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Toronto Community Garden Network

EVENTS, WORKSHOPS AND COURSES

Up Coming Events

2010 Event's Calender

Come and join in! Here are listed free events and workshops. As well, there are some courses that have a fee. It will include events like the Community Garden potluck picnics, Festivals, Community Garden Workshops and Courses like the permaculture course that has a fee.

 

If you have Events, Workshops or Courses that you wish to have posted, please contact mail@tcgn.ca at least two weeks in advance.

 

Events 2010

posted September 04, 2010

- The OPS Urban Gardeners, located in College Park are holding a Garden Open House & Harvest!

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  • When: Tuesday September 14, 2010 - 12-1 pm
  • Where: Garden in College Park, behind the 777 Bay St. building

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This Event is Free, And Everyone Is Welcome

Rain or Shine

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Featured free activities:

  • - Sampling of produce from the garden in a variety of dishes

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  • - Gardening demos and tips on how to get bountiful plants, even in late season

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  • - Seed planting competition

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Who we are:

The OPS Urban Gardeners is a volunteer group based in the Ontario Public Service devoted to the learning and practice of growing food sustainably in the city and workplace; as well as to valuing our connection with food and how it is linked to community, the economy, and environmental sustainability.

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ORGANIC FOOD FESTIVAL AT THE

“NEW HORIZONS COMMUNITY GARDEN”

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Saturday, September 4, 2010

12:00 am – 2:00 pm

Tom Riley Park, 3214 Bloor St W

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www.newhorizonsgarden.ca

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  • Join the festivities

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  • Tour the garden

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  • Sale of organic produce from the garden

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  • Refreshments

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  • Fun for young and old

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Sponsors: City of Toronto and Social Development Canada (New Horizons for Seniors Program)

For more information please call Julia at (416)534-7400 Extension 223
Or E-mail Julia At JHuterer@costi.org

YIMBY (Yes in My Back Yard) Garden Walking Tour

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  • No cost!
  • Sunday September 12 · 11:00am - 1:00pm . 2010
  • 601 Christie, just south of St. Clair
  • Meet at the Wychwood Barns, Barn 5

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  • Bring comfortable shoes and your water.

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Celebrate backyard and front-yard food gardens!

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Tour some of the gardens participating in The Stop's YIMBY (Yes in My Back Yard) yard sharing program.

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Please RSVP with Liz liz@thestop.org

(416)651-7867 ext 27

Evergreen Brick Works Grand Opening Celebration

Saturday and Sunday, September 25 & 26, 2010

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Location: - Evergreen Brick Works, 550 Bayview Avenue

Toronto, ON M4W 3X8

Canada

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Description: - Plan to join Evergreen in celebration of the grand opening of Evergreen Brick Works! We’ll have fabulous food, tours of the historic heritage buildings and festivities all weekend long. Help us kick off this new chapter in creating more sustainable cities.

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And Please join us for more gardening

  • Community Planting
  • Location: – Evergreen Brick Works, 550 Bayview Avenue
    • Every Sunday in the month of September from 10a.m. – 12p.m.
Description: Come on down to help green Evergreen Brick Works. Bring your friends and join Evergreen as we plant wildflowers to transform the community center in the heart of the Don Valley. Refreshments, tools, gloves and training will all be provided — all you need is vigor and your work clothes!

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 Read More >>

“Cut it Out Toronto!”

at Canadian Tire

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The City of Toronto is encouraging all Torontonians to help cut the emissions responsible for climate change.

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On September 18 & 19 2010 .- Retire your old, polluting, gas-powered leaf and snow blower, lawnmower and trimmer to one of four Canadian Tire stores, and receive a $25 Canadian Tire Bonus Card*. Items will be accepted between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. at the following:
  • *maximum five Bonus Cards distributed per household

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All items will be sent for responsible recycling.

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Experts from Toronto Water and Toronto Hydro will also be on-site to give people tips and tools to help them reduce their energy and water use.

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Visit livegreentoronto.ca for all of the event details.

YUF CSA presents its 1st Panel Discussion

Young Urban Farmers - Community Supported Agriculture

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YUF CSA is proud to present the next workshop as part of its 2010 Summer Workshop Series:

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Growing Local Roots: Advancing Urban Agricultural Movements in the Greater Toronto Area

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  • Event information:
    • Monday August 16th, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
    • Metro Hall, 55 John Street, Meeting Room 310

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This moderated discussion will feature a stellar panel of leaders in the urban agricultural and local food movements. They will share their stories and ideas about ways in which urban growing initiatives in the Greater Toronto Area can take flight and touch communities. After their presentations, participants will get a chance to ask questions through a question period.

Read More >>

The Live Green Toronto Festival

What happens when you mix hundreds of green products and services with live music and local foods - and invite everyone in Toronto?

The Live Green Toronto Festival!

Toronto’s annual celebration of all things green turns Yonge Street into ‘green street’ with more than 100 exhibitors of green products and services, local food, live music, and more.

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Please join us on August 28 & 29, 2010 at Yonge-Dundas Square

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  • Event Hours:
    • Saturday August 28th 11 am - 8pm
    • Sunday August 29th 11 am - 4 pm

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You’ll find everything from bees, worms and bikes, to green fashions, renewable energy, local foods and more.

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Good green fun for the whole family!

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Stay tuned for more details of the 2010 Festival.

Rain Barrel Sale in Support of

The Toronto Zoo

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August 14th and 15th

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The Toronto Zoo is hosting a Rain Barrel Truckload Sale on August 14th and 15th.

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  • Rain barrels will be available for $50

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Details are available online at www.RainBarrel.ca or by calling 905-545-5577

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The Toronto Zoo 361A Old Finch Avenue, Scarborough, ON M1B 5K7‎ - (416) 392-5929‎

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RainBarrel.ca seeks community partners to host fundraising truckload rain barrel sales.

Visit www.RainBarrel.ca or call (905) 545-5577, to learn more about raising funds for your local community organization

FoodCycles Community Farm

... Veggie Stand!! ...
  • Date: August 7th
  • Time: 10am - 3pm
  • Tours: 11am and 1pm
  • Location: 70 Canuck Avenue
On Saturday August 7th, FoodCycles Community Farm will be opening it's garden gate. All are invited to visit our farm stand and sample seasonal sustainably-grown produce. Savour the flavour of fresh vegetables that haven't traveled the long road to the supermarket, while spending your local food dollars to support our garden and compost education programs.
All eaters are welcome from 10am - 3pm. Tours of the farm and greenhouse will take place at 11am and 1pm..
FoodCycles Community Farm is a short drive from downtown or a leisurely TTC ride from Downsview Station. Feeling energized, why not ride your bike over? We located at 70 Canuck Avenue, just steps south from the Keele and Sheppard intersection. We are the 3rd southern greenhouse.

Casa Loma Tree Tour

Please join LEAF (Local Enhancement and Appreciation of Forests) for a tour of Casa Loma

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We will be meeting by the fountain in front of the castle at

Saturday, August 14

10:00 am.

