News & Events

Learn to use unprocessed natural and recycled materials to create beautiful and healthy cooking structures. We’ll be building a traditional, wood-fired oven constructed from cob: a natural building material made of clay, sand, and straw. Cob is a fluid, sculptural material that allows for artistic expression and whimsical designs, which will result in a lasting feature at the Burgoyne Valley Community Farm for years to come.

Join facilitator Paz Rainville as he builds a 1000L compost tea brewer. Participants are invited to come onto the land to watch the process, take notes, and ask questions. We will discuss how to support our soil ecosystems to be thriving, healthy, and self-sustaining within the agroecological landscapes, and local/regional sourcing of parent material for composting, brewing, and soil input amendments

Learn to use and honour the animals that give life — and song. Join a daylong all-day drum making workshop with Cowichan musician and artist Hweimtun. Each student will make their own 12” elk hide drum; workshop includes teachings on respectful harvesting, Cowichan stories and ceremonies, and the opportunity to try many different drums.

This guided forest and nature therapy walk invites participants to attune to these unseen relationships — the living “food web” that nourishes all life, including our own inner ecosystems. Come for connection, exploration and to enjoy a wild tea blend with your community.

Learn the language of bacteria and probiotics—how cultivating diversity in our foods strengthens our bodies to fight viruses and deepens our capacity to support our communities. This hands-on workshop includes practical fermenting techniques, tips on what to plant, and guidance for planning your garden with a fall fermentation schedule in mind.

Learn the principles of regenerative agriculture and explore techniques for growing sub-tropical fruit in Canada with minimal inputs, as well as useful methods for assessing the quality of fruit, soil and compost. A unique opportunity to learn from Jane Squier at her garden and greenhouse, which integrate innovative technologies to create low-input, energy efficient and regenerative growing environments.

Take a walk through the forests and fields with Indigenous chef, knoweldge keeper and foodways expert Qwustenexun, who reveals the living world of ancestral teachings, stories, law and spirit that thrives within every living thing. Learn what springtime delicacies are edible and delicious, and discover the eco-cultural understandings that have guided peoples in the Salish Sea since time immemorial.

Salt Spring’s foodways have supported people for thousands of years: yet, today, we import most of what we eat. This two-part series will look at how Indigenous foodways, and the food systems brought by settlers have intersected — and, from that understanding, imagine a way forward.

Master gardener Linda Gilkeson returns with a rare 2-part course: ABCs of Food Gardening. Learn proven strategies for resilient, sustainable food growing from one of the West Coast’s most respected experts.