Saturday 1:00-2:30PM PST/ 4:00- 5:30 PM EST January 23, 2021
Instructor: Nicole Parish
Treat yourself to a fun, relaxing, self-care experience. Gift as a holiday or birthday present, or host your friends for a safe, socially distanced spa day at home! In this workshop, you will learn how to make four awesome projects for self care using 8 simple household ingredients. We will be making bath bombs, face masks, salt scrubs, and hair masks to use during or after the party!
All students will receive the Zoom recording of the workshop to watch at their convenience for two weeks after the workshop. Participants may choose to observe the virtual workshop and work later, but you may also work alongside Nicole during the demo.
Recipes and a tool list will be sent to participants who register through Sonoma Community Center.
Despite the sometimes seemingly insurmountable uncertainty facing folks these days, the Cascadia School Learning Garden has remained a place where people can feel a sense of belonging. In addition to continuing garden classes this season, the school learning garden has been able to provide families with produce, seeds, starts, and a place to safely and tangibly connect to the school itself.
And, as Garden Teacher Nicole likes to say, when you take from the garden, you must give back to the garden. The Cascadia community has done a tremendous job at giving back. Students and families alike have found a sense of connection by participating in our garden work parties this Fall. We have maintained appropriate social distancing and adhered to the district guidelines while weeding, mulching, harvesting, winterizing, and tree planting, making a lasting impact for years to come.
A garden symbolizes hope. It represents faith in a brighter, better future.
The Cascadia Learning Garden is no exception. It has been there for families in this time of need, as they have been there for it. It will continue to bloom, grow, be fruitful, and whatever other garden metaphors you can think of as we continue navigating these trying times as a community with the common goal of staying safe, healthy, and connected.
Happy National Pollinator Week! I know what you’re thinking- Pollinator week is every week. Well, that’s true. But this week, we wanted to highlight the amazing creatures that pollinate our fruits and vegetables, and allow us to have healthy, delicious foods. In this post, you will find (at least) three different ways to help your local pollinators, and fun, hands-on pollinator friendly activities to do with your family around.
Food
When I talk to kids about pollinators, I like to ask them what they think pollinators need to live. Their needs are similar to ours! Food, water, and shelter. What do pollinators eat? Nectar, and often, pollen, from flowers. As the pollinators visit the flowers, some of the pollen rubs off on each flower they go to, which is the process we call pollination. This is how plants make their fruits and seeds. In order to attract more pollinators, you should provide a wide variety of food for them- not all pollinators like to eat the same things! Butterflies are attracted to red and orange flowers, and bees’ favorite colors are blue and white. Meanwhile, hummingbirds love trumpet-shaped flowers. In addition, you want to think about the time of year your blossoms are blooming. It is important for a good pollinator habitat to have something in bloom almost the whole year- from February to October when they are most active.
One thing to think about if you have a garden is letting some of your veggies “go to seed”. For instance, letting radishes flower creates a great food source for butterflies and is pretty to look at until you need to plant something else!
A fun activity to do with kids is making Pollinator Seed Bombs. This is a quick, simple, messy project that’s good for pre-K and elementary aged kids. Watch Foxberry’s video on how to make this project here:
Water
Like humans and other animals, pollinators need a water source! When thinking about water for pollinators, remember bees can’t really swim! When their wings get wet, they are unable to take off and fly again until they dry off. Therefore, you don’t want to keep a deep bowl out as a water source for bees. One thing you can do is put marbles or rocks in your bowl for the bees to land on and sip from. Using a shallow dish like a plant saucer works well. First, find some rocks from the garden, and arrange the rocks in the dish. Then fill the container with water just up to the level of the rocks. Place it somewhere in the shade so the water doesn’t evaporate too quickly.
Butterflies, on the other hand, prefer drinking from mud. This behavior is called “puddling”. Butterflies get the salt and nutrients they need from the minerals in the wet soil. You can help these colorful fluttering creatures by creating a butterfly puddle! Again, find a shallow dish, like an old pie pan or plant saucer, fill it about halfway with soil, and mix in water! Make sure your butterfly puddle stays wet all summer so butterflies can sip from it. Place the mud puddle somewhere visible, but where it won’t dry out too easily. If you want to, you can decorate it with pretty stones for the insects to land on or place rocks in a fun pattern in the mud. In the early spring, this is also a great project for mason bees, which require mud to make their nests.
