May 9/10 – Permie Weekend - Wild Weekend, SLAS, Roberts Creek Two days of moving into a wild space!

9:30 – 11:00 Wildcrafting Indigenous Herbs with Lyrae Emerson
An examination of the methods of ethically harvesting wild and indigenous plants in a manner that minimizes impact on the population while maximizing their medicinal potential. A focus will be given to native medicinal herbs, but we will also discuss traditional medicinal plants and look at how the practice of wildcrafting in itself can be a healing experience. We will also look at some of the methods of processing the leaves, flowers, berries, bark and roots that we collect. Comes with take home instruction sheet on wildcrafting and harvesting guidelines. $25

11:15 – 12:45   Introduction to Wild Edibles with Annette Clarke
Easy to identify plants that do not need any complicated cooking methods are the topic of this course. An emphasis is placed on respectful collection and proper identification of the food plants. Different plants are growing and ripening with each season. Topics change slightly depending on the time of the year.  We will cover berries, wild weeds and edible trees. $25

12:45 – 1:30 Lunch (paper bag it or order $6 snack lunch)

1:30 – 3:00   Building Emergency Shelters with Annette Clarke
Building shelters is something very essential, not just for a survival situation, but also for the soul. The feeling of warmth and protection is joined by feelings of accomplishment, pride and community; we did this ourselves!

The course teaches how to feel confident and comfortable in the outdoors without tent and sleeping bag. It explains how to choose the right location and how to create a functioning shelter out of natural materials without harming living plants. Includes lots of hands-on work, handouts and a short introduction into cordage and simple tool-making. $25

3:30 onwards -  Into the Wild with Peter Light (off site – 2692 Highway 101)
Covers all the resources one can find close to your doorstep in our west coast woods.  Learn how to recognize the principal trees in our forest; spot useful old, moss-covered logs for multiple uses; process cedar poles and beams for all your building needs; split cedar shakes for roofs and walls – in short, how to go into the woods and harvest all you need for a FREE house, barn, shed, bench, fence, gate, handle, etc., etc., as well as a FREE supply of fuel to heat your home and cook your food.  Learn, too, of more unsuspected wealth that lurks among the trees!  Includes an introduction to the hand tools you will need to harvest these resources. Firecircle and dinner to follow – bring goodies to add to the feast. $30

Sunday May 10 10 – noon – Native Plant Technology with Cymba
The workshop will consist of a walk around the area to identify plants that were (are) commonly used in various technological ways (providing materials for cordage, adhesives, shelters, clothing, tools etc.  Samples of important materials from off-site will also be provided for discussion.  In a hands-on component we will play with simple tool construction (includes binding and gluing). * The exact nature of these workshops will vary according to interaction between participants. We will attempt to cover all materials and the instructor is willing to spend more time if participants feel a need.

12:45 – 2:45  - Wild Containers with Annette Clarke
We may find ourselves in the bush, wanting to carry berries, mushrooms or other precious finds. Annette will show us samples of various containers made from bark, leaves and vines that will last for years.  Container materials will be:
Grass, Leaves, Sedges and Rushes, Cattail and Birch bark. We won’t make all the different container types, but I will bring them all for showing the options and then pick one simple version (Leaf or Grass) and a Cattail container to make ourselves.

3:00 – onwards –  Cooking With Fire – TBA - Siting, building and maintaining a functional and safe cooking or signaling fire – and we will have a meal with bannock, wild greens and tea, and whatever else to brought to us – perhaps some home made wine!

Call Robin at (604) 885-4505 or email at info@ediblelandscapes.ca to register or get more information.

Camping available on site.

My relationship to the garden is shaped by weeds. I started young, pulling crab grass between rows of veggies in our big backyard garden in Scarborough, Ontario, complaining bitterly about the back breaking slog (10 minutes of whinging I suspect.)

When I started my first garden in Nanaimo 15 years ago my bible was John Jeavons, “How to grow more vegetables”.  I double-dug and planted my seedlings close together so the leaves would touch, shading out the weeds and reducing the need for water. It was successful but outside the beds I was at war with morning glory. I was brutal. But something changed. I got worn down and my laissez-faire attitude to housekeeping spread to the garden. New teachers appeared  (hello Robin!) who modeled a gentler and more accepting way of growing food.

Now I  never dig and I mulch like crazy and don’t have much trouble with weeds where I grow food (I’ve stuck to no rows and planting close). Any weeds that persist I figure have a good reason for being there. Everywhere else they have free reign as I discover and experiment with their messages and gifts.

