Designbright.Permaculture

Chop and drop this time of year allows for new growth, protects the pollinators and retains soil integrity and nutrients.

Developing perennial gardens is a long term solution to soil heath and thriving ecosystem.

A gentle reminder as the spring days are getting warm, and we are feeling restless after a long winter and perhaps more than a bit excited to get started working in our gardens. In short; leaves the leaves in place, don’t cut dead stems back too short, when pruning or cutting stems leave them in the garden for nutrients (called “chop & drop”), and avoid stepping in beds to avoid soil compaction and harming friends living near the soil surface. Here is a link to a great article that expands on what to do (and not to do) to support all those in our ecosystem! https://www.inournature.ca/spring-cleanup-done-right

A new Solid Waste Bylaw is in place, approved in February. It replaces the old 2008 bylaw with updated practices and information. Please come out to learn more about it! Information sessions are planned for each area of High River. Refreshments will be available at each event.

Staff look forward to answering your questions and sharing information about garbage collection, recycling depot guidelines, landfill drop-offs, street sweeping practices, driveway clearing and more. Read more here! loom.ly/WIs-9uU

This Sunday we spent some time building up a new garden bed that has been in the works since fall last year.

The foundation of this bed is a Hügelculture raised garden bed.

We started the first layer taking shape with branches, logs and twigs. Adding layers of mulch and rustic garden waste and grass clippings.

The top layer shown here has a layer of comfrey leaves topped with dirt created from our wood waste pile over the last 5 years.

This process for this new addition to the garden has been intentionally slow.

The shape and form of the bed has been built up to avoid the water and gas service lines that come from the street in front of our home.

The crescent shape of the bed widened an existing area of planted apple trees, saskatoon bushes, comfrey and yarrow. Creating a terrace and widening the depth of the bed to increase the surface area available for growing. In time, the mature plantings will create privacy from the street and a beautiful place to hang out!

This entire bed was created from materials sourced from our property.

Session 4 - Strategies for a Zero Waste Home is next Wednesday evening.

Join Sybrena Albright and Diane Johnson as we embark on exploring sources of waste in our homes, strategies for waste reduction, waste as a resource and the launch of our

Register in person at 601-1st Street SW or by the link below.

Session 4: Zone 0 - Strategies for a Zero Waste Home | shop.designbright.marketplace July 19, 20236:00pm to 8:30pmHow can Waste = Resources?Challenge: 1 week Zero Waste Kitchen ChallengeHave you ever really noticed how much you throw away each week? Have you ever wondered how you could reduce the impact that your family has on the environment by reducing waste?In this session we cov...

Today during Session 2 of a 7 Session series, we explored our food sources and how they can fuel us.

We explored a few pockets of High River with the interactive Edible Plant App, checked on some ripening Saskatoon bushes and identified many local growers, farmers and meat producers.

In our skills lab we had fun working together to make sauerkraut, sampled some sprouted Mung Beans.

Summer hours start today!!!

We are available 7 days a week to serve you!!

Tuesday - Friday 10:00am - 5:00pm
Saturday 11:00am - 4:00pm

Sunday & Monday - By Appointment

Please note we will be closed Wednesday June 28th celebrating our Graduate 🧑‍🎓

There are still spots available for Session 2 in our social permaculture 7 session series. Food Systems & How They Fuel Us is this Saturday starting at 10:00am.

Register online with the link below, or in person at 601 1st Street SW, High River (unit 5)

Session 2: Zone 0 - Food Systems & How They Fuel Us | shop.designbright.marketplace June 24, 202310:00 am to 1:00pmCreating Awareness Around Our Local Food SystemsSkills Lab: Capture and StoreDoes eating well, consuming mostly whole foods and eating closerto nature seem unrealistic, expensive and generally hard? It only seems this way because we have grown so far away from our food...

New date for Session 2 in our 7Sessions Permaculture Series will be Saturday June 24th 10:00am - 1:00pm

This session is about creating awareness around our local food systems and how we can tap into them serving us in the best way!

We explore and identify edible plants and pollinator plants within the Town of High River, take a deep dive into the resources available on our doorstep and finish the day off with a skills lab where we “capture and store”, sprout and plant goodies to take home!!

Register online with the link below or in person at designbright 601 1st Street SW High River.

All are welcome…pre-registration required.

Session 2: Zone 0 - Food Systems & How They Fuel Us | shop.designbright.marketplace June 24, 202310:00 am to 1:00pmCreating Awareness Around Our Local Food SystemsSkills Lab: Capture and StoreDoes eating well, consuming mostly whole foods and eating closerto nature seem unrealistic, expensive and generally hard? It only seems this way because we have grown so far away from our food...

Dandelion roots are often overlooked, but they contain the majority of the dandelion's health benefits (and nutrition). 💛

GET OVER 12 OF MY FAVORITE RECIPES HERE: https://practicalselfreliance.com/dandelion-root-recipes/

Cooking dandelion roots in savory or sweet ways will turn weeding into harvesting. From dandelion root tea to cake!

The dandelion is the only flower that represents the the sun, moon and stars. ☀️ 🌙 ⭐️.

The yellow flower resembles the sun, the puff ball resembles the moon, and the dispersing seeds resemble the stars. The dandelion flower opens to greet the morning and closes in the evening to go to sleep.
Every part of the dandelion is useful: root, leaves, flower. It can be used for food, medicine and dye for coloring.
Up until the 1800s people would pull grass out of their lawns to make room for dandelions and other useful “weeds” like chickweed, malva, and chamomile. The name dandelion is taken from the French word “dent de lion” meaning lion’s tooth and they have one of the longest flowering seasons of any flower. Seeds are often carried as many as 5 miles from their origin. Animals such as birds, insects and butterflies consume nectar or seed of dandelion 🐝
Dandelion flowers do not need to be pollinated to form seed. They were well known to ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, and have been used in Chinese traditional medicine for over a thousand years. Dandelion is used in folk medicine to treat infections and liver disorders. Tea made of dandelion act as diuretic.
Dandelions are, quite possibly, the most successful plants that exist, masters of survival worldwide.
Every year countries spend millions on lawn pesticides to have uniform lawns of non-native grasses, and we use 30% of the country’s water supply to keep them green. AND... they cause cancer cells to "commit su***de": https://returntonow.net/2023/03/21/dandelion-weeds-kill-cancer-cells-leave-healthy-cells-intact/

The next session in our 7 session series is Session 3 on June 3, 2023

Zone 1 - Gardening, Compost & Water with special guest Nick Johnson Eat MY Shrubs Holistic Landscaping & Organic Gardening

Register in person #5 601 1st Street SW High River, or register online with the link below.

Session 3: Zone 1 - Gardening, Compost & Water With Special guest Nick Johnson EAT MY SHRUBS | shop.designbright.marketplace June 3, 202310:00am to 1:00pmEverything GardensSkills Lab: Create a garden mapping projectJoin special guest, Organic Master Gardener and Holistic Landscape Design Specialist Nick Johnson as he takes us on a tour through his own urban garden. Get a hands on look at compost processes and explore cust...