Posts from — May 2009
Growing Traditions: Sharing gardening knowledge across generations
The elders in our community have abundant knowledge of gardening practices. My grandparents grew up on farms on the Prairies during the Depression. Growing food and composting were facts of life. But as this generation of gardeners retires to smaller homes, their knowledge is leaving us.
At the same time, so many people are getting excited about growing their own food. Maybe it’s the recession, or maybe it’s just time: new parents want to teach their children how to garden, and flower gardeners are starting to cultivate food as well.
This year, the Sustainable Living Arts School, in consultation with the Edible Garden Project, is working on a small garden mentorship program funded by North Shore Health. The Growing Traditions project is a small pilot program designed to help us learn how elders and new food gardeners can share their knowledge. We would like to learn how garden mentorships work, experiment with how learning parties can support these relationships…and get families growing food!
A big thanks to Stacey Friedman and all the participants of Intergenerational Landed Learning at UBC Farm who welcomed us to join them for a day of Landed Learning fun at the farm. We also took the opportunity to crash in on Diane Johnson, who managed UBC’s Trimentoring Program through its start-up years. They both asked great questions, created a context where we could ask what we needed and well, mentored us for a day.
The project is looking for experienced gardeners on the North Shore who would like to mentor newer gardeners. We’re also looking for families to participate - newer gardeners who would both contribute to and benefit from a community connection with an elder gardener. The mentorship would occur from June until the end of September. At the end families and elders will share their knowledge with their neighbors and friends by hosting a learning party.
Do you know anyone who would like to do something like this? Interested participants or those with any questions are welcome to contact Tricia at 604-842-3251 (please leave a message) or email growingtraditions(at)slas.ca.
May 21, 2009 2 Comments
Invitation to Permie Primer Weekend- May 31
You are warmly invited to another Sustainable Living Arts School Weekend Retreat in Robert’s Creek on the Sunshine Coast (just 15 minutes from the ferry at Langdale.). Robin has got a bit more land than the average city grower, but whether you’re growing on a counter-top, balcony, patio or yard, Edible Landscapes is a place to come to reconnect, learn, relax and get inspired on how we can increase our self-sufficiency…together. You can camp on the land, hike to the ocean, walk in the woods, wander the gardens, browse in the edible and medicinal plant nursery and medicine emporium.
To reserve your space for the weekend away, email Robin info@ediblelandscapes.ca If you are part of a family or group of friends who would like to learn some do-it-together skills together, get in touch with Robin to arrange group pricing. She’ll work out the details with you and send you an invoice.
You can either pay by Visa or Mastercard via Paypal right away or mail her a cheque. 80% of student fees go directly to the teachers, with another 10% for preparing for classes and promotion. Attending these workshops is a direct way to support folks who live on the land and keep the skills and traditions of the sustainable living arts alive.
Saturday, May 30th
- 9:30 – 11:00 – Basic Framing with ____TBA_____ - Sometimes we don’t realize until we are trying to construct a chicken coop, greenhouse or lean-to that we have no framing concepts. This class will go over the necessary skills to begin simple projects and problem solve on our own. $25
- 11:15 – 12:30 Garden Standbys with Robin Wheeler - What are the tried and true plants that every smallholder should have? How are they placed and cared for? We will look at the top groups of greens, tubers, berries and fruit and learn about their needs. $25
- 12:30 – 1:30 Brown bag, or order $6 snack lunch
- 1:30 – 3:00 –Tool maintenance and Repair with Cymba - Good tools are worth holding on to, and regular care will considerably lengthen their life. Cymba will show methods for caring for garden tools and chain saw, and will also show how to salvage old tools by replacing handles, and how to make a handle out of a found object or branch. $25
- 3:00 - 5:30 Essentials of Permaculture Design Part One : Ethics and Principles with Delvin - Together we will explore the basics of permaculture ethics and principles in the context of a permaculture site design. A great intro to the permaculture way and how it can be applied to your own life. $25
Sunday, May 31
