Transition Bay St Margarets

Rising to the Health Challenges of Our Times With Herbal Medicine
2025-03-02 14:30 - 16:30 (America/Halifax) | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Road, Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
Our health cannot be separated from the earth that nourishes us. The growing epidemic of chronic illness is deeply entwined with a disconnected culture, degradation of the earth and societal inequalities.
Many are embracing herbal medicine as a path to empowered healthcare that connects us with our own bodies, each other, and the natural rhythms of the earth.
As an interested or aspiring herbalist, how do you really become competent and of service to yourself, family and community given the health challenges we face? Whether you are new to herbal medicine, or you are wondering what is the next step to improve your knowledge and skill, this workshop is for you.
In this workshop, we will cover:
– Core philosophies and tools vital to a vibrant, ethical, and effective approach to herbal medicine
– The potential of herbal medicine in empowering, accessible, integrative healthcare.
– How to connect with teachers and resources that will improve your herbalism skills.
– How to apply the concepts of vitalism and energetics to support immune system resilience.
– Hands-on learning through sampling herbs
The times we live in deeply need the skills, intention, and heart that herbalists can offer. Come join experienced clinical herbalists Ember Peters and Oren Hercz in a class to fuel your inspiration and help guide you on your herbal path!
You can learn more about Ember and Oren by visiting the Maritime School of Holistic Herbalism.
This event is free and open to the public. Donations are greatly appreciated. We welcome new volunteers to help with events like this one. Please contact us at info@transitionbay.ca for more information.

Seed Planning Party
2025-02-02 14:30 - 16:30 | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Rd., Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, B3Z 1H3, Canada
It’s still winter, but its the time we plan for our garden seeding needs for the coming growing season.
Bring your seed catalogs, your seed lists, and your own extra saved seeds. Join others for a Seed Planning Party! We will compare catalogs and our our notes, learn from each other, and perhaps make bulk purchases of seeds (which saves lots of money).
This event is free and open to the public. Donations are greatly appreciated. We welcome new volunteers to help with events like this one. Please contact us at info@transitionbay.ca for more information.

Community Read and Discussion: The Serviceberry
2025-01-09 18:30 - 20:30 | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Road, Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
Join us for a Community Read and Discussion! The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer releases November 19! Her previous books, Gather Moss and Braiding Sweetgrass, are highly acclaimed and beloved for their blend of science and Indigenous ways of knowing. This new book is sure to bring forth many insights worthy of discussion.
Book: The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer (preorder now!).
Support Local!
Preorder The Serviceberry through our local indie bookshop, Otis and Clementine’s! Contact Ellen with your preorder by November 10! Otis and Clementine’s: Website Facebook Instagram
This event is free and open to the public. Donations are greatly appreciated. We welcome new volunteers to help with events like this one. Please contact us at info@transitionbay.ca for more information.

Closer to Home: Voices of Hope in a Time of Crisis - film and discussion
2024-11-07 18:30 - 20:30 | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Road, Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
Join us for the screening and discussion of the 35 minute film: Closer to Home: Voices of Hope in a Time of Crisis. A film by Local Futures and Cyrus Sutton. Produced and directed by Helena Norberg-Hodge and Anja Lyngbaek.
We live in a time of multiple crises, from climate chaos, poverty, and war to skyrocketing costs of living. It can seem overwhelming – until we realise that we have the power to change things. ‘Closer to Home’ brings together an extraordinary array of thinkers, writers, and activists from every continent to make a simple but revolutionary argument: by reducing the scale of the economy, we can not only stop the rush towards social and ecological breakdown, but restore damaged ecosystems and increase our own personal well-being. It’s a message of hope that the world cannot afford to ignore.

Watch and share the trailer here: • Closer to Home Trailer
This event is free and open to the public. Donations are greatly appreciated. We welcome new volunteers to help with events like this one. Please contact us at info@transitionbay.ca for more information.

