Congratulations to all our volunteers for your part in making the Throop Learning Garden a Green City honoree by the City of Pasadena!
Hard to top that, but the festivities continued the evening of the 21st and all day on Sunday the 22nd.
Saturday night, Throop Church screened “A Place at the Table”, followed by a discussion led by Dr. Eric Walsh, director of the Pasadena Department of Public Health. The documentary deals with hunger and its many faces across the US. The discussion centered around how we can end hunger in our community. This seemed like a continuation of the “Next Course” event organized by Mark Rice that took place earlier that day. Many ideas were expressed with the central question being, how do we connect the dots with habitat, food, and water conservation? We seem to be reaching critical mass with so many people addressing pieces of the issue of food security. The major gist is to encourage local gardens and expand education.
Sunday, Laura Henne offered an in depth Worm Composting Workshop. She presented two examples of working worm bins and led a lively discussion of the pitfalls of worm composting and how to avoid them. She spoke in depth about worms’ habitat, their lifecycles, and how best to manage them. Laura then offered the opportunity to build a worm bin, while having the rest of us harvest castings. The combination of discussion and hands-on brought a deeper understanding of the process for all who participated. Several folks went home with bins, or worms, and many shared in the harvested worm castings. Thanks, Laura, for such an enjoyable, informative workshop!
Hard to top that, but the festivities continued the evening of the 21st and all day on Sunday the 22nd.
Saturday night, Throop Church screened “A Place at the Table”, followed by a discussion led by Dr. Eric Walsh, director of the Pasadena Department of Public Health. The documentary deals with hunger and its many faces across the US. The discussion centered around how we can end hunger in our community. This seemed like a continuation of the “Next Course” event organized by Mark Rice that took place earlier that day. Many ideas were expressed with the central question being, how do we connect the dots with habitat, food, and water conservation? We seem to be reaching critical mass with so many people addressing pieces of the issue of food security. The major gist is to encourage local gardens and expand education.
Sunday, Laura Henne offered an in depth Worm Composting Workshop. She presented two examples of working worm bins and led a lively discussion of the pitfalls of worm composting and how to avoid them. She spoke in depth about worms’ habitat, their lifecycles, and how best to manage them. Laura then offered the opportunity to build a worm bin, while having the rest of us harvest castings. The combination of discussion and hands-on brought a deeper understanding of the process for all who participated. Several folks went home with bins, or worms, and many shared in the harvested worm castings. Thanks, Laura, for such an enjoyable, informative workshop!
Lisa Marr from The Echo Park Film Institute visited with her students, Carla and David. They filmed silent snippets of Laura’s workshop, which will be edited into a newsreel that will be screened on Sunday, May 19th, at a time and venue yet to be determined. NELA Garden Group list members, watch for an update.
Sylvia Holmes gave tours of Throop Learning Garden throughout the morning. She also provided inspiration and energy for our seed and seedling swap. Over 50 tomato plants found new homes, plus countless seeds were exchanged.
Thanks also to David, Maya, Meredith, Michael, Qrys, Shirlee and Therese for help on maintenance and setup.
Inner Transition played a huge role in the Earth Day celebration. Throop Church offered a special Earth Day celebration that included storytelling, movement, poetry, and meditation by Karen Hirsch, Laurel Beck, and Elizabeth Gustafson. These were designed to ground us in our connection to earth and each other through gratitude. Reverend Tera presented an inspirational call to action, offering a future that is possible if we act to make it happen. The service was followed by a delicious potluck lunch that allowed for lingering lively conversation.
Thus, Earth Day at Throop Learning Garden balanced inner and outer experiences, in connection with an ever widening community.
— January Nordman
Links:
Throop Unitarian Universalist Church
Photo: Transitioners and congregation members learn about worm bins at the Throop Learning Garden workshop.
Sylvia Holmes gave tours of Throop Learning Garden throughout the morning. She also provided inspiration and energy for our seed and seedling swap. Over 50 tomato plants found new homes, plus countless seeds were exchanged.
Thanks also to David, Maya, Meredith, Michael, Qrys, Shirlee and Therese for help on maintenance and setup.
Inner Transition played a huge role in the Earth Day celebration. Throop Church offered a special Earth Day celebration that included storytelling, movement, poetry, and meditation by Karen Hirsch, Laurel Beck, and Elizabeth Gustafson. These were designed to ground us in our connection to earth and each other through gratitude. Reverend Tera presented an inspirational call to action, offering a future that is possible if we act to make it happen. The service was followed by a delicious potluck lunch that allowed for lingering lively conversation.
Thus, Earth Day at Throop Learning Garden balanced inner and outer experiences, in connection with an ever widening community.
— January Nordman
Links:
Throop Unitarian Universalist Church
Photo: Transitioners and congregation members learn about worm bins at the Throop Learning Garden workshop.
