- 1216 North Park St, Victoria, BC V8T 1C9
- Wed-Sat, 10:00am-4:00pm - 250,386, WORM(9676)
Our Site Manager and Community Education Coordinator is happy to come to your organization and share knowledge about the topics listed below. Online options are also possible and workshops can be delivered to your group on Wednesdays through Saturdays. Daytime offerings are preferred but evenings are also possible.
Custom workshops are also available, please be in touch using the form below to share what you are looking for. Composting Basics, Worm Composting and Soil Life workshops can be shortened for a 1 hour long “lunch and learn” format.
To book a workshop, call us at 250-386-9676 or get in touch via the contact form at the bottom of the page.
Scroll down to view the workshops that are available for booking.
Composting Basics · $200 · 1.5 hrs
What is the recipe for compost success and why does composting matter? This workshop will explore the answer to these questions, and will offer instructions on what it takes to produce an amendment for your garden that is rich in beneficial microorganisms and nutrients! We’ll cover the 6 factors for composting success, how to choose the best composting system for your needs and how to increase the rodent resistance of your compost pile.
Advanced Composting · $200 · 1.5 hrs
Advanced Composting aims to broaden the scope of participants’ knowledge of composting methods. Topics covered will include dynamic accumulators and hot composting, compost tea, in-situ composting methods and humanure.
Worm Composting · $200 · 1.5 hrs
Everything you need to know about starting up and maintaining a worm bin compost system, also known as vermicomposting. Perfect for small space composting and apartment living, or in addition to other composting systems you already have started at your home. Vermicompost is every gardener’s dream as a finished soil amendment, and serves as a fast, easy food waste diversion tool.
Soil Life: Really Important Tiny Lives · $200 · 1.5 hrs
Soil is capable of supporting plant life and is vital to life on earth, yet we understand very little about its complexities. Dig deeper with this introductory soil science workshop where we’ll look at the soil ecosystem and the microbiology that helps us grow nutritious food.
Grow Your Own Food 101 · Contact for cost quote
Want to grow your own groceries but not sure where to even start? This tip and info rich workshop is designed for beginners who want to get their hands dirty and start producing fresh produce in their backyards or in containers. We’ll cover soil health, basic gardening techniques like watering, weeding and mulching and so much more.
Planning Your Year-Round Veggie Garden · Contact for price quote
Here in Victoria good planning makes it possible to harvest produce from our gardens during every month of the year. Knowing when to sow seeds is important. But it’s just as crucial to know when and how to transition one crop to another. This presentation will show you how to plan to grow year-round, care for your soil, protect your crops in winter, and we’ll even touch on pests and diseases!
Resilient Lifestyles: Permaculture 101 · Contact for a price quote
Resilient Lifestyles are necessary in these times of climate change, forest fires, and a pandemic. Learn about how you can model your garden, home and life after nature, using the permaculture principles. Permaculture is a sustainable design theory modeled on natural ecosystems. With attention paid to where these practices and where this knowledge originated, come and learn about the ethics and principles of permaculture, and scale-able ways to apply the theory to your garden, home and life.
Sustainable Site Tour · Contact for price quote · $ 175
We offer guided tours during which participants will gain an in-depth understanding of the many ecological gardening techniques and processes at work on the Compost Education Centre’s site. Topics covered include attracting pollinators, permaculture guilds and food forests, organic vegetable growing, soil stewardship and rainwater harvesting.
Food Preservation Basics · Contact for price quote
Come learn the basics of how to preserve the summer and autumn abundance. We will learn the basics of dehydrating, we’ll cover how best to freeze foods, store foods, and we’ll learn the science behind hot water bath canning and fermenting too. Preserving foods is not only a delicious way to taste summer in the dark rainy days of winter, but it is also an act of sustainability and creates more security in the food system.
Zero Waste Living · Contact for price quote
Ever dream of a life where you create no waste? With some thought and planning, it’s possible! In this workshop, we’ll explore a typical home – from the bathroom to the kitchen, the garden to the living room, and identify a variety of ways that you can go waste free by making simple changes in your everyday life. At the end of the workshop, we’ll each make a commitment to an action that we will hold each other accountable to in weeks to come. Bring something to write with?
Hot Water Bath Canning · Contact for price quote
Ever wonder what to do with all those tomatoes? How about the epic amount of beets your neighbor just gifted you? Or just want to Do-It-Yourself and make your own berry jam to enjoy in the dark days of winter? In this workshop we will talk about the basics of safe produce preservation using the hot water bath method of preservation. You’ll get to taste some yummy home canned goodies, and we’ll make a batch of home canned jam together. You will come away with a basic idea of how to can the season’s abundance safely, and have a list of resources to consult for further learning.
Container Gardening · Contact for a price quote
Growing veggies, flowers and fruits is not only for the garden – growing in containers can be an incredibly rewarding and abundant way to add nourishment and local veg to your meals. In this workshop, learn about what types of containers are the best to use, how to replenish nutrients and choose the right soil, and what varieties of fruit, veg and flowers are best grown in containers.
Fermenting Kombucha · Contact for price quote
Start brewing your own yummy, good for your tummy, fermented Kombucha with this crash course.
Having mysterious histories, these fermented, probiotic rich delicacies are known for being full of good things that promote overall digestive wellness. They are delicious and satisfying and there is a great number of ways you can flavor your goods! In this workshop we’ll go over the basics of how to ferment kombucha, and we’ll learn how to create effervescent kombucha with unique flavoring, like purchased kombuchas so often have.
Fermenting Vegetables · Contact for price quote
Did you know that you can not only preserve vegetables, but also make them into sources of healthy bacteria, simply by adding salt? At this workshop, we’ll talk shop about the basics of fermenting vegetables and there will be a demo of how to make sauerkraut. Go away with a recipe and method to make your own batch!
Gluten-Free Sourdough · Contact for price quote
Learn the basics of how to make a successful gluten free sourdough starter, which flours are the best for gluten free bread baking, and methods for how to make wholesome home-made loaves of bread. We’ll start by discussing the background of what fermentation actually is, and perhaps even taste some yummy delicacies.
Yard-Free Composting · Contact for price quote
We’ll cover options that are available for composting without a yard. Surprisingly, there are many, and we’ll discover the benefits and drawbacks to each so you can determine the system that is right for your life & home. We’ll learn about:
Bring your questions, we’ll have time for Q & A.
Plan & Prepare Your Garden · Contact for price quote
It’s the time of year when gardeners get excited about plotting and planning what they will be planting in their garden. Here on Southern Vancouver Island, good planning makes it possible to harvest produce from our gardens during every month of the year. In this workshop we will cover:
Build Incredible Soil · Contact for price quote
In this workshop we’ll explore the basis of all life on earth: Healthy Soil! We’ll explore what soil is made of and the vast importance of soil microbes. We’ll answer these questions and many more:
Come learn why soil is so important for plant growth and how to build incredible soil.
Putting the Garden to Bed · Contact for price quote
Fall is the time to put the garden to rest. Whether you have overwintering crops in the vegetable gardens, perennials that need pruning back and tucking in, autumn is the time to ensure the soil is protected from winter winds and rains.
In this workshop we’ll cover the following: