Fall 2024 Workshops at the GFN Community Farm
We have four great workshops planned for this fall at the Community Farm! Check them out below and bookmark growfoodnorthampton.org/events for future events.
Climate Adaptive Gardening Series: Complicating “Invasives”: How we Adapt to a Changing World
September 14 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Join Thomas Nuhfer, a PhD student in the Organismal and Evolutionary Biology program at UMass and researcher with the Northeast Regional Invasive Species & Climate Change (RISCC) Network, in this hands-on workshop.
As the climate changes in the Northeast, plant communities are changing too. Some plants move into the region from farther south, and other native species struggle to keep up with the rapid pace of climate change. Others still are introduced into the Northeast from much farther afield, and can interact unpredictably with the effects of climate change and the ecosystems here. This workshop will ask and answer questions about invasive species, range shifting plants, and climate adaptation.
We’ll talk through topics such as:
What do terms like invasive and native really mean? Are there more helpful ways to talk about these topics? How do invasive species interact with climate change? What is a useful way of thinking about plant movement and range shifts in a rapidly changing world? What kind of plant communities do we hope to see in the future? And, What tools does community gardening give us to support both resilient plant and human populations?
Free and open to the public.
Please register here.
Climate Adaptive Gardening Series: Building Soil Health as you put your Garden to Bed for the Season
September 22 @ 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
In this workshop, you will learn from Rose Cherneff, a GFN community gardener and local farmer, about how to build soil health as you put your garden to bed for the winter. We will cover the basics of how to biologically evaluate your soil, how to take chemical soil samples and amend your soil, and how to decide which cover crops to plant in your garden this fall to nourish your soil going into the next season.
We will briefly touch on these vast topics that transition us from harvesting from your garden into replenishing your garden for a winter of rest.
If you are looking for more in-depth learning about no-till gardening, Rose Cherneff teaches a 9-month long course on climate resilient gardening through their school “Gardening for the Future.” The course covers a range of topics to help gardeners grow food during this time of climate change, and is offered on a sliding scale. Learn more at www.gardeningforthefuture.com.
Sliding scale, $0-20. Open to the public – rain or shine!
Seed Keeping for Beginners
September 28 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Join Jo Rosen of Meadowhawk Farm for this hands-on, informational workshop on the methods and importance of keeping seeds from year to year. We will work with a few different crops to understand the practical ways of keeping their seeds and the variation within methods of seed keeping, discuss the different plant indicators that can teach you where to find their seed, and the ways that seed keeping can be a powerful means of food sovereignty. In the process, we will save seed for you to plant in years to come!
Free and open to the public!
Fall Workshop and Community Project: Climate and flood-focused hedgerow planting
October 19 @ 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
10:00 – 11:45 am: Workshop and discussion: Climate strategies for flood management
12:00 – 1:00 pm: Community project: Hedgerow care and planting
(Come for one or both sections!)
Led by Connor Stedman, climate scientist and Piyush Labhsetwar, GFN Land Stewardship Manager
Start this morning off by learning from fellow community gardener and climate planner, Connor Stedman, and Grow Food Northampton Land Stewardship Manager, Piyush Labhsetwar. We’ll discuss the reality of GFN being situated in a floodplain and the challenges and benefits associated with this land. We’ll also look critically at the features of the land best equipped to prepare for and respond to natural causes, with one of those being our hedgerow. In addition to providing food for birds, wildlife, and humans, the hedgerow offers a wind barrier and protection from dust and debris from the road, and has the potential to catch debris from flowing floodwater. The types of plants in the hedgerow – from single stemmed trees to multi-stemmed woody perennials – affects how wind, water, and debris will interact with this land and offer practical climate mitigation.
After this workshop and discussion, we’ll move into a community project to care for and add to our hedgerow, to increase its ability to mitigate floodwater, provide food, and offer a long-term strategy for caring for this land.
Feel free to join for one or both sections of this event!
Free and open to the public