- 10:00 – 11:15 – Woodshed/Woodstove Primer with Robin Wheeler - The goal with a home wood supply is to have sufficient, well dried wood that will burn cleanly, and to understand the basic physiology of a wood burning heater. We will look at placement and purpose of a woodshed, split some wood, and then go inside and learn the parts and purpose of a normal wood stove. We will learn the important components of the cleanest, most non-polluting burn possible. $25
- 11:30 – 1:00 – Irrigation Intrigue with Jason Woodall - Jason is a gentle guy who is going to pull out bits and pieces of irrigation, give them names and purposes, and then will have the group assemble and build a portion of water line. He will also talk about repair problems. Participants will feel much more confidant buying parts and assembling their own systems. $25
- 1:00 – 1:45 – Lunch – brown bag or order $6 snack plate
- 1:45 – 2:50 Water Wisdom with Robin Wheeler - There are many techniques for living with an unreliable volume of farm water. Robin will show methods for water collecting, swaling and mulching methods, and will discuss plant choice and using observation and planting schedules to make plants more resilient and “drought proof”. $25
- 3:00 - 5:30 Essentials of Permaculture Design Part Two : Mapping, Zones and Sectors with Delvin - This class can be independent from the first class though it is also the natural extension of it. Here we will look at permaculture site design with mapping using zones and sectors preparing you to do a permaculture evaluation of your own home and property. $25
May 16, 2009 No Comments
The 10 X 10 Garden: A Hundred Square Feet of Permaculture
Stay tuned for an upcoming learning party with Rin of the Farmhouse. In the meantime, check out this fabulous sounding workshop she’s offering around Vancouver over the next few weeks…
Do you want to grow more of your own food, but don’t know where to begin? Think you don’t have enough space? Are you interested in learning more about Permaculture and organic gardening?
If you have a 10 X 10 foot space and want to learn how to turn it into a full year of fresh, nutritious, yummy food without chemicals or hours and hours of work, this workshop is for you.
This one-day workshop with Rin from the Farmhouse Farm — an urban farm right here in Vancouver — will show you how to start from scratch and build a garden that will produce food all year long in just a hundred square feet! Vegetables, herbs, and greens are all a part of the comprehensive garden plan that you’ll learn to build and maintain. Perfect for those with small yards or working in allotment plots, this easy-to-follow plan incorporates Permaculture principles into a garden design you can follow to the letter or change and evolve to fit your space and goals. We’ll spend the day going over the plan and then getting down and dirty and building the garden from scratch at the host site. You’ll leave with a copy of the full garden design including crop rotations, maintenance routine, and all the information you’ll need to get started.
There are three chances to check it out:
Kitsilano: Saturday May 16th, 12.00 - 6.00 13th and MacDonald.
Main Street: Sunday May 17th, 12.00 - 6.00 Ontario & 24th.
New Westminister: Saturday May 23rd, 12.00 - 6.00 Edinburgh & 16th.
The workshop is offered on a Pay-What-You-Feel basis, with a suggested donation of $60 to $100.
For more information or to register, contact farmhousefarm(at)gmail(dot)com or go to farmhousefarm.wordpress.com
May 13, 2009 3 Comments
Dandelion Delight Learning Party
The Sustainable Living Arts School and the Living Medicine Project introduce the Living Medicine Series…
monthly Learning Parties dedicated to the study and art of herbal medicine.
These hands-on, half-day intensives will include Plant Identification, Gathering and Medicine Making. These 3 simple pieces are the tools required to know how, when and which plants can be gathered from gardens, parks and lawns to become food and medicines to keep our families and friends healthy.
Join us for the 2nd in this Series…
Dandelion Delight
Monday May 18th (Victoria Day)
11am-3pm
Commercial Drive Area (carpooling will be coordinated where possible)
Register here! http://www.eventbrite.com/event/343913655
Suggested donation: $40 Pay As You Feel. Donations will be split between SLAS, LMP and the teachers. Donations to SLAS go to a slush fund to pay teachers, web costs and a tithe to our rural partner SLAS, Robert’s Creek.
Address and other info will be sent to registrants on May 15.
**This is a family friendly event. Feel free to bring your kids. They’re much more likely to take the medicines that they help make.
Read more about our teacher, Garliq. Questions? Contact Garliq LivingMedicine@riseup.net
May 11, 2009 No Comments