Master Gardeners Association of Alberta

Cultivating Culinary Mushrooms
2021-04-18 13:00 - 16:00 UTC
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 runs Fungi Akuafo with Meghan Vesey by night (and on week-ends). In addition to sharing her fascination for fungi and love of growing mushrooms with others, Tara has a keen interest in permaculture, local food systems and community building. www.fungiakuafo.com
Please register with Eventbrite.

Why flowers do what they do, better, with soot, ash & s**t.
2021-04-14 19:00 - 21:00
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 Zoo, which enabled him to raise money and then spend it on environmental projects around the world. He has been leading groups on nature based travel for three decades, exploring some of the best wildlife areas on the Planet. Because of his experiences, insights and his expertise, Brian Keating is a weekly guest on both Calgary and Edmonton’s CBC Radio. For many years, he was a regular on the Discovery Channel, using his own wilderness adventure and wildlife filming. Media outlets such as CBC, CTV, Huffington Post, and Radio Canada International often call on Brian to learn his past and present stories of adventure, travel, nature and discovery.

This Event is $10 for members of MGAA and $20 for non-members of MGAA.
Register using Eventbrite.

This Event is appreciatively sponsored by Edward Jones.

Alberta Native Bees
2021-04-06 18:30 - 20:00
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 Biologist with a degree Environmental Science and a Master’s in Ecology from the U of C. She worked as a summer student on a pollinator research study with Agriculture Canada, which started her interest in native bees. Megan spent 6 years working with the provincial government in a number of roles including as an Ecologist with Alberta Parks. She currently works as the Executive Director for the Alberta Invasive Species Council. Megan has sat on the board for the Alberta Invasive Species Council; the Entomological Society of Alberta; and she co-founded the Alberta Native Bee Council in 2017.

Pleaser register via Eventbrite.

Backyard Birds of Alberta
2021-03-31 18:30 - 19:30
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 the group (family) they are in. This will help you identify something that is different from the usual. We will also cover some of the resources that are available to help. For the core group we will also look at their habitat preferences, how they forage for food, and what they prefer to feed on.
Stephens Brian has been birding throughout Alberta for over 30 years. He has birded all over Alberta including a big year, and in Nunavut, Northwest Territories, Newfoundland, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Arizona and California. He is currently President of the Edmonton Nature Club.
This Event is free for MGAA members and $10 for non-MGAA members.
Register using Eventbrite.

Gardening for a Better World
2021-03-29 19:00 - 20:30
Growing Resilience During the Pandemic with Ron Berezan.

The events of the past year have reinforced the importance of home gardens for food security and family self-sufficiency. How can we “up our game” to ensure that our gardens can thrive and support us through difficult times? This presentation will explore concrete strategies for getting more from you garden and ensuring that it will feed you and your family for years to come!

Ron Berezan has been growing food in urban yards and small rural settings for all of his adult life. Born and raised in Edmonton, most of his gardening experience is rooted in the prairies. Fifteen years ago, Ron started The Urban Farmer, a business focused on helping others create sustainable, edible, organic landscapes using insights from permaculture and agro-ecology. Ron has taught and consulted throughout North America and has taken 27 groups of Canadians to see organic farms and permaculture projects in Cuba where he has had close ties for the past 12 years. Ron is a Master Gardener, certified permaculture instructor, a biochar maker and currently lives in Powell River on the west coast where he has developed and manages Blueberry Commons – an organic cooperative farm growing fruits and vegetable for market.

Register here.

Spring Back 2021
2021-03-28 13:00 - 17:00, 2021-03-27 13:00 - 17:00
This year, the Vancouver (BC, Canada) Master Gardeners are going digita
l! Spring Back 2021 will be held via Zoom on Saturday March 27 an
d Sunday March 28, 9 am-1 pm PST, each day. Tickets are $50 Because
their event is online this year, they are able to cast a wider net, and as
a result they can bring renowned gardening experts from the UK and the Paci
fic Northwest, including: Dr. Noel Kingsbury, Fergus Garrett, Jonathon Jone
s, Egan Davis, Dr. Linda-Chalker Scott, Andrea Bellamy, and Lorene Edwards
Forkner. This year’s theme is “resilience” and their speak
ers will offer advice on growing food in small spaces, the latest trends in
natural floral landscapes, plants that triumph over extreme conditions, an
d plant-protecting tactics in a climate changing world. For more info
go to:: http://mgabc.org/node/2867
