Healthy food and garden education

Spring Greetings!

Thank you to everyone who joined in for Toronto's second full Permaculture Design Course in April. The course supported new understandings and shifts in most of us who were on the course together. One learning that came clearer on our end is how right it feels to work with partners, clients and students from the position that we want healthy long term relationships. How long term isn't as important as knowing that it is longer than we are used to imagining. Might we imagine knowing each other until we are old? Or perhaps we can see our our grandkids working on a project we started together. Taking a longer view has been giving us a deeper sense of space and time for learning from projects and their natural lessons as they mature and express. The year ahead is taking shape with these and other interesting influences. Check out our schedule of workshops, courses and project happenings here. See our new testimonials page for what people are saying.

Our Garden and Permaculture Coaching continues to be available in 2013. Through it we help individuals, as well as schools, daycares, condominimum communities and other groups with gardening and permaculture projects. This year Garden Jane is working with The Cutting Veg and The Daniels Corporation to do a variety of community urban agriculture projects in condominiums, as well as The Backyard Farm and Farmer's Market across from the Erin Mills Town Centre in Mississauga. We will continue with William Burgess P.S., the High Park Children's Garden and our individual clients as well. Our programs page offers info on some of what what we can do with groups, and we're always interested in designing new gardens and programs when we can.

We continue to have seed ball kits for sale for those looking for a fun activity to do with a class, at a kid's party or for your own fun. Seed balls can be made over the fall with winter rye or clover and spread immediatetly, or the can be dried and saved until spring.

People are critical players in the social and garden ecosystems we strive to nurture. A big thank you goes out to the 6000 people who came out to workshops and events in 2012 (and 23,000 since 2007!). Thank you to the many caring people who spread the word and pitch in to put on the workshops, events and activities.

Stories are an important part of how we share what we know. Here are some recent media and publications:

Check out the Toronto star article from Oct 21 2011. There's also a That Channel web tv interview, recorded May 13th 2011. Info. Seeded and Soiled features a piece that explains a little more on why soils are so integral to our education programs. There's also a new bit of the 500 year plan.

"A 500 year plan" (a small excerpt!) was published in Hope Beneath Our Feet: Restoring Our Place in the Natural World in September, 2010. The book is an anthology about how we can live right now in a time of environmental crisis. Also contributing to the book are Paul Hawken, Alice Walker, Diane Ackerman, Barry Lopez with an afterward by Wendell Berry. Order the book here. Earlier in 2010, About Local Food: Four Conversations with Toronto Food Activists by Laurel Waterman was published as well. It features an interview with Jane. About the book.

Hope to see you in a garden, kitchen or at a your home sometime soon!

Garden Jane is a community-oriented business offering healthy food and garden education and recreation for people of all ages. Join our mailing list.