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Gain new skills and knowledge with the Compost Education Centre! Learn more about our classes. Looking to register for one of our public workshops? Click here.
We are 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 one hour-long “lunch and learn” format.
Contact for price quote · 1-2 hrs
Learn simple techniques for analysing your soil quality through this hands-on workshop
We’ll measure the physical and biological quality of soil using the following practical tools you can also use at home:
Knowing these details can help inform next steps for stewarding your soil, and provide important baseline information for your gardening journey.
Contact for price quote · 1 hrs
Join us for an eye-opening discussion on how businesses can tackle food waste and composting practices!
Are you a business owner or employee of a business in the Capital Regional District on Vancouver Island that creates a lot of unavoidable or avoidable food waste (think – vegetable trimmings, spent coffee grounds, past due food, plate scrapings, employee lunch time waste etc.)? Do you have a good system of avoiding this food waste or composting the unavoidable food waste? If you’re curious about these questions – attend this free webinar to learn more from the Compost Education Centre about what is possible at your business. Learn the possibilities for:
Contact for price quote · 2 hrs
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.
$200 · 2 hrs
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.
Contact for price quote · 2 hrs
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!
Contact for price quote · 1-1.5 hrs
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.
Contact for price quote · 2 hrs
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.
$175 · 1-1.25 hrs
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.
Contact for price quote · 2 hrs
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!
$200 · 1-2 hrs
The soil under our feet is teeming with a web of microscopic life, whose complex interactions support all other terrestrial life. Healthy soils feature an intact and diverse microbial food web, which sustain nutrient cycles and maintain soil structure. We’ll finish by discussing the most effective ways to steward this living medium, and come away with aan inspired understanding of the intricate ways life in the soil, supports all life on earth.
$200 · 1-2 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.
$200 · 1-2 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.