jennifer, homesteaded in Alaska from 1986-1994 where their immersion in a self-reliant, ecological lifestyle was complete and intense. Mark was certified as a Permaculture designer in 1993 and his knowledge and skills have been used since then in his landscape design business and now in his permaculture and agroforestry consulting business,Forest Agriculture Enterprises.
Mark serves as the vice-president of the Southwest Badger Resource Conservation and Development Council, and was named the Wisconsin RC&D Council Member of the Year for 2006. He is a repeat guest and presenter at Stelle, and teaches agroforestry and permaculture across North America. Mark will be hosting a Permaculture Design Certification course at his farm this June.
Click here to learn more about
Mark's Permaculture Design Courses.
Today's mighty oak
is yesterday's nut that held its ground!
