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Open House

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/

Jun 12
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OUR SECRET GARDEN: An Earth-Friendly Series for Kids

By Open House

Lafayette Community Garden and Outdoor Learning Center invites you to join us for another great series!

OUR SECRET GARDEN III

Beginning June 29, 2015
Mondays and Wednesdays, 9:00–10:00AM

One…two…three! It’s Year Three! Our Secret Garden is in its third year celebrating our Earth and her sustainable young stewards.

Starting on June 29, Lafayette Community Garden’s Eli Chan and Tracy Randolph will host an hour of stories, crafts and exploration for children of all ages. Kids and caregivers will unearth gifts from Mother Nature and learn traditions from generations past.

Each class builds upon the next “big idea” and sheds light on the impact we have on the world around us. So, come, steer the future in the direction you want! Be responsible and plant seeds of thought for a sustainable community! Make a positive impact and feed this into the greater ecosystem!

Monday, June 29: Upcycle!
Wednesday, July 1: Tell Us a Story
Monday, July 6: Pay It Forward
(in collaboration with Give Together)
Wednesday, July 8: Bombastic!
Monday, July 13: Snug as a Bug
Wednesday, July 15: Busy Little Bees
Monday, July 20: Art Surrounds Us
Wednesday, July 22: Magic in our Midst

Classes suitable for kids age 4–8. Younger and older siblings are also welcome.

Screen Shot 2015-06-02 at 10.28.07 AM

NEW THIS YEAR!

Kids who attend 5 of the 8 classes will be invited to have a special snack time with “the Girls,” the chickens of Lafayette Community Garden on Friday, July 31, 9:00–10:00AM. Joining us will be guest storyteller, Miss Ginny, beloved children’s librarian from the Lafayette Library.

Reserve your child’s spot now!

Classes at the Lafayette Community Garden, unless specified, are free. However,
a $5 donation to support our education programs is appreciated.

Jun 01
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BEE in the Know at the Markham Nature Park and Aboretum | June 13th

By Open House

California Bees & Flowers: A Selective Love Affair | 10–11:30AM | FREE

Did you know: there are 1,600 native bee species in California alone (nearly 40% of the total diversity in the U.S.!). Intended as an introduction, this talk will cover native bee ecology, bee-plant relationships, and the implications they have on habitat gardening.  You will go home equipped to start encouraging native bees at home.

The presenter, Sara Leon Guerrero, has been a research assistant for Dr. Gordon Frankie in the UC Berkeley Urban Bee Lab since 2012. She is project manager for the Lab’s Farming for Native Bees project. Find out more about Sara and the Urban Bee Lab atwww.helpabee.org.

Honey Bee Demonstration | 11:30AM–12:15PM | Members FREE/Others $5 donation

Have you noticed that the park now has bee hives?  Even if you haven’t, this is your chance to come meet Vashek, the person who is providing and tending the hives, and the hive inhabitants.  Vashek will give a brief talk on the importance — and dangers facing — honey bees and then walk us out to watch him handle/check on the hives.

For more information about these or other offerings, visit The Markham.

May 12
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Thank You, Lafayette Community Foundation!

By Open House

A big thank you to the Lafayette Community Foundation, who awarded us a $2,000 grant to put in our ADA parking space!

Lafayette Community Foundation

Lafayette Community Foundation

The Lafayette Community Foundation is a group of Lafayette citizens who seek to preserve and enhance the quality of life in the beautiful City of Lafayette. Board members represent multiple generations and come from many walks of life, but their mutual love of Lafayette brought them together.

May 06
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Mother’s Day Weekend: Make and Take a Wind Chime Home With or For Mom

By Open House
Personalize a wind chime. Collaborate with Mom or celebrate her with some music from the heart..

Wind chimes made to order.

Come celebrate Mother’s Day weekend making musical wind chimes in the garden! Come alone or bring your mother, grandmother, aunt, friend or children!

