Join us at Haliburton EcoFarm School this September to learn Certified Organic Land Care and so much more.
• Organic Master Gardener: September 18 – November 8, 2018
• Ecological Landscape Design I: September 26 – December 1, 2018
Further information from Gaia College.
A collaboration between Royal Roads University, Gaia College, and the Haliburton EcoFarm School
Hard to believe after all the long months of planning that we have our first farm school session underway!
On Day one, our students were given a welcome by Tiffany Joseph, of the Tsawout First Nation, and then introduced to the farm with a presentation on farming for biodiversity on South Vancouver Island by Kristen Miskelly of Saanich Native Plants, before being taken on a focused tour of the farm.
There was a local and seasonal lunch – spring green frittatta, Haliburton leafy green salad and Haliburton lavender cookies – by Rhona McAdam who followed the meal with a discussion on food systems and sustainability. And then it was out into the farm to start a planting project with organic farming instructor Elmarie Roberts.
The morning of Day 2 covered soil health & human nutrition, composting systems and soil testing, and a lunch of asparagus, sorrel & spring greens soup; organic sourdough buns from Royal Bay Bakery, white bean & almond dip; and a strawberry-rhubarb crisp. The afternoon was spent in the glorious sunshine, learning about farming for biodiversity and ecological restoration for farmers.
It’s spring at last!
Please join us to celebrate at Haliburton Community Organic Farm on Sunday 25 March, 2018 from 10am to 2pm.
Take a tour of this special place: the farms and urban biodiversity project, meet farmers and the Ecofarm School instructors.
Treats, beverages and prizes.
Just two blocks east off Patricia Bay Hwy 17 at 741 Haliburton Road. Look for the big yellow mailbox and come on down the lane. Here’s a link to the map for directions.
Looking forward to seeing you there!
For several years, Haliburton Farm has been the venue for Gaia College‘s popular Growing Food course. The class runs right through the growing season, March through September, and covers everything you need to know in order to grow food, whether on your balcony, on the allotment, in your garden or acreage.
Methods are organic and sustainable, and will save you time and money as you learn hands-on with plenty of on-site demonstrations and examples. Learn about building healthy soil, using water wisely, techniques for propagation and cultivation, feeding plants and pollinators, managing pests, seed-saving, preserving your harvest, and managing your garden post-harvest.
The program is timed for busy people: it runs March 28 to September 5, 2018; Wednesdays 6:30-9:30pm and Saturdays 1:00-4:00pm.
Interested? Course registration is now open.
Can’t decide? Come to a free information session at the farm, 741 Haliburton Road, on Wednesday March 14, 2018 at 6.30pm. Please note: bursaries are available – more details at the information session
It’s Spring, almost, well at least the lunar new year! Time to embrace your passion for organic farming and sustainable, healthy living and become an EcoFarmer with us at Haliburton Farm. The Spring 5-day course (Fri 4 May to Tues 8 May) covers the busiest season for Ecofarmers. Students will be immersed in essential learning – holistic farming, local ecology, and ethnobotany. Our in-house organic farmers, biologists, holistic nutritionists and invited guest lecturers will walk you through the basics and give you plenty of hands-on practice.
The program includes a vegetarian lunch each day, prepared by a food-loving Registered Holistic Nutritionist, to demonstrate how delicious seasonal eating can be.
There are optional post-course internships at Haliburton farm.
Tuition bursaries are available for up to half of tuition costs!
And there’s more to come in 2018, two more 5-day programs tailored to the season for Summer (July 13-17) & Fall (October 12-16).
Click here for the Spring syllabus, and check the Royal Roads Continuing Studies website to register.
It was g
reat to see several hundred of you back again on the weekend!
We had another lively, friendly and educational Saanich Seedy Saturday at the Gardens at HCP last Saturday. Visitors crowded in to meet the vendors: everything from… Fairtrade tea to organic carrots to EcoFarming education to gardening books to nutritional education to pollinator partners to multi-hued quinoa seed to Jerusalem artichokes to succulents to microbial mixes to curly kale to cookbooks to cookies to gardening advice to fly dung …was on offer from our local and pesticide-free vendors.
Most of our vendors were from the CRD, with others coming in from up-Island and the Gulf Islands, and most had been at our previous Seedy Saturdays. Haliburton Farm was well represented by Kristen & James Miskelly of Saanich Native Plants; Elmarie Roberts of Sunbird Farm; Ann Eastman for the Haliburton EcoFarm School (watch for news of the Spring session which runs May 4-8); New Mountain Farmer Mike Nyberg and Fierce Love Farmer Erin Bett; and the annual Hali Cookie Jar (proceeds to the farm’s Bursary Fund) by Rhona McAdam.
In the speakers’ corner, mushroom lovers were treated to a fascinating talk from chef/forager Bill Jones, who demonstrated why his foraging events and dinners at Deerholme Farm are so popular. He answered questions about mushroom safety, preparation and cultural aspects, and offered three of his dozen cookboooks for sale: the Deerholme Mushroom Book, the Deerholme Foraging Book, and his latest, the Deerholme Vegetable Book. Later on, Dan Jason spoke to an enthusiastic room of grain and seed-growers about his new book, Awesome Ancient Grains & Seeds. He has a strong following from all his work in seed saving and seed security, as well as his Salt Spring Seeds business.
So… thanks so much for coming along and supporting local seed saving and growing; if you didn’t, hey we missed you! Hope to see you next year!
Champion of sustainable urban agriculture in Victoria, Concrete Garden is highlighting the EcoFarm School in their online blog: Spotlight on Sustainability.
For more information on the upcoming EcoFarm modules in 2018 or the bursaries available, please email us at the ecofarmschool@gmail.com or call the coordinator 250-886-1648.
Wondering where to go with your passion for organic farming, your concern for the environment, your curiosity about nutrition? Do we have a workshop for you!
This 5-day course covers the groundwork for year-round Ecofarming, with a seasonal slant: sourcing organic seeds and marketing your farm; all-season crop planning, growing and processing food while working in harmony with nature.
The program includes a vegetarian lunch each day, prepared by a food-loving Registered Holistic Nutritionist to demonstrate how delicious seasonal eating can be.
Best of all, tuition bursaries are available for up to half of tuition costs!
Our in-house organic farmers, biologists, holistic nutritionists and invited guest lecturers will walk you through the basics and give you plenty of hands-on practice.
It can start and end there, if that’s all you need, but there’s more to come – 5-day programs, tailored to the season, are offered for Spring, Summer & Fall – for those wanting the full deal.
Click here for the Winter syllabus, and check Royal Roads Continuing Studies website for details of how to register, and to keep track of the upcoming workshops.
As promised, we’ve got a more detailed syllabus for you to look at.
Questions? Please email us or come along to our Information Session on Sunday September 10 from 11am to 1pm. We’ll start with a farm tour and gather round the farm house to talk about the program. Absolutely free and all are welcome!
Our first EcoFarm School module will take place starting October 20 at the farm. Check out our beautiful EcoFarm School Brochure from our education partners, Continuing Studies at Royal Roads University. Registration is now open. Watch for a more detailed syllabus which we’ll be posting soon!