Earthcare Spring Training

Feb 24 – 25
At Earthcare's Spring Training 2010, Earthcare groups from Ottawa's elementary and high schools gathered for environmental learning and fun. With Growing Up Organic, students learned the ins and outs of composting - and made their own...

Pop Bottle Composter!

All you need: recycled containers (2L pop bottle, large yogurt and medium sour cream), a small piece of nylon, a rubber band, half a cup of soil, some newspaper.


Step #1 Carefully cut the bottom off your pop bottle (about two inches, usually there is a line on the bottle)


Step #2 Attach nylon to the spout of the bottle with rubber band to create a screen


Step #3 Place the bottle spout down in the large yogurt container. Add shredded newspaper until your bottle is about half full (get ripping!).


Step #4 Add 1/2 cup of soil to the bottle


Step #5 Put the small container in the top of the bottle as a lid (right side up).


And voila! Your composter is ready!

To use your composter:
Add 1-2 cups organic material (fruit/vegetable scraps, crushed egg shells-washed, coffee grounds) ***The smaller the better! Chop up into small pieces, or put your scraps in a blender!

Add a few spoons of water, and stir up the paper, soil and organic matter. You want the consistency to be that of a damp sponge, so add water as needed.

Now wait while tiny bacteria and microorganisms turn your scraps into compost!

Check on your composter once or twice a week. Stir it up to allow air in, and empty the liquid that has drained into the bottom container. This is 'compost tea', and your plants will love it!

Does your compost stink? It shouldn't! It may be too dry - add a little water, or too wet - add dry material like sawdust or shredded paper.
Tip: If you are having trouble, try only composting coffee grounds, it won't stink!

After about 1 month the contents of your pop bottle should begin to look like a smooth, dry soil. Your compost is ready to be used - your houseplants will love it!
***Don't forget to save half a cup of compost to restart your composter for the next month!

Keep composting! You are reducing the amount of waste in landfills, and creating organic plant food (for free!) that will help your houseplants or your garden grow strong and healthy!

More information on composting...
http://www.ec.gc.ca/education/default.asp?lang=En&n=BAE2878A-4


Also, check out Vermiculture - composting with worms!...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjjuYNilM60

Red Wiggler worms are the best! Add them to your outdoor bin, or make a worm bin.
Order your own Red Wigglers from Arbour Environmental Shoppe in the Glebe. (613) 567-3168

What's on the Calendar?

Spring is in the air, and things are getting starting for school gardens!

Growing Up Organic has begun to host garden workshops for kids in schools across the city. For the rest of the school year, GUO will be available to do lessons with children, assist teachers with their garden related lessons, and provide materials and resources.

The lesson topics include (but are not limited to!)...

Planning the Garden: Three Sisters Garden – Before April 1st (Grade 3) - Students learn about a traditional 3 sisters garden, and then plant a mini version of one!
Planning the Garden - Before April 1st (gr.9, 10, 11…) - Students learn about needs of plants & factors to consider when planning a garden: space, light, how plants work together, planning for the harvest... .
The Mystery Garden – March, April, Anytime (Kindergarten, grade 1) - Students plant unidentified seeds and make observations in their investigation to discover what each plant is.
Soil Investigation - When ground is thawed, before planting (Grade 1, 3,6,9) - Students explore soil, experiment with different types of soil, and discover soil components through observation and soil testing.
Seed Starting – First Week of April (Grade 1, 3, 6, 11) - Through a series of stations, students explore seeds and seed germination. Seeds are sprouted for snacks later in the week, and seedlings are planted for later use in the garden.
Transplanting and Planting – Earliest Mid-April (Grade 4) - Students take seedlings and plant them in the garden. Experiments are done on weaker seedlings that don’t make it to the garden.
Weeding and Mulching - any time! (Grade 1, 3, 5, 6, 9) - Students discover weeds, weed the garden and conduct a mulch experiment.
Composting: Create a Composter – when ground is dry (Grade 7,8, Design/Shop class) - Students design and build a composter
Composting: Get Composting – any time (Grade 5,7-10) - Students design a composting system at their school, and teach other students about compost.
Harvesting (everyone!) - Lots of activities for harvesting including cooking, nutrition, preserving food (making pickles...) and more.

Detailed lesson plans are available at: https://sites.google.com/site/growinguporganicschoolgardens/ (they are still in the works).

