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Sustainable Foods, Farm & Gardens

Beekeeping 101
Join instructor Charlotte Hubbard in the first course of this three-part Beekeeping series, and learn about introductory bee biology, needed equipment, apiary preparation, options for obtaining bees, and how to get them into their new home.
Show Description

Fee: $140.00
Instructor: Charlotte Hubbard

Capacity Remaining: 18
Dates: 2/25/2020 - 3/31/2020

Times: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Sessions: 6

Days: Tu
Building: KVCC Food Innovation Center

Room: 113

Beekeeping 102
This course is the second in the three-part Beekeeping series. Weather permitting, hands-on learning in the Food Innovation Centerâ€™s apiary is planned for each week, where students will evaluate hive strength, health, and how to support growing colonies. Classroom review will cover swarming, splits, integrated pest management, and a further focus on biology through the season and keeping bees in Southwest Michigan.
Show Description

Fee: $140.00
Instructor: Charlotte Hubbard

Capacity Remaining: 25
Dates: 4/30/2020 - 6/4/2020

Times: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Sessions: 6

Days: Th
Building: KVCC Food Innovation Center

Room: 113

Build A Backyard Composter
THIS CLASS IS FULL. Please click the "Add to Waitlist" button below.
Build a three-bin composter at the Valley Hub's urban farm, in this hands-on session with local composters Amelia Stefanac from Composting Coalition, and Chris Broadbent from The Bike Farm. Amelia and Chris work actively in the Kalamazoo community, transforming valuable food scraps into rich healthy soil. Join us in this *FREE* hands-on session, connect with the instructors, and gain the skills of building a solid three-bin composting system using pallets.
Show Description
Fee: $0.00
Instructor: Chris Broadbent, Amelia Stefanac

Capacity Remaining: -14
Dates: 3/7/2020 - 3/7/2020

Times: 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Sessions: 1

Days: Sa
Building: KVCC Food Innovation Center

Room:

Build a Native Bee Hotel
THIS CLASS IS FULL. Please click the "Add to Waitlist" button below.
Tunnel nesting bees are important pollinators for fruits and vegetables. Unlike honeybees, tunnel nesting bees do not live in colonies or move in swarms, so they are also often called solitary bees. Participants in this class will learn how to build and manage a bee hotel to support their local tunnel nesting bees. Each participant will be able to take home a bee hotel at the end of the class.
Show Description
Fee: $30.00
Instructor: Mariel Borgman

Capacity Remaining: -2
Dates: 3/21/2020 - 3/21/2020

Times: 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Sessions: 1

Days: Sa
Building: KVCC Food Innovation Center

Room: 113

Composting 101
Do you want to lower your carbon footprint and make your own organic fertilizer in one simple process? Learn to compost! Composting is the process for recycling wastes like kitchen scraps and grass clippings into an organic soil amendment that will help your garden retain moisture and support beneficial microorganisms. It's a great alternative to putting food and yard wastes in landfills, where they generate methane. In this 3-week course, participants will learn about the biology of composting, how it works, why it is important, how the final product can be used, and how to do it at home.
Show Description

Fee: $80.00
Instructor: Justin Gish

Capacity Remaining: 15
Dates: 4/2/2020 - 4/16/2020

Times: 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Sessions: 3

Days: Th
Building: KVCC Food Innovation Center

Room: 113

Grow Biointensive 101 - More Vegetables, Less Work!
Do you want to produce more fruits and vegetables in your garden with less effort, less water, and higher yield? Using principles from Permaculture, Organic Farming, and the Grow Biointensive model, this class will teach concepts and techniques for improving fertility and growth, minimizing weeds & pests, and maximizing production for your backyard garden. Participants will take home a biointensive cedar box for planting and a versatile gardening tool: the cobrahead.
Show Description

Fee: $140.00
Instructor: Levi Gardner

Capacity Remaining: 8
Dates: 4/1/2020 - 4/22/2020

Times: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Sessions: 4

Days: W
Building: KVCC Food Innovation Center

Room: 113

Hands-on Polyculture Backyards
THIS CLASS IS FULL. Please click the "Add to Waitlist" button below.
Do you want to turn your backyard into a sanctuary for pollinators and native plants, while also growing vegetables, herbs, and flowers from early spring to late fall? Learn the basic principles of polyculture gardening. In this class you will learn how to plan your new garden, how to select seeds, and plants, and how to maintain it for many years to come. The polyculture garden at the Food Innovation Center will be used as an education model, and class participants will engage in hands-on learning through planting a variety of crops in it. Participants will also be invited to participate in a season long polyculture backyard project, which includes two additional *free* workshops during the summer, where they can bring questions from their own gardens, and engage in summer garden activities.
Show Description
Fee: $20.00
Instructor: Tip Maddux

