Earth Day Workshop:
Fruit Tree Pruning and Soil Building Workshop
A day-long outdoor community workshop led by Julie Lamberts at Rooted By The Bluffs
Hosted at Sarana Springs near Chatsworth, ON
April 20, 2024
from 10 am - 5 pm
What better way to celebrate Earth Day than getting your hands in the soil and expanding your nature knowledge? Join us for a day of education and experience as we continue our ongoing project of creating a sustainable community food forest at Sarana Springs!
We will focus on fruit tree pruning and soil building to create permaculture guilds.
More information on this process is below.
This event is by registration only (sliding scale fee) and includes a catered lunch featuring wild edible plants and local flavors.
Are You…
🌱 An aspiring or active gardener wanting to expand your skills?
🌱 Needing hands-on pruning experience to care for your fruit trees?
🌱 Curious to develop your permaculture perspective?
🌱 Interested in promoting local food sovereignty?
🌱 Inspired by community and nature-based projects?
Take part in this workshop to grow your skills and contribute to a community project that will benefit many for years to come!
Important Details:
Arrival between 9:30 - 9:45 am
The program runs from 10 am - 5 pm on April 20th.
Run rain or shine
Clean and sharp pruning shears are required. If you need a pair let us know.
Locally catered lunch is provided
Sliding Scale Fee: $120 - $80, please contribute what you can
Registration is required here
This is an intergenerational event, open to all ages
Hosted at Sarana Springs near Chatsworth, ON
This is an outdoor event that will run rain or shine
Camping overnight is possible on April 19th or April 20th. See more details below
If you need more financial support to attend please reach out to us info@saranainstitute.org
Meet our Guide for the Day:
Julie Anne Lamberts
Julie Anne Lamberts is the founder and operator of By The Bluffs, a permaculture orchard and plant nursery. She grew up in Hanover and then completed her Bachelor of Science Honours degree at the University of Guelph in 2004. She spent 14 years of her career in environmental monitoring and water conservation. She then completed the Permaculture Design course in 2017 at the Living Centre and proceeded to design and install a fruit and nut orchard on her property. She has 10 years of experience implementing permaculture principles through cold frames, raised beds, hügelkulturs, lasagna gardening, fruit tree guilds, self-watering and rainwater irrigation systems. Her work is her passion. You can find more information on her website, www.rootedbythebluffs.ca.
Note: a follow-up workshop ‘Winterizing Fruit Trees and Preparing for Guild Planting’ is scheduled for October 20th. We intend to have annual Spring and Autumn workshops that focus on important techniques and skills needed to care for fruit trees and permaculture guilds. As our Food Forest grows we want to invite you in for the educational journey whenever possible! Our hope is you continue to come back, eventually harvesting from the trees you once cared for at Sarana Springs, or that you acquire the skills to do this in your own community.
What are Permaculture Fruit Tree Guilds? Guilds are a permaculture technique inspired by interconnected relationships in natural ecosystems. A guild is a community of plants, intentionally designed to support each other by building soil, providing shade and conserving water, attracting beneficial insects, repelling pests and diseases, and preventing erosion. Many other benefits can be added to a Fruit Tree Guild like adding edible and medicinal plants. Permaculture offers us a framework for intentional co-creation with nature. You can have a standalone tree guild or link them together to create a food-forest!
For Earth Day 2023 we planted 29 fruit and nut trees with thanks to our community! The next phase of our sustainable food forest vision at Sarana Springs is creating permaculture guilds. These will include medicinal and edible plants to nourish many people well into the future.
About Sarana Springs
Sarana Springs is 171 acres of wildlife refuge located on the traditional lands of the Anishinabek Nation. This land is home to Sarana Institute's nature-based retreats like our Yana Retreat for young adults (August 8th 2024) and our Autumn Equinox Meditation Retreat. We are approximately 2.5 hours North of Toronto, near Owen Sound, Ontario.
