Course: Community Orcharding Course, London (Level 3 Certificate)
The Orchard Project
Join us in orchards and community gardens in North London to learn everything you need to know about creating and managing orchards, especially those with veteran trees. Our Certificate in Community Orcharding (CICO) is a unique course that combines high quality online learning with 7 action-packed, face-to-face training days. You will learn from orchard experts at a range of venues in and around Barnet, topping up your learning at home with over 100 high-quality, online learning resources.
Our Level 3 course is accredited by CFI Awarding and you will be supported in your learning by our warm and inclusive team. We’ve been running this training since 2017 and it’s been hugely successful, with over 300 students becoming certified orchardists. This course will be called CICO18.
What can I gain from this course?
The course covers:
- Tree identification, physiology and taxonomy
- Tree planting, pruning and grafting
- Veteran tree care
- Apple identification
- Soil science and fertility
- Successful orchard management – group work
- Holistic orchard management, including biodiversity, pests, & disease
Many of our students already work or would like to work in the horticultural sector in roles such as rangers, community garden managers or horticultural therapists. Not only will this course give you skills and experience needed to help you progress, but you’ll also benefit from being part of our welcoming and knowledgeable orcharding network.
“There is a real sense of community and support within our group of teachers and students alike, something I’ve found invaluable.” Jack
“I have done some marking for The Orchard Project and also have a client booked in to prune their fruit tree. Found BOTH these opportunities through The Orchard Project.” Mirjam
“I’m now a project manager at a Forest Garden and I could not have got this job without my CICO experience.” Bethany
“This is the best course I’ve ever done!” Franki
What to expect
To introduce the training platform, give a course overview and set the first homework, you should attend one of these Zoom meetings:
- Wed 16 Sep, 18:00-19:30 Introductory Zoom 1 OR
- Sun 20 Sep, 16:00-17:30 Introductory Zoom 2
Face-to-face elements
You must attend all the face-to-face training days to be able to gain the Certificate. These take place on Saturdays, 10:00-16:00, apart from the November and December dates, which start and finish later.
- Sat 10 Oct 2026 – Orchard intro, botany, fruit formation, tree id – Barnet Environment Centre
- Sat 7 Nov – Successful group work – One Stonegrove (11:00-17:00)
- Sat 5 Dec – Soil fertility and structure – One Stonegrove (11:00-17:00)
- Sat 9 Jan 2027 – Maintenance pruning and tree planting – date and venue tbc
- Sat 13 Feb – Veteran tree evaluation and pruning – Oakhill College
- Sat 13 Mar – Whip and tongue grafting and orchard care programmes – Clitterhouse Community Garden
- Sat 15 May – Pests and diseases and biodiversity – Hendon Tiny Orchard
Online elements
45 films and narrated PowerPoints (with subtitles), 26 interactive quizzes and 33 downloadable PDFs. The training platform will be available in early September and for a year after it finishes. All of our resources are unique and produced by us or in collaboration with our experts.
As well as attending this course, you might find it helpful to buy our course book or our orchard design kit.
Workload
To support the online materials and the face-to-face training, you’ll have access to our friendly tutors and of course, your fellow students. This will help you stay on top of the work, which includes 13 pieces of homework, nine assessed quizzes and six practical in-class assessments. On average you can expect a couple of pieces of homework a month and will need to allow at least two hours a week to prepare for each training day. NB: There are two pieces of homework to complete before the course starts.
This course is about as difficult as doing an A level, but we can be flexible about the way we assess your work. We are experienced at accommodating students facing barriers to their learning or assessment. If the accreditation is not for you, you can attend without being assessed for the Certificate and will still gain plenty of knowledge and benefit from being part of the group.
Cost
Early bird tickets only available until 20 August – save up to £150
- £1,300 (Standard Early Bird) Full course, with accreditation. Pay by instalments available – see below.
- £929 (Concessionary Early Bird) Full course, with accreditation. Pay by instalments available – see below.
- £929 (Unaccredited Early Bird) Full course, without accreditation. Pay by instalments available – see below.
- Free (eight available) These places are sponsored by City Bridge Foundation and are open to Londoners who are unemployed, economically inactive or on low income (below £20,000 p.a). Once you have applied for one of the free places we will assess your application and prioritise people who are also from a minoritised group and/or aged 18-30. To apply, select the ‘Free CBT’ ticket and fill out the booking form. The deadline for applications is midnight on Tue 18 Aug and we’ll let you know if you have been successful by Wed 19 August.
Concessionary places: For those who are unemployed, economically inactive or on low income (below £20,000 p.a.).
Pay-by-instalments: If you wish to pay-by-instalments please contact [email protected] prior to booking this ticket.
- Standard (£1,300) You will need to pay an initial deposit of £260 then set up a monthly standing order of £130 for 8 months, starting in September 2026 and ending in April 2027.
- Concessionary & unaccredited tickets (£929). You will need to pay an initial deposit of £169 then set up a monthly standing order of £95 for 8 months, starting in September 2026 and ending in April 2027.
Should you decide to leave the course early you are still required to make all remaining payments.
Cancellation policy
- Full refund if cancelled 14 days before the course starts.
- Zero refund if cancelled less than 14 days before the course starts. More information on cancellations and transfers.
Please contact [email protected] if you have any other queries.