Class Sign Up – Summer 2013

Please join us for one or all of our summer classes at the Lafayette Community Garden across from the Reservoir.  These classes are interactive, informative and fun so come join us and prepare to get your hands dirty!

Saturday June 1 and Saturday August 10     10:30am – noon     Composting 101

Linda Mizes, Master Gardener, helped establish school gardens throughout Contra Costa County and managed a lunch composting program at Orinda Intermediate School.  She produced an instructional video, “Compost Cooks,” for elementary and middle school students, and was awarded Orinda’s William Penn Mott, Jr. Environmental Award for her work in the schools.  Come alone or bring the whole family and learn how easy it is to enrich your soil and reduce waste through composting and worm composting,

Tuesdays June 18 to August 6     9:00 am to 10am   Our Secret Garden

The secret is out: the Lafayette Community Garden will be hosting an hour of stories, crafts and exploration for kids of all ages this summer. Starting on June 18, Eli Chan will lead children and caregivers on a journey of the lives of plants, animals, insects and the great outdoors. So bring your curiosity (and your grubbies) and dig in to discover nature’s secrets.

Saturday June 22     10:30–noon      Roots, Stems, Leaves, and Flowers

Heidi Plumb, preschool teacher, and Leah Ingram, Garden Manager and environmental educator, offer this opportunity for children ages 3 – 7, accompanied by an adult who is willing to play, to explore the wonders of plants.  We will take a close up look at plants and their parts.  What are they for? What do they do? We’ll explore those questions using our whole body and all of our senses.

Saturday July 13- 3:30 to 5pm   Lafayette’s Amazing Natural History

Doc Jim Hale, wildlife biologist, naturalist and ethnobiologist will bring alive the natural history of our Lafayette Community Garden site.  Learn what plants thrived here and how they were used by local Native Americans. Find out what animals visit our area while we sleep at night.  Doc Hale is an expert on wild, edible plants, the medicinal and cultural use of herbs, and mountain lion ecology in Contra Costa County.  This class will delight people of all ages.

Classes are free although a $5 donation is appreciated.

Please check below to indicate which sessions you’ll be attending:

Our Mission:  To inspire and motivate citizens of all ages to share and increase their knowledge about the importance of sustainable growing practices which promote a healthier community and earth.

Our endeavors will be guided by four fundamental values:

1. Nature Is Our Teacher
2. Sustainability Is A Community Practice
3. The Real World Is The Optimal Learning Environment
4. Sustainable Living Is Rooted In A Deep Knowledge Of Place

(The wording of these values is borrowed from Smart By Nature ™  a learning framework developed by the Center for Ecoliteracy in Berkeley.)

The primary mechanisms for achieving our mission are to:

• Use our garden site to teach about organic gardening, the riparian ecosystem and local Native American culture
• Provide classes that focus on inter-generational learning of sustainable practices
• Inform the community about other learning opportunities, activities and practices
• Partner with other institutions to support sustainable living education.