Details

Workshops and Workstays

Do you want to tour the Garden of Eating and get hands-on experience in permaculture? Find out how to apply these principles on your very land. Daytime workshops or in-depth work exchange/apprenticeship opportunities on a variety of topics can be catered to suit you. Email us to find out more (dates may be flexible and subject to change).

Directions for reaching the farm at Contact Us.

Bonus: all pre-registered participants are welcome to a guided farm tour.

 

Topics

The following is a list of past, present, and possible presentations. Some workshops are hands-on while others are projected on a screen.

  • planning your climate resilient farm
  • intro to permaculture
  • reading the landscape
  • spoken word poetry: In Compost We Trust
  • hands-on mushroom log inoculation workshop
  • nut's grow these locally
  • zones of use
  • soil health
  • ecological design
  • urban permaculture
  • edible landscaping, forest gardening, agroforestry
  • First Nations history and permaculture practices
  • wild edibles
  • Beaver Valley Community Garden

Past speaking locations:

  • Forest Garden Convergence
  • Guelph Organic Conference
  • University of Toronto Dig In Campus Agriculture
  • Headwaters Gathering
  • Meaford Public Library, Community Centre, Woodford Community Centre
  • Wasaga Beach Community Garden
  • Rogers TV
  • L.E. Shore Memorial Library (Thornbury)
  • Brentwood, Stayner, and Markdale and District Horticultural Societies
  • Georgian College, Barrie
  • Collingwood Collegiate Institute
  • Thornbury Home and Garden Show
  • Creemore Home and Garden Show
  • High Park, Toronto

 

Daytime 2021 Upcoming Workshops

Some workshops are flexible in time and topic, so let us know your interests in advance so we can make it work. Costs to be confirmed based on numbers ~$15/2h workshop.

TBD Come on a plant tasting tour of two permaculture farms in Grey County growing unique crops: Fiddlehead Nursery, near Kimberley, and Eden In Season, near Meaford, for a taste of some of the best edible perennials you can grow in this area. Starts at Fiddlehead Nursery at 1pm, then proceeds to Eden in Season at 3pm. $30. Please RSVP, and also enquire about carpooling if you need a ride.

throughout the season We accommodate a number of guest stays and host impromptu workshops over the year. Let us know in advance so we can include you.

 

Short-Term Work Exchanges (WWOOF, HelpX)

We welcome interested folks who want to immerse themselves in living and breathing permaculture. We are listed on a number of work exchange directories that enable visitors a personal experience into various aspects of permaculture, while enjoying local food and accommodations in exchange for 4 hours of help on the farm.

Priorities for 2021 (besides home construction) include:

  • spring: pruning, inoculating mushroom logs, grafting
  • summer: harvesting yummy raspberries, blackberries, currants, and of course weeding!

As the Garden of Eating is in its infancy, we are outfitted with a trailer, rationed utilities, outdoor facilities, and tenting is always an option. We have well water and a small pond. We often go to neighbouring ecological farms to provide a greater diversity of gardening experiences.

Intern expectations and mutual exchange arrangements are flexible based on your experience and length of stay.

We also help friends with similar projects, and give back at community programs such as Meaford Community Gardens and Second Harvests.

We are pleased to have the opportunity to show you around some of our area's highlights:

  • hiking, cycling, kayaking
  • Ted's Range Road Diner, known for its exotic meats and famous Wednesday music jam night
  • 5 minute drive to Meaford for community projects
  • 25 minute drive to Owen Sound for more natural scenery and the arts

master bedroom

couch

Recreation

  • nearby natural amenities: close to hiking trails: Bruce Trail, Tom Thomson Trail, Trout Hollow Trail
  • some of the most gorgeous views of our area atop the Irish Mountain Lookout
  • caves
  • kayaking
  • swimming

Long-Term Internship and Micro-Enterprises (FarmLINK, community resilience)

As we transition toward a diversified farm, our interdependence with the surrounding community grows. We seek new ways of affirming trust, sharing our bounty, and developing a common interest in a philosophy and land base we are committed to. This is your invitation to participate.

You may have time, skills, resources, or a complementary business beneficial to everyone's success. Areas of focus may include market gardening, livestock silvopasture, construction and natural building, sunroom seed starting and aquaponics, fertility (bokashi, compost tea), and perhaps even outside-the-farm thinking such as workshops, value-added food, promotional, community based models.