Orcharding Management Certificate, Wisley
** Extended sign up until 14th May**
Join us at RHS Garden Wisley, one of the world’s great gardens, packed full of fascinating plants and inspiring landscapes, to learn everything you need to know about creating and managing orchards.
The Orchard Project's Certificate in Community Orcharding (CICO) is an incredible course that combines 10 action-packed, face-to-face training days with access to over 100 high-quality online learning resources.
RHS Garden Wisley is the flagship garden of the RHS an inspiring classroom for would-be orchardists and forest gardeners. We will be based in the new Greener Skills Garden, just a few minutes' walk from the beautiful veteran orchard, the World Food Garden, and other amazing attractions.
Our Level 3 course is accredited by Crossfields Institute 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 200 students becoming certified orchardists.
What can I gain from this course?
The course covers:
- Orchard survey and design
- Veteran tree care
- Apple identification
- Tree identification, physiology and taxonomy
- Tree planting, pruning and grafting
- Soil science and fertility
- Successful orchard management groups
- Holistic orchard management, including biodiversity, pests & disease
Many of our students already work or are planning 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 a career in this field, but you'll also benefit from being part of our welcoming and informative orcharding network.
"After CICO I worked at TOP for 6 months. I am now a freelancer working for a fruit and nut growing project in Birmingham." - Cath
"There is a real sense of community and support within our group of teachers and students alike, something I’ve found invaluable” - Jack
"Taking the [CICO] course helped me out professionally...After finishing the course, I obtained a job as an Estate Worker in a Hertfordshire park...Being able to talk about the course helped me out in the interview." - Gora
"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
"The Orchard Project CICO and the AFG courses were both excellent and I have recently highly recommended them to others I've met on other workshops and events. Inspired by the expertise and passion of the tutors and meeting other like-minded people from across the UK was a wonderfully enriching experience." - Hina
What to expect
Come to one of our introductory Zoom meetings to learn about the course structure, be shown around the online training platform, meet other students and get answers to any questions:
- Wed 22 Apr, 6pm to 7.30pm - introductory Zoom (recording available for late sign ups)
- Sun 26 Apr, 2.30pm to 4pm - introductory Zoom
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, 10am until 4pm, at RHS Garden Wisley:
- 16 May 2026 - Orchard intro: botany, fruit formation, history, culture
- 13 June - Biodiversity, pests, diseases, tree identification
- 18 July - Surveying land and designing an orchard
- 8 August - Summer pruning and chip bud grafting
- 26 September - Veteran orchards and biodiversity surveys
- 17 October - Soil science and fertility, surveying land
- 14 November - Veteran tree evaluation and pruning
- 5 December - Tree planting and pruning (formative and maintenance)
- 16 January 2027 - Orchard management groups that work well together
- 6 March - Rootstocks, whip and tongue grafting
Online elements
45 films and narrated PowerPoints (with subtitles), 26 interactive quizzes and 33 downloadable PDFs. The training platform will be available about a week before the course starts 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 17 pieces of homework, nine assessed quizzes and nine 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 the 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
- £2,100 (Standard) Full course, with accreditation. Pay by instalments available - see below.
- £1,500 (Concessionary) Full course, with accreditation. Pay by instalments available - see below.
- £1,500 (Unaccredited) Full course, without accreditation. Pay by instalments available - see below.
In addition we have three subsidised places for people who meet our funder's criteria.
- £250 (subsidised places - three available) access to full course with or without accreditation. Deadline to apply Mon 2nd March 2026. We have a small number of these places for people who are for unemployed, economically inactive or low income people (earning below £20,000 p.a) living in London or Surrey. The places for those in London are kindly supported by City Bridge Foundation. We will prioritise younger (under 24), BPOC and marginalised people. To apply, select the 'Subsidised CBT' ticket in the booking form. We will assess your application and let you know by Tuesday 10 March whether or not you have been successful.
Pay by instalments: If you wish to pay by instalments, please first contact sarah@theorchardproject.org.uk. Please be aware that this is not a pay as you go option. Should you decide to leave the course early you are still required to make all remaining payments. Here is how we set it up:
- Standard ticket (£2,100) You will need to pay an initial deposit of £300 then set up a monthly standing order of £163.64 for 11 months, starting in May 2026 and ending in March 2027.
- Concessionary and unaccredited (£1,500). You will need to pay an initial deposit of £180 and then £120 for 11 months, starting in May 2026 and ending in March 2027.
Concessionary places: For those who are unemployed, economically inactive or on low income (below £20,000 p.a.).
Unaccredited places: Attend the training days, use all the resources on the platform but don't hand in any homework.
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 jo@theorchardproject.org.uk if you have any other queries.