This relationship with dandelion (in full bloom- trying wine this year), comfrey (nourishing tea from the leaves for me and plants) morning glory (better than manure weed tea for plants), buttercup (pretty groundcover, remediates oil?, nourishes my heavy clay soil), plantain (nature’s bandaid), horsetail (early shoots in vinegar is my spring tonic this year) has been liberatory. The earth provides- food and medicine. Stop fussing and start harvesting.

The last couple of years I’ve been waking up to the woods, both the forest we could stand to ignore for a while and the urban forest we need to grow. It started with a visit to Peter Light’s place for the first Practical Permaculture weekend that Robin offered in Robert’s Creek three years ago. Peter lives in a bamboo forest he planted. I know you’re thinking “Bamboo! Invasive!” I know because that was the scream in my head too. We are afraid of plants that grow quickly, that are abundant, that are useful beyond measure. We have been successfully trained to eliminate them from our landscapes. They are the enemy. Kill! Kill! Kill!

At the permaculture meet-up at Linnaea this past February I had the great pleasure of meeting Alastair Heseltine, an artist whose practice is the growing of willow and the shaping of it into forms both practically beautiful and breath-takingly inspiring.

Willow can be propagated by cutting a wand and sticking it in the ground. I did this and it worked. I didn’t believe it would work because I know nothing about propagation. Now I have a willow coming up where I don’t want it but no matter. I’ve taken to cutting it as it regrows and weaving little fences with the wands around my beds to keep Dexter the dogster out.  It’s happy. I’m happy.

Alastair began the learning party with a brief explanation of what we were going to do (my favourite learning parties have us hands-on within 10 minutes, I think my blather took up 5 and he was done in 2). We were going to weave a living willow fence around the bee garden at the Means of Production garden. He shrugged and smiled “I’m sorry but mostly this is going to be preparing the soil and grading the willow but that’s the work of it. So come on, dig in, or you’re just another shopper.”

T-shirts please! I swear if I was fundraising a la wfmu that would be the slogan on some prime swag. We dug in. We raked the soil, we graded the willow which involved standing on a stump with a big swath to select first the willow that reached the top of our head (head grade), then that which reached the chin (chin grade) etc.  This is the sorting step, which seems to be a part of every sustainable practice.

The next steps are a bit foggy to me, so participants do jump in and fill in my gaps. I was tending to a freezing cold, wet and melting down Harry.  We poked holes about 4 inches apart (?) We used one of the grades (head grade?) to stick into the holes. Then began the weaving. Much like the spindling party I felt my resistance begin to kick in a this point. It was fiddly work. My hands were freezing.  It’s critical to stay focused- over, under etc. I get embarrassed at how hard sometimes this stuff is for me. Whatever. I am learning something over time that holds true across practices. Slow down. Breathe. Relax into it.

No pics of the weaving until tomorrow I’m afraid- it just got too cold at the end to hold the camera. Today would be a great day to stop on by and see the work and even jump in and help finish it. The artists who hold that space in collaboration with the EYA  are continuing the work. It’s free to stop by,  jump in and learn on various projects from 10-12 or 2-4.  Means of Production was started by Oliver Kellhammer,  a continual  source of inspiration on urban forestry and art and so much else.  It’s a space dedicated to growing the artist’s means of production and home to my favourite community artists working in Vancouver today.

A big thank-you to Sharon Kallis, who was our host for the day.  Do check out the Means of Production Raw Resource Collective blog as well as the artists individual blogs.

Here are some willow links, courtesy of Alastair.

Willow & bio-engineering

http://www.afhillandson.co.uk/willows

http://www.waterwillows.com/page13.htm

http://www.redstonecentre.co.uk/structures

http://www.windrushwillow.com/

http://www.naturalfencing.com/

http://www.kimcreswell.co.uk/

www.bramptonwillows.co.uk/fences.htm

http://www.englishbasketrywillows.com/wcatbook.htm

Upcoming: Bush weekend on April 25/25 in Robert’s Creek.  Learn from and support the folks who’ve  made it back to the land, including Peter Light, mentioned above.

For all of you lovely email subscribers comments are warmly welcomed  at http://slas.ca/2009/04/17/what-i-learned…learning-partywhat-i-learned-at-the-willow-learning-party/

This whole day workshop is directed towards the new or expanding food producer who wishes to produce more, or focus their production more efficiently.  Topics will include post harvest handling, water management, the SPIN gardening method, microclimating, resources, marketing, discussion on farmers markets and more.

