Talking Old Growth Food Forests on the Urban Farm Podcast
"Humans are massive creators of diversity if only we re-harness that stewardship."
-Zach Loeks
Zach's NEW book!
This book is Edible Ecosystem Design in a nutshell!
"Our communities are full of under-utilized space that we can turn into an edible abundant place."
-Zach Loeks
Testimonials
Resilience in an increasingly uncertain future demands that most of our food must be grown locally. Zach Loeks provides an approach that will be vital in a warming world.
David Suzuki
Edible Ecosystem Design
Edible Ecosystem Design maximizes the understanding of natural systems to improve garden, farm and landscape management. Homes, homesteads, farms and communities can benefit from the beauty, cost-savings, and bounty of these whole system designs.
Eco-Education Sites
Eco-education Sites
Loeks Design specializes in consulting with groups and organizations for the design an install of Eco-education sites. These include edible landscapes with educational signage on bike lanes, waterfronts, schools, community parks, and arboretums.
Designed using Site-Suitable Plants
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Books & More
Skill Building
A regular column with garden advice for home gardeners and commercial growers.
Farm Design
How to build a farm from scratch to be holistic, regenerative, and profitable.
Speaking & Hands-on Workshops
Zach works with groups large and small and brings his passion and knowledge to speaking engagements with in-depth discussions of food security, organic gardening, ecosystem design, and more. His Keynotes address topics from climate change, landscape regeneration, community design, and more.
Virtual Education
Zach is the key educator at EcosystemU, offering virtual workshops to build your garden savvy and improve your ecosystem education with practical skill-building. EcosystemU offers exclusive intro courses, intensives and certifications. These workshops engage the audience to build experience in practical skills such as orchard planting, property layout and building gardens from scratch.
Download 2021/21 Speaking Topics >>
about
Zach is an educator, designer and grower who specializes in Edible Ecosystem Design through landscaping and education. He consults widely with homes, farms, colleges, schools and municipalities across Canada and the United States, and through many biomes from Guatemala and South Africa to the Yukon and Mongolia.
Zach manages an award-winning farm with diversified food forest products, heirloom garlic, and a hardy tree nursery. His innovations have won three provincial awards and are featured in his first book: The Permaculture Market Garden.
Zach is the director of the Ecosystem Solution Institute, which is dedicated to the education, propagation and inspiration of ecosystem solutions for land use transition. The Institute oversees pathbreaking education sites, including an Edible Biodiversity Conservation Area near Ottawa, Ontario and a suburban food forest in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Zach is passionate about how small actions - strategically linked - can make big change. His inspiring and empowering vision is presented in his latest book: The Edible Ecosystem Solution.
Seeding Solutions for Change!
Zach Loeks is the director of The Ecosystem Solution Institute (ESI), which is dedicated to food security, community well-being, and societal resilience. Its mission is to seed solutions for change-makers through education, propagation, and inspiration.
Our research and designs focus on understanding the relationships between site-suitable plants, landscapes, tools & equipment, biodiversity and community development.