Transform Your Thirsty Lawn

Saturday, April 3, 10:00am - 4:00pm

Kick off the gardening season and our Cotati Water Conservation Education Series by completing the lawn transformation we started in 2009. We’ll cover sheet-mulching, creating water-harvesting bioswales, and more!Details for this Workshop »

Connecting to the Holy Ground of the Garden

Saturday, April 10, 1:00pm - 4:00pm

Enjoy a contemplative afternoon in the garden cultivating the soul’s metaphors of a life with the earth. Generate personal practices for living in place in the sacred container of community. Learn about cover crops, integrating green manure, transplanting, sowing, and designing your garden space.Details for this Workshop »

Transform Your Thirsty Lawn: Sheet Mulching 101

Sunday, April 18, 10:00am - 2:00pm

There’s no need to rip out your lawn, transport it to the landfill, buy more soil, and waste time, money and emissions! Learn how, by using local waste and recycled resources, you can inexpensively turn your yard into fertile ground for growing the water-savvy garden of your dreams.Details for this Workshop »

2 Day Seaweed Harvesting!

Thurs, May 27th, 7 - 9pm and Sun, May 29th, 6:30- 10am

The workshop begins with an evening lecture covering the nuts n’ bolts, safety, and the whys and hows of environmentally sound and savvy seaweed collection and follow it up with a hands on morning at the coast!Details for this Workshop »

Earthen Oven Sculpting

Sat/Sun, May 29th & 30th, 8:00am - 5:00pm

Learn the valuable skill of building your own cob pizza/bread wood-fired oven in your backyard from Miguel 'Micah' Elliott of Living Earth Structures. We’ll talk about key techniques and sculpt a cob oven at the home of George and Ellen Beeler, incredible Daily Actors!Details for this Workshop »

Transform Your Thirsty Lawn

Saturday, June 5th, 10:00am - 4:00pm

In this class, we’ll delve into the details of gardens, explore design charettes of potential future plantings, and address how maintenance of a food forest differs from maintaining other types of gardens. Get equipped with the knowledge, skills and know-how to grow your own productive garden, minimizing your own inputs and costs.Details for this Workshop »

Bees, Bees, Bees Galore

Saturday, June 19th, 10:00am - 3:00pm

This tour appreciates the pollinators that make it all happen! On this tour we'll visit sweeeet local business Beekind, owned by Doug and Katia Vincent, followed by a potluck lunch in Healdsburg at The Melissa Gardens.Details for this Tour »

Eco-literacy in Action

Saturday, July 10th, 1:00pm - 4:00pm

This workshop will present examples of how individuals, community organizations and schools can be nurturing in spite of obstacles like meager funding of our education institutions.Details for this Workshop »

Backyard Feather Revolution

Sunday, July 11th, 10:00am - 2:00pm

In this tour, we’ll bring you to two rockin’ chicken coop sites in Petaluma and Penngrove and spend the afternoon sharing information, resources, and a potluck lunch revolving around the wonders of chickens in suburban settings.Details for this Workshop »

5-Day Greywater Installer's Course

Monday, July 12th to Friday, July 16th, 8:00am - 5:00pm

Learn to install greywater systems to rehydrate our landscapes. We’ll cover basic plumbing and landscaping skills needed for four types of greywater systems. You’ll learn to conduct a site assessment, determine which systems to install and how to maintain them.Details for this Workshop »

Evening Greywater Presentation

Wednesday, July 14th, 7:00pm - 8:30pm

Not ready for our full five-day Greywater Installer Training? During this lecture, we'll give an overview of the new greywater code updates and provide overall context for why greywater is such an important and cutting-edge technology.Details for this Workshop »

Creating Fermented Foods and Brews!

Saturday, August 14th, 3:00pm - 5:00pm

In this workshop participants will learn how simple and satisfying it is to make our own life-enhancing ferments. Come explore the medicinal qualities of live foods and gain insight into their history and roles in human culture.Details for this Workshop »

Rain & Greywater-fed Urban Oases

Saturday, August 21st, 10:00am - 3:00pm

Greywater, rainwater, and eco-innovations galore. Have fun, get informed and learn to apply the principles of Permaculture design to your backyard and your life. You’ll be filled with the inspiration and skills to start recapturing the precious water!Details for this Tour »

Food Preservation: Canning and Drying the Bounty

Saturday, August 28th, 10am - 3pm

In this workshop we will cover water bath canning and flip kettle canning and we’ll make our own applesauce. We’ll also cover other forms of food preservation including solar drying with a homemade, low-cost solar dryer. Learn how to make one yourself.Details for this Workshop »

Greywater With Gusto

Sunday, August 29th, 10:00am - 2:00pm

In this tour, we’ll visit the new, single-fixture Greywater System of Neil Hancock and Jenny Blaker. We’ll talk about site selection and system design, pollution prevention, and the new regulations––and how to keep greywater safe for humans and our watersheds.Details for this Tour »

Water Harvesting in a Permaculture Paradise

Saturday, Sept. 11th, 10:00am - 4:00pm

In this tour we will visit two incredible sites - Occidental Arts & Ecology Center and The Permaculture Neighborhood Center - and inspiring, visionary leaders. We’ll demonstrate how soil building, earthworks, water harvesting and landscape design are all critical components of water conservation.Details for this Tour »

5-Day Greywater Installer's Course

Monday, Sept. 13th to Friday, Sept. 17th, 8:00am - 5:00pm

Learn to install greywater systems to rehydrate our landscapes. We’ll cover basic plumbing and landscaping skills needed for four types of common greywater systems. You’ll learn to conduct a site assessment, determine which systems to install and how to maintain them. Explore what plants do best with greywater and the ins and outs of greywater reuse.Details for this Workshop »

Living in Place

Sunday, Sept. 19th, 10:00am to 1:00pm

Tending to our minds and bodies is important now, more than ever. Join us for a morning as we cultivate our awareness together. The workshop will be held at Tara Firma Farms in Petaluma, a sustainable agriculture and animal husbandry operation with a breathtaking 238-acre landscape on the Sonoma-Marin county line.Details for this Workshop »

EZ Mushrooms

Saturday, October 2nd, 10:00pm - 2:00pm

With the autumn rain comes mushroom season. Learn how to reuse potential waste by-products to help your mushroom garden thrive! You’ll go home with local resources for obtaining specimens, and a headful of know-how for introducing mushrooms into your world!Details for this Workshop »