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Join LEAF's Lauren Brown on the grounds of the famous Casa Loma where you will learn the history of its evolving urban canopy and how to best preserve it.
The tour will be led by guest expert Philip van Wassenaer, who has his Masters of Forest Conservation, runs his own urban forestry company, and has worked locally, nationally and internationally on assignments concerning urban forestry and the preservation of significant trees.
Joining Philip is Bruce Scott, Casa Loma's head gardener for the past 20 years, who will expand on the heritage site's amazing grounds and gardens. The walking difficulty of this tour is medium: mixed pavement and grass, with some stairs and small hills on the route.

Map - 1 Austin Terrace T.O.

Ben Nobleman Park Community Orchard Harvest Festival

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Come and celebrate Toronto's first community orchard in a park with free food, music, information booths, a free raffle and children's activities.

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  • Date: Thursday August 26, 5pm to 8pm
  • Location: Ben Nobleman Park on Eglinton just south of the Eglinton West subway station

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  • Learn how planting fruit trees can help build communities and make them more sustainable.
The event is being organized by Growing for Green together with Parks Forestry and Recreation.
Organizational partners include:
Hundreds of dollars worth of prizes have been donated by the Upper Village BIA including massages, martial arts courses, gift certificates and more! There will also be orchard tours, martial arts demonstrations, and free fruit and other snacks for all.

For more information visit: www.communityorchard.ca

Save the date Toronto!
Deepening Roots two-day workshop

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Dates: August 7 & 8, 2010

Location: Centre for Social Innovation - 215 Spadina Ave (north of Queen)

Timing: 12:00-5:00pm on Saturday & Sunday

Cost: $95 regular / $75 student/senior

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$20 early bird discounts available (register by July 31)

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Join us for a fun, knowledge-rich & practical workshop!

You will get a comprehensive introduction to:

  • » sustainable agriculture (including polyculture design)
  • » nutrition (including healthy food preparation)
  • » community building (including meditation)

. Read More >>

FARMY Toronto: July 17 - 31, 2010

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Project 165 presents FARMY ; A project by Amanda White

Dates: July 17 - 31 2010

Closing Reception: July 30th, 7 - 10 pm

Hours and Location: Tues - Sun 12 - 4pm, 165 Augusta Ave. Toronto ON

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This year FARMY will be based at Project 165.... 165 Augusta Ave. in Toronto. Visitors can join in the action by deploying troops throughout the neighborhood and city, and during the July 25th edition of Car Free Sunday in Kensington Market, this will be a larger public event. A closing reception will happen on the following weekend on Friday July 30th, 7 to 10pm.
FARMY is an ongoing community-wide project which playfully uses the language and tactics of war to address issues of land use, public space and the local food economy in large metropolitan cities.

The project consists of two phases:

  • The war itself, and, the documentary.
  • In the first phase, small parachute troopers – copied from children’s toys and cast in a clay, compost and seed mixture – are deployed throughout the city by the artist and volunteer participants.

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  • In the second phase, documentation of ‘troop movements’ and ‘engagements’ (i.e. successful seeding) is presented as part of a gallery installation.

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For more information visit: www.farmyparatroops.com

or contact Amanda White: info@farmyparatroops.com

McVean Farm Open House

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Come experience diverse, ecological food production on our 35 acre incubator farm in the developing north end of Brampton.
Meet with farmers from all over the world, growing a huge variety of crops, from honey to mushrooms to all kinds of vegetables. Enjoy a tour of the farm, children's activities, fresh picked farm produce and more!

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Cost:

  • Free

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When:

  • Sunday July 11, 2010, 11am - 3pm
  • Sunday August 29, 2010, 11am - 3pm

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Where:

  • FarmStart McVean Incubator Farm Facility, Brampton.
  • View map.

The farm is located on McVean Drive approx. 1 Km south of Castlemore Rd. and 1Km north of Queen St. E.

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Daniel

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  • Daniel Hoffmann
  • The Cutting Veg
  • (647)388-7444

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"Cultivating Personal, Social, Environmental, and Economic Health through Organic Agriculture."

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www.thecuttingveg.com

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The Kavanah Organic Community Teaching Garden

The Kavanah Garden, located at the Lebovic Jewish Community Campus in Vaughan, is an organic educational garden that models and inspires Jewish social and environmental responsibility. Our garden features heirloom vegetables, herbs, berries, and native wildflowers; a greenhouse; and a compost demonstration site; raised wheelchair-accessible garden beds; our green technologies includes a solar oven in our outdoor kitchen.

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Our programs and events are open to ALL community members

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  • Up coming Workshops in Toronto & Vaughan:

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For more information about the Kavanah Garden, please visit our website www.kavanahgarden.org or contact Risa Alyson Strauss at (416)805-8382 or risa@torathateva.org. To subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter which highlights upcoming programs, events, and volunteer opportunities, send Risa an e-mail with “subscribe” in the subject line.

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Intro to Permaculture

Empower Yourself to Create a Sustainable Future

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Do you want to live a deeper shade of green but don’t know where to start?

Permaculture enables individuals to live in harmony with their surroundings through the thoughtful design and creation of diverse, resilient and agriculturally productive landscapes. Whether you are an urban dweller interested in growing food or a rural aficionado seeking greater self-sufficiency, permaculture will enable you to realize just that. Join a growing worldwide movement with teachers Jillian Hovey & Justin Tilson for a long weekend of learning, hands-on training, camping and nourishing, local food on beautiful Manitoulin Island.

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Where: Tilson Homestead, Manitoulin Island

When: July 30th - August 2nd, 2010

Cost: $350 (includes on-site camping and local, organic meals)

  • Scholarships available, please inquire at our website below

Info: For more info visit manitoulinpermaculture.com

E-mail: manitoulinpermaculture@gmail.com

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Jillian Hovey is a seasoned international permaculture teacher who is dedicated to inspiration and education about healthy and sustainable living. Her professional skills are focused on the teaching, design, and facilitation of eco development projects ranging from designs of urban lots to whole ecovillage communities

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Justin Tilson spent years building urban food gardens in Vancouver before diving into a permaculture. Following a design course at OUR Ecovillage, he completed the Bullocks' Teacher Training Program on Orcas Island, WA. Justin is committed to empowering others through permaculture to create a global, sustainable culture. He has an MBA in Sustainable Development from bgi.edu.

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Hey Farm Folk, THE FARM NEEDS YOU NOW!
!Did you say you wanted to volunteer this season?
Well, THE FARM NEEDS YOU NOW! We're looking for folks on the following dates:

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  • Wednesday, June 16th, 6:30-noon
  • Thursday, June 17th, 6:30-noon
  • Sunday, June 20th, 6:30-noon
  • Monday, June 21st, 6:30-noon
  • Tuesday, June 22nd, 6:30-noon
  • Wednesday, June 23rd, 6:30-noon
  • Thursday, June 24th, 6:30-noon
  • Sunday, June 27th, 6:30-noon
It's okay if you can't make it out by 6:30am sharp. Let us know when you can come, and if you need a lift.

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N/W corner of McVean Drive & Queen St. E., Pt. Lt. 6 Conc. 8 N.D. , Brampton, ON.

Harvesting, planting, weeding awaits! Looking forward to seeing ya on the farm!

Daniel

  • Daniel Hoffmann
  • The Cutting Veg
  • (647)388-7444

"Cultivating Personal, Social, Environmental, and Economic Health through Organic Agriculture."

