Hey Chuckanutt Transition folks!
I was hoping/wondering if the following info about an upcoming mushroom cultivation course I will be teaching in Olympia might be able to get announced to your group members. I personally see mushroom cultivation as a big piece of the sustainability puzzle that is missing form the discussion and thought your group might be interested. If so, that would be much appreciated.


Thanks so much!
Peter

Mushroom to Mushroom Cultivation Course

In this 2-day course we will cover everything needed to grow your own edible and medicinal mushrooms indoors or in the garden. Saturday will begin with will be an introduction to the ins and outs of cultivation, budget planning, space design, and related logistics. From there we cover the full spectrum of sterile mushroom production from spores or cloned mushroom tissue, through working with agar, liquid culture, grains, wood and straw based substrates, all the way to fruiting mushrooms. Sunday we will break the rules of the foundation we built on Saturday to learn the cutting edge techniques of low-tech cultivation, much of it unpublished at this time. We will also explore the aspects of cultivation for food sovereignty and sustainability, medicine, and remediation (aka pollution reduction & mitigation). At the end of the course, participants will get 4 pure mushroom cultures (valued at $100) and a workbook of all techniques covered.


Dates: April 20-21 (Saturday & Sunday)
Location: Olympia, WA
Cost: $200

To register or for more info, please email radmycology@gmail.com with your name and contact info.

Instructor Peter McCoy has been cultivating fungi for several years, learning the tricks and tips (along with the mistakes) that come with the trade. He has presented on fungi and taught cultivation at the Olympia Food Co-Op, The Radical Mycology Convergence, The Olympia Transitions Fair, The Northwest Permaculture Convergence, and the Olympia Village Building Convergence.

Skagit Valley Food Co-op Celebrates 40 Years of Good Health and Local Color

We kick off with a Garden Giveaway in April, and a special Earth Day Celebration on Monday April 22nd. Visitors can talk bees with local beekeeper Bruce Vilders outside the store at our Garden Department, talk seeds with Jenny Goforth from Salmonberry CLT, learn about their Seed Distribution Project and take home some new varieties to plant. Customers can choose a Giant Sequioa, Red Osier Dogwood, Vine Maple, or Noble Fir tree start from Brooks Tree Farm in Salem, OR, and bring home their groceries in a special Earth Day shopping bag, decorated by the students at Westview Elementary.


thanks -
jodie
jodie@skagitfoodcoop.com

Mason Bee Workshop with Kim Kellems, Thursday, June 6th, 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm, Alger Community Hall, 18735 Parkview Lane (Alger) - Everyone Welcome! Please join us!
Learn all about mason bees and how to attract these busy pollinators to your garden at this free workshop.  Friday Creek Habitat Stewards monthly meeting immediately following. 

Gardening for Wildlife Workshop, Thursday, May 16th, 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm, Burlington Library (Burlington Rotary Community Meeting Room)  
Come along to this 2 hour workshop and learn how you can transform your garden into a haven for hummingbirds, butterflies, other wildlife, and people.  The workshop will introduce methods on how you can provide food sources, water, and shelter for wildlife, put native plants to work in your garden, manage your yard more sustainably, reduce yard maintenance, and have your yard certified as a Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary or Habitat.  Hosted by Friday Creek Habitat Stewards & Skagit Conservation District.  Pre-register by May 14th to Kristi Carpenter at (360) 428-4313 or email: kristi@skagitcd.org

Friday Creek Habitat Stewards Speakers Series:
Garden Talk with Jane Billinghurst:  "Gardens Through History & Time"  Thursday, May 2nd, 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm, Alger Community Hall, 18735 Parkview Lane (Alger) - Everyone Welcome! Please join us!
Throughout history and in different parts of the world, gardens showcase the worldviews of their owners. They can overflow with abundance or celebrate formal designs. They can provide retreats from the world or invite the world in to be amazed. They can embrace nature or banish it. Pairing photographs she has taken of gardens around the world with extracts ranging from Roman texts to modern detective novels, Jane will illustrate the different ways that people have used and enjoyed their gardens through geography and time.  Copies of her book, "The Armchair Book of Gardens" will be available for purchase at this event ($20).   Guests are invited to stay after the talk and enjoy light refreshments with the Friday Creek Habitat Stewards from 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm.