Looking to enhance your land stewardship skills and support a more resilient ecosystem?
Join Grazing School of the West and White Buffalo Land Trust for this regionally-focused training experience, designed for graziers, agriculturalists, conservationists, fire professionals, land managers and owners. This 4 day, hands-on program offers practical tools and strategies for integrating livestock grazing into agricultural and fire-adapted landscapes.
Participants will explore grazing techniques tailored to regional ecological contexts like chaparral, grasslands, orchards, and vineyards. The curriculum addresses multiple program goals, including wildfire readiness, climate change mitigation, watershed management, soil health, and biodiversity enhancement.
Through engaging field demonstrations, classroom sessions, and collaborative learning, this intensive program equips you to make grazing a cornerstone of effective land stewardship in your life — promoting healthier ecosystems, reduced wildfire risk, and new economic opportunities. Don't miss the chance to be part of this transformative experience!
*This workshop fulfills the Context and Foundations modules of Holistic Management, which can count towards completions of a Savory Institute Accreditation.
Course Curriculum
Gain the knowledge and skills to elevate your land stewardship through hands-on demonstrations and engaging classroom sessions. This comprehensive course covers:
Holistic Management Foundations: Grazing charts, stockmanship, and strategies for non-traditional grazing contexts.
Ecological Monitoring: Biodiversity management and fire ecology.
Vegetation Management: Using grazing as part of a toolkit for wildfire risk mitigation and ecosystem health.
Integration Techniques: Managing livestock in crop systems, chaparral, grasslands, and vineyards.
Business Tools: Funding opportunities, financial planning, and creating grazing contracts with public and private entities.
LEAD FACILITATORS
Cole Bush is the founder and owner of Shepherdess Land and Livestock, a prescribed grazing business based in Ojai, California. In 2020 Cole started her dream grazing business: one that provides both vegetation management services AND vocational training to support the next-generation of shepherds as land stewards. Cole is a practitioner, educator, and consultant in the fields of climate-beneficial agriculture, land stewardship, and prescribed grazing. With over a decade of experience in the field, Cole has developed and managed the treatment of thousands of acres on private and public lands using prescribed grazing with commercial-scale herds of sheep and goats as an ecosystem service for ecological enhancement and fire hazard reduction throughout California. She is passionate about business and is dedicated to training new entrepreneurs and practitioners in the prescribed grazing field.
Jesse Smith Jesse Smith is the Director of Land Stewardship at White Buffalo Land Trust and is guiding the development of the Jalama Canyon Ranch as well as working with local and global leaders to broaden and deepen the positive impact of regenerative agriculture on our soil, our health, and our communities. His passion and expertise in agricultural system design and community engagement are a cornerstone of our strategy to achieve a systemic shift towards a regenerative food economy and ecology.
SPECIAL GUEST FACILITATORS WILL BE ANNOUNCED SOON!
Logistics and Details
Application: The final date to apply will be February 20, 2025.
Cost: The training cost is $1,450 USD and includes instruction, materials, and 3 locally sourced, delicious meals a day.
Once your application is accepted, a non-refundable deposit of $500 will be collected to secure your spot in the course.
Full tuition is due by May 1, 2025. Tuition refunds will be considered on a case-by-case basis if requested before April 24, 2025 (six weeks prior to the course). No refunds will be issued after April 24, 2025.
Lodging: You may choose to stay on-site at Jalama Canyon Ranch or offsite through your own accommodation plans.
Tent and car camping is available on-site for $15/night/per person.
Shared cabin stays are available on-site for $75/night/per person. The shared cabin stays are on a first-come, first-serve basis. If onsite cabins fill up, we do have a partner with offsite cabins that can be reserved for a different cost per night.
Scholarships: A limited number of scholarships are available through the application process.
FOR INQUIRIES & QUESTIONS, PLEASE CONTACT OUR PROGRAMS TEAM AT PROGRAMS@WHITEBUFFALOLANDTRUST.ORG