Toronto Community Garden Network and FoodShare's
Plant Giveaway, June 14 3-7pm

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Come get free plants donated by the City of Toronto, FoodShare, Urban Harvest, and others.

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  • Community Gardens can take two flats of plants.
  • Individuals can take six plants.
  • At 6:30, remaining plants will be divided equitably among all gardeners present.

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  • There will also be lots of seed potatoes and sunflowers for everyone. The giveaway is first come, first serve, and the best plants always go fast!

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Please feel free to bring any extra plants that you’d like to give away, or perennials that you want to divide.

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Reminder: Please remember to bring whatever you will need to take the plants away with you (your own boxes, bags, flats, strong friends...)

Location: FoodShare, 90 Croatia Street on the west side of the Brock entrance. 90 Croatia Street is 1 block west of Dufferin and 1 block south of Bloor St

CSA - Community Cannery

The West End Food Co-op, in collaboration with the Parkdale Activity and Recreation Centre, is starting a community cannery in Parkdale - we will be running a series of preserving workshops and a small-scale pilot canning CSA throughout the summer.

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We hope to go far beyond jams, working to discover ethnic and indigenous recipes and preserving techniques as well as low-sugar and macrobiotic options in addition to basic water-bath pickles and chutneys.

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Our first workshops of the season will be running on:

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When:

  • June 18th & 25th
  • from 5-8 pm

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Where:

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Plant and Seeds Sale from the Perth Dupont Community Garden

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Visit The Perth Dupont Community Garden at the:

Perth Public School

Thursday June 17th

After School From 3:30 - 6:30pm

14 Ruskin Ave. Toronto

Read More >>

Hello Toronto Urban Growers!

TUG meeting Friday, June 4th at 5:30pm-7:30pm

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Spring has arrived and it's time to get the TUG group together again. We invite you to join us for a potluck where we'll share updates, have some fun and EAT GOOD FOOD! Please note that this is an optional potluck, so if you’re not able to bring anything – you’re still welcome to join the fun. We’ll be meeting at FoodShare (90 Croatia Street)

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Hope to see you all there and Happy Spring!

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About TUG
Toronto Urban Growers is a working group focused on networking, communication, advocacy to support urban growing in Toronto. Please spread the word, and get the urban growers and supporters that you know connected.
We also have a wordpress site, which will be our future home. At this point the website is well set up, but needs to have a bunch of content added. To start dreaming about what you'd like to add, go to urbangrowers.wordpress.com

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Directions for getting to FoodShare…

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  • Walking, biking or driving:
  • You can get driving directions from anywhere by visiting the Google map 90 Croatia St. Just remember that our entrance will be on Brock St.

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  • By TTC:
  • Take the Bloor St. Westbound Subway to the Dufferin Station and then walk one block west to Brock St. Turn south on Brock and walk down one block to the school on the corner of Brock and Croatia. The entrance is on Brock but the address is 90 Croatia.

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About Our City Wide Gathering
We would like to invite all of those who grow food in Toronto and nearby areas (urban farmers, balcony growers, backyard gardeners, guerrilla gardeners, and community gardeners), as well as those who support them and who dream of becoming urban growers to join us (researchers, advocates, students, funders, and others). We will all be gathering at FoodShare to share our growing knowledge, comment on the city's new urban agriculture policies, and report back on activities over the last few months, to hear from all of the TUG working groups, and to plan the next steps for TUG. We see this event as an opportunity to connect to others with similar interests, and to help move those interests forward.

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Thank a Honey Bee on May 29

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May 29 - Day of the Honey Bee

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May 29 has been proclaimed Day of the Honey Bee by over 30 cities and towns across Canada (see the Day of the Honey Bee group on Facebook to find out if your municipality has done so).
Honey bees are just one of over a thousand species of pollinating insects in Canada, but for food production they are by far the most important. Originally imported from Europe in the 1820's to make honey in early French settlements in Quebec, honey bees soon left their domestic hives and formed wild colonies throughout eastern Canada. Gardeners and farmers took pollination for granted for nearly another century, since wild bees (including hundreds of native species such as bumblebees, carpenter bees, and leaf-cutter bees) pollinated most of their crops.
As agriculture intensified during the 20th century, honey bees became the workhorses of crop pollination. Now they are regularly loaded into transport trucks (the bees return to their hives at night, and wait there until morning) and driven to orchards, vineyards, berry fields, squash and pumpkin fields, sometimes over long distances. Although no one yet knows the precise reason, honey bee colonies have been dying at a rate of about 30% per year for the past four years in a row. If not for a concerted scramble to breed more queens every year, they would be in very scarce supply.

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Seeds of Diversity operates Pollination Canada, and is a steering committee member of the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign.

Visit:

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for information on pollinator friendly gardening, and learning resources.

Tree Tenders Volunteer Training And Stewardship Workshop

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Course 2: Space is limited, sign up now to reserve your spot

  • Tuesday June 22nd, 5:30-8:30pm
  • Thursday June 24th, 5:30-8:30pm
  • Saturday June 26th, 10am-4pm
  • Tuesday June 29th, 5:30-8:30pm

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Register Now

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This 15 hour training program is designed for individuals who want to gain tree-related knowledge and skills. If you’ve always wanted to learn more about how trees work, tree planting and tree care, this is the course for you!
Each session provides basic arboriculture training which includes a combination of indoor and outdoor instruction. The final day of the course will feature a tree planting activity.

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Topics to be covered:

  • Tree biology, anatomy and functions
  • Trees and soils
  • Tree identification
  • City of Toronto Urban Forestry tree-related policies and activities
  • Identifying and managing tree stresses
  • Tree planting and establishment
  • Tree care and maintenance
  • How to get involved in urban forest stewardship

. Read More >>

Green Enterprise Ontario

And

LocalFood

Plus

present
The 3rd Annual

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Brewers Plate
Celebrating the 5th Anniversary of Ontario’s Greenbelt
  • Wednesday May 26th 2010
  • Hart House, University of Toronto
  • The feast begins at 7:00pm.
  • Tickets$159.00 (inc.GST and service charge)
  • brewersplatetoronto.org

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A local, sustainable spring feast featuring many of Toronto’s most distinguished chefs, brewers, food artisans and farmers, including:

Chefs: Jamie Kennedy, Brad Long, Mark Cutrara, Marc Breton, Karen Vaz, Brook Kavanagh, Michel Steh, Oyster Boy, Magic Oven, Buddha Dog, Chocosol, On The Side Inc., Harmony, LPK Culinary Groove, Ninutik Maple and Daily Apple

Brewers: Black Oak, Wellingtons, Steam Whistle, Mill St, Great Lakes, Cameron’s, Nickel Brook, Flying Monkeys, Beau’s and Heritage Brewing and more!

Join Patron David Crombie for a very special evening of taste revelations in a stunning historic venue with live jazz music from the Gillian Margot Trio

Withrow Park Farmers' Market

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Spring Fling

Saturday May 22

9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

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The Withrow Park Farmers' Market kicks off season 4 with its annual Spring Fling

Saturday May 22, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., rain or shine!

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Get free City compost, courtesy of Councillor Paula Fletcher

bring a shovel, bags, boxes or pails, and take it away (good for bedding plants!)

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And...

Join us for our Community Seedling Exchange ongoing from:

  • 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
  • bring some seedlings,
  • take some seedlings.
  • No seedlings to swap?...
  • There will be lots for sale, too: you won't go home empty handed!

