11:30 am Thean Pheh: No Till Gardening Thean has practiced no till gardening or zero tillage since 1968 in Malaysia, and 1982 in Alberta
12:3o pm Claudia Bolli: Grow a Bed-Head-Garden Claudia designs natural, edible landscapes and offers organic gardening and permaculture-inspired workshops. Claudia was immersed in natural cycles while growing up on a small mixed farm in Switzerland. Her passion for living in harmony with nature has led her to explore and share permaculture, urban farming and healthy, resilient living.
2:00 pm Sherwood Botsford: Fruit Growing in Alberta Sherwood Botsford is in his third career. Currently he owns and operates Sherwood's Forests Tree Farm (link: http://sherwoods-forests.com).He claims he was dragged into presenting this talk kicking and screaming: "There are lots of people who know more about growing fruit. I'm just starting!" But the Seedy Sunday Committee insisted. Prior to tree farming, Sherwood was a teacher. This comes through in dealings with him. Almost always you come away knowing something new.Sherwood is active on the Alberta Hardy Fruit and Nuts Group, the Edmonton Permacultuure Group, and the NAFEX group on Facebook, all places that anyone learning about fruit should visit. His web site is unconventional, off the wall, and quite entertaining as well as educational.
Prepare to take notes. There will be a quiz. People who fail get to sweep the hall.
3:00 pm Ashton Sturm and Monica Kohler: Native Bees Ashton is currently working on her MSc at the University of Alberta where she received her undergraduate degree in Biological Sciences. Ashton first started working with bees in her last year of University under Dr. Jessamyn Manson and has a keen interest in plant-pollinator interactions. She has worked on several bee related projects including Bumble bee by-catch from pheromone lures in agricultural settings, hybridization of Asclepias spp. and pollinator interactions in the Appalachian Mountains, and her Master’s project assessing native bee biodiversity in Alberta’s grasslands. Last fall Ashton attended the American Museum of Natural History’s Bee course where she learnt how to identify bees from some of the world’s leading bee taxonomists, and is excited to share her new foundexpertise with fellow bee enthusiasts. Monica has 5 years of experience conducting biological monitoring in Alberta, primarily via the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute’s provincial program. She has experience working with a diverse range of interest groups and with the delivery of large-scale field programs to survey biological communities. She started her MSc at the University of Alberta in 2014 and is studying the diversity of wild bees in canola fields. She’s spent the past few months climbing the steep learning-curve of bee identification and hopes to support long term monitoring programs for bees following completion of her degree.
Demonstrations 2015: 11:30 am: Fruit tree grafting with Richard Heetun 2:00 pm: Hydroponics with Adrian Thornton