Wind chimes can be made with an exciting mixture of elements. Google “wind chime images” for many fun and creative ideas. Bring recycled items like old keys and jewelry, drillable kitchen utensils, silverware, and garden knick-knacks. Use your imagination! Susan Dannenfelser, local artist, will have filament, string, drills, other fasteners and materials for you to use.

All ages welcome!

(Adult supervision required for children 10 years & younger)

Register today!

Mar 03
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Mow no Mo’! at Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour

By Open House

Would you like to cut your water use—and your water bill—in half? If so, I hope you’ll join me at a Mow no Mo’! (“How to remove your lawn”) workshop this spring.  Workshops will be offered:

Saturday, March 21, Oakland

Sunday, April 19, Livermore

Saturday, May 30, Pleasant Hill

$30, 10:00–3:00; register at www.BringingBackTheNatives.net

You’ll learn how to remove your lawn (where a quarter to half of the water you use is applied), select native plants, and design a water-conserving, pesticide-free garden that attracts wildlife. Most importantly, you’ll have the hands-on experience of sheet-mulching a lawn, and you’ll depart confident that you can do this at home.  Not ready to take out the whole thing?  Then start small; maybe just reduce the size of your lawn by widening the garden beds.  

Here is what past participants said:

“This was a fabulous workshop and it was so useful to actually take part in the sheet mulching process. There is nothing better than the hands-on experience. Thank you so much, a really enjoyable day.”

“This was great. I have read many articles on sheet mulching, but until you experience the entire process up front and personal, you just don’t get it. Thank you.”

“The process of learning how to sheet mulch was great. We are confident that we can complete our project and do it well.”

“Hands-on is a great way to learn!”

Register now! 

At the same time, you can register for the Sunday, May 3, 2015 Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour! This year’s tour will fill; register now to reserve your place.

Would you also be willing to put this post on your NextDoor group, post it on your Facebook page, or send it to friends who might be interested?  

Volunteers are needed to spend a morning or afternoon greeting tour participants and answering questions about natives.  Benefits to volunteers include invitations to Garden Soirees, in which tour gardens are open to hosts and volunteers; a pre-tour meeting with the owner and private tour of the garden you will be staffing; a guaranteed tour reservation for the half day you are free; a Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour t-shirt, and, perhaps best of all, heartfelt thanks for helping to educate the general public about the many pleasures and benefits of gardening with California native plants.  Prior to signing up to volunteer, browse the gardens to choose the garden you would like to be assigned to. Click here for more information on volunteering.

2016 Tour -Applications for the 2016 Tour are now being accepted. You can download the application form from the Tour website.  Garden visits will be made in May and June.  (Please note that gardens must contain at least 60% or more native plants.)

Donations – This year, please join your fellow guests in supporting the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour. Given decreasing public agency support, we find it necessary to turn to Tour participants to help keep the tour going and to keep it free for those who cannot afford to pay. Please follow the instructions in the registration form to make your contribution, or you can donate here. 

Facebook – If you enjoy the Tour please “share” us on Facebook! This spring the Garden Tour’s Facebook page will run articles such as “What to do in your native plant garden each month;” and “What’s in bloom now?;” describe the spring workshops; feature specific gardens; show you before-and-after garden photos; and just generally provide a behind-the-scenes look at the Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour. Don’t miss out!

We would appreciate your forwarding this e-mail on to friends, neighbors, family members, or colleagues you think might be interested.

I hope to see you at a workshop, and also that you enjoy this year’s Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour!

Feb 09
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Garden Reopens with Two New Classes on March 15th

By Community Events, Gardening Tips, Open House, Outdoor Learning Center

It has been a wonderful break, but we’re all itching for the Lafayette Community Garden to reopen. Members will be kicking off the season on Saturday, March 14, 2015 and the garden gates will swing wide open on Sunday, March 15, 2015  to welcome the community to two new and exciting classes:

P1040409

Building of the first beds in 2012

From 1:00 – 1:30PM, joinDudley Braun and the Construction Team from the Community Garden for our first class of the season: BUILDING RAISED BEDS.Dudley and crew have had three years of practice and have now perfected the art of building raised beds. They will show you what they have learned and send you home with a simple handout so you can build one of your own.