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Unfortunately, due to the possibility of termite transmission the City advised us against exchanging perennial division

Withrow Park Farmers’ Market hours and location:

  • Every Saturday May 22 – October 30, 9 a.m. – 1p.m., rain or shine!
  • One block south of Danforth, between Logan and Carlaw.
  • Visit www.withrowpark.ca for details

Plant and Seeds Sale at the Perth Dupont Community Garden

Saturday May 15 2010

10am - 1:30pm - (to 3pm if the weather is really nice)

Location:

The Perth Dupont Community Garden is located just outside the downtown core of Toronto, in the west end. We are one block west of Symington Ave, just north of Dupont St. The only entrance to the garden is on Perth Ave.

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We will have a sale of:

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strawberries:

  • ones with white flowers that produce berries in the spring and early summer
  • ones with pink flowers that produce berries all during the growing season till the fall frost.

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We will also have our Open Pollinated seeds available from last years growing season.

Our list of seeds includes:

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As well we will have a variety of Garlic for planing.

We a non-profit community garden run by volunteers. We strive to make our garden accessible to those in the community that do not have their own growing space.
As a multicultural group of gardeners with ethnic and lifestyle diversity, we are a place to grow food, flowers, and friendships, as well personal social and leadership skills.

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for more information e-mail Susan at: perth-dupontcg@frogstar.com

Website: www.perth-dupont.parkcommons.ca

City Farmer: Adventures in Urban Food Growing

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Please Join Lorraine Johnson

at The Stop to

launch her new book

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  • City Farmer: Adventures in Urban Food Growing.
  • Date: Wednesday May 26,
  • Time: 6:30pm to 8:30pm
  • Hosted by:

The Stop Community Food Centre

  • At the: Artscape's Wychwood Barns, in the Green Barn
  • 601 Christie Street(Christie and St. Clair)

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Refreshments will be served.

Please consider making a cash donation to The Stop in support of their great work.

www.thestop.org

  • Do come!
  • cheers,
  • Lorraine
  • P.S. more details about the book on my blog, www.ediblecity.ca

Good Soil Community Garden Information Session & Orientation

Saturday May 15th 9am - 12pm.

  • Looking for a place to garden?
  • Look no further!

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The Good Soil Community Garden is holding a gardener information session and orientation on Saturday May 15th 9am - 12pm.

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  • A continental breakfast will be provided free of charge.
  • We are located at 1796 Lawrence Ave W.
  • (east of Jane St.) behind St. David's Anglican Church.

Please RSVP by Friday May 14th.

Contact the Garden Coordinator Nastassja Harris at goodsoilgarden@gmail.com

Or Call (647)406 - 6283 for details.

All are welcome!!!

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Good Soil Community Garden Grand Opening

Saturday May 22nd. 10am

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Please join us for our grand opening celebration and first community garden planting day on Saturday May 22nd.

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  • The formal program begins at 10am and ends at 10:30am.
  • Gardeners will be planting from 10:30am onwards.
  • Light refreshments will be provided.

Address: 1796 Lawrence Ave. W (east of Janet St.) behind St. David's Anglican Church.

For more information e-mail the Garden Coordinator Nastassja Harris at goodsoilgarden@gmail.com

Or call (647)406 - 6283.

See you there!!!

 
International Pollinator Week
June 21-27, 2010
  • Save the Date for International Pollinator Week! June 21-27, 2010.

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Bees, butterflies, birds and bats are essential actors in our gardens, farms and wild areas. They are the pollinators that help co-produce fruit, vegetables and flowers. It is estimated that one out of every three bits should be attributed to a pollinator.
Honey bee and wild bee populations are declining globally. Gardeners like you are in a unique position can make a significant difference to these declines by providing pollinators with nesting and foraging habitat.
Join us to celebrate these amazing creatures and learn how to make the world a friendlier place to bee by becoming a pollinator steward in your garden.

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Events:

Click on the names of the events to see the full details.

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Pre-Pollinator Week Gardening Workshop:

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  • A hands-on workshop to create a habitat garden that provides appropriate nesting and food for pollinators.

Read More >>

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The Gleaning Screening!

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A Fundraising Film Screening and Party
Thursday, May 20th, 2010

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  • Thursday, May 20th, 2010
  • Special for Early Birds! Buy tickets in advance and get a free drink with admission!
  • Toronto Underground Cinema
  • 186 Spadina Ave.(enter on Cameron St., north of Queen St. W.)
  • Doors at 6:30pm
  • Film at 7:30pm (Party to follow)
  • Tickets available for purchase online
  • or by calling (416) 908-3022

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Join us to kick off the new harvest season and support NOT FAR FROM THE TREE at our spring screening of THE GLEANERS AND I and then party it up with drinks, mingling, prizes, and fun. Among other special offerings, a select number of our signature drink – known as “The Gleaner,” designed by Chef Sharon Bergey of Jamie Kennedy Kitchens, and made with a delicious preparation of elderberry syrup gleaned from a Toronto tree – will be available.
Be one of the first to see this new venue, the Toronto Underground Cinema, and screen an inspiring film that critics have adored (”Visually brilliant!” “A bewitching documentary!” “A tribute to all the people who think outside the box”),

...all about our favourite subject: Gleaning!

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A great movie, great drinks, great food, and a fabulous party!

Plus, prizes to be won.

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We’re in the process of raising funds for our 2010 season, so your support is crucial at this time! Thank you.

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INVITATION
PARKDALE PUBLIC GARDENS PLANNING CHARRETTE

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  • Saturday, May 15th
  • from 1:00pm to 4:00pm
  • Masaryk-Cowan Community Centre
  • 220 Cowan Avenue

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The Parkdale Village Business Improvement Area, in partnership with Parkdale Liberty Economic Development Corporation, is requesting your attendance at the

Public Gardens Planning Charrette

on Saturday, May 15th from 1:00pm to 4:00pm at Masaryk-Cowan Community Centre, 220 Cowan Avenue.

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In the past few years, several planting beds, which were created to accentuate the area, have become neglected and over grown.
They are no longer attractive during the spring and summer months. This year we are focused on creating an increased sense of pride in these artistic and eclectic little areas.

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The public gardens are located at:

  • Brock St.
  • Gwynne Ave.
  • West Lodge Ave.
  • 2 at the Green ‘P’ Parking Lot (1325 Queen St. West)
  • O’Hara Ave.

. Read More >>

Wildflower Sale

  • Wildflowers and Shrubs
  • Trees and Vines
  • Ferns and Grasses
  • as well as Sedges
Great selection brought together in ONE location!

Saturday, May 8, 2010

10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Markham Civic Centre, Atrium

101 Town Centre Boulevard

Markham

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Native plants provide food and habitat for birds, butterflies and other desirable wildlife. They thrive without fertilizer, pesticides or supplemental watering. NANPS plants are of local origin -- ensuring hardiness and genetic suitability. Add just a few or transform your whole yard into a bountiful wildlife oasis.

