New Naturalism Academy
The New Naturalism Academy is an educational experience developed by planting designer Kelly D. Norris.
The Academy is a virtual school offering two courses annually in addition to webinars that expand conversations at the intersection of horticulture and ecology.
Courses
Registration for the Winter 2024 Cohort is now closed.
Click here to sign-up for future announcements.
In this engaging workshop in horticultural ecology, built from over a decade of research and practice, you will learn about wild plant communities and landscape ecology while developing an understanding of dynamic, natural design and gardening strategies.
By adopting systems thinking, we will explore what designing and gardening can look like when you tap into the power of planting with place. You’ll gain insights from the scientific literature into horticultural practices that will guide you to cultivate natural gardens rich with life, beauty, and interest. The course offers an in-depth exploration of ecological planting design and landscape management. You will learn how to develop site-specific, regionally appropriate plant palettes and how to apply them to a home landscape regardless of where you live and garden.
You will complete the course with a new framework for how to approach planting design and gardening with an ecological mindset. This course emphasizes the residential footprint and is designed for landscape professionals, garden designers, and keen home gardeners.
Winter Cohort
“The course offers a thorough overview of how ecological landscape design can be defined, what differentiates it from more conventional design approaches, and why to use it. It completely rotated my view of landscape design, offering a richer and more nuanced perspective on long-term solutions. I highly recommend it to any garden enthusiast or professional.”
Course Content
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Consider this session as the pacesetter for the rest of the course, examining contemporary and emerging trends in horticulture, ecology and design while also addressing the many issues facing landscapes in a climate-uncertain future. We will develop a common vocabulary around fundamental concepts employed throughout the course, defining the nature of place and the ecological garden as the setpoints in our journey.
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The place you live or practice should be at the forefront of any decision about the landscape. The nature of place and its legacy informs what kind of landscape is possible and what plants will thrive given those circumstances. Place is not a limiting factor, but a grounding one. Understanding how to read its features, decode its typology and recognize the fingerprints of disturbance leads to a more cogent approach to designing and planting. Finally, we’ll consider in discussion how places change, particularly in response to human activities and how these changes inform our gardening.
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In this session, I will define the planting approach elaborated in the remainder of the course: to translate the experience of plants in wild communities from intimate clues that inform their usage in the landscape. Through investigations of real-world floristic surveys, we will dissect wild plant communities to better understand their composition. We will also interpret spatial patterns that become helpful for imagining plantings at almost any scale.
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These chapters translate plant biology and ecology into actionable, fundamental steps towards creating gardens rich in function, structure, and content. We will explore both horticultural and ecological techniques that can apply to new and existing plantings focusing on so-called assembly rules for designing plant communities. Building on systems thinking, these insights will encourage you to let plants take the lead and to intervene only for the greater benefit of the garden. I want you to design and plant for growth and change, not simply a singular aesthetic result. The goal is to encourage thinking of gardens as dynamic communities instead of static assemblages of plants that each need individual care. We will also discuss the differences between traditional and contemporary styles of gardening that have net consequences on the amount of time required to be successful or how to achieve their intended result.
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In the final session, I riff on how to garden a wilder space after you’ve designed and planted it (or begin to reduce inputs and management of existing garden spaces). Your relationship to the landscape is the central, long-term engine of the garden’s evolution. We will explore systems thinking as it relates to practical gardening and landscape management, placing an emphasis on resource consciousness. In closing, we’ll take a summative look at various modes of planting discussed throughout the course and the inputs required for gardening them over time.
Course Benefits
Tuition of $349 USD includes:
Six, live modules (12 contact hours) with an expert instructor and active practitioner in ecological landscape theory, design, and management.
Includes access to all course materials (video recordings of presentations, bonus videos, assignments, supplemental documents, and master resource list) for 3 months after the final session.
Bonus “midterm” discussion period. Date and time TBD based on poll of attendees.
Interaction opportunities with instructor and other course participants during each session.
A discount code for 5% off any order(s) at Izel Native Plants. Discount code available after the start of class and combinable with Izel’s published volume discounts, for total discounts of 25% or more!
