Presents:
Presents:
Wild Bunch Composting and Microscopy Workshop – first cohort
If you've ever built a compost pile and just hoped for the best — this week changes that.
Join a small community of curious people for five practical days of compost-making, observation and discovery. Build real compost piles, learn how to guide their biological succession, and use microscopy to see the organisms you are nurturing, not just hope they are there. Set on a beautiful working regenerative estate in Hampshire, this is a hands-on week for anyone who wants to understand compost, soil and life more deeply.
Grounded in Dr. Elaine Ingham's Soil Food Web approach — taught and enriched by the people already putting it into practice at real farm scale, a well-coordinated team of four soil health practitioners.
Logistics
Ewhurst Park is a working estate midway through its own large-scale rewilding and regeneration journey — a no-dig market garden, orchards, and a land-management story that mirrors exactly what this workshop teaches. We are excited to bring the workshop on such a beautiful estate that embeds the values we are teaching. You won't just be learning the theory; you'll be on the ground that's living it.
This is a fully in-person, hands-on week. The work happens with your hands in the compost pile and your eye at the microscope, in the middle of a beautiful, diverse estate.
Curriculum
This workshop brings soil food web theory, practical composting and microscopy together in one hands-on learning experience.
You will build and manage compost piles, work with different feedstocks, examine soil and compost under the microscope, and learn to interpret what you see. The aim is to give you the knowledge and practical skills to make informed decisions in your own context — whether you are working with a garden, farm, composting operation, educational project or consultancy.
We will start by looking at soil as a living ecosystem and getting to know the key players of the soil food web — bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes and others — and the roles they play in nutrient cycling, soil structure and plant health. You will spend time looking at real soil biology under the microscope and learn to connect what you see with what is happening in the soil. By the end of the workshop, you will have a practical understanding of how the soil food web functions and how this understanding can guide the way you work with soil.
We will take the confusion out of composting by focusing on the biological principles that make a thermophilic compost pile work. You will explore how feedstocks, moisture, oxygen, temperature and pile structure influence the process, and how a pile changes as it moves from active decomposition towards maturity. Throughout the week, you will build and manage several compost piles using different feedstocks, while also working with piles at different stages of the process. You will learn to observe what is happening, make adjustments when needed and recognise when something is not working as it should. By the end of the workshop, you will be able to build, manage and troubleshoot a thermophilic compost pile using the principles rather than relying on a recipe.
You will learn to use a biological compound microscope as a practical tool for looking at soil and compost biology. Working with real samples throughout the week, you will practise preparing samples, operating the microscope and recognising the main groups of organisms you encounter, including bacteria, fungi, protozoa and nematodes. Just as importantly, we will explore how to interpret what you see and what it can tell you about biological activity. By the end of the workshop, you will be able to confidently examine soil and compost under the microscope and use your observations to better understand the living systems you are working with.
By the end of the week, you will have a practical understanding of the soil food web, real experience building and managing thermophilic compost, and hands-on skills in observing soil and compost biology under the microscope. You will also have a practical framework for connecting biological observations to what is happening in your soil or compost, and for deciding how, when and where to use compost in your own context.
This is not just theory from a slide deck. You will build compost, work with real materials, look at real biology and learn by doing — alongside experienced practitioners and instructors.
Who it's for
No prior experience in composting or microscopy is required. The workshop is a genuine entry point into soil biology, composting, and microscopy — whichever direction brought you here.
It's an especially strong fit for growers and farmers looking for a practical, hands-on introduction before going deeper — but gardeners, landscapers, and anyone regenerating land on any scale, as well as decision-makers, are just as welcome. Getting to know the life in the soil matters for everyone — it's the foundation of our food, clean air, and water we all depend on.
Who's teaching
Nick Padwick runs Wild Soils, specialising in soil health, soil biology and regenerative land management. He was one of the first UK farmers to qualify as a Soil Food Web Consultant, using microscopy and biological assessment to help farmers and landowners understand and improve their soils. Nick has over 40 years' experience in large-scale agriculture across the UK, Italy, Spain and Argentina, and is Estate Manager at Ewhurst Park, where this workshop takes place.
Ben Padwick works for Wild Soils, specialising in soil health, soil biology and regenerative land management. He is a qualified Soil Food Web Consultant, using microscopy and biological assessments to help farmers and landowners better understand and improve their soils. Alongside his soil consultancy work, Ben has experience working on rewilding and landscape recovery projects, with a focus on habitat management, biodiversity and restoring healthy, resilient landscapes.
Isadora Schmidt runs Terra Viva, specialising in soil biology, microscopy and composting systems. She is a certified Soil Food Web School lab technician, using microscope analysis to assess soil and compost health for producers, consultants and training groups. Isadora is based in Manresa, Spain, and brings a background in permaculture and regenerative agriculture to her lab and training work.
Dora Tkalec is a certified Soil Food Web Consultant based in Finland, and a composting coach specialising in soil biology and compost-based solutions for growers, gardeners and landscaping professionals. Alongside her consultancy work, Dora is part of the expert team at Maa-akatemia, bringing Soil Food Web principles into wider agricultural and landscaping education and advisory in Finland.
Four practitioners. One regenerating estate. Five days to finally see, with your own eyes, what's happening in your compost pile and your soil. Wherever you're starting from, you'll leave with the confidence — and the microscopy skills — to keep going long after the week ends. There are only 15 places, and that's the whole point: every one of them gets real time with Nick, Ben, Isadora and Dora.
Practicalities
Yes — lunch and refreshments are provided each day of the workshop. Accommodation is the only thing you'll need to arrange separately (see below).
Come dressed for hands-on outdoor work — old clothes and footwear you don't mind getting muddy, plus layers for changeable weather. More detailed packing guidance will be sent ahead of the workshop.
The workshop runs rain or shine — composting and microscopy work continues outdoors and under cover as needed. Dress for the weather.
No special fitness level is required, but the week involves standing, bending, and working with compost piles outdoors for extended periods. If you have any concerns, let us know when you register.
Yes. No prior experience in composting or microscopy is required — the workshop is designed as a genuine entry point, whichever direction brought you here.
You'll need to organise accommodation separately. Here are four suggestions within easy reach of Ewhurst Park, closest first:
A few minutes away, small and well run. Book direct for a discount.
A converted chapel, very close to the estate, with only a handful of rooms.
A pub with rooms about 10 minutes north, so you can eat and drink where you sleep.
The smartest of the four, a pub with rooms in the village about 15 minutes west.
The nearest station is Basingstoke. Travel and parking arrangements are up to you — let us know if you need guidance once you've registered.
Cancellations more than 30 days before the workshop receive a full refund minus a £50 admin fee. Cancellations 14–30 days before receive a 50% refund. Cancellations inside 14 days are non-refundable. Your place is transferable to someone else at any time — just let us know. Full details are on the registration form.
Use the "Reserve your place" button above — registration closes 15 October 2026, or sooner if all 15 places are filled.
Have some questions? Write us at info@wildbunchworkshops.com
Price & registration
Yes, that's a real discount — not a marketing trick. £1,250 is our founding-cohort price: you're helping us run this for the first time, so you get the rate that reflects that. Full price kicks in from cohort two.
Reserve your place