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Enjoy free presentations:

  • 11:30 a.m. - Rachel Gagnon: - ‘Identifying and Controlling Invasive Plants’
  • 12:30 p.m. - Gavin Trevelyan: - ‘Prairie Plants for Your Garden’

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All plants come from NANPS approved ethical growers.
Sun, shade, wet or dry there’s something for every garden condition. Also find hundreds of books on related topics

. Read More >>

On the occasion of the 15th Anniversary of

Compost Awareness Week

and the 10th Anniversary of the

Mustard Seed Community Garden
Compost
Garden Party

featuring a concert with Jane’s Party

Date:

  • Sunday May 2, 2010

Time:

  • 2 pm

Location:

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Join in our community celebration
and
LOVE OF THE EARTH!
Our Party will be featuring Jane’s Party
(voted one of Ontario's Top 10 bands by CBC Radio 1)
Get the inside scoop on:
composting for a healthier garden
veggie gardening workshops for family and kids
“Grow your soup” tasting and more!

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www.compost.org * 1-877-571-GROW

The Cedarvale Community Children’s Garden (cccg)

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PLEASE JOIN US FOR

BRUNCH AND OUR

TENTH ANNUAL

SPRING CLEAN UP

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Angels, Neighbours, Parents, Kids and Students,

we need your help getting ready for the season.

Learn about vegetable garden bed preparation and pruning and perennials

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  • When:
  • Sunday April 18th 10am – 2pm
  • (Rain date: Sunday, April 25, 10am – 2pm)

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Gathering in the Garden!!

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Free Activities for Kids and Families!!
"Be Full of Beans" program
"Be Full of Beans" program encourages children and their families to grow extra for those in need

A handful of seeds, well-prepared soil and

Plant a Row • Grow a Row JUNIOR

help teach the "how to's" of veggie gardening and harvest sharing

To the middle of May 2010 or until supplies run out

Plant a Row - Grow a Row is handing out bean seed packets.

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  • Canada - March 31, 2010 - Growing beans and all kinds of other vegetables is becoming a snap, thanks to Plant a Row • Grow a Row JUNIOR, a veggie gardening and sharing initiative for children and their families, sponsored by the Garden Writers Association, Food Banks Canada and The Compost Council of Canada. And to kick off the gardening season, a free package of beans and growing instructions is available to gardeners interested in supporting this initiative, thanks to the support of McKenzie Seeds.

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  • "Plant a Row • Grow a Row JUNIOR is a great way for children and their families to come together for an amazing cause," said Britt Lawson, Brand Manager, McKenzie Seeds. "We are thrilled to support this program, and encourage families to get their hands and knees dirty in the garden this summer. The benefits of this project will last for years to come as young Canadians learn the joys of gardening and community service simultaneously."

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  • In addition to the free bean seed package and planting instructions, a special section devoted to children and veggie gardening has been posted on www.growarow.org, thanks to the support from the Ontario Trillium Foundation and care from organizations such as Rittenhouse, icangarden and Scotts Canada. Posters and other support materials are also made available for those interested in promoting the initiative within their community.

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Call 1-877-571-GROW(4769) for a free package of beans to grow in your garden this summer and share some of the harvest with your local food bank. One request per family or organization. A total of 5000 bean seed packages available. Call early.

For more information about veggie gardening

and to become involved in Plant a Row • Grow a Row, please contact

May Ho Stepanek @ 1-877-571-GROW or mstepanek@compost.org

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Click here to download “How to Grow Beans” brochure

Great Garden Search Contest

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Contest Is Now Closed

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Please see below for the winning details.

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  • Contest Goal:

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Was to help the Toronto Community Garden Network find community gardens that aren't listed on their website.

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Participants in the contest looked at the list of Community Gardens then, walk around, use google maps, searched high and low, to find community gardens that are NOT listed on the website.

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When they found new gardens they e-mailed their entries to Norma Dickinson or entered them on-line.

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The grand prize went to the participant who found the most number of gardens that were not on the TCGN website.

  • In this case the The grand prize winner found 7 gardens!
  • In total 55 new gardens submitted.

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  • Gardens were be between Steeles Avenue and Lake Ontario, and between the Rouge River and Highway 27.

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Prizes:

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The grand prize is $150

First Runner Up got: Two Living Food Boxes

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The other runner ups won fantastic prizes like:

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  • Fiskars garden shears-titanium blade coating
  • Books - Grow Great Grub: Organic Food from Small Spaces by Gayla Trail, autographed by the author - and Book - Real Food for a Change, by Wayne Roberts
  • A Garden Essentials Gift basket - and a Book - Real Food For a Change, by Wayne Roberts
  • Book - The Vegetable Gardener's Bible, by Edward C. Smith
  • Books - Teaming with Microbes: Organic Gardener's Guide to Soil Food Web, by Jeff Lowenfels & Wayne Lewis and another Book - Composting for Dummies - and a Rain Gauge
  • Books - Sustainable Landscaping for Dummies, by Owen E. Dell and another Book - Perenial Companions, by Tom Fischer
  • Books - Organic Gardening for Dummies, by Ann Whitman et al Suzanne DeJohn and The Editors of the National Gardening Association - and another Book - Vegetable Gardening for Dummies, by Charlie Nardozzi et al The Editors of The National Gardening Association
  • Books - 50 High-Impact, Low-Care Garden Plants, by Tracy Disabato-Aust - and another book - Container Gardening: Design ideas for rooftops, balconies, terraces, and more, by Vicki Webster and Editors of Sunset Books
  • Books - Complete Guide to Houseplants, by Miracle-Gro - and - Enjoy Gardening, by Jim Hole - and - Get a Life, by Wayne Roberts
  • Books - How Does Your Garden Grow - A guide to Community Garden Success by Laura Berman- and Book - Get a Life, by Wayne Roberts, - and - Sprout Your Own Leafy Vegetables: Complete mini garden kit with seeds and peat pellets and planters
  • A bag with Herbed Vinegars - and a Book - The Family Kitchen Garden: How to Plant, Grow and Cook Together - by Karen Liebreich, Jutta Wagner and Annette Wendland

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Thank you to:

and

for generously donating these prizes.

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Community gardens that are outside of the Toronto borders are not eligible to win prizes but can still be registered on the TCGN map. You can enter them on-line.

What are Community Gardens

Read More >>

April 2010 - Organic Farming Certificate (OFC) program

More and more urbanites want to become farmers and they are looking for training that will fast track their entry into agriculture. Everdale Farm is launching an innovative training program called the Organic Farming Certificate (OFC) program.

The OFC is a 32-week program that teaches the practical skills and concepts necessary for the sound management of a small-scale organic farm. The OFC training schedule includes 600 hours of curriculum-based learning such as field trips, lectures/seminars, a personal field plot project completed by each OFC intern, field walks, and technical field demonstrations. It also includes 900 hours of in-field training and farm experience on Everdale’s organic farm.

The units of study in the OFC curriculum are:

  • Organic Farming and Gardening Skills and Practices
  • Managing Soil Fertility
  • Garden and Field Tillage and Cultivation
  • Propagating Crops from Seed and Greenhouse Management
  • Transplanting and Direct Seeding
  • Irrigation: Principles and Practices
  • Selecting and Using Cover Crops
  • Making and Using Compost
  • Managing Arthropod Pests and Plant Pathogens
  • Managing Weeds
  • Soil Science
  • Social and Environmental Issues in Agriculture
For additional news and information regarding the OFC please contact:

Gavin Dandy, Director of Farm Programming

Everdale Organic Farm & Learning Centre

E-mail at Gavin Dandy gavin@everdale.org

(519)855-4859 x104

www.everdale.org

Everdale is a farm-based learning centre located one hour northwest of Toronto near Hillsburgh, Ontario. Everdale has been breaking ground in farmer training since 2000, when they partnered with Agriculture Canada to create an on-farm internship program. That internship program was one of the first of its kind in Ontario. It provided hands-on farm experience to young people interested acquiring skills in organic farming.