Sustainable Microfarm Forum – April 19, 2009

10:00 – 4:30 at Rolling Earth, Robert’s Creek, BC

$85 includes lunch and beverages. Carpooling encouraged. Register by emailing Robin at info@ediblelandscapes.ca or calling (604) 885-4505.

More info on the Sustainable Living Arts School in Robert’s Creek, BC.

Robin will be in town teaching edible landscape workshops, organized by the fine folk at Village Vancouver, and a Design the Garibaldi School Garden learning party, organized by the Sustainable Living Arts School and the fine folk of the Garibaldi PAC. But you can still learn from Robin:

Food Security for the Faint of Heart

Saturday, March 14, 2009
2:00 – 4:00 pm

Robin will discuss issues around food security, such as stockpiling, gleaning, cooking with few resources, triage for a thawing freezer, and more. Robin has been experimenting with and writing about sustainability issues for many years. She runs the Sustainable Living Arts School in Roberts Creek, BC, with her permaculture plant nursery (Edible Landscapes) and medicinal herb gardens as part of the design. She is also the author of Food Security for the Faint of Heart as well as Gardening for the Faint of Heart.

Suggested donation $2 - $5
Location: This event will be held at SPEC (Society Promoting Environmental Conservation), located at 2150 Maple Street in Kitsilano. This event is sponsored by Light House Sustainable Building Centre and SPEC.

You are warmly invited to another Sustainable Living Arts School weekend learning festival:

Bush Farming

April 25 and 26th 2009

on the Sunshine Coast.

Many speak of buying raw land (which may be all they can afford) to create a small farm, and would like more opportunity to learn about the issues. During this two day event we will visit  four farmers who have built from scratch, with few financial resources, and learn about predator control, bush clearing, water problems, building codes and other issues that make or break sustenance farmers. We will be spending 3 hours or longer at each farm. Visitors may choose how many farms they will visit. This is an opportunity to learn from mistakes as well as successes.

Register with Robin Wheeler infoATediblelandscapes.ca 604-885-4505.

Cost: $40 per farm.

Accomodation: Come for the day or spend the weekend. Camping is available at Robin’s Edible Landscapes or accommodations at Rolling Earth.

Saturday 9:30 – 12:30
Maria Hunter’s site had been a dairy farm long ago, but she had few resources to improve it. She learned to maximize the advantages there, to live with very little while raising two daughters. Her home is “home made” as finances have allowed and is still under construction. Since her daughters are grown, she is now returning to farming to help sustain her.

Saturday 2:00 pm onwards
Peter Light has been homesteading deep in the bush for many years. He now nurtures a small patch of land where he sells bamboo and other perennials. He has learned many skills and will be discussing these for the afternoon. Peter lives in a trailer and has converted the outside area into an extension of his living space. Firecircle and shared meal can be enjoyed.

Sunday 9:30 – 12:30
Alain Bergeron bought rough logged forest and within three years had a successful market farm. He worked hard to improve the soil and perfect his planting regimes, and now has good yields and sells well at the farmers markets. He is still living in a converted bus and is facing common problems with building a legal home.

Sunday 2:00 – onwards
Robin Wheeler of Edible Landscapes purchased land and then brought portable buildings onto it where they were slowly reassembled and finished. She is slowly improving the soil and it now supports several gardens as well as her nursery and medicinal plants. She will discuss the various stages used in developing the site.

You are warmly invited to these upcoming opportunities to learn with Robin Wheeler of the Sustainable Living Arts School on Vancouver Island and the Gulf islands.

February 21 – Home Food Security Intensive

10 – 2 pm Duncan, BC.

Register: Call Beth at 250 – 337-1958 or Pat at 250-709-2391 (machine) for details or email morefoodnow@gmail.com.

Directed towards the interested householder, we will spend four hours learning about garden cycles, food harvest and storage, subsistence gardening and stockpiling. $62 includes snack, beverage and copy of Food Security for the Faint of heart.
February 22 – Duncan Sustainable Microfarm Forum Duncan, BC.

9:30 – 4 pm Food and beverages provided. $100

Register: Call Beth at 250–337-1958 or Pat at 250-709-2391 (leave message) for details.

