100-in-1 Day (Community Scarecrow Building)
For this annual 100-in-1 day, the community garden had a community scarecrow building event. This event took place on Saturday June the 4th as part of a city-wide event to show off everything that Halifax can be. A few people from the Mount and surrounding community came to this building event, and helped turn some stored straw into creative decorations for our garden. The remaining supplies will be used in partnership with the MSVU summer day camp where children will be able to come up to the garden, express their creativity, and learn a bit about growing your own food.
Annual General Meeting
Celebrating the end of the garden season, the Community Garden will host it’s annual garden meeting each year. Normally a silent auction will take place as well as vote for best plot in show, best weeded, most colourful & best use of space.
Ice Cream Social/Plant Swap
While this year’s plant swap and ice cream social was a cloudy one, that didn’t stop faculty, staff, students or members of the community from coming out and enjoying the festivities. Many varieties of plants were sold or given away and lots of ice cream was eaten; be sure to come out next season to enjoy another refreshing treat and meet some enthusiastic gardeners from the area.
Hike to Susie’s Lake
This annual hike to Susie’s lake in the Blue Mountain Birch Cove lakes area was lead by two of the community garden members. The leaders pointed out various types of plants and flora, talked about the area, it’s history and how it connects to The Mount as well as what the average individual can do to help protect the area. The hike departed from a nearby Kent’s, takes approximately an hour (with stops) and is of mild to medium difficulty; hikers should bring proper footwear, water, food, and weather appropriate clothing. If you are interested in joining in the fun, contact the MSVU community garden coordinator by e-mail or by phone: garden@msvu.ca (902)457-6179 and receive further details about when or next hike is scheduled.
Community Garden Volunteer Day
Miss gardening but don’t have a place to sink your hands in the dirt? Just feel like helping out and meeting some like-minded people on campus? Then come up to the Community Garden to enjoy the sun, and volunteer some of your time making it a more beautiful space for everyone.
The community garden coordinator will be on hand to answer any questions and to direct volunteers into groups that will be lead by members from the community garden itself. Some examples of what you can help with are: Fence repairs, weeding, watering, general cleanup, fertilizing, construction, and maybe even some harvesting! If you are interested,either join our event on Facebook or email garden@msvu.ca to signal your attendance and then we will see you there. Any questions can be directed to garden@msvu.ca or (902) 457-6179.
Pickling Worshop
Come join us while we learn to use our harvest’s for pickling! We will be pickle cucumbers in order to make dill pickles and/or sweet mustard pickles, and perhaps some carrots.
Paint the Garden
We at the community garden planned a Plein Air (open air) Painting Event for adults and children alike. Individuals were encouraged to bring their canvas and paints (or their sketchbooks) in order to come paint the beautiful garden and it’s surroundings while in full bloom. No instructions or materials were provided for this event. Donations of paintings were accepted to be auctioned at the Annual General Meeting for the Community Garden.
Yoga in the Garden
Come join the Garden and Mount Fitness Center’s Melissa Millar as she leads a relaxing yoga session by the garden. Surround yourself in nature, feel the sun on your face and soak up some vitamin D! Make sure to bring a yoga mat or beach towel, sunglasses, sunscreen, a hat and some water.
Beehive Workshops
- Bee Safety 101, Introduction to Beekeeping & First Full Inspection
- Honey Bee Democracy
- Intro to Beekeeping for Kids & Families
- Honey Extraction Workshop
- Disease, Pests, Management & Treatments
- Fall Inspection & Winterization