Sustainable Foods, Farm & Gardens   

All gardeners at some point have to deal with garden pests. In today’s online world, there’s a lot of information out there, good and bad; sometimes it’s tough to even know where to start looking for information. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a practical six step strategy used in gardens big and small to monitor and manage insects, diseases, and other pests. In practice, IPM helps promote ecosystem balance, increases treatment success, and saves you time and money. Over the course of three meetings, we will discuss 1) how to identify garden pests, 2) how to determine if, when and what treatments should be applied, and 3) some steps you can take to increase your garden’s resilience to pest populations. This course will have indoor and outdoor classroom and hands-on experiences. At the end of the course, you will receive a packet of seeds for plants that will attract beneficial insects to your garden, a hand lens, and an IPM for the Home Garden reference manual.

Bats! What are these majestic and misunderstood creatures of the night? Join us on this evening walk to learn more about Michigan's native and migratory bat species and their critical role in a functioning ecosystem. Participants will observe bats in real-time using a portable bat detector, making it possible to hear, identify, and record nearby bats.

Location: TBD (will be communicated with participants via email)

In this workshop we will explore the benefits of using rain barrels and then construct a rain barrel to take home.  We will use repurposed plastic 55-gallon food grade blue barrels. Safety glasses, blue barrels, and all required parts for constructing the rain barrels are included in the program cost. Resources and instructions for final installation will be provided and participants will be responsible for installing the barrel on their own.  We will have several drills and extension cords available, but please bring your own if you have one.  
This program is presented by the Kalamazoo Conservation District (KDC). Established in 1946, KCD is an independent county level resource assisting Kalamazoo County residents in resolving natural resource concerns.  At KCD, we partner with federal and state agencies and local organizations to coordinate and implement conservation and environmental programs throughout the community.

Please note that the Location for this workshop is at the:

Edison Neighborhood Association 816 Washington Ave, Kalamazoo MI 49001

Bats! What are these majestic and misunderstood creatures of the night? Join us on this evening walk to learn more about Michigan's native and migratory bat species and their critical role in a functioning ecosystem. Participants will observe bats in real-time using a portable bat detector, making it possible to hear, identify, and record nearby bats.

Location: TBD (will be communicated with participants via email)

Join us in revealing many of the ways to make more food with less from home! In an era of climate change and energy decline, we will benefit from being more involved in producing our own food to ensure access to the most nutritious and life supporting meals. The secret is that it can be fun and easier than you think to care for your family, friends and city’s ecology. Come join us in learning to make simple gardens (indoor and outdoor), planting perennial food crops, foraging wild edibles, preservation and fermentation of crops, raising urban livestock, cheese making, composting and mushroom cultivation. A class for all ages and all scales of land access.

This second part of the course will (weather permitting) be hands-on in the college apiary. We’ll hopefully install a package and a nuc, split overwintered colonies, and evaluate hive health each week.  We’ll also cover pests, diseases, swarming, splits and integrated pest management with the goal of teaching successful beekeeping for SW Michigan.