Sarana Springs if home to many habitats and ecologies, including meadows, wetlands, cedar, pine and mixed wood forests and water features, such ponds, freshwater springs, and the source of the Bighead River that flows to Meaford, ON and into Georgian Bay.
Getting to Sarana Springs
We are approx 2.5 North of Toronto, in Holland Chatsworth, Ontario. If you are arriving from the GTA we encourage carpooling. If you are open to sharing a ride with someone else, there is an option in our registration form to select if you need a ride or can provide one. We will do our best to help coordinate ridesharing. If you have any questions about this, just reach out.
Camping at Sarana Springs
Whether you are traveling from out of town or you're local to us, we welcome you to camp here Friday April 19th, Saturday April 20th (or both!) Camping is optional at an additional fee of $25 per night. This fee can be paid by cash or cheque separately to Angie Di Iorio Blake. Outhouse facilities are near 'The Nest' which is a pine forest that makes for excellent sleeping. There is wifi and electricity access on the Land, but not at the camping area. There is access to our community kitchen. If you choose to camp you will be responsible for your own meals and clean up except for our lunch together the day of our workshop.
Make it a Weekend Experience
There are many local Air B&B options as well if you'd like to find a cozy place to stay as a home base for the weekend. Grey-Bruce is home to many breathtaking hiking trails, waterfalls, artisan shops, and vistas, and we welcome you to come explore and include our day-long event as part of your weekend!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Yana?
Yana is Sarana Institute's young adult-focused program serving those aged ~18-35. For us, it stands for 'Young Adult Nature Awareness', and yāna is also a Buddhist term meaning 'vehicle'. Our intention is to provide a “vehicle” to support you in realizing and manifesting your potential.
How is this Workshop Sliding Scale?
All of our Yana events are funded through donations. Because of this, we're able to offer reduced rates and sliding scale fees. Please contribute a suggested amount of $80 - $120 according to your means. To make additional donations that support our work (and provide bursary funds!) click here.
If you really want to attend, but our sliding scale fee feels inaccessible, please reach out to us directly by emailing maxine@saranainstitute.org . No one will be turned away due to lack of funds. If you want to come, we want you to be here!
Is This Just for Young Adults?
Our Earth Day Permaculture Workshop is open to all ages. Scholarships and some spaces are being specifically reserved for young adults (18-35).
What Do I Bring and How to Prepare?
Bring walking shoes or boots that can get muddy. We will be outside rain or shine. Layer up because May temperatures can fluctuate. We will send you an official 'what to bring' list closer to the date. Just make sure you register to receive this.
What Is Sarana Institute?
Yana events are hosted by Sarana Institute, a secular mindfulness-based registered Canadian charity focusing on offering mindfulness training that awakens compassion in caring for ourselves, others and the earth. Yana events are part of our Yana program, and we also host a yearly mindfulness retreat for young adults called Yana Retreat.
I’m Coming From Out of Town, Are There Places to Stay?
Whether you are traveling from out of town or you're local to us, we welcome you to camp here Friday April 19th, Saturday April 20th (or both!) Camping is optional at an additional fee of $25 per night. This fee can be paid by cash or cheque separately to Angie Di Iorio Blake. Compostable toilets are near 'The Nest'. The Nest is a pine forest that makes for excellent sleeping and sheltered camping. There is wifi and electricity access on the Land, but not at the camping area. There is access to our community kitchen. If you choose to camp you will be responsible for your own meals (aside from our lunch the day of) and clean up.
There are also lots of local Air B+B options to explore if you'd prefer a more solid home base for the weekend. We encourage you to take as much time as you can to explore this beautiful area!
Carpooling from the GTA:
Sarana Springs is 2.5 Hours North of Toronto. We do our best to coordinate ridesharing when it is safe to do so. If you are open to sharing a ride with someone else, there is an option in our registration form to select if you need a ride or can provide one. If you have any questions about this, just reach out.