What's Happening

“Eating California” Summer Solstice Festival 6.22.13

Save the date:  June 22 2013 6pm at the Middlebrook Center, San Jose.

You’re invited!

Date: Saturday, June 22, | Time: 6 to 10pm, | Place: The Middlebrook Center, 76 Race Street San Jose, CA

Register online now

The California Native Garden Foundation and our ELSEE education program proudly present our premier summer event: The ELSEE Summer Solstice Festival “Eating California™” Fundraiser!  Be prepared for an elegant evening of gourmet food, sustainable local wine, music and more all set in our beautiful ELSEE urban teaching garden and environmental laboratory in downtown San Jose.

This year we have been blessed with support from our

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Workshops & Events

Pallet Garden Workshop Photos

Pallet Workshop

Our pallet garden workshop led by Aaron Middlebrook was a great success. Many people came out and put together some wonderful gardens. Thanks, Aaron, for gathering all the materials and showing us how to do it! The photos show the step-by-step process.

Linda Bender made a pallet garden and later said to Alrie, “I want you to know this adventure was lotsa fun! I think everyone enjoyed making their special garden. Thank you! Your knowledge and passion really amaze and inspire me.”

 

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What's Happening

Pallet Garden Workshop and Work Day, April 27

Pallet Garden

Pallet Garden Workshop Saturday, April 27 Work Day, 9 to 4; Workshop, 10 to noon Middlebrook Center, 76 Race St., San Jose

Date: Saturday, April 27, | Time: 10:00 to noon, | Place: ELSEE @ Middlebrook Center Gardens, 76 Race Street San Jose, CA

Pallet Garden

Mark your calendar for one of our most exciting workshops this year: Salad in a pallet!

You’ll take home a garden, an architectural element and an exciting piece of garden art all rolled into one. Each participant will be able to complete your own pallet garden.

We’ll have all the materials and plants ready. If you wish to

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Workshops & Events

Managing native gardens for a sustainable future

Tam-Avery Garden

 Postponed to a later date tbd.

Date: Saturday, March 23, | Time: 10:00 to noon, | Place: ELSEE @ Middlebrook Center Gardens, 76 Race Street San Jose, CA

Alrie Middlebrook presents a case study workshop of five gardens: Managing native gardens for a sustainable future.

We all love a new native garden. But after 5 years, do we still love it? Alrie Middlebrook shows five gardens that are maturing and how to keep them looking fresh. Come hear about what you can do in your garden to maintain it and keep it lovely year after year.

Alrie Middlebrook has been designing native gardens for 20

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Workshops & Events

Pollinators Workshop on March 9

Jeffrey Caldwell teaches the Pollinators Workshop

Those who went to the CNGF workshop on pollinators were once again laden with good information from biologist Jeffrey Caldwell. He started extemporaneously with limiting factors that are keeping pollinators from surviving. Just a few:

The artificial light that is constant daylight in mall and apartment building flower beds prevents flowers from blooming, keeps pollinators away, and benefits predators.

DiPel is an organic fertilizer (good), but kills all caterpillars, even beneficial ones (bad).

The Argentinian ant has killed off our native ants. So what? Our native ants tended butterflies, such as the Acmon Blue, for their sweet excretions.

A walk in

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Workshops & Events

Pollinators Workshop, part 2

Pollinator Bee

 

Date: Saturday, March 9, | Time: 10:00 to noon, | Place: ELSEE @ Middlebrook Center Gardens, 76 Race Street San Jose, CA

Jeffrey Caldwell

Last May, Jeffrey Caldwell gave what turned out to be part one of a fun and informative workshop on pollinators. Attendees begged to have him back, so we are! Jeffrey returns on March 9 to regale us with tales of all things pollinating! Jeffrey Caldwell has a B.A. in Biology and has been giving lectures and writing articles about habitat gardening for 37 years. For the last few years, he

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Workshops & Events

Superfoods

Roger's Red Grape

Date: Saturday, February 9, | Time: 10:00 to noon, | Place: ELSEE @ Middlebrook Center Gardens, 76 Race Street San Jose, CA

Roger’s Red Grape

On Saturday, February 9, 10 to noon, Cayce Hill and Marjorie Freedman will discuss the best foods for health and how to grow them in your garden. Marjorie Freedman, PhD, is an associate professor of nutrition at San Jose State University. She has worked in the non-profit, business and educational sectors for the past 30 years and enjoys educating the public about healthful foods and eating.

Cayce

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Workshops & Events

Soil, Food Towers and Salad Walls

Volunteers harvest from the food tower and prepare it for the winter.

–> Date: Saturday, January 26, | Time: 1:00 to 3, | Place: ELSEE @ Middlebrook Center Gardens, 76 Race Street San Jose, CA On Saturday, January 26, 1 to 3 (new time!), Brian Debasitis will talk about creating great soils for food towers, salad walls, and all your garden needs.Brian is a Bay-Friendly Qualified Landscape Maintenance Professional as well as an instructor for Bay-Friendly Gardening workshops in Santa Clara County and a Master Composter. He’s studied with Dr. Elaine Ingham, founder of Soil Foodweb Inc., on restoration of soil microbiology as a

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Workshops & Events

Living Machines, Greywater, Constructed Wetlands

Greenbuilding consultant Roy Nordblom will present a talk on living machines, greywater, and constructed wetlands

On Saturday, January 19, 10 to 1, Greenbuilding consultant Roy Nordblom will present a talk on living machines, greywater, and constructed wetlands. He will lead a tour of the sustainable features at the ELSEE campus, including

greywater and rainwater systems with edible native wetland species providing rootmass and biofilter in the greywater bog the garden sink, which combines greywater, reclaimed water, a solar fountain with a living aquarium, and serves as a visual teaching tool (and also an outdoor sink!)

 

Roy describes the greywater sink

The class will look over the aquaponics project(s) underway, the

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food events

December 08 2012: Eating California

Saturday December 08 2012 11:00am
ELSEE: The Environmental Laboratory for Sustainability and Ecological Education

Eating California- A Sustainable Lunch and Movie Saturday December 08 2012 11:00am ELSEE: The Environmental Laboratory for Sustainability and Ecological Education 
76 Race Street San Jose, CA 95126

Saturday December 08 2012 11:00amELSEE: The Environmental Laboratory for Sustainability and Ecological Education

Come taste the California native foods that you may have never experienced before. Join us for a fun afternoon in our garden laboratory where grow over 30 varieties of sustainable edibles . We will have lunch on our garden prepared from a professional chef and see an insightful movie. Chef John Farais specializes in

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