For more information about Everdale click here.

Exploring Your New Farm Dream Courses

  • Thinking about starting your own farm business?
  • Want to learn more about the opportunities and realities of farming?
This is the course for you!
Exploring Your New Farm Dream:
  • Is Starting an Agricultural Business Right for You?
This is a course designed to help aspiring farmers learn what it takes to start and manage a commercial agricultural business, and decide whether this is the right path. FarmStart is offering the course in both Kitchener and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Both courses include 4 evening sessions and 1 day of farm tours.
Greater Toronto Area GTA - exact location TBD

Evening sessions: Thursdays (6:30pm – 9:30pm), Apr 15, Apr 22, May 6, May 13

Farm tour Saturday, May 1 (full day)

For more information and to apply visit www.farmstart.ca/exploring-the-new-farm-dream

If you have questions contact Gayl at gayl@farmstart.ca

Phone: (519) 836-7046 x105

Cold Frame

Building Workshops

Saturday 10 April 2010 9:30 am – 12 noon

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Construct a complete modular & stackable Cold Frame

to take home with you

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Get your garden off to an early spring start for 2010; and be ready to keep your garden growing next fall and right through the winter – without electricity or a greenhouse!

Learn from Toronto’s ColdFrames and Season Extension Techniques leader! Join Kyla Dixon-Muir, an experienced four-seasons gardener, who has been successfully growing foods at Riverdale Meadow Community Garden all year round for many years. Her lectures, workshops, and books on the subject are popular all across southwestern Ontario.

She starts new seeds outdoors up to 2 months earlier than traditional planting-out dates each spring, and transplants out early, too. Kyla and her husband also dine all winter every year on greens and herbs grown outdoors in her garden.

Kyla’s book Growing To Eat – through all four seasons (Cloches, ColdFrames, Hot Beds, Raised Rows, and more…) is now in it’s third Canadian edition.

. Read More >>

Ontario Solar Academy

Untill April 30, 2010

The Ontario Solar Academy has offered to donate time to visit community gardens in Toronto and do an analysis of your power needs, to help you get off-grid power for your community garden.

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Many community gardens in the City of Toronto are off-grid. That means that even though they are in the middle of the city, they don't have access to electricity.
Have you ever wanted to have a moving water fountain in your garden area so that the birds and the pollinators can have a drink, while the mosquitoes are hindered from breeding.
Would you like to have some extra evening lights in and around your garden shed, especially during the hot summer evenings when people have waited for the garden to cool down, and it gets dark before they can put their equipment away.
Or perhaps you want to run some power tools to build a cold frame or trellis, or even just have hot water?
Businesses that use a Market Gazebo for the Farmers Market would also benefit from this
There are many reasons that community gardens would like to have some power.

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  • The ONTARIO SOLAR ACADEMY is offering to have their graduates to come and visit your community garden and help you do an assessment.
  • With this assessment you will be able to have a more accurate cost estimate, when you're seeking a grant for your garden power needs.

. Read More >>

Final Call To Action - March 2010

The clock is ticking. There are only a few weeks left before the provincial government releases its annual budget and growing season is right around the corner.

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Click here to Send a message to Premier McGuinty and Finance Minister Dwight Duncan

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We need your help to make a final call to action for the implementation of a Farm Donation Tax Credit to support the donation of healthy, local food to families and food banks across the province. We know you understand the importance of this idea. Over 375,000 Ontarians turn to food banks every month, and yet millions of pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables are tilled back into the soil or send to landfill. The tax credit could have a powerfully positive impact on the health and well-being of hundreds of thousands of your neighbours.

We have already made it so far. Over 2,500 individuals and organizations have joined our cause to endorse the tax credit. We have met with dozens of MPPs from all political parties. The message has been spread on radio, television, in print and online in media outlets across the province over the past year in Toronto, Hamilton, Thunder Bay, and Ottawa.

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We are asking you to take a few moments to make one final push for support. Please send a message directly to Premier McGuinty and Finance Minister Dwight Duncan.

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As always, thank you so much for your ongoing support. We can make a difference together.

Send a message now!

The Ontario Association of Food Banks (OAFB) is a network of over 100 food banks from Windsor to Ottawa, and Thunder Bay to Niagara Falls. Since 1992, we have been committed to reducing hunger across the province.
Website:oafb.ca
Scarborough s
Seedy Saturday
Saturday March 6 from 12-4 pm

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East Scarborough Storefront
4040 Lawrence Avenue East Map

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(416)208-9889

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All translations have been donated by volunteers. Please contact mail@tcgn.ca if you would like to translate part of the poster for us.

SABADO DE SEMILLAS EN SCARBOROUGH

SAMEDI DE GRAINES À SCARBOROUGH

E shtuna e farërave në Scarborough

Il sabato dei semi a Scarborough

سبت البذو

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Community Gardens Growing in your neighbourhood

What is a community garden?

. Read More >>

The
Great Big Crunch

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What an
a-peeling way
to spend the day!
  • What: A ‘great big crunch’ of a locally grown apple with your friends at the exact same time
  • When: Thursday, March 11th at 2.30pm E.S.T
  • Where: Wherever you are
  • Why: Because it’s fun, because apples are delicious and grown locally in Ontario, because March is Nutrition Month…

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......Thursday, March 11th......
......2.30pm E.S.T......

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How to Get Crunching…
Join students across Canada in taking one big bite towards healthy living through healthy eating. FoodShare’s Great Big Crunch invites students and teachers to learn about healthy eating and local and global food systems while following the journey from the apple seed to the harvest, to the market and to the core.

Read More >>

 
 

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Sunday February 21, 2010
12:30pm - 6pm
New Day and Extended Hours
(Barn #2) Artscape Wychwood Barns, 601 Christie St.
See the map

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This year we are featuring the
“North American Native Plant Society” (NANPS)

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All translations have been donated by volunteers. Please contact mail@tcgn.ca if you would like to translate part of the poster for us.

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Sábado de Semillas

Samedi de Graines

سبت البذور

IL SABATO DEI SEMI

E SHTUNA E FARËRAVE

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Admission:
Admission is by donation, $2 recommended or pay what you can.

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Accessibility:
The Wichwood Barns are fully accessible. However, if you need assistance because of physical accessibility issues, please e-mail us at: mail@tcgn.ca by Friday, February 19 so that we can have an accessibility volunteer available

Read More >>

Hey Farm Folks...

Interested in doing some learning, and having some fun?

The Cutting Veg

is offering the following workshops in the weeks to come:

"Cultivating Personal, Social, Environmental, and Economic Health through Organic Agriculture."

www.thecuttingveg.com

To register for one or more of these workshops:

  • Email Daniel Hoffmann at daniel@thecuttingveg.com to rsvp
  • Complete Payment to secure your spot. Payment can be completed by sending a cheque (made out to The Cutting Veg) to 21 Kenwood Ave., Toronto, ON, M6C 2R8, or through Paypal www.paypal.ca, with payment directed to: daniel@thecuttingveg.com.