12 Continuing Education Units available to Association for Professional Landscape Designer (APLD) members!
Testimonials
“I've taken horticulture and garden design classes but the New Naturalism Academy with Kelly Norris stood out! His approach made me shift my thinking and gain a fuller understanding and appreciation of what an ecological garden is. The in-depth workshops were rich in material and insights, both practical and theoretical. I also appreciated how Kelly really took the time to make sure all of our questions were answered. Overall, incredibly inspiring and educational!" -- Claudia Babcock, @nativeplantsinbrooklyn
“I loved this class! I came in a purist, my goal an overwhelming task to only plant natives in my designs in an area completely transformed by agriculture. I was depressed by the fact that it could never be completely restored to how it was before it had been disturbed. I found a new perspective with your class. It will never be the way it was but it can still have a native base and be amazing, both a habitat for wildlife and beautiful. You have given me hope and tons of new ideas! Thank you.” -- Kara Woodward
“This class and supporting book changed the way I view gardening and gardens…Every person that absorbs this approach and acts on it, will help create a more supportive, stable and, of course, more beautiful space.” -- Kristyna Culp
“I want to thank you all for the terrific class this past spring… It was a terrific series and speaks to so much of what I love in landscapes and am curious about.” -- Leslie Findlen, Brooklyn Botanic Garden
“I was passionate about making a positive impact on my landscape environment but didn’t know where to start. Kelly’s class gave me the knowledge and how-to steps for creating a naturalistic planting. From site prep, to selecting the plant palette, to implementation of the final design and long-term management, he covered it all. I am in my first year of my wildflower meadow and already seeing not only great beauty, but also an explosion of wildlife as well!” -- Dean D.
“This course changed the way I garden!” -- Leah M.
“If you are looking to start naturalistic design or further your knowledge within this topic, then this is the course for you. While short, it is filled with great resources and Kelly is an amazing instructor.” -- Spring 2023 Cohort Participant
“Kelly's knowledge and enthusiasm about ecological planting techniques is astounding and engaging! Anyone who designs, owns, or cares for land can learn how to truly partner with nature to create beneficial (and beautiful) wild landscapes.” -- Spring 2023 Cohort Participant
“I absolutely loved Kelly's New Naturalism Academy course. Each class was chock full of useful and pertinent information. Learning new design perspectives and how to implement them as a garden designer was priceless. I'll be using many of Kelly's techniques in my designs and installations moving forward. Kelly's knowledge is unsurpassed and his charming charisma makes his teachings even more enjoyable! I'm looking forward to taking more courses from Kelly in the future.” -- Spring 2023 Cohort Participant
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is this class for?
The course addresses ecological gardening in a residential footprint (i.e. it's about the methods of planting ecologically at home). Whether you live or work in a home-based garden, this course is for you! Participants always come to the course with a wide range of experiences, including seasoned hobbyists and professionals continuing their education.
Will this class guide me in developing a design for my property?
The course teaches a fundamental framework based on research and practice with many examples for how to creatively plan and plant an ecological garden. The course is not meant to be a personalized design development experience. Instead, you will learn principles, strategies, and methods that you can synthesize and apply to projects of any size.
I don’t live in North America. Will I find the course relevant?
The course is based on fundamental principles of plant ecology that apply across environments and geography. While the majority of images used to support the course content are from North America and Europe, the principles and strategies of building place-driven plant palettes apply to anywhere. Past cohorts have included participants from 10 countries.
What is required as a participant?
The course is designed around live broadcasts and discussion because we feel spontaneity and interaction adds to the depth of the educational experience. The assignments and readings are released each week to pace the material alongside the lectures. The assignments aren’t strenuous nor are they graded. They can become tools to utilize in your gardening or design practice.
I can't participate in all of the live sessions, but will recordings be available?
Yes! Each two-hour session will be recorded and available in the Members Area of the website for three months after the last night of class, giving you plenty of time to watch, re-watch and catch-up on all the good discussion that will happen at the end of every class.
Refund and Cancellation Policy
Kelly D. Norris, LLC provides the following no-questions asked, money back guarantee governed by the following terms.
If a refund is requested after participant registration is processed, the maximum refund amount available is $349.
To claim a refund, you must request your money back within 10 days of the start of the course or no later than January 26, 2024.
You may request your money back by emailing office@kellydnorris.com. Please include the name and email associated with the purchase and, if possible, the date of your purchase.
Upon determining that you are entitled to a refund pursuant to this policy, Kelly D. Norris, LLC will promptly issue an instruction to its payment processor to issue the refund. Kelly D. Norris, LLC does not control its payment processor and will not be able to expedite any refunds.
If you receive a refund, you will lose online access to the course material.
Additionally, Kelly D. Norris, LLC reserves the right to cancel the course before the start of the class for any all reasons within or beyond their control. In the case of such event, a representative will notify participants of cancellation via e-mail and receive a full refund of $349. Kelly D. Norris, LLC will not be held responsible for any expenses incurred by participants due to the cancellation of the course.