REGISTER NOW WITH KARELOSaturday, January 21, 2023 | 9 to 4:30 | Mary Winspear Centre, Sidney BC
The 100-mile diet meets the 100-mile conference!
In the midst of winter, when we most need a day of learning and chatting about gardening, five local speakers will offer us possibilities for our changing climate. Practical possibilities, to create resilient gardens, employing sustainable practices.
Your garden is an ecosystem | Gord Baird
How do you stop climate change from crashing your garden’s party? It depends on the partygoers of course. Gord, owner of the award-winning Eco-Sense home, will discuss the relevance of our gardens as ecosystems in the presence of an unwanted guest. He will unearth his observations of the impacts of climate change on his gardens and nursery, share his successes and failures, and help you write a more inclusive guest list -- one offering a biodiverse menu and stifling your garden party guests' thirst. Sure to be fun, fast paced and informative – and perhaps a bit unconventional.
It all starts with the soil | Dr. Barbara Hawkins
Successful sustainable gardening begins with healthy soils. Understanding soil ecology leads to healthier garden ecosystems. Barbara’s session will focus on soil biology, soil chemistry and helpful soil microbes, including mycorrhizae and nitrogen fixing bacteria.
Planting for resilience | Linda Petite
What plants are resilient to our changing climate? With extended periods of drought, heavy rainfall and increasing heat waves, some of our traditional plants are stressed, causing them to be less productive. While we cannot control the weather, we do have some control over what we plant in our gardens. Maintaining healthy fertile soil, growing plants with similar needs together, planting for drought-tolerance, and identifying new plants that adapt to these evolving conditions will help our gardens thrive. Linda will focus on her experience as Head Gardener at the Horticulture Centre of the Pacific to talk about the emerging winners in the changing climate conditions.
Foodscaping the future | Josh Wagler
Our fragile food supply chain has been tested countless times in recent years. Beyond the pandemic, climate change has been at the root of many of these disturbances, manifesting as floods, fires, drought, and other extreme weather events. These factors combined have given birth to an unprecedented interest in growing food at home, and yet have also provided a unique set of gardening challenges. In this time of great change, your environment is bursting with potential, whether you live in an apartment, on an acreage, or somewhere in between. Looking to the forest as our teacher, Josh will explore powerful plants and extraordinary edibles that can transform your landscape into a foodscape. No matter how large or small, sunny or shady your space, it is possible to cultivate a beautiful, resilient, deliciously decentralized, foodshed for the future starting in your own home.
New beginnings | Egan Davis
There is nothing more satisfying than propagating your own plants - the process is always a marvel. Egan will provide expert instruction on how to start your own plants at home. He will cover the principles behind seed germination and vegetative propagation. You will learn how to set up and manage a controlled propagation environment, and how to grow seedlings and freshly rooted cuttings. While it may seem like a technical pursuit, the biggest secret to propagation is a love for plants, so muster up all your horticultural passion and start propagating!
Conference fee:
Early Bird fee until November 30, 2022 $ 80
Regular fee from December 1, 2022 $100
Recordings Only fee (for 30 days after the conference) $ 40
“Bring your own lunch and mug” will extend the green theme.
Coffee, tea and snacks will be provided at breaks.
Vendors and a Silent Auction will add excitement to the day.
Find Speaker Bios here
Learn about the great day we had at Mixing it up 2021