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Preserving the Harvest:

  • Date: Sunday, Feb 28th
  • Time: 10am-12pm
  • Location: 21 Kenwood Ave, Toronto, M6C 2R8
  • Cost: $32
Preserving the Harvest
For those of us who wish to eat locally year-round, the climate of Southern Ontario can pose some challenges. However, if we put some energy into preserving the harvest, eating locally in the winter is very achievable. This workshop will provide an in-depth look at the four primary methods of preserving food: canning, drying, freezing, and storing. This workshop will occur partially within a kitchen so that we can practice some of the preserving methods right in the workshop.

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Planning Your Organic Veggie Garden:

  • Date: Sunday March 14th
  • Time: 10am-12pm
  • Location: 21 Kenwood Ave, Toronto, M6C 2R8
  • Cost: $32
Planning Your Organic Veggie Garden
Are you interested in growing your own organic veggie garden this season? Come and meet with Organic Farmer Daniel Hoffmann, from The Cutting Veg Organic Farm, and clarify your vision for a flourishing veggie patch. Explore some of the core concepts of organic agriculture, such as plant propagation, plant care, soil preparation and health, pest management, and composting, while doing some gardening right in the workshop. All levels of gardener are welcome.

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Cultivating a Thriving Agribusiness Workshop Series:

  • Dates: Mondays, March 15 - May 3 (excluding March 29th)
  • Time: 7-9pm
  • Location: 21 Kenwood Ave, Toronto, M6C 2R8,
  • Cost: $300
Cultivating a Thriving Agribusiness: an Agribusiness Preparedness Course
Have you started (or dreamed of starting) your own Agriculture based business? Could you benefit from a little guidance in order to make your Agribusiness a thriving success? Come and learn with Organic Veggie Farmer Daniel Hoffmann, from The Cutting Veg Organic Farm, how to make your Agribusiness a reality. Whether you’ve been growing plants for years, or several seasons away from starting, come and prepare yourself for a business that is financially viable, community enriching, eco-friendly, and personally satisfying. Eligible business ideas include market gardens, homegrown catering & value added products, Agri-Education Services, Growing and Production of Personal Care Products (eg. Hand Salves, Natural Cleaners), Landscaping, etc. One does not need to be clear on their business idea in order to take the course. This course will also help you to establish your agricultural network within Ontario by connecting you with key farmers, organizations, and websites.

Click here to download the course outline Read More >>

NANPS Speakers Series-

Tall grass prairie with blazing star & culver's root - Walpole Island

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TALLGRASS PRAIRIE: ONE OF CANADA'S MOST THREATENED NATIVE HABITATS - THE ALDERVILLE SAVANNA

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The Alerville Savanna is located on the Rice Lakes Plains, with the largest remnant of Tallgrass Prairie in Eastern Ontario.

Janine McLeod, our speaker, is the Natural Heritage Coordinator of the Alderville Black Oak Savanna and Tallgrass Prairie.

She will explore the use of prescribed burns and illustrates the spectacular results of this aggressive and effective process to restore nature back to its former glory and promise for a balanced and expanding ecological marvel.

Admission:

$8 for NANPS members $12.00 for the general public

Date:

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Time:

7:30 p.m.

Location:

Toronto Botanical Garden, 777 Lawrence Ave. E.

For more information visit: www.nanps.org

BEN NOBLEMAN COMMUNITY ORCHARD UPDATE
GROWING FOR GREEN – JANUARY 2010
www.communityorchard.ca

Constitutional Development Meetings

Meeting #1:

-Sunday, January 24th at 7:00 p.m.

Meeting #2

-Sunday, January 31 at 7:00 p.m.

Both Meeting are Hosted By Pine Villa Retirement Residence

1035 Eglinton West Map.

Nearest subway,Eglinton West Subway Station

Walk a few blocks east, Pine Villa is on the south side of the road

This coming Sunday evening is the first of two constitutional development meetings for the Ben Nobleman Community Orchard and at each meeting we’ll start with the screening of a short documentary film about community orchards.
Each week, after the film screening, Laura Reinsborough of Not Far From the Tree will introduce some of the issues and the reasons why a community orchard like ours needs a constitution and structure in order to thrive in years to come.
In the first meeting THIS SUNDAY January 24, we will start to work on issues including:
  • our aims and objectives
  • division of responsibilities
  • health and safety issues
  • communications structure
In the second meeting on Jan 31, the second film and remaining issues will be discussed and any voting will take place. Coffee, tea and snacks will be served at both events. All are welcome and attendance is free.

We are looking for a volunteer who can take the minutes for the meeting.

If you can do this please e-mail Susan at susan.poizner@sympatico.ca.

We hope you’ll come and join us for this important event to have a say in how our community orchard will develop in the future.
Our host for both evenings is Pine Villa Retirement Residence.

Please RSVP as soon as possible to Cliff cliffchangoor@gmail.com

(If you sent an RSVP in December, please resend as our register e-mail was down for a few days.)

Workshop on Crop Planning for Vegetable Growers

How much, when and what do you plant for those farm gate, market or subscription customers?

This full day workshop offered by FarmStart is based on the recent publication from Canadian Organic Growers (COG), Crop Planning for Diversified Vegetable Growers, by Frédéric Thériault and Daniel Brisebois.
Facilitated by author and Ferme Tourne-Sol farmer Frédéric Thériault, this workshop will take an in-depth look at developing and implementing a crop plan:
  • from setting financial goals and calculating crop quantities,
  • analyzing harvest and sales data for improving next year’s plan.
Activities and discussions will enable participants to better understand the process of crop planning and how it can help make their farm businesses more efficient and profitable. An absolutely essential workshop for every market gardener!

When: January 23, 2010 (full day, exact time TBD)

Where: Toronto, Downsview Public Library (2793 Keele St.)

Cost: $95 (includes Crop Planning for Diversified Vegetable Growers)

For more information and to register visit www.farmstart.ca/workshops

If you have questions contact Gayl at gayl@farmstart.ca

Phone:(519) 836-7046 x105

The Guelph Organic Conference –

Our Canadian Identity

The Guelph Organic Conference is offering:
  • 4 seminars on Friday,
  • 15 workshops plus the feature speaker on Saturday, and
  • 8 more workshops on Sunday
...on a range of topics of interest to organic farmers, as well as all partners in the organic value chain (processors, suppliers, consumers, researchers, etc.).

These workshops are a key opportunity to hear from speakers who are focused on important issues in organics.

There are also over 160 companies and associations exhibiting booths in the Trade Show and Organic Expo; stop by the FarmStart booth in the lower level. This event has become one of the best places for organically minded people to gather and network from across Canada.

When: January 28 – 31, 2010

Where: Guelph, University of Guelph, University Centre

For more information and to register visit www.guelphorganicconf.ca


Dirt - The Movie

DIRT MAKES FOOD

FoodCycles is hosting a screening of DIRT! -the Movie- at Bloor Cinema

Where: Bloor Cinema 506 Bloor St W - map

When: Thu, Jan 28, 2010 (6:30-8:30 PM)

What: There will be a reception at 6:30 PM and the movie will start at 7 PM and end at 8:30 PM. You can buy sprouts, vegetable earrings or memberships during the reception.

