Madera Garden Update

Madera Garden Work Party
Saturday, April 2nd, 2011

Earth Week Garden Classes
April 11-15, 2011

Hello Madera garden supporters – here are 3 quick facts for you:

1.  We had 3 adults at our last work party.  While I hugely appreciate those folks, and we got a lot of work done, I would really like to see more of our community present for these events.

2.  We are going to have only 3 more work parties for the rest of this school year.  We will have one work party in June and one in May.  We also are going to have one this next Saturday, April 2nd from 12-2.  We will be getting the garden ready for EARTH WEEK by moving soil, and preparing the beds for planting.

3.  There are 3 great ways you can support the garden in the next couple of weeks.

• One way is by attending the work party this Saturday.
• Another way is by volunteering to help with class visits during EARTH WEEK.  This is a really fun way to help out the garden because you get to help supervise small groups of students as they plant and tour the garden.  I have attached a schedule for that week so that you can see when classes are attending. Please email me back with which classes(es) you would like to help.
• And finally, you can take a free green class.  We have four classes being offered during EARTH WEEK (worm composting, potato growing, composting, and rainwater harvesting.)  If you have to choose one, go with the composting one because it is being taught by Madera students!!  We need to have at least 5 people in each class in order for the classes to be held, and unfortunately none of the classes have 5 attendees yet.  I have pasted in the email about these great classes at the end of this email, so if you are interested you should take a look at it.

And so ends the story of 3!  Hope to see you at some of these exciting upcoming events.

Thanks so much,

Molly Wahl

(more info on classes below…)

• Please sign-up for any classes you are interested in attending by following the Doodle links in this email.  Doodle is a free online service that allows us to have people sign up for classes.  When you sign up, please make sure to include your first and last name.  If you are worried about using this service, you can email me directly about your interest in a particular class.  However, I may not be able to enter your information in a timely fashion, and therefore your spot in the class can not be guaranteed.
• Registration will work on a first-come-first-serve basis.  Each class needs to have at least 5 people sign-up in order for us to hold the class.  Each class’s enrollment will be capped at 20.
• Once you sign up, make sure that you put the class into your calendar, as we will have no way of contacting you to remind you to attend.
• All classes will be held in the Madera School Garden during the week of April 11^th -15^th either during lunch time (12:20-1:00) or directly after school from 3:00-4:00.
• Although these classes are free, donations will be welcomed and all proceeds will be put toward garden supplies.
• All Madera students and siblings need to be supervised by their own parent/guardian.
• Rain cancels any scheduled classes.  Depending on our resources, we may offer make-up dates.

Green Class Roster

DIY Vermiculture                               Date: Monday, April 11^th, 2011                       Time: 3pm-4pm

Have you been wanting to get a worm bin started at your home?  Attend this class and learn all the basics.  We will walk you through setting up and maintaining a bin, as well as using what the wonderful worms make in your garden.  If you are interested in this class, please follow this link and sign up:   http://doodle.com/tk6kd9b7yicae54w

Tons of Spuds                                      Date: Wednesday, April 13^th, 2011                 Time: 12:20pm-1pm

Potatoes are really fun vegetables to grow with kids, but sometimes with our soil and climate they can struggle.  Learn a fun and easy way to grow potatoes in a very small space.  If you are interested in this class, please follow this link and sign up:  http://doodle.com/g6qncciaa2sg6e2k

Composting 101                  Date: Friday, April 15^th, 2011                                          Time: 12:20pm-1pm

Composting is a great way to reduce your waste and give back to the earth.  Please join us, as our student teachers (from Ms. Reyes and Ms. Schooley’s classes) teach us why and how to compost. If you are interested in this class, please follow this link and sign up: http://doodle.com/kn8iat4umv8icaca

Let it Rain                                            Date: Friday, April 15^th, 2011                          Time: 3pm-4pm

Roof water harvesting is all the rage!  If you have been curious, but also rather intimidated by how this all works, join us as local expert walks through the basics of rain water cachement systems.  As an additional bonus, you will get hand’s-on experience with setting up a model roof water system in the garden.  If you are interested in this class, please follow this link and sign up: http://doodle.com/curqhuitmanu5k46