Educational workshops
Upcoming Workshops
Dead Plant Society
Nutrition in the Life Cycle
We believe anyone can garden! The Dead Plant Society offers seasonal workshops to get you growing. You can expect to get your hands dirty practicing garden skills like composting, transplanting and seed saving. Workshops are offered February through November each year and suited for adult-learners.
We believe in seed to table education! This series of workshops aims to improve family meal times with nutrition specific to the age of your child. We will lead you through fun, hands-on cooking and nutrition activities. *Currently available for school-aged children 5-12. See offerings below!
Art in the Garden
The garden is the perfect muse to inspire hands-on art projects for all ages. Our Spring series will feature Jessi Janusee from Immigrant Aid Print Project! Through three workshops, she will show us how to naturally dye fabric using plants from the farm and how to carve botanical inspired block prints. See offerings below!
Art In the Garden: Natural Dyes + Prints
Jessi Janusee from Immigrant Aid Print Project will lead this three-part series exploring natural dying, printing and carving! Artists of all ages are welcome to try their hand at dying with plants, creating botanical inspired carved blocks and printing on fabric. At the end of the series, each participant will go home with their own hand-dyed printed bandana and one lucky raffle winner will take home a natural dyeing set! Half of the proceeds from this series will benefit immigrant and refugee groups right here in Northern Nevada. We recommend signing up for all parts of the series but you are more than welcome to come for just one.
January - Dyeing with Plants: Learn the ancient art of natural dyeing with plants from your garden or the grocery store!
March - Block Carving: Learn how to carve your own nature-inspired blocks using carving tools and lino-blocks
May - Block Printing: Learn how to print your designs on fabrics like bandanas, clothing, pillow cases and more.
Three Part Series:
January 14th, March 11th
May 13th
Dead Plant Society Workshop Series: February
Fruit Tree Basics
There are plenty of fruit trees that grow well in Northern Nevada including pears, peaches and apricots. But where do you start when it comes to proper tree care and pruning? Holly & Leslie, sister arborist duo from Stewardship Horticultural will be our guest instructors and share their knowledge from over 30 years of experience. Every participant will go home with tree pruners and one lucky participant will receive an hour long consult from Holly and Leslie!
Dead Plant Society Workshop Series: March
Starting Seeds Indoors
Whether you have a full backyard or an apartment balcony, growing your own seedlings for fresh herbs, fruits, or vegetables can be fun and "dirt cheap"! We are lucky to have Rachel McClure, Washoe County Master Gardener Coordinator lead this workshop and share her knowledge and expertise. She'll share the basics of starting spring and summer seedlings indoors including materials needed, correct temperature, planning and watering. One lucky Dead Plant Society attendee will go home with a complete indoor-gardening set up including heating mat, soil, seeds, spray bottle and grow light.
Earth and Seeds Farm + Urban Roots Present...
If you love healthy seedings, high germination rates, excellent root health and reducing transplant shock, not to mention reducing the use of single-use plastic and space saving, soil blocks may be for you! Soil blocks are a method for seed starting that use compressed soil as both the container and the growing medium. Join Tiffany Brown Anderson of Earth & Seeds flower farm to make grown-up mud pies and take your high desert growing to the next level! Each participant will go home with a set of reusable seedling trays and all the soil blocks you make in class. Additional soil blocking supplies available for purchase. A portion of proceeds from this class will benefit Urban Roots teaching farm.
Soil Blocking in the Sierra
Sunday April 2nd
10:00- 12:00 pm
$65 adults, 14+ years
Dead Plant Society Workshop Series: April
Composting 101
Hosted by Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful
& Down to Earth Compost
Soil is the foundation of gardening! Healthy soil that's ALIVE with nutrients, minerals, and the correct pH... plus some worms and Roly polies, will help your plants grow big and strong. In this hands-on workshop we'll dive into the basics of at-home composting, crop rotation and essential nutrients for healthy, organic soils. One lucky Dead Plant Society attendee will go home with a 1 year membership to Down to Earth home composting service.
Nutrition in The Life Cycle Series: Part 1
Want to get your kids more involved with preparing family meals but not sure where to start? This class will cover the basics of how to make a meal nutritious and delicious for you and your family. We will cover MyPlate and how to ensure what we're serving up is both nourishing for school-aged children and something they want to eat. Make sure you come hungry because we'll be making a tasty taco recipe together. Our Stars of the Kitchen this class is a grater and cumin. Not only will we teach you their importance in the kitchen but you will also go home with your own at the end. Two lucky raffle winners will leave with a ready to cook meal kit with farm fresh produce for your family.
For children 5-12 years of age
MyPlate:
Nutritious & Delicious Meals
Nutrition in The Life Cycle Series: Part 2
Eating the Rainbow:Trying New Foods
How many times have you heard your kids say " I don't like that" or refuse to even touch a food at home. In this class we will cover why these behaviors happen and how to help your child feel more comfortable eating new foods. We will explore how eating a colorful diet helps the body, learn a few cooking techniques, and do many taste tests. Our "Stars of the Kitchen" are kitchen shears and garlic powder. Not only will we teach you their importance in the kitchen but you will also go home with your own at the end of class. Two lucky raffle winners will leave with a ready to cook meal kit with farm fresh produce for your family.
For children 5-12 years of age
Nutrition in The Life Cycle Series: Part 3
Can't keep your little one away from the fridge because they are drinking all the juice boxes? Challenging to make sure they drink enough plain water throughout the day? In this class Dietitian Martha we will make hydrating fun. We will learn how to identify how much sugar is in some of our favorite drinks and we will make our own fun smoothies. The "Stars of the Kitchen" are water bottles and chia seeds. Not only will be teach you their importance in the kitchen, but you will go home with them at the end of class. Two lucky raffle winners will leave with a ready to cook meal kit with farm fresh produce for your family.
For children 5-12 years of age
Hydration & Sugar: The Importance of Water
Nutrition in The Life Cycle Series: Part 4
Let's Cook Together:
Nutrition at Dinner Time
Is it hard to make time at the end of your day for family dinner? In this final session of our Nutrition in the Lifecycle series we're going to roll up our sleeves and make a tasty and nutritious meal together. We will take everything we've learned from the 3 workshops prior and cook a meal with our little ones that's fun, easy, inexpensive and encourages trying new foods. We'll also dive into meal habits as a family and tips and tricks for making dinner a priority. 2 lucky raffle winners will leave with a ready to cook meal kit with farm fresh produce for your family.
For children 5-12 years of age