If you are interested in scheduling a workshop with your school, contact Laura at guoschoolgardens@gmail.com

Don't have a garden? No problem! There are many activities that can be done in the classroom. Interested in creating an outdoor garden? Contact Growing Up Organic for support.

To see what's going on so far, take a look at the calendar (Click on a day and then event details).

SUMMER CAMP FUN!

Growing Up Organic, with the Glebe Neighbourhood Activities Group (GNAG), is happy to offer two summer camp experiences summer 2010. For more information please contact Torry Reid at 613.627.6343 or GNAG at 613-564-1058 or 613-233-8713. Register online at gnag.ca, registration opens March 8^th at 9:00 PM.

FOOD & GARDEN CAMP (12-16 years)

Yellow tomatoes, purple carrots, edible weeds…

Canadian Organic Growers (COG), through its Growing Up Organic project, invites you to sink your teeth into the world of food. Not only will you get to prepare and eat great organic food, you’ll also learn how to grow it yourself, right here in the city. Along the way you’ll meet professional chefs, city farmers and take a trip out to Alpenblick Farm for a day with the goats. Fee includes organic food and transportation.

Jul 12 - 16 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. $165

YOUTH FARM APPRENTICESHIP CAMP (12-16 years)

Canadian Organic Growers (COG), through its Growing Up Organic project, is offering its farm camp for a third year – and this time we’ll be camping for a full week while living and working out at Alpenblick Farm. Farmers Robert & Petra will teach you how to milk goats, make cheese and care for the cattle, sheep and goats that graze their 320 acre organic farm outside Stittsville. While there you’ll learn how to cook over an open fire, identify and prepare wild edible plants, participate in a land art project, and take day trips to other nearby farms. Fee includes organic meals and transportation.

Jul 5 - 9 (5 days, 4 nights) $240

Food For All

Food for All: Join Food Action Planning Conversations – Feb.

People from across this city are coming together to address the food issues in our communities. It is called Food for All: an Ottawa Community Response. Join Food for All and participate in the Food Action Planning Conversations in 2010. The time is right for Ottawa to develop a food action plan.

Between February and June of 2010, there will be a number of Food Action Planning Conversations. These conversations are for all people in Ottawa who are interested or have concerns about their food. You are invited to join Food for All and participate in these conversations.

We will find solutions to many of the food issues that exist in Ottawa, make recommendations and work with decision makers, including the City of Ottawa, the Ottawa school boards, and the NCC on ways to improve the food system in Ottawa.

Please choose the topic area that interests you the most, save the dates for the workshops and contact us to register for the workshops. We will confirm your participation and share with you the location of the conversations when we receive your registration.

Food, Access and Health in Our Communities: This topic area will look at issues like being able to find, afford and get to the food we need, the relationship between food and health, and our community food programs.

Time: 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Dates: February 9th, March 9th, April 13th and May 11th, 2010
Contact: Project coordinator at info@justfood.ca or 613-236-9300 ext. 301

Food in Our Schools: This topic area will explore the issues related to formalized programs that provide children with food, the general availability of foods in schools, and food in the curriculum.

Time: 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Dates: February 16th, March 30th and May 18th, 2010
Contact: Project coordinator at info@justfood.ca or 613-236-9300 ext. 301

Household Food Production: This topic area will explore the issues faced by households growing food for their households – including household gardens, community gardens, livestock by-laws, and skills to grow and use food.

Time: 7:00pm to 9:00pm
Dates: February 23rd, March 23rd and April 27th, 2010
Contact: Terri O’Neill at terri@justfood.ca or 613-236-9300 ext. 309

Market Food Production: This topic area will explore the issues faced by people who are growing food for sale to others.

Time: 10:00am to 12:00pm
Dates: February 2nd and March 16th, 2010
Contact: Robin Turner at robin@justfood.ca or 613-236-9300 ext. 306

Special Notes:

· In each topic area, every conversation will build on the conversations that happened before it. When you sign up for a topic area, please ensure that you can commit to participating in all of the conversations for that topic area.

· We welcome both French and English speakers to participate in these conversations. Each topic area will have an English and a French speaking facilitator.

· Locations will be wheel-chair accessible

· Child-care will be available during each of these conversations with prior notice.

· OC-Transpo tickets will be available to help you get to and from the meeting venue.

For more information about Food for All as a project, the topics that will be discussed in each of the topic areas, or to suggest topics that should be included, please visit www.justfood.ca/foodforall