Backyard Birds of Alberta

MGAA - Backyard Birds of Alberta with Brian Stephens Join us in this 3 part presentation about Alberta birds. Alberta has over 300 species of birds. The talk will focus on a selection of birds usually found in our urban and nearby areas with the goal of giving you a core group of birds and…

Alberta Native Bees

Alberta's Native Bees - Join us to learn about the diversity of native bees in Alberta, their life cycles and habitat requirements. We'll cover best practices for bee hotels and bumble bee boxes, the difference between native and managed bees and whether you should purchase bee cocoons for your garden. Megan Evans - Megan is a Professional…

Why flowers do what they do, better, with soot, ash & s**t.

A story of the Waterton post-fire blooms, Serengeti fertility, and Amazonian green. Join award Winning Conservationist, Educator, Naturalist and WildLife Expert Brian Keating for a story of the Waterton post-fire blooms, Serengeti fertility, and Amazonian green. Brian Keating is one of Canada’s most in demand keynote speakers. He previously held the position “Head of Conservation Outreach” at the…

Cultivating Culinary Mushrooms

Growing Culinary Mushrooms - Easier than you think! Join Tara Stephen for an afternoon of mushroom growing. Three different methods will be examined: Pearl Oysters on stacks, Wine Caps on garden on beds and Shaggy Manes on compost heaps. If you love dining on mushrooms don't miss  how easy it is to grow your own. Tara Stephens is conservation biologist by day and…

Planet & People Friendly Backyards

Planet & People Friendly Backyards - Caring for our planet and people starts right in our own backyards learn how with Claudia Bolli Caring for our planet and people starts right in our own backyards. With carefully selected edible, medicinal and native plants, we can create a garden sanctuary that heals and feeds us while providing…

Cypripedium Culture. Lady Slipper Orchids

 Join Shawn Hillis on growing Lady Slipper Orchids in Western Canadian gardens. The distinctive flowers of Cypripedium and other Lady Slipper Orchids are marked by the inflated slipper or shoe-shaped lip.  The name Cypripedium is derived from Kypris, the Greek goddess of love and beauty, the Latin word pedis meaning “foot” the Greek word pedilon meaning “slipper”.   There are about 58…

MGAA – Creating Beauty Through Texture, with Elaine Rude

Creating texture in a garden can be a challenge for gardeners including the most experienced ones. Texture is rather an amorphous quality generating questions of: what is it really; why are some plants considered textural and not others and, how do you put plants together to create interest? While we often think of texture as…

MGAA: Botanical Art Show with Artist Janet Kan

Join Janet Kan for a Botanical garden tour through her art. Join Janet as she shares her experiences and experiments with oil, ink and various pencil techniques to try and capture the beauty in life and nature. While this discussion focuses largely on botanicals, there are a few other pieces such as landscapes and birds…

MGAA: How Plants Deal with Drought

Hot and Dry. Join Elaine Rude as she explores the ways plants handle drought. Plants are no strangers to dealing with stressful conditions. The multiple 30+ C days this summer forced plants to enlist a number of strategies to cope with drought and heat. What mechanisms do plants use to survive these stressors and how…