Classes
Additions and changes in RED. Classes in GREY not yet open for registration.
Pre-registration is required and exact location is given once you have registered.
Many classes will repeat if there is enough interest. If a class is past or you do not get in on time, please contact us and we will let you know if another session is forming. Classes are for age 12 and up unless other wise
indicated
Urban
Animal Husbandry
Bees and Backyard Beekeeping with the Kenyan Top Bar System
Sunday March 28, 10am-4pm CLASS FULL
Saturday September 25, 10-4pm (Honey Harvest)
Instructor: K.Ruby Blume
Cost: $50-75
Keeping bees is a great way to practice animal husbandry in the city, produce some of your own food and stay in tune with seasonal cycles. In this course you will learn about the life cycles and biology of the honey bee, basic management
strategies and equipment needed to get started as a backyard beekeeper using the Kenyan Top Bar Hive, a low input natural beekeeping system. Information on common troubles that arise, how to get bees and where to go for continued learning and support will also be covered. The class will culminate in a hands-on practice session working a beehive.
Beyond the Basics Beekeeping
Topics for the Beginner to Advanced Beginner
Thursday June 10 7-9:30pm
Instructor: K.Ruby Blume
Cost:$20-40
This is an evening gathering for people already keeping bees to talk about their bees and get answers to current questions and concerns in organic and top bar beekeeping. There will be a go around, gathering of topics to address and discussion of topics of concern to the group.
Integrated Urban Animal Husbandry
Sunday, April 18, 11am-2pm CLASS FULL
Instructor: Jim Montgomery
Cost: $30-50
After a tour of Green Faerie Farm and a description of the animal systems there (rabbits, goats & chickens), we will explore how livestock can be integrated into an urban garden with a focus on raising livestock for small-scale production of meat, dairy products, eggs, pelts and fiber. We will learn a little about each species and their practicality for different situations, look at permaculture principles and how they may be applied in partnering animals and plants, get information on the local laws related to livestock and discuss best practices for housing animals humanely, allowing them to lead happy lives where their natural inclinations are considered. We will discuss problems that can arise and learn about preventative measures. Time allowing, the class will culminate with a design clinic in which participants get support to design or improve their own urban farms, with a focus on including animals.
Backyard Chickens
Saturday April 17, 11am-2pm CLASS FULL
Sunday, May 23, 11am-2pm CLASS FULL
Saturday June 5, 2-5pm CLASS FULL
Sunday July 18, 2-5pm CLASS FULL
Saturday July 17 11-2pm ADDED!
Instructor: Jeannie McKenzie & Frankie Morrow
Location: Montclair
Cost: $30-50
Fall in love with backyard chickens!
This class will introduce you to the fascinating world of backyard chickens and give you the information you need to get started with your own low-effort backyard flock. We’ll discuss life cycles, coop designs, breed selection, care and feeding for health and egg production, protection from predators and ways of integrating your chickens into your garden. You'll meet our flock, see our set-up and get hands on experience chicken wrangling. Plus we'll give you information on where to purchase your chickens and feed and resources for learning more.
Urban Goat Farming
Saturday May 15, 11am -2pm
Instructor: Jim Montgomery
Cost: $30-50
Meet the goats at Green Faerie Farm and learn what you need to start an urban goat dairy. We will discuss the various breeds of goats, their strengths and weaknesses and practicality for different uses as well as issues specific to goats as ruminants. We will learn about goats' minimal needs and how to keep their lives vibrant and happy. This will include nutrition and preventative health measures, pen design and equipment, breeding and raising young. We will also talk about the process and equipment needed to run a small dairy including handling milk and dairy products that can be easily produced on a small scale.
Put a Bee in Your Bonnet: An introduction to bees for adults
Saturday July 17, 10am-1pm
Instructor: K.Ruby Blume
Cost: $25-50
This is an introduction to the world of bees, pollination ecology and bee friendly gardening for folks who are curious and want to nurture an awareness for these beloved hardworking critters. We will learn about the lifecycles and biology of social and solitary (native) bees and the differences between the two, the special relationship between bees and flowers and what you can provide to support more bee and insect life in your garden. We will learn about the Kenyan top bar hive as an option for sustainable beekeeping, touch on beekeeping equipment and strategies, learn how to provide habitat for native bees, observe both honey bees and native bees at work,, taste honey and get the lowdown on Colony Collapse Disorder.
The Buzz & The Bloom: Bees for KIDS
Saturday July 17, 2-4pm
Instructor: K.Ruby Blume
Location: North Oakland
Cost: $20 - 40 per family
An Introduction to the wonderful world of pollinators and pollination. We will learn about native solitary bees and honey bees,
their life cycles and what they need to survive. We will observe native bees and other pollinators working in the garden, taste honey, hold a honey comb and learn how scientists study wild bees. This is a class for kids age 5-10 and their parents
Urban Rabbitry: Raising Rabbits for Fun, Food, Fertilizer & Fur
Saturday August 7, 11am -2pm
Instructor: Jim Montgomery
Location: Berkeley
Cost: $30-50
Raising Rabbits is an excellent way to include animals on a small urban farm with limited space. They provide lean meat, fur and ample fertilizer for your garden. This class will cover the basics to get started with your own urban rabbitry. We will meet the rabbits at Green Fairies Farm and learn how to safely handle them. We will discuss approaches to housing rabbits, feeding and breeding, what to look for in choosing rabbits, available breeds and uses for each breed. We will learn how rabbits can be integrated into an urban garden and what other species complement them. Resources for continuing your learning, including books and online communities will be included. Depending on time and interest a butchering demonstration may also be included.
Butchering 1
Time: Saturday July 24, 11am -3pm
Teacher: Jim Montgomery & K.Ruby Blume
Location: Berkeley
Cost: $75 - 100 includes supplies
As people who are used to getting our meat in the freezer section of the grocery store, one of the big questions about raising animals for meat is…Can I do it? Can I butcher and process my own? This introduction to butchering addresses not only the why and how of it, but the deeper aspects of what it means to take life for our own sustenance and how to do it with the least suffering on the part of the animal. In Part 1 we will learn to butcher fowl. There will be a demonstration, hands-on experience of wielding the knife, cooking and eating afterwards. Part 1 can be taken as a stand alone or together with part 2.
Butchering 2
Sunday August 15, 11am-3pm
Teacher: Jim Montgomery & K.Ruby Blume
Location: Berkeley
Cost: $75 - 100 plus $10 supply fee
As meat eaters, raising and butchering our own animals is not only an ethical choice. Animals we raise ourselves are healthier and happier than most of what we can purchase anywhere. Doing our own butchering means we are in touch with deeper aspects of life and death, which we can avoid when we purchase meat in a package. In this second session of butchering we will move on to mammals, working with rabbits. Rabbits are quickly becoming “the new chicken” being featured in fine restaurants all over the bay area. After a short discussion of the how and why of it, we will follow with a demonstration, hands-on practice, cooking and eating. We will talk a bit about organ meat, cooking tips, recipes and processing skins. It is highly recommended to take butchering 1 & 2 together, although not required.