If you’ve driven by recently, you may have noticed that our garden is lush with harvest. We continue to be blessed with a diverse, energetic, positive community of garden members and supporters who have helped bring the garden and learning center together.
Penny Porter of All in a Jar will be at the garden on Sunday, September 21 from 3:30 to 5:00PM to share her knowledge of food preservation at home. Have fun learning the basics on water bath canning for high-acid foods. We will discuss the best foods for this process, the tools you need and the do’s and don’ts.
There are many tricks and techniques that make canning a unique process for extending the life of your favorite foods. Most importantly, this class will provide quintessential knowledge and skills for how to begin canning in your own home.
Join Penny Porter for some Canning Basics.
Still looking for the perfect camp? Want to learn a little about the local history of Lamorinda? Then come and join us at the Lafayette Community Garden and Outdoor Learning Center and immerse yourself into the abundant world of nature as experienced by the local Native American Tribe, the Saclans/Miwoks.
We will meet daily August 4 to 8, from 8:30 to 11:30am. Youth and open-hearted adults will live as tribal members adopting Native American names and cultural observances. We will use what nature has provided for tools, meals, clothing and shelter. The last morning will conclude with a tribal sharing of food and ceremony with guests.
Educator, Peggy Magilen, will lead this experience, assisted by other members of the Community Garden.
The camp is geared for children ages 8 to 12 years old.
A minimum of 6/maximum of 12 youth participants; a few additional (adult) caregivers welcome.
Cost: $50 per camper to cover materials.
Register today.
Doc Hale has informed us that has to cancel our event this afternoon. Due to an illness in his extended family, he has to fly to aid in the end of life care of his uncle. We are sorry to have this last minute glitch, but will notify you when we reschedule.
Thanks for your understanding.
Our Secret Garden has gotten off to a great start. On Monday, June 30, we discussed ways to keep Mother Earth healthy and made recycled newspaper trees. We also went on a hunt for litter and leaves around the garden. We, then, dumped everything into a bucket of compost and worms to find out what will break down over the next four weeks.
Today, July 3, our theme was “following directions.” We learned that different plants needed to be planted in different places, based on the sun and shade. And we found out that sunflowers in particular follow the sun throughout the day.
Local yoga instructor Alison Leitheiser lead us in some garden yoga. Our little gardeners were excellent listeners and followed directions very well. Let’s hope the sunflowers that we planted today also get to follow the directions of the sun.
Happy Fourth!
See you Monday, July 7, when we talk about being great neighbors and community helpers.
Hey kids! The Lafayette Community Garden will be hosting its second Our Secret Garden series.
Beginning June 30, Eli Chan will offer children a chance to get personal about ecology. On Monday and Thursday mornings from 9am to 10am, kids (and their caregivers) will head outside and connect with nature through stories, physical activity and garden-related crafts. They will be armed with the tools to make good food and lifestyle choices. Caregivers will learn how to nurture our next generation to be enthusiastic about their bodies, the environment and our community.
Together, we will become caring human beings who are part of an interconnected natural world. Join us in the garden and get ready to dig deeper than before!
Sign up now to become a first-class community leader.
Calling all kids! Bring your parents on Saturday, June 28 from noon until 1:00pm for a hunt for hidden bugs at the Lafayette Community Garden! How many can you “spot”?
Join the Lafayette Children’s librarians a few buggy stories and learn what insects can do for and to our gardens. We will explore the world of bugs, their homes and preferred foods. Here’s your chance to dig in dirt, collect insects, inspect them, and release friendly ladybugs to help keep those pesky aphids under control.
Go ahead! Ask your parents to register you for this exciting opportunity.
Thanks to Susan Dannenfelser,Kirk Beck, our volunteers and material donators, the Wind Chime Workshop was a success!
We had 21 participants by day’s end, six of whom were helpers, and three of whom were engaged children.
All the “smiling faces added to the wonderful energy in the class! Good right brain tickling is also good for the soul!” commented instructor Susan.
Thanks, Susan. As Chris Young said, “We had a lovely chime together.”
Come to the garden Saturday, May 17 for a fun day of making music!
Wind chimes can be made with an exciting mixture of elements. We’ll have fasteners, adhesives, and basic materials, like filament, string, drills, glues, and bamboo. But to make your wind chime uniquely yours, bring items like old keys, bottle caps, earrings, beads, flatware, (smooth) sea glass, and industrial hardware. Just use your imagination!
You’ll have time to make one for yourself and possibly one for the garden. Search the web for inspiration for your music maker!
Join instructor Susan Dannenfelser, local sculptor and garden member, at the Lafayette Community Garden from 2:00PM to 5:00PM to discover your inner artist.
For more inspiration, visit Susan Dannenfelser at www.dannenbeck.com.
Kids 10 and under, please bring your own adult.
Sign up here.
Take some time out this Saturday, April 26 to learn from to Hollie Lucas-Alcalay, owner of Hollie’s Homegrown in Moraga, how to grow, harvest, store and make teas using what is growing in your own garden.
