July 31, 2014
Here at the Compost Education Centre, we always enjoy watching beautiful starts leave the sale to find their new homes in gardens around town. We’ll be hosting our second plant sale of the year on Saturday August 16th from 10am-1pm. This is a great opportunity to pick up some great veggie starts such as broccoli, kale and chard varieties for healthy winter eating!
July 31, 2014
We are excited to offer a 2-for-1 special on our August workshops! For the month of August, all Compost Club members who take a workshop can bring a friend along for free. When registering online, simply purchase your workshop ticket as you usually do, then choose the option to bring along a friend at no cost. Looking forward to seeing you and your pals at these fantastic events!
You can choose from two awesome August workshops for the promotion:
Natural Beekeeping
1:00pm-4:00pm
August 9th
Are you curious about how to get started with natural backyard beekeeping? Join Tara Beninger, local beekeeper extraordinaire, to learn all about effective and natural beekeeping. Topics will include advantages of different hive designs, how to build an effective hive for our specific climate, natural approaches to bee health, bee-friendly hive management, and more! To register, click here.
Aquaponics
1:00pm-4:00pm
August 23rd
Aquaponics is an efficient, sustainable system that produces both fish and hydroponic vegetables! We will examine the development of aquaponics, techniques, new innovations and home-scale projects for the sustainable urban gardener. A range of potential crops and fish will be discussed, and we will also cover different materials and where to source them. The main focus will be on freshwater home systems, with the Compost Centre’s demonstration garden providing a practical example. We will also take a tour of the large-scale aquaponics system at Mason Street City Farm just a few blocks away from the Compost Education Centre! To register, click here.
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June 25, 2014
In exciting composting news, we are offering the green cone food digesters for a special sale price of $130 (down from $165) until September 30th October 31st! So many folks are excited about the opportunity to get a bargain digester that we decided to extend the sale.
Curious about the green cone food digester? Here’s the scoop! The Green Cone digester accepts all food scraps, including items that typically cannot go into a backyard compost bin :
The digester must be dug 2 feet into well draining soil in a sunny area of the garden.
Simply add all your food scraps and it will ‘digest’ them – turning your waste into a nutrient rich leachate that is absorbed by the surrounding soil.
It can also be used to compost pet waste (must be placed at least 10 feet away from a food garden or fruit producing tree in this case).
No skill or effort required, simply fill and forget:
For more information on the green cone food digester, check out our Fact Sheet!
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June 7, 2014
May 28, 2014
Without pollinators, humans and wildlife wouldn’t have much to eat! Bees, butterflies, wasps and even bats, ants, birds and beetles pollinate over 90% of the planet’s flowering plants and over 75% of human food crops.
Join us on Saturday June 14th from 10am-2pm for a day of education about creating habitat for pollinators, and what to plant in your garden to attract these valuable animals and insects.
We will also be hosting two free workshops:
Mason Bees from 10:00am-11:00am
Natural Beekeeping from 1:00pm-2:00pm
No registration is necessary, just come by and enjoy learning from local experts!
Posted in Adult Education, Announcement, Blog, News, Organic Gardening, WorkshopLeave a Comment on Pollination Education Day on June 14th!April 5, 2014
It’s that time of year again where we gather to review the past year, our plans for the new year, enjoy delicious food, and learn something new. This year’s AGM speaker will be Cat Orr. Cat will be speaking about some exciting new initiatives with rainwater catchment in schools. We will also be voting on the 2013 budget and will be voting on some membership pricing and benefits. Your input is vital – so we hope to see you there!
Everyone is welcome to attend the AGM. Members who have been in good standing with the Compost Education Centre have voting rights at the meeting.
When: Sunday April 13th, 1:00-3:00pm
Where: The straw bale building at the Compost Education Centre, 1216 North Park St
Posted in AGM, Announcement, Blog, Board, Events, NewsLeave a Comment on You’re invited to our Annual General Meeting!April 4, 2014
If the rainy days of early spring are getting you down, try thinking about rainwater as your friend and ally in the garden! In Victoria, we receive an average of 2 feet of rainfall each year. Most of the rain that hits our properties and streets is flushed away through a complex stormwater collection infrastructure and pours into harbours, lakes and river systems, often taking harmful pollutants and heavy metals with it. By collecting and storing rainwater in your property, you can help prevent these pollutants from entering our waterways and treat rainwater as the precious resource it is.
Rainwater collected from a rooftop can be a high quality water source, as it contains none of the chlorine found in centralized water supplies and is the perfect temperature for plants, which makes it ideal for use in the garden. Stored rainwater provides an ideal source of readily available water, particularly during long dry summers or in locations facing declining groundwater levels. Rain gardens, permeable paving, green roofs, rain barrels, cisterns and infiltration chambers are all examples of rainwater management methods. They can create natural, beautiful landscapes and public spaces.
Join us in our fabulous demonstration gardens to learn more about rainwater harvesting systems and practices in your community. In partnership with the CRD, we’ll be bringing together community and municipal groups involved in rainwater management, as well as hosting two free workshops about stormwater education, rainwater harvesting, and choosing the right systems. You will be entered to win a free rain barrel too!
Register for a FREE rainwater harvesting workshop here!
Rainy Days has received generous support from RBC and is proudly supported by the CRD.
Subsidized rain cisterns will be available on a first come first serve basis, with 10 of each size available for purchase. Limit one per household, payment options include credit card, debit, cash or cheque. Pick-up of the cisterns will be at Van Isle Water Systems with proof of purchase – 461 Dupplin Road, Victoria Store Hours: 7.30am-5.00pm Weekdays, 8.00am-Noon Saturdays.
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