2010 Sustainable Living Arts School
Permaculture Design Certification
and Food Cycles Program

Join Delvin Solkinson and Robin Wheeler for a dynamic year round adventure in education. We offer a full Permaculture Design Certificate with a complete Food Cycles Program to create an integrated system of both design concepts and functional living skills.

Permaculture is a holistic approach to conscious living. It promotes an awareness of the world with a focus on sustainability, low impact living and healthy community development.

The Food Cycles course promotes seasonal awareness with practical activities to do at every time of year.

Learn the role of native plants, tips for organic gardening, growth cycles, propagation, seed saving, harvesting, food preservation, water wisdom, medicine making, integrated composting and so much more as part of practical and relevant Timely Actions in the Garden. Other course topics include design methods, patterns in nature, climatic factors, water, soils, earthworks, design strategies for urban and rural applications, practical living for all climates on the planet, trees, aquaculture, waste management, sustainable architecture, ethical business practices and economics, bio-regional organization, and effective aid.

From dormant earth to finished season, the Food Cycles program will occur in conjunction with the Permaculture Design classes to round out and ground in the new permaculture practitioner’s certificate.

13 spaces only
register now to hold your space

Class will begin March, on every other Monday and last for 15 months.
Location: Edible Landscapes, Robert’s Creek BC

Contact
Robin Wheeler : info@ediblelandscapes.ca (604) 885-4505
or Delvin Solkinson : delvin@illuminated.com
for more details

Robin Wheeler is back in town later in the week, and Village Vancouver, Fork in the Road, and Kits Point Village are very pleased to be offering two more neighbourhood workshops with her. (And three in Coquitlam a couple days later.)

Robin is the founder of The Sustainable Living Arts School (http://www.ediblelandscapes.ca/), and the author of Gardening for the Faint of Heart and Food Security for the Faint of Heart. She lives on the Sunshine Coast, and brings a vast wealth of knowledge and experience to her teaching.  You can expect your knowledge to expand and your soul to be delighted…and sometimes for your hands to get dirty.

Food Preservation Basics

Friday, Sept 18th  2-4 pm in Mt. Pleasant (on 7th, near Broadway and Fraser)

We will go over the top 10 food saving techniques and what pros and cons are connected with them. We’ll talk about seasonal availability and how to be ready for the bounty, plus what supplies we should have on hand at all times to be ready for any disaster.

Concepts in Year Round Gardening

Friday, Sept 18th  7-9 pm in Kits Point Village (near Cornwall and Arbutus)

The Whys and Wherefores of food cycles - why we want them, how to get them. We  will plan round the calendar food supplies, both in the larder and stored in the  garden.

Register: Contact Ross at rmoster@flash.net.

Both workshops are offered on a pay what you can basis. A two hour workshop usually costs around $25 to $30. Our contributions to these workshops make it possible for teachers like Robin to expand and to deepen the scope of the important educational and social change work that they are involved in, particularly in these uncertain times.

Enrollment is limited to 20 people for each workshop.

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.

Whew! The wind is high, clouds are shifting back in. I am looking at my trays of “starts” that I picked up at the local nursery, and figuring the time is right to stick them in.

I bought them a few days ago and observed the warning on the wall above them - Hard Frosts! Do not Plant Immediately! So I brought them home and planted them into big, round pots, just in the solid, rectangular cube that they came out of their little trays in, and behold - they had already taken advantage of the extra space and nutrient rich medium and had put fresh roots right down to the bottom of the new pot! It is definitely worth “potting up” those starts once you get them home.

I prepped some areas by raking back the mulch and loosening the soil. I quickly raked in some alfalfa pellets and rabbit poop I just conveniently had. Then I listened to the forecast. Change in the weather after a clear spell is a good thing. The cloudy days mean warmer nights, and the plants like a few days of overcast to adjust to their new lot in life. The chance of rain means no blasting sun to pull the moisture out of their leaves before the roots have set into the soil to take over the job. And if these plants have never been in direct sunlight before, then a few days of overcast will protect them from getting sunburn.

I placed the little plants in with their roots well loosened and heading straight down, firmed them in, smoothed the soil and applied a loose mulch. The loose mulch all around them will also protect from a bit of frost.
Then I set out some beer in little cat food tins for the slugs, to distract them from this new finding. As the plants take, I will deepen the mulch. And drink the rest of the beer.

