Family Programs

Rain barrels are expensive and often times made of plastic. UV light degrades plastic and causes them to break down. Ferro-cement is a simple construction method that is durable and strong. People have made all sort of things out of it, even sailboats! It is a great material to build rain water catchment systems. Come join us while we build a rain catchment system for our garden. We’ll go over design, building a foundation, building the tank, sealing it and connecting it to your gutters.

Where: Lanham MD
When: August 15th (11-4) and 16th (10-3)
Cost: $55-$125 (sliding scale, pay what you can afford!)
Ages: 12 and up! (Children under 15 must be accompanied by a parent.)

*We will be running a micro class on getting your garden ready for winter immediately before this on Saturday. Please sign up for that class if you are interested!

Just because the days are getting shorter and the last of the summer favorites like tomatoes and squash are wrapping up their growth for the year, doesn't mean the garden is going to sleep. It is time to plant our fall crops, some of which we'll harvest this season, some of which will get established and take off next spring.  We get our cover crops in for building our soil for the following spring. If you are planning on taking the cold seasons off from growing, we'll give you tips for tucking your garden beds in for the winter.

Where: Lanham, MD
When: August 15th, 9am-11am
Cost: $5-$15 (Sliding scale, pay what you can/show me you appreciate me)
Age: 8+ (Children under 14 need to be accompanied by an adult)

Immediately after this class we will be going into building a rainwater  catchment system for your garden. Please sign up if you are interested!

Composting in the summer time is easy, grass clippings, foodscraps, there is plenty to keep the compost pile hot, killing weed seeds and quickly breaking down waste into high quality compost. Once the leaves fall and the temperature drops, it is a different story. A compost pile that was chugging along all winter slows down to a crawl and can stop completely.

Come join us and learn how to build and feed a compost pile that will get hot and stay hot all the way through the winter.

Where: Lanham MD
When: November 7th, 10am-1pm
Cost: $10-$20 (sliding scale pay what you are comfortable)
Ages: 8+ (Children under 16 must be accompanied by an adult)

While obsidian is some of the easiest materials to learn how to knap with, it isn't found locally and is expensive to have shipped. However, one of the most accessible materials we have around here is obsidian's man made cousin, the glass bottle bottom. The best thing about bottle bottoms is that they offer all the same lessons of obsidian but don't break the bank while you are learning. Not to mention, they are a renewable and recyclable resource that is readily available pretty much everywhere.

We will work with you through the process of turning a bottle bottom into a finished arrowhead.

Where: Lanham MD,
When: November 21, 10am -4pm
Price: $45-$80
Age: 13-18  (Adults can join but MUST be accompanied by a teen!)