For a great story about Motown Memories, check out this article in the Transylvania Times: https://www.transylvaniatimes.com/story/2019/05/06/education/for-rise-and-shine-annual-fundraiser-exceeds-expectations/40662.html
Many thanks to Bella for taking us on a tour of the Eagle's Nest Academy garden. I learned so much. I saw plants and techniques I had read about in practice. I saw one technique I had never heard of which included burying a tree and planting on top of it. As it rots, it creates a rich community below it. Bella explained that perennial rows were planted in between annual planning areas to enhance soil stability. There was an immense amount of food planted. It was fascinating. Thanks to Bella for giving us the tour and sharing her knowledge.
[et_pb_section fb_built="1" _builder_version="3.0.47"][et_pb_row _builder_version="3.0.48" background_size="initial" background_position="top_left" background_repeat="repeat"][et_pb_column type="4_4" _builder_version="3.0.47"][et_pb_text _builder_version="3.0.74" background_size="initial" background_position="top_left" background_repeat="repeat"] On Sunday April 7th, Val Gerdes, of Whistlestop Market, Tin Roof Pizza and the DFR Room took time out of her beyond busy schedule to teach us a few “chef tricks” on how to use food scraps in cooking. It started with raw potato skins and ended with an amazing meal, all in attendance were sent home with, courtesy of Whistlestop Market. We arrived with a jar to bring caramel home with and left with potato skin appetizers, chicken and dumplings, apple crisp and homemade caramel. Thank you Whistlestop Market for feeding us! The class was free and we all donated money to the Cedar Mountain Community Center, at the request of Val. The Community Center looks amazing. Volunteers have been working hard to get it ready foranother year of community gatherings, potlucks and rentals. [/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]
Thanks to everyone who made it possible and attended. They say a picture is worth 1000 words so I thought I would share some. I will follow up with details from each day. For now, please enjoy some pictures. You can see a great article about the essay contest winners in The Transylvania Times here: https://www.transylvaniatimes.com/story/2019/04/01/news/essay-winners-tackle-what-to-do-with-food-scraps/40205.html Many thanks to them for the coverage!
Use Food Scraps Saturday's education and entrepreneur support day is coming together wonderfully. Here is a list of the classes and offerings during the day. Thanks to everyone who is making this possible! Title: Compost Demystified Instructor: Leif Olson 10 am - 12 pm Creating rich fertile soil is one of the most important activities we can do as people, and compost production is one of the best ways to do this. However, not all compost is created equal and people following textbook prescriptions often fall short of making top quality compost. The good news is, with a basic understanding of the art of building a compost pile and the science of what’s going on inside the pile, anyone can create top-notch compost in their backyard that will surpass the quality of anything that can be purchased at a gardening store. Not to mention the added bonus of diverting waste streams like food scraps, coffee grounds, and cardboard from burdening our landfills and recycling facilities. In this workshop [...]
About ten years ago, I lived off the grid in an RV and bought a modest solar system to power my home. It has been in storage for awhile and we made it a priority to get it up and running and we did it! Yesterday, we flipped the switch and started producing power with the sun! I remember how that made me feel a decade ago because I felt the same way yesterday; we are creating electricty without creating debt. It is so calming watching the drill battery charge knowing it wasn't creating a bill we had to pay. It is something I forgot. Interesting. We plan to expand the system as we grow and learn. For now, we got something out of storage and put it to work!
With spring and warm weather just around the corner, it’s hard not to start planning this year’s garden, or even getting out and doing some early “spring cleaning.” Thrifty gardeners will be checking their seed supplies and perusing the latest batch of seed catalogs. Hold onto that order – Moving to Conservers will be holding a Seed Swap on February 21, 2019 at the Wolfbrew Bottle Shop at 36 Main St., Brevard, starting at 6 p.m. The swap will be held in conjunction with a zero-waste potluck supper. Participants should bring a dish to share along with a non-disposable place setting. The event is free and open to anyone who would like to swap seeds for vegetables, fruit, herbs or flowers. Even those who don’t have seeds to swap can come talk gardening, and they may just come away with some seeds to plant! Saved seeds brought to swap should be labeled with as much information available, including the name of the plant, the variety, year of production, [...]
On April 27th from 6 - 10 pm, Rise and Shine will hold its annual fundraiser Motown Memories. It is a wonderful event and a lot of fun. Last year, many members of the group Moving to Conservers enjoyed the event. As many events do, disposable plates and such were used to serve 175 meals. Members of Conservers approached the planning committee and asked if we could help plan next years event with a goal to make it a zero-waste event. They said yes! The first planning meeting was held this week and the planning paperwork had been updated to include the zero-waste goal! Fantastic. We are having a lot of fun trying to figure out how to accomplish the goal. If you have ideas or experience in making events zero-waste we would greatly appreciate learning from you. You can email me at jbwkjc@gmail.com anytime. One of the easiest ways to support those working towards zero-waste is by voting with your dollars and/or time. If you want to [...]
The Use Food Scraps Symposium is being held March 28, 29 & 30th. Day 3 will include education and entrepreneur support labs at Just Ripe Farms. Details are as follows: March 30, 2019 at Just Ripe Farm Education & Entrepreneur Support Labs 10 am – Noon Learn from community experts on how to divert food scraps via a variety of classes. Noon – 2 pm Community Conversation on next steps. Join us for a zero-waste potluck & community conversation. Bring a dish to share and a non-disposable place setting and beverage. 2 pm - 4 pm Learn from community experts on how to divert food scraps via a variety of classes. Participate in creating public art with Pisgah Collective & others... 4 pm – 5 pm Entrepreneur Support Labs. Let’s find out how we can support solutions & those interested in providing them! The Food Scrap Symposium is a series of community gatherings of study, conversation and local action on March 28, 29 & 30, 2019. Made possible [...]