Capacity Remaining: -5
Dates: 5/23/2020 - 5/23/2020

Times: 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Sessions: 1

Days: Sa
Building: KVCC Food Innovation Center

Room: 113

Intro to Backyard Poultry
In this introductory class to keeping backyard poultry, the participants will learn the basics of raising chickens on a small scale, including breed selection, raising chicks, housing, handling, sanitation, and flock wellness.
Show Description

Fee: $10.00
Instructor: Mariel Borgman

Capacity Remaining: 13
Dates: 2/22/2020 - 2/22/2020

Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Sessions: 1

Days: Sa
Building: KVCC Food Innovation Center

Room: 113

Intro to Plant Propagation
Join ValleyHUB farm coordinator Tip Maddux in this interactive hands-on session on how to propagate herbs, flowers, fruits and vegetables. Methods for growing different types of plants from seeds, leaf cuttings, and root divisions will be covered. Students will be able to take home several plants to grow in their homes and gardens. Strategies and ideas for successful growing in containers or in limited space will also be discussed.
Show Description

Fee: $50.00
Instructor: Tip Maddux

Capacity Remaining: 11
Dates: 4/11/2020 - 4/11/2020

Times: 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Sessions: 1

Days: Sa
Building: KVCC Food Innovation Center

Room: 113

Master Rain Gardener
When heavy rains fall, gardeners in urban and suburban areas can help manage stormwater! A Rain Garden is a garden bed planted in a shallow depression with specially adapted plants, which lets rainwater soak into the ground where it falls. This is an in-depth class that will teach you everything needed to create a living rain garden at your home or place of work and become a certified Master Rain Gardener. Co-hosted by the Kalamazoo River Watershed Council and Kalamazoo Nature Center in partnership with Kalamazoo Valley Community College.
Show Description

Fee: $125.00
Instructor: Anna Kornoelje, Patty Hoch-Melluish

Capacity Remaining: 25
Dates: 2/26/2020 - 3/25/2020

Times: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Sessions: 5

Days: W
Building: KVCC Food Innovation Center

Room: 113

Mushroom Cultivation Crash Course
Mushrooms are a great addition to any outdoor garden, and they could also very successfully grow in a basement or a spare room indoors. This 3-hour course on cultivating mushrooms at home will cover topics like deciding what kind of mushrooms to grow, where to obtain the cultures and materials needed for production, and how to create good environments for mushroom growth. Participants will get to take home inoculated substrates with oyster, shiitake and winecap spawns. Guidelines on how to monitor and support the mushroom growth will be provided. More in-depth mushroom cultivation class will be offered in the fall of 2020.
Show Description

Fee: $40.00
Instructor: Lee Arbrogast

Capacity Remaining: 9
Dates: 5/9/2020 - 5/9/2020

Times: 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Sessions: 1

Days: Sa
Building: KVCC Food Innovation Center

Room: 113

Reading the Fine Print - Decoding Food Sustainability Marketing Claims
Food labels are influential in the food buying decisions of many people, but the labels used to communicate these qualities on the foods we buy can be confusing or even misleading. This class will go over the different certification programs and labels associated with food production with the goal of empowering food buyers to make informed decisions. Some of the terms covered will include: Organic, Natural, Non-GMO, Grass Fed, Pastured Raised, Cage Free, Antibiotic Free, Hormone Free, Local, Marine Stewardship Council, and Fair Trade.
Show Description

Fee: $10.00
Instructor: Mariel Borgman

Capacity Remaining: 24
Dates: 4/18/2020 - 4/18/2020

Times: 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Sessions: 1

Days: Sa
Building: KVCC Food Innovation Center

Room: 113

Season Extension with Low Tunnels for Farm and Garden
Stretch your harvest further into the winter and start harvesting earlier in the spring by using low tunnels. Using our hoop bender, you'll make a set of 6' by 3' low tunnels for your farm or garden, and learn what and when to plant for a successful winter and early spring harvests. Low tunnels can be used directly in the ground, inserted into raised beds, or used inside a hoophouse to provide additional protection.
Show Description