Full day workshop for the beginner smallholder trying to increase production to enter the commercial level.  Segments include “Understanding your Land” and “Water Wisdom”, and we will talk about free resources, working cooperatively, season extending and how to define “organic”. Marika Nagasaka will be giving her wonderful class on “Efficiency on the Farm”.

February 24 – Free Food Security talk on  Gabriola Island

7 – 8 pm at the Roxy.

March 8 – Gambier Microfarm Forum

Gambier Community Hall.  Normally limited to Gambier residents.

Register with Robin Wheeler info@ediblelandscapes.ca 604-885-4505

Saturday, September 20 - 

9:30 until afternoon - Distillation workshop – “Make Your Own – from fuel to medicine” with Bernard Wera, David Scott and Kathleen Thacker (on site – 1732 Pell Road)

This is a full day workshop on the art of distillation. We will begin by looking at homemade stills and talk about safe use and potential problems. We will watch a still be put through its paces and will learn about essential oils, hydrosols, fuels and other byproducts of this process. The facilitators will talk about their experiences in home distillation. ($70)

12:30 – 2:00 – Garden Walk with Randie Ridgewell (off site – 1187 Crowe Road)

For those wanting to visit a proper, full cycle food garden, Randie’s ex-herb farm of fame is a great space for learning. She will describe her excellent fertilizing mixture and show her great techniques for good food production. Recommended by Edible Landscapes as a good beginner’s learning tool. ($25)

2:15 – 3:45 Basic Canning with Randie Ridgewell (off site – 1187 Crowe Road)

Just starting your learning curve and want an experienced mentor? Randie will take you into the kitchen to can up a batch of winter food. For those who learn best by seeing and doing, this will help push your confidence along so that you can do this at home. ($25)

Sunday, September 21 - 1732 Pell Road

9:30 – 11:00 Timely Actions in the Garden with Robin Wheeler

For new gardeners, fall brings new questions. Robin will show how to put gardens “to bed” for best spring results, what to do about late immature veggies, how to save the last of the seed and harvest the last of the herbs. We’ll discuss winter mulch and fall planting of garlic and potatoes. ($20)

11:15 – 12:30 Hand Treating Wool Fleece – with Debbie Osler

For those who already knit or weave and want to add a new skill level without buying equipment, Deb will show you how to wash a fleece and then how to hand spin it into a usable wool product. Feel different fleece and learn about quality and problems that can arise. Deb has many years of managing her own fleece and you will get hands-on experience. ($25)

1:30 – 3:00 – Using a Steamer/Juicer with Robin Wheeler

Toss in your apples unpeeled and full of seeds, and turn out wonderful juice and apple butter – just like on TV! We will run through a single 40 minute steaming, bottle the juice and further prepare the pulp into apple butter. Many other products can be made. Take some product home with you and feel more confident using this great piece of equipment on your own. ($25)

3:30 – 5:00 – Tool Maintenance and Repair with Cymba

Our hand tools are great assets and we should treat them right so they’ll last for years. Cymba will show some good tool care, and then will show how to put new handles into many types of tool, and lacking a store-bought handle, how to make a quick one from wood around you. ($25)

6 pm onwards – group dinner.

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

Garden Now for Fresh Food Year Round: A Winter Garden Course
with Heather Johnstone Saturday, June 7, 2008 10am- 4pm
Register with Langara Course code: CDVL1091 Course Registration # 60645

Healing with Herbs: Growing and Foraging in the City
with Sharon Kravitz and Jill Stieler Saturday July 5, 2008 10am-4pm

Introduction to Food Preservation by Fermentation
with Andrea Potter and David Rothzstain Saturday, August 2, 2008 10am-4pm

Cost : $85 for each course includes a delicious lunch featuring local and seasonal food, and a maximum of 15 students to allow for lots of questions and discussion.

Garden Now for Fresh Food Year round: A winter garden course

with Heather Johnstone
Saturday, June 7, 2008 10am-4pm

Now is the time to start your first winter garden for fresh home-grown food all year round. With just a little gardening experience you can learn how to extend the growing season by using simple designs for home-made cloches and greenhouses and learn what, when and how to plant appropriate varieties. We’ll also share the joy of sprouting and wild food harvesting.

Schedule

10-11:30: Introduction. Designing and building inexpensive do-it-yourself cloches, cold frames and greenhouses.

