The Lafayette Community Garden and Outdoor Learning Center will be closing for the season on October 22, 2022.
You are invited!!! The Lafayette Community Garden and Outdoor Learning Center is celebrating its 11th year with a COMMUNITY OPEN HOUSE on Sunday, August 28th from 11am to 2pm. The event is free and will feature inspirational speakers. Jim ‘Doc’ Hale will share fascinating information about the people who lived on this land for centuries before the 1800’s and a beekeeper from Mt. Diablo Beekeepers will talk about the amazing nature of bees and art of beekeeping
In addition to the speakers, there will be guided tours of the garden, information on raising chickens, master gardening, family crafts, edible treats, iced tea and lemonade, and an opportunity to walk a labyrinth and see the garden’s Miwok Village.
Garden members will be on hand to answer gardening questions and show off a variety of gardening methods and practices including hinged covers that prevent critters from eating crops, vermiculture (worm composting), mulching, a butterfly garden, deer resistant plantings and so much more.
We look forward to seeing you on August 28th! If you have questions, you can call (925) 946-0563. For more information about our garden, please visit our website: https://lafayettecommunitygarden.org/
Lafayette Community Garden and Outdoor Learning Center is diligently monitoring the coronavirus situation and following the protocols of the CDC, the State of California and Contra Costa County. At this time we are taking recommended precautions while continuing operations for members. In view of the shelter in place policy for Contra Costa County that begins at midnight tonight, the Garden will not be open to non members. Thanks for your understanding. And please check back for updates.
From parking lot to fruitful garden…we have much to celebrate. What was once a road, parking lot and staging area is now mostly a cooperative vegetable garden where members work together, in teams or individually, but share in the produce.
This Sunday, September 23, we invite the community to visit the Lafayette Community Garden and Outdoor Learning Center as we celebrate the end of the 2018 season at our 7th Annual Harvest Festival.
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- Jan Spieth from Mount Diablo Beekeepers Association speaking at the Lafayette Community Garden and Outdoor Learning Center’s 2017 Harvest Fest
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- James (Doc) M. Hale, pictured, is an expert on the natural and cultural history of the San Francisco Bay Area and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
The garden was established in the spring of 2012 after three years of planning by a small group of Lafayette community members. It has become a place for community members to grow food, learn about the local ecosystem and organic gardening and contribute back to our community.
The gates swing open to the public from 11AM and the festivities will last until 3PM. There will be many activities and speakers. Please come check out what we have to offer. The event is FREE.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
11:00 Welcome
11:30 – 12:00 Raising Chickens: Papa John Kiefer
12:00 – 12:30 Worm Composting -Linda Mizes
11:00 – 2:30 Food, Community Tabling, Games, Displays, Crafts, Card Sales, Scarecrow-making
11:30 and 12:30 Garden Tours
12:30 – 1:00 Flute Music by member Pamela Halloran
1:00 – 2:00 Saklan Material Culture: “Doc” Jim Hale will discuss the plants, animals, and natural resources used by the Bay Miwok Saklans
2:00 – 2:30 Beekeeping: Jan Pinkerton-Spieth
2:30 – 3:00 Flute Music by member Pamela Halloran
2:50 – 3:00 Closing (Winner of popcorn count)
*Included are finger food, sandwiches, tea, water and lemonade.
They say, “If you build it, they will come.”
Join Martha Harris on Saturday, September 8, 2018 from 12PM to 2PM to create your own Garden Log, Fairy or otherwise, to decorate your outdoor garden or inside as a centerpiece to your table. We will provide sticks and logs of various sizes, collected here in Lafayette, along with pine cones, lichen and other natural findings for your use. Bring your own favorite items from nature that you would like to include in your Garden Log.
Class appropriate for all ages. Parents, grandparents or other caregivers need to accompany young children under the age of 8 years. This will be a fun intergenerational activity to welcome fairies, gnomes and other magical beings into your life. No experience with magic necessary.
Register for this and other classes on our Featured Events page.
Growing Winter Vegetables in Containers
Want to continue gardening in the winter, but not sure how?
On Saturday, August 25, 2018 from 12PM to 1PM, join Master Gardener, Terri Lippert, who will inspire you to grow your own vegetables even with limited space. This class will include tips for making inexpensive self-watering containers, which you can fill with your own potting soil mixture.
Get ideas for what to plant in the fall and winter months and learn how to locate and manage your containers for best result.
Sign up for this class and get gardening in time for a winter harvest.
Register at RecycleSmart today!