Shelter
Creating a place where pollinators can live can be a bit more tricky. “Pollinator hotels” are generally used for nesting. Which materials you use for pollinator hotels depends on which pollinators you want to attract. Mason bees, for example, come out in early Spring, around March, and need tubes about ¼ inches wide and 3-6 inches deep. Leafcutter bees, however, come out in the summer and need tubes or holes only 8 millimeters wide! Other materials such as dried leaves and moss can also be used as nesting material and to add an interesting look to your design.
Nicole did a workshop with the School Learning Garden Network. This is a for-garden educators, by-garden educators event which aims to connect the Seattle (and broader) school garden community and share stories, successes, failures, and resources.
Her workshop is one in a series that would have been presented at the annual Winter Workshop, which was cancelled due to COVID-19. Now, the School Learning Garden Network is offering these FREE online events for anyone interested in learning more about the amazing work of garden educators and community members who support school gardens in the Seattle area.
The presentation is called “Stories from the Garden” and highlights the various school garden programs Foxberry Education has been involved with. Nicole’s co-presenter, Patty Lavelle is the Garden Educator at Jane Addams Middle School, which is the location the in-person event would have been held at. Patty has an amazing virtual tour of their school garden as well. Stories from the Garden also presents an opportunity for parents to learn tips and tricks for working with their kids in the garden!
Many of us are stuck inside these days, but I find comfort in the fact that animals are still able to come and go as they please. Now is the time of year when birds are collecting materials for their nests, bees are beginning to emerge in search of pollen and nectar, and many other animals are out and about searching for food, water, and shelter.
Here are a few ideas you can do while at the home to help out these amazing urban critters!
Like us, urban wildlife needs 3 essential things to survive: Food, water, and shelter. This time of year, they are also looking for a safe place to raise their young.
1. Bird and Squirrel Feeders
This project is one of the easiest and most effective ways you can help out your local wildlife! There are many ways to make a feeder: The classic pine cone, peanut butter, and seed is always a good option. You can make a similar project using an apple half if you don’t have access to pine cones. Recycled materials like toilet paper rolls or old milk cartons can also be used, and you and your kids can even create a bird garland with string and dried fruits! Don’t be upset if a squirrel comes to your home-made feeder- they need food too! My backyard squirrels have even planted me beautiful sunflowers in my garden that they found in my feeder.
Home-made suet is another great way to attract furry and feathery critters to your yard or garden. It is a zero-waste project that can be catered to the specific diets of birds in your area that you are aiming to attract. These “cookies” are no-bake, but very messy, so be aware! They should be put out once they dry, so they don’t start to get moldy! They can also be made even simpler with bird seed and coconut oil.
DIY Suet Recipe
2. Bird baths
“Bird baths” are just as much for bathing as they are for drinking! If you currently have a birth bath, make sure that the water is fresh, and being changed regularly. Birds won’t come if the water is too deep- this can be fixed by placing small stones in the middle to for a place to perch. Birds need to bathe in order to loosen the dirt in their feathers, so it’s easier to preen.
If you don’t have a bird bath, you can make one using a plant pot saucer and some pea gravel. Have the kids help collect rocks from the yard and find a nice shady spot somewhere along the side to put it. The bath shouldn’t be put out in the open or the animals will feel exposed to predators. Putting it in the shade of a tree or a fence will also help keep the water from evaporating too quickly.
Apparently, white is used in bird plumage to warn other birds, and is a color of danger for them. Try not to use too much white in these projects, or in your yard in general if you are trying to attract birds to it!
3. Nesting Material Ornaments
Now is the time we are seeing birds big and small searching for the perfect twig for their nest! They also need soft, natural materials to line their nests with, so they are warm and safe for their eggs and future chicks. Generally, they use dried grass, moss, cattail fluff, and anything else they can find that might work as nest liner. I have even seen and old nest with snakeskin woven in! You can help birds keep their hatchlings cozy by creating nesting material ornaments. These are colorful and whimsical decorations for your yard that also act to attract native wildlife. You can use recycled net bags, like the ones potatoes and mandarin oranges come in, to hold the materials. Start by going outside and gathering grass clippings, dead leaves, and anything that looks like it might belong in a nest. Then, you can turn your search inside and collect bits of yarn and cloth scraps. Even pet hair would be a great addition to your nesting material ornament if you have a cat or a dog! Finally, put it all together, and hang it up in a tree near your house so you can watch the critters come by and “shop” for their home-improvement supplies.
It is a common misconception that birds “live” in their nests. Nests are actually only used by birds to lay their eggs and raise their young. After nesting season, nests themselves are abandoned, and many adult birds sleep, or “roost” off the ground in tree branches safe from cats and other predators.
Have fun trying one of these crafty, practical, hands-on activities with your kiddos at home today to inspire respect, wonder, and admiration for their natural environment.
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