Native Pollinator Workshop Series, Spring 2012 Big bees, little bees, let’s help the bees… Entomologist Lynn Westcott is coming back to Rossland this spring for another round of talks and demonstrations about native bees. In March she’ll lead a workshop on the biology, ecology and habitat needs of native bees. Part of this workshop will be similar to what Lynn covered in last year’s workshop, in that she will describe the biology and ecology of locally occurring native bees, and discuss the important roles they play in natural, urban and agricultural areas. To add to what she covered last year, she’ll spend more time discussing the ways we can support populations of native bees: giving examples of the kinds of flowering plants we can use to support the nutritional needs of native bees; talking about the effects of pesticides on bee populations; demonstrating the construction of nesting blocks, and describing how to maintain the nesting blocks during and after the nesting season. During June, Lynn will lead a field day in Rossland where she will show bees ‘working’ a diverse garden. This will be a good opportunity to see native bees in action, to identify the different types of pollinators, and to look at combinations of flowering plants and appropriate sites for nesting blocks. These two sessions represent the high altitude half of a grant supported educational initiative that Lynn has developed for this year. An additional two sessions will run at low altitude in the Trail area. The content of the indoor workshops in Trail and Rossland will be similar, although the plant lists for the two areas may be different. The field days will be different from one another because they’ll be in different climatic zones.
We do need your help. Lynn is looking for appropriate sites for the high and low altitude field days, and would appreciate receiving your suggestions . An ideal garden would have a diverse mixture of flowering plants throughout the growing season, and also a mixture of ornamental flowers, fruiting plants, vegetables and herbs. If you would like to recommend one or more sites for Lynn to consider, please email coordinator Hanne Smith at smithhanne@gmail.com,. Your suggestions will be passed on to Lynn after February 13th . Lynn will respond to suggestions in late February, as she would like to visit with garden hosts and select the field sites by the middle of March. Previous Workshops and Programs Edible Garden Tours: Summer 2011 Rossland REAL Food Edible Garden Tours First Tour: 9am, Saturday, July 30th Second Tour: Saturday, September 17 Building on the successes of last years edible garden tours, we will tour the same gardens through the season to learn about how to grow successfully from seed to soil to fork. First Tour: July 30th, Second Tour: September 17 Learn about growing healthy veggies and fruit in the backyard garden. This tour will take you to backyard gardens that produce bountiful crops. The focus of these tours is education and food growing in our mountain environment. Seeing is believing! Meeting Place: Rossland Community Garden (carpooling will be figured out at this point) Gardens: Larry Doel and Audrey, Sarah Golings, Happy Valley Greens (Rachael Roussin), The Community Garden Backyard Chicken Crawl: Friday, April 22, 1:30pm Learn about raising backyard chickens! The backyard chicken crawl will take us to the homes of Sarah Flood, Ali Meredith, and Rachael Roussin. These three chicken raising and egg collecting enthusiasts all have four hens and built their coops after being inspired by last years backyard chicken crawl. They incorporated the lessons learned from last years chicken crawl hosts and have some pretty amazing coops to share. The backyard chicken crawl will give participants a chance to ask questions and find out everything there is to know about raising backyard chickens in Rossland. Date: Earth Day (Friday, April 22, Good Friday) Time 1:30pm Meeting Place: Cook Avenue Ball Diamond (participants can carpool/walk to people's homes. Sarah and Ali live on Thompson. Rachael lives on 2nd ave.) 2011 Winter Workshops and Events with REAL Food Although our gardens are asleep for the winter months in snowy Rossland, it is a great time to prepare for the gardening season. REAL Food has an exciting lineup of winter workshops and events to get you prepared for the spring. Event details are below the calendar
Event Details: Rossland REAL Food Conversation Series Meet monthly for free-flowing conversations about growing food and living in a sustainable manner. Each month will feature one or two experienced locals who will share experiences and stories about growing and storing food, keeping chickens, co-existing with bears, and more. Come for coffee/tea and treats, and soak up the stories. All ages are welcome, no registration is necessary, and child minding on-site is a possibility. Call Hanne Smith at (250) 362-7767 for more information. Saturday, January 22, 3:30 – 5:00pm, at Café Books West Saturday, February 19, 3:30pm-5:00pm, at Café Books West Saturday, March 26, 3:30pm-5:00pm, at Café Books West
Foodie Film Festival and Seed Swap & Sale 4-5:30 PM SEED SWAP - FREE. Bring garden seeds that are in excess of what you need, whether saved from your own plants or from packages you bought. Local seed savers, both hobbyists and commercial growers, will have seeds for sale and trade.
5:30 PM Fresh homeade chili ($4/Bowl,) baked goods, beer and pop will be available for purchase.
6:00 PM FRESH: The Movie. 70 minutes. $10 or $8 with proof of Rossland Centre for Arts and Culture membership 7:30 PM Dirt! The Movie - included with you FRESH admission FRESH celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system. FRESH inspires its audience to grow fresh food, to cultivate new ideas, and to become active participants in the vibrant, ever-growing, worldwide movement towards healthy and sustainable alternatives to industrial agriculture. The uplifting story received great reviews from the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the San Francisco Chronicle and many others. Dirt! The Movie digs into the wonderment of the living soil, then links its abuse by modern to drought, famine, climate change, and war. It returns to connect us to people all over the world who have learned to harness the beauty and power inherent to a respectful relationship with the soil. It was selected for the Sundance festival in 2009 and won top awards at the Mendocino, Maui, and the Visions/Voices Environmental film festivals.2011 Edible Garden Tours presented by Rossland REAL Food The hugely popular Edible Garden Tours will be offered again in 2011. There will be 6 sessions in all, starting in January and ending in September. The first three sessions will be indoors, and will focus on seed starting, indoor growing methods, and moving plants from growing shelf to greenhouse. The next three sessions will be outside, allowing participants to tour the gardens of several experienced local gardeners. DATES, TIMES, LOCATIONS & DETAILS for the Indoor Series: Wednesday January 12, 6:30pm – 8:30pm, home of Iain & Libby Martin, 1465 Washington St. Seed selection, and methods for starting geraniums & tomatoes indoors. Maximum of 10 participants. Thursday, February 17, 6:30pm-8:00pm, home of Sarah Flood & Cal Duek, 1980 Thompson Ave. Seed starting, garden planning, seed catalogs. Wednesday March 19, 3-4:30pm, home of Iain & Libby Martin, 1465 Washington St. Starting more veggies from seed, and moving started plants to cold frame or greenhouse. Maximum of 10 participants. FEES: $5 per person, per session. To register, please contact Hanne Smith at 362-7767 or Jess Thompson: 362-7308 DETAILS about the three Outdoor Tours will be included in the Spring Brochure. Native Bees Workshop presented by Rossland REAL Food Learn about native pollinators, and build your own bee nesting blocks. Why? Because they pollinate our food plants and their numbers are decreasing! Bee specialist Lynn Westcott will present information on native pollinators, explaining their importance, and why their populations have decreased. Participants will make their own bee nesting blocks, and can use these to help increase the populations of native pollinators. It’s fun! It’s easy! And it should help with garden productivity! Bring your own drill and extension cord, if you have one, along with bits ranging in size from 3/32” to 3/8“. The organizers will have extra drills and bits on hand, and all the materials necessary for making nesting blocks. DATE: Wednesday, March 9 TIME: 6:30pm – 9:00 pm. LOCATION: THE ARENA LOUNGE FEES: $10.00 per person, or $15 per household Workshops and Programs Archives Christmas Gift-Making Event for All Ages Presented by Rossland REAL Food and the Senior's Association Saturday November 20, 10am - Noon at the Senior's Hall, 1920 1st Avenue, Rossland Food preservation with REAL Food Pickling: Thursday, September 16, 6:00pm Jams, jellies and fruit: Thursday, Sept. 23, 6:00pm Meat and vegetables: Thursday, Sept. 30, 6:00pm LOCATION: Rossland Secondary School cafeteria kitchen FEES: $10.00/session or 3 sessions for $25.00 Winter Composting Basics & Worm Composting with REAL Food . DATE: October 14, 2010 TIME: Thursday, 6:30pm LOCATION: Rossland Arena Lounge FEES: $5.00 EVENTS AT THE COMMUNITY
GARDEN SUMMER 2010 Mentoring Sessions: Tuesdays 6:30pm · Come by the garden during mentoring sessions and there will be an experienced gardener on site to answer questions and give advice to those less experienced gardeners. Garden Tours: 3rd Saturday of every month · Increase your garden knowledge and skills by seeing first hand other successful gardens here in Rossland. Visit up to 4 gardens a tour and see how these same gardens progress over the course of the summer. Exercise in the Garden: Tuesdays 6:30pm · Exercises such as Tai Chi and Yoga will be led by an instructor in a beautiful garden setting. These exercises are low impact and appropriate for all ages. Participants must be able to stand without assistanc Spring 2010 Backyard Chicken Crawl - visit the coups of 3 local households that raise backyard chickens Seed Starting (how to start your own seeds) - Sarah Flood How to grow sprouts - Andrew Bennett Fruit Tree Pruning - Jimmy Markin Fall 2009 Pickling , Learn the basics of Pickling - Ami Haworth Canning, Learn the basics of Canning - Ami Haworth Food Dehydration - learn how to dehydrate everything for the canoe trip and more! - Audrey Doell Spring 2009 Water Management in the Veggie Garden - Jeanine Powell Soil Science - Betty Offin What to Grow in Rossland and when to Plant - Margo Williams and Divana Whiteley Extending the Season - Sarah Flood and Barb Robinson Composting in Bear Country - Tim Dueck |
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Workshops & Programs |