I love giving workshops and presentations, and am always looking for new venues, interested audiences, and full compost bins. Hands-on or powerpoint, indoor or out: Please don't hesitate to contact me with any and all ideas you may have. Building productive soil and growing healthy vegetables are important, powerful skills, and I aspire to share them with as many people as possible. Here are some of my upcoming events:
Transform Your Lawn:
Creating a Beautiful Garden Without Digging
Saturday August 8th, 2009, from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm
Location details upon registration - Register by calling the Ecology Centre at 604-990-3755
This hands-on workshop will explore sheet mulching, a no-dig method of transforming weedy lawn into fertile garden. Compost, lawn trimmings, sea plants, granular organic fertilizer, leaves, cardboard, and newspaper will be used to create the ideal environment for beneficial soil-dwelling organisms to multiply and thrive. Over time, these helpful, hard-working soil residents will consume the unwanted grasses and weeds, loosen compaction, incorporate organic materials down into the soil, and transform a boring patch of lawn into a beautiful garden bed
This workshop is free, but pre-registration is required. Please bring garden gloves, raingear (if needed), and lots of questions and enthusiasm. More information about Gardensmart workshops can be found here.
Green City Living Film and Speaker Series
Urban Food: Seeding Change One Bite at a Time
Tuesday August 18th, 2009, from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
City of North Vancouver Council Chambers, 141 West 14th Street, North Vancouver
No registration required, admission by donation to The Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition
North Vancouver City Council is hosting a series of film screenings and speakers this summer and fall, on the third Tuesday of each month. On August 18th, Chris Taylor's Food Fight
will be shown, followed by a brief, but very interesting, presentation by yours truly. I will be discussing my experiences as a charming landless vegetable grower in North Vancouver. More information about the Green City Living series can be found here.
Designing and Maintaining Food Gardens in Small Spaces
Saturday, October 3rd, 2009, 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm
Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre, 3663 Park Road, North Vancouver
No registration required, free for everyone
This year's harvest festival at the Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre will be held on the weekend of October 3rd and 4th. On the afternoon of the 3rd, I will be giving a presentation about effective food-production techniques for small spaces, both in-ground and in containers. With appropriate plant choices and techniques, a surprising amount of food can be produced in small gardens. I will cover plant selection, soil management, potting mixes, and other tricks and techniques for bountiful harvests from limited spaces. Please bring lots of questions, as there will be plenty of time after the presentation for discussions.
Mulch: Using Yard "Waste" to Create Healthier Gardens
Saturday, October 24th, 2009, 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm
Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre, 3663 Park Road, North Vancouver
Register by calling the Ecology Centre at 604-990-3755
The only thing I enjoy more than gardening with mulch is sharing the joys of mulch with others. Join me for a free presentation about how mulch can help you be a better gardener, and a happier, more productive citizen. This is a Gardensmart workshop, so pre-registration is required. More information can be found here.
Natural Garden Parties
Summer and Fall 2009
The North Shore Recycling Program is offering Natural Garden Parties to residents of North and West Vancouver this year. These free backyard workshops provide local residents with a fun, effective way to discuss, learn, and spread sustainable gardening practices with friends and neighbours. I am honored to provide my horticultural expertise at some of the parties . So far, great fun has been had by all of this season's parties, and I encourage anyone who may be interested to click here for more information about hosting one.