If I had lots of time, I would put pegs around the garden bed and stretch clear plastic around it, to keep the wind away. This would give an extra boost in our cool springs.

I only planted out things I knew could tolerate some cold - walla walla onions, bok choy and chard. I will likely put out the cabbage and lettuce in a few days.

A good test for “end of frost” is to check on a very clear night, such as the full moon we just had, and see if there is frost following that. Since there was little if any frost up here at 800 feet above sea level, I took this as a sign. This doesn’t mean we won’t get a cruel surprise, but with properly hardened off and protected plants, a cold night will not be a great danger.

Meanwhile, the precious muskmelons and tomatoes are only an inch high, under good light in a heated room - it is WAY early to even think of kicking those little fellows out!

Happy Gardening,
Robin

When I told my mom I was curating a learning party on how to make kimchee, she laughed and asked why we don’t just go to the store. I reminded her how many hours our family spent making kimchee together in the kitchen, and how I loved being fed kimchee paste wrapped in freshly fermented cabbage by my father’s hand. He would never let me touch it because it was too spicy for my hands, but not my stomach. I also told her I thought it was important to preserve and share our cooking traditions with others who wanted to learn. She didn’t buy any of it, but she understood when I told her it would cost half the price for me to make my own kimchee at home.

I singularly consume at least a gallon of kimchee a month. I can’t believe I’m admitting this publicly, but it’s the truth. As a condo living spinster (the first sentence in this paragraph could explain why), I never considered making kimchee for myself at home because I didn’t think I had space and I thought it would be too difficult. Now that I know how simple and economical it is to make a fresh batch in a small space, I want to make it a monthly cooking ritual.

As a Korean-Canadian gal who learned how to make kimchee with my parents, I was never allowed to participate in the mixing of the kimchee paste or the stuffing of the paste into the cabbage because my “skin was too delicate”. I never understood how hazardous the kimchee mix was until I watched Rob–the only person tall enough to reach into the cooler and mix our kimchee paste—mix the batch of chilis, garlic, ginger and other goodies up and get blinded by the intensity of the mix. He was told by Inga and Yunsil that he put a lot of “soul” into his mixing and that the mix would be good.

Click To Play

The kimchee is great, and I think there was a lot of “soul” put into the kimchee by all participants of the learning party. As Yunsil said to Inga who translated to me “Don’t stuff the cabbage with the mix, massage the mix into the cabbage.” She was right; you could see the reaction in the cabbage immediately. I think this was the best tip of the day, love the cabbage.

Without a doubt, there was a lot of cabbage loving going on at the kimchee learning party. There were 8 working participants, 7 ‘helpers’, husbands, dishwashers, pot grabbers, mixers, one girl and one toddler. Altogether, 15 people made 40 lbs of kimchee in 90 minutes! There was about 2 hours of prep work including cleaning, brining and washing the cabbage before the party.

This was my first experience curating a party for SLAS, and I really enjoyed the experience. I enjoyed the process of learning how to curate a party with Keira, and working wtih Inga and Yunsil. It was special for me because I got to share it with Elaine and Rob, the hosts, who I became friends with in Korea. I also thought it was great to see Heesoon and her daughter, Serenne, work side by side making kimchee. Inga, our instructor, and Yunsil, her assistant, also had a wonderful experience working with us and are eager to do it again. Inga’s husband also tried kimchee for the first time, and it was a genuinely touching moment.

Stay tuned for another kimchee learning party in May.

The Sustainable Living Arts School is gladly hosting another hands-on learning party…

Upcoming:

• Join the Great Farm Trek to Save the UBC Farm Tuesday, April 7
• Alastair Heseltine is teaching a Willow beginner weaver’s weekend intensive on Bowen Island March 21/21.
• Have you wondered about buying land either to homestead or run a small farm? Visit 4 farms and learn practical lessons from those who have done it at the Sustainable Living Arts School’s Bush Weekend April 25/26 on the Sunshine Coast.
• Grégoire Lamoureux of the Kootenay Permaculture Institute will be teaching a permaculture design course in the Kootenays May 31 to June 13, 2009.

Art & Culture of Kimchee

Saturday, March 28

2:00pm to 3:30pm

Vancouver, Near Thurlow & Robson

Fermenting food is a sustainable practice that is ideal for all of us that live in small spaces.  Join us for this hands-on learning party where we will be introduced to the art and culture of making kimchee, the traditional Korean fermented condiment made with cabbage, garlic, ginger and hot peppers. It’s spicy, delicious and very, very good for you!

