Eco-friendly workshops offered

Contact information and full details for most events are available at www.EcoWorkshops.com

Hands-On Greywater Design and Installation and Hands-On Pruning and Grafting have been shifted to start Sunday, Feb 15. Enrollment is still available for both classes. See below for updated details.

Sunday, Feb 8, 2009, 6:30 - 9:00 PM, FREE
7th Congress of Southern California Leadership Meeting
The first 7th Congress meeting on Jan 25 was a success and the group has already begun to gather momentum. The following leaders have been chosen:
Speakers:
Managing Speaker (manages people within the organization, including Czars): Zoe Smith
Managing Cospeaker: Marcelo Vaz
Community Speaker (manages contact with the public and other organizations): Duane Thorin
Community Cospeaker: Judy Kemecsei
Destiny Speaker (manages development of group image, positioning, and marketing): Ketti Kupper
Presiding Speaker (manages speakers and is ceremonial leader): Darren Butler
Soil Czar: Austin Draper
Food Czar: Austin Draper
News Czar: Joyce Alexson
Media and Propaganda Czar: Chuck Noyes
Books Czar: Christine Tope (not confirmed)
Hope Czar: Liz Larner (not confirmed)

The 7th Congress meeting on Feb 8 will be held near the junction of the 405 and 101 freeways. We have a full agenda, including education about the immediate economic crisis and debate/discussion about best practices for facing and getting through the crisis. Additional leaders will be chosen. Attendance is free and extremely limited. If you'd like to attend contact Managing Speaker Zoe Smith at 7thcongressmanager@gmail.com.

Ecosingles Party for Valentines Day?
Please reply if you'd be interested in attending or hosting a party to be held Saturday evening, Feb 14, for a small group of "green" singles to include speed dating, group discussion, possible games and dancing.

NEW SCHEDULE for Hands-On Greywater Design and Installation (these details supercede website listing)

Sundays, Feb 15 - Mar 1, 9:00 AM - 12:30 PM; Topanga
Hands-On Greywater Design and Installation:
Analysis, design, and installation of a gravity-fed greywater system. The Hands-On Greywater Design and Installation Course has been shifted to Sundays, Feb 15, 22 and Mar 1 from 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM rather than 9:00 AM to Noon (still in Topanga) so that total session time is reduced by only 1.5 hours. Price is reduced to $165 per person for early registration until Feb 9 and $195 thereafter or the day of. I need only two additional students to carry this course. With water rationing almost certain this summer, greywater installation might be important sooner than you think for keeping your landscape or garden alive.

NEW SCHEDULE for Hands-On Pruning and Grafting (these details supercede website listing)Sundays, Feb 15 - Mar 1, 2:00 - 5:15 PM; Topanga
Hands-On Pruning and Grafting: Pruning and grafting knowledge and skills for homeowners and landcape professionals.
The Hands-On Pruning/Grafting Course has been shifted to Sundays, Feb 15, 22 and Mar 1 from 2:00 to 5:15 PM rather than 2:00 - 4:30 PM so that the session time is the same. It will be held at two locations in Topanga Canyon. The price will remain the same, $150 for early registration through Feb 9 and $165 thereafter or on the first day.

Tuesday, Feb 3, 6:00 - 8:30 PM; Riverside
Edible Landscaping For Riverside County:
An Evening with Ecological Landscape Designer Darren Butler: Edible landscaping that works with natural cycles and creates biological systems to minimize maintenance and maximize yield. This event has received so much interest that 90 seats won't be enough, and we've had to move to a larger venue.

Mondays, Feb 9 - Mar 9, 7:00 - 9:00 PM; Brentwood
Practical Enneagram for Personal and Societal Transformation:
The Enneagram is a system for understanding how core fears create personality and influence our decisionmaking. It unlocks our repetitive, often unknown-to-us personality patterns to allow greater awareness of self and others and offer personal transformation and relief from the problems that we all generate for ourselves.

Saturdays, Feb 21 - Mar 7, 7:00 - 9:30 PM; Beverly Hills
Small-Space Food Gardening:
Presented by The Avalon Hotel of Beverly Hills and Darren Butler. How to grow food in small spaces such as balconies, patios, walkways, stairways, and windowsills. Limited free enrollment available for those with low-income. Fox 11 will be picking up this story and the class is expected to fill up after the story airs (probably a few days prior to the first class session). Free enrollment spaces for low-income individuals are going fast.

Friday, February 27, late morning through afternoon; Anaheim
Let's Grow! Workshop Series by Darren Butler at Disneyland Homeschool Day

11:00 - 11:40 AM: How to Eat Your Yard: Edible Landscaping for Kids and Grownups (Tomorrowland)

12:00 - 12:40 AM: Small-Space and Container Gardening for Beauty and Food (New Orleans Square)

1:00 - 1:40 PM: Weird and Wicked Plants (Haunted Mansion)

2:30 - 3:10 PM: How to Eat Your Yard: Edible Landscaping for Kids and Grownups (repeat) (Tomorrowland)

3:30 - 4:10 PM: Planting Seeds in a Child's Soul: Fun and Learning through Homeschool Gardening (Tomorrowland)

Early registration pricing is only $7 per person, per session. Contact Darren Butler at allnet@pobox.com for more information.

Five Saturdays, Feb 28 - Apr 11, 9:00 AM- Noon; South Pasadena adjacent near Highland Park
Organic Gardening For Nutritional Produce and Medicinal Herbs:
Presented by Darren Butler and The Eastern Center for Complementary Medicine, PC. A basic-to-intermediate gardening course that includes a coverage of growing medicinal herbs.

Five Saturdays, Feb 28 - Apr 11, 2:30 - 5:30 PM, Topanga
Ecofriendly High-Yield Food Gardening:
A basic-to-intermediate gardening course that goes beyond organic gardening and into hyper-organic sustainable methods.

Three Weekend Days, Mar 14, 15, 28, 9:30 AM - 4:30 PM, Riverside
RIVERSIDE Edible Landscaping and Perennial Food Gardening Certification Course:
Aesthetic and functional landscape design using edibles, for homeowners, foodies, landscape professionals, and chefs.

Sunday, Mar 29, 9:30 AM- 4:30 PM, Riverside
RIVERSIDE Come Home to Ecosystems: Practical Urban Permaculture:
A one-day intensive introduction to permaculture and practical methods for using permaculture in urban areas.