For the third year in a row, the Town of Huntsville has expanded its Earth Day celebrations to an entire week of events and activities.
One small thing you can do that has big impact is grow some of your own food. Before you protest and wave your decidedly not-green thumb in the air, you should know it’s easier than it sounds – even growing a vegetable plant in a pot on your deck makes a delicious difference.
Seedy Saturday, in partnership with Eat Local Muskoka
Whether you’re a beginner or a fall fair-winning gardener, you’ll want to check out Seedy Saturday. “It’s about exchanging ideas and learning about growing and composting and food security,” says LeGros.
Seedy Saturday workshops include gardening, sprouting, seed saving and vermicomposting (composting with worms). There will be samples of different types of produce available to try, and free seeds from the seed library so that you can grow your own. Ready-to-plant seedlings will be available, too, for a small fee to help keep the seed library – Seeds @ HPL – going.
What is Seeds @ HPL you ask? The library has a variety of organic, heirloom vegetable, herb, ornamental and native flower seeds for ‘lending’ to library users. You take home the seeds, plant them in your garden, and then collect and return some of the new seeds in the fall to be planted the next year by someone else. While you’re at it, you can save a few for yourself to replant, too.
Other Earth Week events
Seedy Saturday isn’t the only fun thing going on during Earth Week.
Muskoka Conservancy is hosting its annual native plant sale all week long. It’s a chance for you to purchase – for later pick up on May 6 – a variety of native trees, shrubs and perennials for your property. Why buy native plants? They are hardy for our local climate and often require very little maintenance. More information and an order form can be found at muskokaconservancy.org.
Join the Muskoka Watershed Council on April 18 when David LeGros shares his latest research on the impact of logging on salamanders as part of their Environmental Lecture Series. Please RSVP to muskokawatershed.org.
Bring your littlest earth warriors, ages 0-2 and 2-5, to the earth week-themed storytimes on April 20 for stories and songs. Older kids, ages 5-12, can come back in the afternoon for some cool Earth Week crafting – a birdfeeder made out of Cheerios. Be sure to contact the library to register.
Also on April 20, listen live to the Green Tapestry show on Hunters Bay Radio hosted by Mike Peppard. Or join in a green conversation at Green Drinks, hosted by Farmers Daughter on Highway 60. It’s an informal event where green businesses and like-minded people can get together and share ideas. RSVP in advance to Cortney at the Library. Tickets for this adult-only event are just $10.
The always-popular free compost giveaway is on April 21 starting at 8:00 a.m. Get it while it lasts! Remember to bring your own shovel (no motorized equipment allowed) and a container or bag for your compost. It happens at the Madill Works Yard (169 Madill Church Road).
Finally, don’t forget to submit your Urban Treescape Application before May 26. Enhance your lot and the streetscape with a native tree! If your application is approved, a contractor will plant a four- to five-foot tree for you, and the Town will cover half the cost of supply and installation. (Leaving your cost at approximately $60 plus applicable tax.)
For more information on Earth Week activities, visit huntsville.ca.
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