Seedy Saturday, this Saturday

The annual Seedy Saturday event is this Saturday, March 17, 2012, from 10am-3pm, at the Hillhurst-Sunnyside Community Association. Admission is $2 (Calgary Dollars accepted), children under 12 get in free.

An excellent way to connect with local-focused agriculture enthusiasts and practitioners.

Our Dwindling Food Variety

A very telling graphic about crop and seed diversity, from National Geographic:

Down Season

Hey everyone, Just a quick hi-and-hello in the off-season for CUA. I wanted to point out a great resource for all of you urban ag minded folks: Salt Spring Seeds.

Not only can you buy your heritage and heirloom organic seeds via this Canadian company, their website also offers plenty of articles and instructions related to gardening. It may still be pretty dismal outside, but I know that I'm not the only one dreaming of warmer days ahead.

Who controls the seeds?

One of Phil Howard's information graphics

Control and development of seeds is a critical issue in agriculture. Philip H. Howard at Michigan State University has produced some very telling information graphics that help illustrate the dangerous control of the seed industry. Particularly troubling is the dominance of chemical companies like Monsanto, DuPont, Syngent and Dow. Please take a moment to have a look at this scary reality.

Thanks to The New Resilient for their Twitter post about this.

Workshops workshops workshops!

Just a quick update to let you know what kinds of exciting workshops are available to all of you in the next little while.

First off, Seedy Saturday is coming up on March 21st, so get ready for an exciting event! Admission is only $2, and there will be a variety of Free workshops for attendees. It will be held at the Montgomery community centre. Here's what they have to say:

"This family event will have displays by local seed savers, prairie seed companies, native plant collectors, conservation groups, community gardeners, organic growers; as well as, a seed exchange table, refreshments, presenters, entertainment, and a kids corner"

Integrated Pest Management and Seed Saving workshops will be held - and I believe a few more are being lined up... Anyone know details?

Check them out on facebook.

You can also attend the Calgary Horticultural Society's Garden Show for an amazing variety of workshops, clinics, consult-an-experts and more! There's a summary of what's happening on their website here.

We also have some interest in the composting workshop we'd like to host, but if there's anyone else who would like to be involved, please feel free to comment, or drop me a line.