All Workshops

With Gavin Dandy, Everdale Farm manager

At Everdale Farm learn all you need to know to start your own organic vegetable garden, from soil prep to seed starting, transplants, compost, mulching and more!

Refreshments will be provided. Please bring your own lunch.

Sorry, this workshop is Full for 2008.

With Ben Polley of Harvest Homes

Straw bales can be used to build homes and other types of buildings that are extremely durable, beautiful, energy-efficient, low-cost and well suited to our four-season climate. Lots of theory and practical experience building a small straw bale cabin. (This will not include cement lime or earthen plastering. We recommend you take the plastering and finishing workshops set in August.)

With Ben Polley of Harvest Homes

Plastering is an art unto itself. Learn skilled techniques to become proficient at mixing and troweling traditional cement-lime plaster to provide elegant and professional finishes. Colour tinting, stucco spraying, interior finishes, reliefs, inlays and mosaics will also be discussed with some hands-on opportunities.

Please wear long sleeves and long pants to this workshop.

With Tom Wolf, Earthship builder

Fashioned from sand, clay, fiber and natural binders earthen floors can resemble stone, brick or tile. While clearly complimentary to other forms of alternative construction, such as straw bale, an earthen floor can equally be considered for otherwise conventional homes and is ideally suited for installation over radiant heating systems.

In this exciting workshop you will learn the ingredients, tests for local soil appropriateness, and the tools required, and discuss methods for adding colour, finishes, care and maintenance.

Then roll up your pants, jump in and feel the mud ooze between your toes while applying your newly gained knowledge to mixing and installing a new earthen floor at Home Alive! A day of hands-on learning and play suitable for all ages and experience levels.

What to bring:

With Tom Wolf, Earthship builder

Earthen plasters are a healthy, non-toxic, and inexpensive way to create plastered finishes that are ideal for natural building or renovations. Learn how to use local soils and fibres to create beautiful and durable earthen plasters for straw bale walls, or for any other plastered interior or exterior surface. Learn how to sample soils, create test patches, and mix for base, second and finish coats.

Please wear long sleeves and long pants to this workshop.

Coffee and tea will be available, but please bring your own lunch.

PLEASE NOTE DATE CHANGE from July to August!!

With Joe Street, biodiesel producer, user and DIY reactor designer

Learn the finer details of Biodiesel production. Learn how to test for good quality waste vegetable oil and see how a batch of biodiesel is produced from beginning to end in our homemade biodiesel reactor. A "how to" guide will be available.

The Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario and Everdale present...

Market Garden Crop Rotations with Anne Slater, who makes a living farming a two acre market garden.

Learn how to use crop rotation to condition and enhance your growing ability in an intensive or small market garden situation. This workshop can be applied to community gardens, large personal veg gardens and mixed vegetable CSA farms.

Coffee and tea will be available, but please bring your own lunch!

With Joshua Abush P.Eng, a renovator and certified energy advisor with a Masters of Engineering in green building and building science.

Reduce the ecological impact of your home renovation by balancing energy efficiency, low
impact materials selection, building techniques, and timeless design.

Coffee and tea will be available, but please bring your own lunch!

The Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario and Everdale present:

Pastured Poultry with Ruth Knight, who has successfully raised pastered poultry at her farm in Clifford, Ontario for over 7 years.

This workshop will offer an overview of different pastured poultry techniques from feeding, housing, fencing, watering, and predator protection. You will also learn about the current rules and regulations regarding pastured poultry and how to stay current on those issues.

Coffee and tea will be available, but please bring your own lunch!

With John Wilson of the Natural Living Network

This workshop was offered in January 2008 an we hope to offer it again as part of the Everdale in the City 2008/2009 workshop series.

This seminar will provide you with an introduction to the key concepts of sustainable living and gives you real world examples that work. It covers ecological design, renewable energy systems, water and sewage treatment as well as building permits and whether to grid-tie or not to grid-tie.

Coffee and tea will be available, but please bring your own lunch!