11:30-12:30 Catered Lunch featuring local, seasonal food

12:30-2:00 Selecting varieties for your winter garden. This section will look at winter-hardy plant species, and we will have the opportunity to delve into the seed catalogues to select the very best varieties to get you through the winter. We will discuss the special care and demo the techniques required to maintain a garden through the winter on the west coast.

2-2:15 Break

2:15-3:45: In the dark of winter, when the potatoes and leeks are dwindling, and spring still seems a long way off, sprouting is a perfect way to bring green live food back into your diet. This course will include hands-on sprouting exercises. We will discuss different techniques for storing food through the winter (drying/canning/freezing/fermenting), and will look at what wild foods can be harvested in the region.

3:45- 4: Wrap-up

Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to:
• apply techniques for feeding themselves fresh food throughout the year
• select appropriate plant varieties for winter planting,
• identify plants for winter wildcrafting
• sprout various seeds and beans for fresh eating (students will leave with a sprouting jar and seeds)

Instructor

Heather Johnstone is the coordinator of the Edible Garden Project on Vancouver’s North Shore www.ediblegardenproject.ca . She has spent years planting and learning with organic farmers on the west coast and is a graduate of the Linnaea Farm Ecological Gardening Program. She now works with home-scale urban gardeners to help them grow fruits and vegetables.

Healing with Herbs: Growing and Foraging in the City

with Sharon Kravitz and Jill Stieler
Saturday, July 5, 2008 10am-4pm

Learn how wild and cultivated herbs can support our health. In this beginner course we will identify local plants and helpful weeds on foraging walks, practice respectful wildcrafting, prepare herbal medicines and explore the medicinal value of the food in our kitchens. We will illustrate and record our experiences in a journal (provided) and leave ready to safely continue exploring herbs.

10-11:30 -Introductions, overview of the day, assessing needs. Herb Walk, plant identification, ethical collection, drying and storing herbs, common applications.

11:30-12:30 -Lunch with herbal and wild plant delicacies

12:30-2:00. -Making medicines: uses, applications and dosage.

2-2:15 -Break with tea and sweet herbal treat

2:15-3:45 -Handy herbs to have in your garden- food as medicine- Aryurvedic taste exercises

3:45- 4 -Wrap-up/closure

Learning Outcomes
Students will be able to:
• Identify a group of local herbs that are particularly useful in the summer (bee stings!).
• Discuss the value of food as medicine.
• Gather herbs safely and respectfully.
• Prepare simple medicines for home use.

Instructor

Jill Stieler has been a practicing herbalist since 1993. Her studies began with Don Ollsin’s Herbal Healing Journey (who later coordinated Langara College herbal program). Over the years she has run a small business selling herbal medicines. Today she focuses on healing her friends, family and community with the medicines she makes.

Sharon Kravitz is a healer, artist and long-time activist in the downtown eastside. She is a graduate of Langara College’s Herbal Medicine Program. Healing with herbs is an intimate part of all the work she does in the world.

Introduction to Food Preservation by Fermentation

With Andrea Potter and David Rothzstain
Saturday, August 2 10am-4pm

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.

Schedule

10:00-11:30 -Introductions
-Discussion about the benefits of preparing and eating fermented foods including health information and the importance of keeping food traditions alive in these changing times.

-Information on food safety and on the process that lactic-acid ferments undergo.

-Discussion of how social and environmental change can be brought about by preparing food at home.

-Hands-on preparation of traditional sauerkraut.

11:30-12:30 -lunch (including samples of some pickles and other fermented foods.)

12:30-2:00 -Hands on preparation of brined pickles and fermented fruit salsa.

2:00-2:15 -Break

2:15-3:45 -Introduction to cheesemaking with kefir culture. Care and feeding of kefir, showing milk at different stages of enculturation

3:45- 4 -wrap-up and closing.

Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to:

• articulate how foods are transformed and preserved by fermentation.
• explain the health benefits of fermented foods.
• compare the benefits of fermentation to other methods of food preservation
• start fermenting sauerkraut, pickles, salsa and cheese at home.

Instructors

Andrea Potter is a Certified Chef and has been cooking professionally for 7 years. She is currently the restaurant chef at Radha Yoga and Eatery in Vancouver, where she creates seasonal menus based on whole foods, using local ingredients. She is also a student at the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition. She is passionate about food culture.

David Rothzstain is our "well-cultured" expert and an urban farmer/philosopher. He’s been making cheeses on his own and at local organic farms for years. He is currently a student of Linnaea Farm Ecological Gardening Program