You’re warmly invited to share your thoughts and questions  on fermentation and kimchee before we meet. You can add recipes, links, family stories and personal experiences in the comments to this post so we can share our knowledge.  Let’s get this learning party rolling online!

Our hosts for the day live in a small apartment on the second floor of a building with no elevator-stairs only. Please check in with us first if you want to bring the kids.

About our teacher: Inga Min is a kimchee devotee and the the founder of the Shin Myung Korean Drum Group. The group was created to build a community of drummers interested in learning the traditional form of Korean drumming. Watch Inga in action on Living Vancouver.

To register: There are limited spaces to allow for hands-on practice and conversation. Learning parties fill up quickly! Please register with Mona at monaATslas.ca

By Donation: You can’t put a price on a learning party. That said, we want to honour the time and experience that goes into learning valuable skills and sharing them with others. The suggested donation is $25. Donate what gives you joy! If you can afford more, we’ll put it towards making more learning parties happen. If you can afford less, come on down and share your learning with us anyway. All are welcome!

Please bring:

• $5 to cover the cost of vegetables we’ll be transforming into kimchee.
• A jar or other small container so you can tend your first batch of kimchee at home.
• A knife and cutting board for chopping vegetables

We will send out an email with final details (address etc.) to registered participants by Thursday, March 19th. Thanks and looking forward to seeing you there!

Partnering with Langara College Continuing Studies on some full day workshops as part of the Healthy and Sustainable Living Series has been a delight.  We’re able to slow down, practice skills and traditions together and share stories of our own discoveries and family traditions. So much of what we’re learning as part of this school community are traditions that are barely lost- our grandparents or maybe great grandparents knew how to cook without waste, how to grow and preserve food, no matter how small the space, and how to heal their kids with simple plant remedies.

Our next three full-day workshops will give us a chance to tap into our shared wisdom with the guidance of some warm, articulate and good humoured teachers. But what really makes these days sing is your participation, stories and wisdom.  Join us!

Healing Children with Herbal Plant Medicines

With Garliq on Saturday, September 20 10am to 4pm

Sustainable Cookery

With Andrea Potter and Jill Broadway on Saturday, October 18, 2008 10am to 4pm

Practical Permaculture Design for the Home Garden

Saturday, November 15, 2008 10am to 4pm

Location: Unitarian Centre- 949 W 49th Ave. near Oak Street.

Cost: $85 includes a delicious lunch with local and seasonal goodies

Register: In person or by phone 604-323-5322 with Langara College Continuing Studies.

Read on past the jump for detailed course outlines and some more about our teachers for these days.

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If we’ve hung out this year I may have foisted some sauerkraut on you. It’s hard to believe it’s only been a year since I took my first workshop with Andrea Potter (follow that and you’ll get a link to a CBC interview with Andrea) and became a fermentation fetishist. It’s super-easy, delicious and really, really good for you- maybe even critical for our health in these times where we wage war on micro-organisims on the one hand, and shell out the big bucks for probiotic supplements on the other.

…one of the fascinating things about fermentation is the end results are more than the sum of their parts. The combination of cabbage and salt becomes an entirely new food, vinegary and rich in B vitamins produced from thriving microbes.” Andrea quoted in a recent Globe and Mail article “Their Fetish is Fermentation”

Andrea started her workshop last year by pouring shots of kombucha tea and getting us chopping up fresh peaches from Robin’s tree for fruit salsa. It was glorious! Come to the Introduction to our Fermentation day with Andrea and David Rothzstain in Vancouver and learn how to make sauerkraut, fruit salsa brine pickles and simple cheeses at home.

Here’s the details:
$85 includes a delicious lunch featuring local and seasonal food.
For more info visit: http://slas.wikispaces.com/#fermentation or email me at keira@slas.ca or give me a ring at 604-707-0337
Teachers: Andrea Potter and David Rothzstain
Location: Unitarian Centre
Register with Langara College Continuing Studies
In person or by phone 604-323-5322

Traditionally every culture has incorporated fermented foods into their diet. From health benefits to social change, preserving foods at home is a sustainable practice. In this hands-on course, we will discuss the benefits of tapping into this ancient wisdom and prepare traditional sauerkraut, brine pickles and fruit salsa, as well as get introduced to fermenting dairy with kefir culture.