Caroline Aitken Author

Martin Crawford, Director of the Agroforestry Research Trust, forest gardener and author of the bestselling Creating a Forest Garden, has teamed up with Caroline Aitken, a permaculture teacher and cook. Her passion for cooking and Martin’s passion for growing are combined to offer creative and imaginative ways to enjoy the crops from your forest garden.

Martin started his working life a computer programmer, but his passion for organic gardening quickly led to a change in career. He founded the Agroforestry Research Trust, a non-profit-making charity that researches into temperate agroforestry and all aspects of plant cropping and uses, with a focus on tree, shrub and perennial crops. At his forest garden in Dartington, Devon,  Martin systematically researches plant interactions and unusual crops. He also runs a commercial tree nursery specialising in unusual trees and shrubs, and has atrial site, researching fruit and nut trees.
Martin teaches courses on Forest Gardening and Growing Nut Crops, writes books and edits a quarterly journal, Agroforestry News. He has published a large number of books on specific areas of forest gardening, including Creating a Forest Garden – the forest gardening ‘bible’, How to Grow Perennial Vegetables, also by Green Books.

Caroline originally studied art and design, specialising in glassmaking, and still works as an illustrator. She travelled for three years in Europe and Morocco in a bus powered by vegetable oil, then settled on a smallholding in Devon where she grew vegetables and tended livestock while also studying horticulture with the RHS.

After taking part in Patrick Whitefield’s Permaculture Design course, she was invited to return to work as the course cook. She has been cooking there ever since, and now also works as a permaculture teacher. In the course of this work she is often asked about forest garden foods and how to prepare them. She realised the need for practical guidance on how integrate these new foods into familiar and appealing meals, which led to her collaboration with Martin Crawford on Food from Your Forest Garden.

Caroline runs workshops and courses on permaculture, organic horticulture and traditional crafts.