Upcoming Events

Join our next work party on April 11th from 4pm-8pm. On Wednesday April 11, 2012 we will be hosting a garden work party from 4-8pm to plant all our new berry bushes along the parameters of the garden (rain or shine). We thank the Esquimalt Centennial volunteers from Royal Bank for helping us out but we will need more help and we would love to see everyone come out and help. Snacks will be provided!

Companion Planting in Container Gardens with Amy Crook
Saturday, April 9, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Esquimalt Rec Centre (Fernhill Room), 527 Fraser St. - $15 members; $20 non-members
Do you have limited gardening space? Grow more food than you ever thought possible in containers. Learn about companion planting to maximize flavour and pest control, square foot gardening concepts-think vertically, and culinary creations. This class will give you all the basics to successfully grow your own food even in small places.

Soil and Fertility with Geoff Johnson
Saturday, April 23, 2:00 - 4:00 pm
 Esquimalt Rec Centre - cost $15 members; $20 non-members

One of the greatest things about growing food at home is developing an appreciation for soil. This workshop will help you develop an understanding of soil basics such as texture, structure, and soil ecology. But we’ll also look at techniques we can use to look after our soils while increasing their productivity in a sustainable way.

Intro to Native Bees Walk and Talk (with Victoria bee-expert Gord Hutchings)

Date: Saturday, March 12th from 2-4:30pm
Location: Esquimalt Rec Centre, 527 Fraser St. 
Cost: $20 for Lifecycles members; $25 for non-members* (bursaries and energy exchanges available too) 
RVSP required: uahub@lifecyclesproject.ca or call the office 250-383-5800 

Learn about Vancouver Island's native bee pollinators and their habitat requirements. There are over 450 species of bees in BC, and some species are adapted to very specific types of flowers. Native bees (especially Mason bees) are becoming increasingly important as pollinators since honey-bee populations have been drastically reduced. After the workshop, we will go the the Esquimalt Community Gardens, where Gord will give advice about how to attract native bees that you can apply to your garden. Native bee condos will also be available for sale. 

About the facilitator: Gordon has been studying native bees for 22 years in BC, Yukon and Saskatchewan. He has been a contract field biologist for the Royal BC Museum, BC Ministry of Environment (Conservation Data Centre), the Yukon Territory Government, and Canada Wildlife Service. He also has a book on dragonflies of western boreal forests coming out soon.

 

We have two public events coming up, one on the 17th of April, on the curling ring of Archie Browning Center. We have surveys for public's input and we will be auctioning off a few packs of delicious Fernwood coffee that was donated specifically for this cause!! Don't miss it, bring you family, bring yourself, bring your smiles! The event will be from 11am-3pm. We will have our table there the whole time.. 

The other public event that we have is on April 24th, it's the Seed to Spoon event, and it will be happening in the Esquimalt United Church on 500 Admirals from 10am- 2:30 pm