Following this informative session, you can then get your garden ready for a new season of growing at Prepping Your Edible Garden For Spring from 1:30PM to 3:00PM. Bay Friendly Landscape Professional, Master Composter and Garden Educator Lori Caldwell will teach you the basics of preparing a productive, healthy vegetable garden. Topics will include: healthy soil building, seeds versus starts, crop rotation, transitioning from a fall garden or starting from scratch, plant choice by season and non-toxic pest control. This is a great class for beginning and intermediate gardeners.

Sign up for these classes and put it on your calendar!

Jan 20
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Penny Porter Offers More Than Canning: Sausage Making 101

By Open House

Penny Porter has been a foodie her entire life. From gardening and composting to cooking and canning, Penny does it all! She is absolutely food obsessed and she is determined to bring her friends, family and clients along on all of her food journeys.

Join Penny at All In A Jar on Sunday, February 8 at 11:00am as she gets out her recipes for for two mouth-watering winter menu additions. In this hands-on class, you will grind meat and chop produce to create two delectable sausages: an Apple-Pecan Breakfast Pork Sausage seasoned with cinnamon, nutmeg and sweet apple, perfect next to eggs in the morning, and a Garlic Venison Sausage, excellent on pizzas or in chili. Students will also learn how to use a Food Saver for the freezer and go home with a package of sausage from each recipe.

Snacks are served at the beginning of each class and recipes and “How to Start” are always provided.

Penny’s classes run Wednesdays from 6pm to 9pm, Saturdays from 11am to 2pm and Thursday 10:30am to 1:30pm. Private lessons are available upon request.

For more information or to sign up for this class or another, visit Penny at Allinajar.com or call 925.899.1745.

All In A Jar
3339 Carlyle Terrace
Lafayette CA

Dec 05
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The Highlights of the 2014 Season

By Open House

Thanks to the community of Lafayette for a wonderful year! We enjoyed many successes. Here are some of the highlights:

– We reached capacity, with 70 garden member families (about 120 members) and sixteen families on the waiting list for next season.
– Soil was greatly enhanced through addition of compost and other organic nutrients.
– Ten beautiful new beds were constructed.
Propagation of our plants took place in homes and at the garden. Planting was done with attention paid to what was planted where. Rotation of crops, water conservation and bio-intensive methods of planting guided our planning.
– Plants which we propagated but couldn’t use in the garden were given to Chateau Lafayette and Belle Terre Eden Senior Housing facilities for their patio gardens.
– We opened the garden to the entire community Wednesdays 2–5pm, Thursdays 9am–12pm and Saturdays 9am–1pm. Many community groups (scouts, schools, garden clubs, etc.) were given tours.
– The garden produced over a ton of vegetables and herbs. Almost all of the harvest was taken by community garden members. What was in excess was donated to the new Belle Terre Housing and Chateau Lafayette.
– We got water! We worked with the City to access and purchase piped in water rather than depend on it being trucked as in years past. Thanks to a grant from the Lafayette Community Foundation and private donors, we were able to install an efficient drip irrigation system. We remained cautious in what and how we planted in order to save water.
– We took down our “not to code” greenhouse and purchased a beautiful new greenhouse, thanks to support from the Happy Valley Garden Club and the Brenner Foundation.
– Over 350 people visited our third annual Harvest Festival, enjoying activities from scare crow building to sachet making, listening to music, and learning about the natural history of Lafayette.
– Our education programs provided a variety of rich experiences for community members of all ages:
– Partnering with the Lafayette Library, we hosted regular themed book events and workshops for children.
– This summer we offered a month long series of eight preschool classes and a weeklong Native American immersion camp for 7 – 12 year olds.
– Ten adult and intergenerational classes and workshops were attended by over 200 visitors.