Saturday, February 4, 2012

OUR SCHEDULE!

Greetings, all! After struggling away to make sure everyone has enough space, we finally have OUR SCHEDULE OF CLASSES available for your viewing! You can find the schedule HERE as a Google spreadsheet (sorry, no editing options, you can't add yourself).  Please feel free to contact me (or leave a comment) if you have questions about any class. NOTE: some classes are not designated child friendly. If you are planning to bring a child to a class, please consult with us to see if children are allowed.

Class locations are as follows:
MAIN ROOM A and B: The Ocean Room, accessible through the front lobby of the library building
BACK PATIO: Patio area behind the Ocean Room, accessible through the glass doors inside the Ocean Room
FLAX ROOM: Small conference room in the back of the library, turn right as you enter the main library area and walk to the far wall, you will see the sign on the window
FRONT PATIO: Wooden-floored patio area to the left of the main library sliding doors, in the front garden

Eco Faeries and Earth Carers will be roving around the front and back grassed areas, the side patio and inside the foyer. The Grove Library will be having an environmental sustainability-themed CHILDREN'S STORYTIME at 10:30am in the children's library area, and you are welcome to play waste games and create some communal art in the foyer of the library building.

Here are some class descriptions for you:

Green Cleaning: Learn to clean anything with all-natural products you have around your house! Unblock your drains, scrub your tiles, and remove tough stains without poisoning yourself. Please bring your dirtiest stuff for demonstrations: caked-on baking trays, shower heads, stained clothes, you name it, Siggy will clean it.

Toothpaste and Deodorant: There are all sorts of reasons why you might want to make your own "bathroom products" - from avoiding ingredients you are not comfortable with to avoid plastic packaging, saving money to the enjoyment of making your own. Shani has been making her own toothpaste and deoderant with some common ingredients you will probably have in your cupboard,. Come and learn their recipes they know work, and have a go yourself! Please bring two small jars so you can take your products home!

Making Ketchup: If you're used to tomato sauce off the shelf, you'll be surprised and amazed at how easy and delicious it is to make your own at home...and add a gourmet twist that is too delicious to be believed. Heather will take you through ketchup from the ground up; good class for non-cookers and chefs alike.

Living Plastic Free: Jess and her partner Nathan have decided to live plastic free for a whole year and she will tell us all about how they reached that decision and how hard (or easy) it's been to put into practice. Learn some tips for using less plastic yourself, and find more info about their project here.

Chook Keeping: Do you have some backyard chickens, or are you thinking of getting some? Learn about practical chook keeping, and you'll soon be eating more quiche than you know what to do with. Wilma will share her experiences and answer your questions.

Mushroom Burgers with Halloumi: Heather will walk you through making this delicious vegetarian recipe step by step, and give you a recipe card to take home. Not suitable for vegans, but otherwise a meal that will impress your dinner guests!

Soap Making: Alivia will be teaching us how to make soft, natural soap from scratch, using easy ingredients. Please be aware: the soap will need time to cure, so don't expect to take home any soap, but you will take home a new skill!

Conscious Consumption: Discuss your relationship to the stuff you buy and money and develop an attitude of conscious consumption. Susan, a financial planner, will lead a roundtable discussion and question-and-answer about planning for the future in an ethical way.

Raw Food: Fiona will teach a workshop in making healthy food choices and simple raw food snacks (with samples!). Learn tips and tricks for improving what you eat and feeling better.

Making Ginger Beer: A delicious fizzy drink that you can make yourself at home with a simple culture? Sign us up! Join Ronan and Rebecca for a how-to on this simple beverage, and save yourself the empty calories of store-bought sodas.

Making Kefir and Sourdough: Learn the simple art of home fermentation! Kefir is a probiotic milk (or water) drink that is said to have amazing health properties; the naturally-occurring bacteria provide valuable vitamins and minerals, and is totally digestable for the lactose intolerant. Sourdough is an easy-to-make bread that tastes and smells delicious...and uses naturally occurring yeast to provide a light airy loaf. Samples will be provided!

Upcycling: Remake old clothes and learn how to have a whole new wardrobe using simple techniques that make even the most basic t-shirt into a fashion statement. Agnes will show slides, talk about her experience and have some hands-on activities. Bring something to upcycle if you'd like, or just watch!

Yoga: Join Claire for a 45 minute hatha yoga session that will stretch your body and relax your mind, with a focus on enjoying yourself. This will be an all levels class, so beginners are welcome. Please bring your own yoga mat (or towel if you don't have a mat). Adults only please.

Make Your Own Reusable Menstrual Pads: Instead of throwing out heaps of plastic and putting nasty chemicals in your most delicate areas, save your health, the planet, and your money by learning how to make these simple pads...and you'll never go back to buying again! Amy will provide fabric and sewing machines, and will talk you through the process. This class is limited by space, so please come early or be willing to squash a bit!

Bicycle Maintenance: Sky will go over basic bicycle repair without any tools, for those who just aren't mechanically inclined, or anyone who doesn't want to buy a fancy tool kit from a bike shop. Anyone can fiox basic bicycle glitches, and she'll be happy to talk you through them. Feel free to bring a bike if you have one that might need some work!

Worm Farming: Nabilla will go over the ins and outs of worm farming, using The Grove's very own worm farm. Convert your kitchen scraps to compost and soil improver using only worms!





3 comments:

  1. Hi Claire

    This looks great..I'll have my kids with me on Saturday and was hoping to do a few classes, especially ones where we can make household things we normally buy. Which ones will be suitable for them to be part of?

    Cheers,
    Scott.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Scott! The main classes I think might not be appropriate for kids are the ones that are more discussion and less hands on. So good classes for kids: green cleaning, toothpaste/deodorant, ginger beer (which will be taught by Ronan, who is 8), bicycle maintenance, worm farming, raw food, and soap making. Ginger beer is really nice to give you an alternative to store-bought sodas, and for green cleaning, you can bring yucky pots and pans and things from home and Siggy will clean them, so you can have your kids help you pick out nasty things to clean too. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sweeeet.. Thanks Claire..I'll see you tomorrow .

    ReplyDelete