Fee: $40.00
Instructor: Mariel Borgman

Capacity Remaining: 15
Dates: 3/28/2020 - 3/28/2020

Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Sessions: 1

Days: Sa
Building: KVCC Food Innovation Center

Room: 113

Seed Stewardship 101
This first course in the seed stewardship series will introduce you to the art and science of seed saving. You will learn how the simple act of saving seeds can build resilience within our local food system and take home the knowledge you need to begin saving seeds in your home or community garden.
Show Description

Fee: $30.00
Instructor: Amy Newday, John Edgerton

Capacity Remaining: 18
Dates: 3/14/2020 - 3/14/2020

Times: 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Sessions: 1

Days: Sa
Building: KVCC Food Innovation Center

Room: 113

Seed Stewardship 102
In this second seed stewardship course, you will learn how to design your garden for abundant food and seed production. We will examine a variety of garden designs, plant a model seed garden at the KVCC Food Innovation Center, and workshop participant garden plans. Participants in this course will be invited to participate in a season-long community seed stewardship project, which includes two additional one-hour workshops during the summer in which we will cover scouting, isolation and hand-pollination techniques, seed-selection, and wet and dry seed processing.
Show Description

Fee: $40.00
Instructor: Amy Newday, John Edgerton

Capacity Remaining: 21
Dates: 5/16/2020 - 5/16/2020

Times: 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM
Sessions: 1

Days: Sa
Building: KVCC Food Innovation Center

Room: 113

Spring Foraging and Herb Walks
In this multi-session series, participants will meet up with local herbalist, Brenna Pixley, at a different local nature preserve each week to adventure on a spring foraging walk. Participants will learn to identify tasty and useful plants, become more aware of seasonal and traditional parts of our diets and practices, and discuss native and invasive species and sustainable and ethical wild crafting techniques.
Show Description

Fee: $60.00
Instructor: Brenna Pixley

Capacity Remaining: 16
Dates: 5/5/2020 - 5/26/2020

Times: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Sessions: 4

Days: Tu
Building: KVCC Food Innovation Center

Room: 113

Tour of the Food Innovation Center
ValleyHUB is a farm, food hub, and education center based at the Food Innovation Center at Kalamazoo Valley Community College. The Urban Farm at ValleyHUB showcases a range of sustainable agricultural practices. The five-acre site includes an indoor grow room, a heated greenhouse, outdoor raised beds, and a passive solar hoophouse. The Food Hub is a licensed food processing facility equipped to produce fresh-cut fruits and vegetables at a range of production scales. Join us on this *FREE* tour to explore our beautiful site, and learn about our programs and practices.
Show Description

Fee: $0.00
Instructor:

Capacity Remaining: 14
Dates: 4/11/2020 - 4/11/2020

Times: 12:15 PM - 1:15 PM
Sessions: 1

Days: Sa
Building: KVCC Food Innovation Center

Room: 113

Tour of the Food Innovation Center
ValleyHUB is a farm, food hub, and education center based at the Food Innovation Center at Kalamazoo Valley Community College. The Urban Farm at ValleyHUB showcases a range of sustainable agricultural practices. The five-acre site includes an indoor grow room, a heated greenhouse, outdoor raised beds, and a passive solar hoophouse. The Food Hub is a licensed food processing facility equipped to produce fresh-cut fruits and vegetables at a range of production scales. Join us on this *FREE* tour to explore our beautiful site, and learn about our programs and practices.
Show Description

Fee: $0.00
Instructor:

Capacity Remaining: 22
Dates: 5/16/2020 - 5/16/2020

Times: 1:15 PM - 2:15 PM
Sessions: 1

Days: Sa
Building: KVCC Food Innovation Center

Room:

At Home Herbalism
REGISTRATION FOR THIS CLASS IS CLOSED. This class is already in session.
Herbs are a traditional source of nutrition and healing. Participants in this class will explore the impact of ancestral plants, sources of materia medica, ethical and sustainable foraging techniques, as well as recipes for building a home apothecary. Participants will engage in on-campus plant walks to discuss bioregional, cultivated, and seasonal plants. Includes hands-on workshops.
Show Description
Fee: $180.00
Instructor: Brenna Pixley

Capacity Remaining: 11
Dates: 2/6/2020 - 3/26/2020

Times: 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM
Sessions: 8

Days: Th
Building: KVCC Food Innovation Center

Room: 113

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