From 2022 to early 2025, the EGHN and the Schloss Dyck Foundation were partners in an Erasmus+ project with seven partners from five countries.
The Erasmus+ project ‘Craft Skills for Garden Conservation’ (CSGC) offered everyone involved in the conservation and maintenance of historic gardens excellent opportunities to share their knowledge and expand their skills in traditional maintenance techniques. More information about the project can be found here and on the website gardenconservation.eu.
The diverse experiences from Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Great Britain and Germany were used to develop and offer training courses that combine traditional knowledge and new methods in the maintenance and development of historic gardens.
The following topics were covered: soil, lawns and meadows, espalier fruit trees, hedges and topiary, ornamental planting, ponds and fountains, paths and walls, orangery plants, trees in climate change.
For each topic, theory-based introductions and practical examples were offered in the form of one-day online webinars and two- to three-day, practice-oriented workshops in which practical knowledge was imparted and applied jointly. In all events, experienced practitioners shared their expertise from different perspectives.
All events were held in English.
All materials are currently available on the project website and on the project page on YouTube.
This is our partnership for this Erasmus+ project. And we are currently working on a new application to be submitted in 2026.
Norway:
Norges grønne fagskole – VEA (Project Lead)
EUROMASC
The Netherlands:
Paleis Het Loo (EGHN partner)
Sweden:
Gunnebo House and Gardens (EGHN partner)
Craft Laboratory at the Department of Conservation, University of Gothenburg
UK:
PlantNetwork
Germany:
Stiftung Schloss Dyck (EGHN Lead)
European Garden Heritage Network
All partners contribute to the finance of the project, but implementation would not be possible without the funding by the Erasmus+ Programme.