Why: FoodCycles is fundraising for its education work.

Tickets: Tickets will be available online and at the door on a sliding scale of $10-20. Tickets on line.

GETTING DOWN AND DIRTY

Dirt! the movie tells the secret story of the stuff we stand on everyday. One teaspoon of dirt has billions of good critters that make life possible every day - through weather, from the trees and forests to every bit of food we eat. This funny yet serious movie shows you how the living dirt beneath us is doing and how we are all made of and connected to dirt.

FoodCycles foodcycles.org

You can contact FoodCycles with questions, comments or suggestions at foodcycles@gmail.com.

Green Workshop Series 2010 AT

Join us at FoodShare for a series of environmental workshops!

These workshops are a basic level introduction to each topic and related practices.

Workshops run from 6:30-8:00 pm

  • Jan 18 – Native Plants
  • Jan 25 – Renewable Energy
  • Feb 1 – Water Conservation
  • Feb 8 – Renewable Energy
  • Feb 21 - (Seedy Sunday) – Organic Gardening 101
All workshops (except the Feb 21st ones) will take place at FoodShare, at 90 Croatia St.,near the corner Bloor and Dufferin.
Map to FoodShare (Entrance off Brock Ave. at the Northwest corner of the building.)
All the workshops are free, but please RSVP to urbanag@foodshare.net or to (416)363-6441 x222 by one week prior to each workshop.

FoodShare www.foodshare.net is a Toronto non-profit community organization whose vision is Good Healthy Food for All.

Founded 25 years ago to address hunger in our communities, FoodShare takes a unique multi-faceted and long-term approach to hunger and food issues. We work to empower individuals, families and communities through food-based initiatives, while advocating for the broader public policies needed to ensure that everyone has adequate access to sustainably produced, good healthy food.

Working "from field to table," we focus on the entire system that puts food on our tables: from the growing, processing and distribution of food to its purchasing, cooking and consumption. FoodShare's programs reach over 145,000 children and adults every single month across in the city of Toronto and countless others across Canada, bringing them fresh, nutritious, affordable food, and cultivating the knowledge and skills that build healthy communities.

Workshops made possible by the Province of Ontario

Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario (EFAO) Courses

Here is a list of upcoming courses being offered by the Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario (EFAO). These are very informative courses, all led by experienced and trained ecological farmers. Many of these are being run in the days preceding the Guelph Organic Conference at the OMAFRA main building in Guelph (1 Stone Road).
  • Jan 16 – Finding the Balance: Soil Testing and Amendments for Organic Farmers, St. Thomas - $50/$70
  • Jan 28 and 29 – Transition to Certified Organic Farming, Guelph - $160/$200
  • Jan 28 and 29 – Introduction to Ecological Agriculture, Guelph - $100/$14
  • Jan 28 – Market Garden Crop Rotation, Guelph - $50/$70
  • Jan 28 – Pastured Poultry, Guelph - $50/$70
  • Jan 29 – Finding the Balance: Reading Soil Tests for Organic Farmer, Guelph - $50/$70
  • Jan 29 – Composting, Guelph - $50/$70
  • Feb 6 – Direct Marketing, Ottawa area
For more information and to register visit www.efao.ca

Exploring Your New Farm Dream Courses

  • Thinking about starting your own farm business?
  • Want to learn more about the opportunities and realities of farming?
This is the course for you!
Exploring Your New Farm Dream:
  • Is Starting an Agricultural Business Right for You?
This is a course designed to help aspiring farmers learn what it takes to start and manage a commercial agricultural business, and decide whether this is the right path. FarmStart is offering the course in both Kitchener and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Both courses include 4 evening sessions and 1 day of farm tours.
Kitchener - The Working Centre (58 Queen St. South)

Evening sessions: Wednesdays (6:30pm – 9:30pm), Feb 10, Feb 17, Mar 3, Mar 10

Farm tour: Saturday, Feb 20 (full day)

For more information and to apply visit www.farmstart.ca/exploring-the-new-farm-dream

If you have questions contact Gayl at gayl@farmstart.ca

Phone: (519) 836-7046 x105

Eco Farm Day

Eco Farm Day is eastern Ontario's premiere farm conference.
Organic, transitional and conventional farmers of field crops, market gardens, and livestock rely on Eco Farm Day for the best training, information, and commerce opportunities. Over 350 people come back every year for the social event, the networking, the positive atmosphere, and the great food!
Eco Farm Day is hosted by Canadian Organic Growers (COG), Ottawa Chapter.
COG is our national voice for organics in Canada. COG Ottawa, with over 500 members, hosts major activities to the benefit of organic consumers and farmers.

When: February 26 – 27, 2010

Where: Cornwall, The Ramada Inn (805 Brookdale Ave.)

For more information and to register visit www.cog.ca

Bring Food Home Conference and New Farmer Training Day

Instead of hosting a 2nd annual New Farmers Conference in 2010, the FarmON Alliance has partnered with FoodNet Ontario, Sustain Ontario, and others to offer a full day of training on March 4th in conjunction with the Bring Food Home conference.
Come hear from keynote speaker Joel Salatin of Polyface Farm as well as many other experienced farmers. Canadian Organic Growers (COG PWW), Ecological Farmers of Ontario (EFAO) and Ignatius Centre, are also planning a CSA mini-school (see Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Mini School).
Staying for the entire three days? FarmON is also hosting a stream of workshops during the conference on March 5th and 6th addressing “Emerging Issues in Farming”.

When: March 4, 2010

Where: Kitchener, Delta Hotel (105 King Street East)

Cost: $95 (late registration fee may be higher)

For more information and to register visit www.bringfoodhome.com
  • This training opportunity is eligible for cost-share funding through the Growing Forward Business Development for Farm Businesses program in Ontario.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Mini-School

In conjunction with the Bring Food Home Conference (see Bring Food Home Conference ) COG PWW, EFAO and Ignatius will be offering a CSA mini-school – a one day workshop for farmers considering the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) model. Three CSA farmers of different sizes and types will share their experiences on all aspects of organizing a CSA including member recruitment and retention, crop planning, and financial planning and management.

When: March 4, 2010

Where: Kitchener, Delta Hotel (105 King Street East)

Cost: $95 (late registration fee may be higher)

For more information and to register visit www.bringfoodhome.com
  • This training opportunity is eligible for cost-share funding through the Growing Forward Business Development for Farm Businesses program in Ontario.

Holistic Management Courses

  • February 26 & 27 - Introduction to Holistic Management: Holistic Goal and Testing Questions
  • March 12 & 13 - Financial Management: Take Control and Planning a Profit
  • March 26 & 27 - Planned Grazing: Improving Sustainability
Each course will be held at Ignatius College in Guelph. These values based farm management strategies are consistent with organic principles. Take the first Fri-Sat course or two or three.
For details contact Fran or Tony McQuail at 519-258-2493

or E-mail: mcqufarmathurontel.on.ca.

Each weekend is limited to 10 farms.
  • This training opportunity is eligible for cost-share funding through the Growing Forward Business Development for Farm Businesses program in Ontario.
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