Garden for the Environment will offer the following workshops in January, 2013. All classes will be offered at Garden for the Environment, San Francisco’s organic demonstration garden at 7th and Lawton Street. Since its founding in 1990, the garden has operated as a demonstration site for small-scale urban ecological food production, organic gardening, compost education and low water-use landscaping. For more information, call (415) 731-5627, or go to www.gardenfortheenvironment.org.
ORGANIC GARDEN DESIGN
Date: Saturday, January 12, 2013
Time: 10AM - 12:00 Noon
Location: Garden for the Environment, 7th Ave at Lawton Street, San Francisco
Cost: Free, Sponsored by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
Learn how to grow a healthy and beautiful garden that minimizes the impacts on the environment. From building a healthy soil with compost to selecting beautiful plantings appropriate for the Bay Area’s climate, this workshop will give you the basics to implement sustainable gardening practices.
Topics covered include:
- Importance of healthy soil
- Organic matter
- Composting
- Selecting colorful plants for the Bay Area climate
- Climate appropriate plants
- California natives
- How to water without waste
- Preventing nutrient run-off
- Irrigation basics and watering schedules
- Natural pest and weed management
- Pesticide alternatives
- Non-toxic weed control
This workshop is FREE! To pre-register or for more information please visit
www.gardenfortheenvironment.org
GARDEN TOUR: Natural Plant Care
Date: Saturday, January 12, 2013
Time: 1PM
Location: Garden for the Environment, 7th Ave at Lawton Street, San Francisco
Cost: Free, Sponsored by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
Learn how to sustain your garden naturally as we tour the GFE staff. We'll discuss the natural plant care techniques we use and answer your questions. This tour is FREE! To pre-register or for more information please visit
www.gardenfortheenvironment.org.
URBAN COMPOSTING
Date: Saturday, January 19, 2013
Time: 10AM – 12 NOON
Location: Garden for the Environment, 7th Ave at Lawton Street, San Francisco
Cost: Free, Sponsored by the San Francisco Department of the Envrionment
Winter can be a great time to start a new compost pile as you tidy up the leftovers of the summer’s bounty! Join GFE as we discover how to turn those leftovers, either from the garden or the kitchen, into “black gold”. This fun, hands-on workshop teaches methods for both backyard and worm composting for all seeking to enrich the bounty of their garden and reduce their ecological footprint. Come learn what you can do to improve your garden and prevent organic waste from ending up in the landfill! Rot on! This workshop is FREE! To pre-register or for more information please visit
www.gardenfortheenvironment.org
AVOIDING LEAD EXPOSURE FROM GARDENING
Date: Saturday, January 19, 2013
Time: 10AM – 12 NOON
Location: Garden for the Environment, 7th Ave at Lawton Street, San Francisco
Cost: $5, Sponsored by the San Francisco Department of Public Health
Human and childhood exposure to lead is a well-documented and preventable environmental health problem. In the context of urban gardens, exposure to lead is most likely to come from contaminated soil. In this accessible and practical 2-hour class you will learn how to reduce the health risks for you and your family from exposure to lead through from urban gardening.
You will learn:
- How and why lead exposure occurs in soil
- Best practices to reduce the risk of lead exposure through gardening
- How to assess the risk of lead exposure to you and your family
- How to have your soil tested for lead
- How to remediate lead paint and soil hazards
This workshop is $5, although no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Pre-registration is required. To pre-register or for more information please visitwww.gardenfortheenvironment.org.
URBAN COMPOSTING
Date: Saturday, February 2, 2013
Time: 10AM – 12 NOON
Location: Garden for the Environment, 7th Ave at Lawton Street, San Francisco
Cost: Free, Sponsored by the San Francisco Department of the Environment
Winter can be a great time to start a new compost pile as you tidy up the leftovers of the summer’s bounty! Join GFE as we discover how to turn those leftovers, either from the garden or the kitchen, into “black gold”. This fun, hands-on workshop teaches methods for both backyard and worm composting for all seeking to enrich the bounty of their garden and reduce their ecological footprint. Come learn what you can do to improve your garden and prevent organic waste from ending up in the landfill! Rot on! This workshop is FREE! To pre-register or for more information please visit
www.gardenfortheenvironment.org
GARDEN TOUR: Water-Wise Gardening
Date: Saturday, February 2, 2013
Time: 1PM
Location: Garden for the Environment, 7th Ave at Lawton Street, San Francisco
Cost: Free, Sponsored by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
Join us for an informative tour of Garden for the Environment’s climate-appropriate demonstration garden focusing on water-wise gardening techniques and plants appropriate for San Francisco's Summer-Dry Climate. Learn how you can create a beautiful garden with plants that need little or no summer water. It's good for the environment and for the water bill! This tour is FREE! To pre-register or for more information please visit www.gardenfortheenvironment.org