JANUARY 30, 2013
Edible landscapes and community gardens
Date: Thursday, February 7, 7 – 8:30 p.m.
Location: Scottsdale Granite Reef Senior Center, 1700 N. Granite Reef Rd. (NW corner of McDowell and Granite Reef, behind the convenience store)
Topic: Edible Landscapes and Community Gardens
Never knew lemongrass loves heat or loofah grows on a vine? Join urban gardeners as they share the benefits and how-to's of growing your own healthy food, herbs, edible flowers and fruit trees in our desert environment. Learn about our planting and harvesting seasons and how easy it is to raise chickens in your back yard. Find out about the wide range of community gardens available for you to participate in and how school gardens provide students with valuable skills. Come join in the conversation and be inspired to grow.
Speakers:
Doreen Pollack, Valley Permaculture Alliance
- Permaculture is a term that combines "permanent" and "agriculture" and addresses sustainability and interdependence of human and natural ecosystems. "Permaculture is about sustainable human settlements. It is a philosophy and an approach to land use which weaves together microclimates, annual and perennial plants, animals, soils, water, management and human needs into intricately connected, productive communities." (Bill Mollison from Intro to Permaculture). The Valley Permaculture Alliance (VPA) is a Phoenix Metropolitan non-profit organization whose mission is to inspire sustainable urban living in the desert southwest. VPA events span the spectrum of interests, including small scale container gardening, production gardens, urban orcharding, food forests, native foods, composting, raising chickens, preserving your harvests, and much more! www.vpaaz.org
Joan Baron, Baron Studio
- Environmental artist Joan Baron has developed a unique aesthetic with her passion for creating art works informed by her deep relationship to the land, urban gardening and landscaping. She offers ideas about creating interactive experiences for all ages in public spaces as well as within their own home environments. Baron has extensive experience creating art works using repurposed materials such as reclaimed timber for garden benches, mosaic stepping stones, and reclaimed onyx slabs to introduce light through steel gates. Her rammed earth and mixed media sculptural works can be seen around the valley integrated into the landscapes of our communities. Her current site specific art installation called "In Seeds We Trust" can be seen outside in the reflecting pool at the Tempe Center for the Arts, January 18th through May 24th, 2013 as part of a large traveling exhibition called The Green Revolution. The art work explores issues of hunger, currency, the importance of growing one's own food and saving seeds for future generations. www.joanbaron.com
Admission: The program is free and open to the public; no reservations are needed.
Contact: Anthony Floyd, Senior Green Building Consultant, City of Scottsdale, [email protected], (480) 312-4202.
The lecture series is sponsored by the Scottsdale Green Building Program. To view the 2012/13 Green Building Lecture Series schedule visit: www.scottsdaleaz.gov/greenbuilding/lectures