Kiss the Ground - film and discussion
2024-10-17 18:30 - 20:30 | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Road, Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
Join us for another great film, followed by discussion: Kiss the Ground.
The solution is under our feet.
Narrated and featuring Woody Harrelson, Kiss the Ground is an inspiring and groundbreaking film that reveals the first viable solution to our climate crisis.
Kiss the Ground reveals that, by regenerating the world’s soils, we can completely and rapidly stabilize Earth’s climate, restore lost ecosystems and create abundant food supplies. Using compelling graphics and visuals, along with striking NASA and NOAA footage, the film artfully illustrates how, by drawing down atmospheric carbon, soil is the missing piece of the climate puzzle. This movie is positioned to catalyze a movement to accomplish the impossible – to solve humanity’s greatest challenge, to balance the climate and secure our species future.
This event is free and open to the public. Donations are greatly appreciated. We welcome new volunteers to help with events like this one. Please contact us at info@transitionbay.ca for more information.

Up!Skilling Festival: Feed | Build | Repair
2024-10-05 08:30 - 16:30 | Mahone Bay Centre, 45 School Road, Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia, B0J 2E0, Canada
Join us for the all-day Up!Skilling Festival: Feed | Build | Repair at the Mahone Bay Centre, Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia. The Festival is jointly hosted by Transition Bay and the Town of Mahone Bay.
We are recruiting 20-25 Skillers – each teaching a valuable and practical craft, skill or trade.
Confirmed Skillers:

Ropework, knots and splicing
Sewing
Fermentation
Living off grid
Upholstery and fabric repair
Hot water bath canning
Public and private writing for healing & action
Homesharing
Macrobiotic gardening by moon signs
Bicycle repair
E-bike learning and demos
Baking – two simple loaves of bread
Food forest & permaculture: roots, soil health, biomass relationships
Refurbishing tools and handle making with a shaving horse

Tools for green wood hand-working and fabricating
Furniture and country equipment design, repair, and construction
Kitchen tools (care and sharpening)
Gardening and forestry tools (care and sharpening)
Beekeeping
Cooking from Scratch
Mending
Mead making and country wines
Raising chickens
Mahone Bay Community Land Coop
Food forests

FULL SCHEDULE DOWNLOAD HERE
Registration opens at 8:30am. Classes begin at 9:30am. A low-cost lunch is available.
Registration is $15.00, or pay what you can (Refunds up to 7 days before event):
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/feed-build-repair-an-upskilling-festival-tickets-949990225337?aff=oddtdtcreator

Food Preservation Workshop
2024-06-06 18:30 - 20:30 | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Road, Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
Ever wonder how to preserve all those great garden vegetables you harvested? Join us for an engaging talk where we’ll learn all about various methods of food preservation, including canning, dehydration, freezing, and fermentation. Our presenters will share their tips and tricks for saving your garden abundance to enjoy throughout the winter season. This program is free and open to all!

From the Great Unraveling towards a Great Turning - Film and Discussion
2024-05-05 14:30 - 16:30 | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Rd., Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, B3Z 1H3, Canada
In October 2023, invited Thinkers from around the world gathered on-site and virtually at the famous Thinkers Lodge, Pugwash, NS. They undertook deep and brave conversation about the Great Unraveling – the global polycrisis facing humanity today. They also explored where seeds are being planted for humanity’s shift towards a new restorative relationship with Mother Earth – a Great Turning.
Step into these discussions, thoughts and feelings of Thinkers, including Mi’kmaq Elders Joseph Michael and Albert Marshall, in this 30 minute documentary film. There will be a group discussion about these topics following the screening.
Watch the trailer.

This event is free and open to the public. Donations are greatly appreciated. We welcome new volunteers to help with events like this one. Please contact us at info@transitionbay.ca for more information.

Crossroads Educational Vegetable Garden - Spring Planting!
2024-05-04 10:00 - 11:30 | St Margarets Bay Crossroads, 5209 Saint Margarets Bay Road, Tantallon, B3Z 4R5, Canada
Join us for Spring Planting!
We will be planting Swiss chard, kale, beets, onions, parsnips, turnips, cabbage, potatoes and carrots – all fairly easy to grow and store into the cold season.
Each year, Transition Bay volunteers grow about 500 pounds of vegetables from these four raised beds for the St Margarets Bay Food Bank. They greatly appreciate this fresh produce. The Crossroads Garden is also intended to inspire everyone about the benefits of starting or expanding a home vegetable garden. This is becoming very important in this era of rapidly increasing food costs.
Transition Bay is always looking for more volunteers to help with the garden. If interested, reach out to us at: info@transitionbay.ca.

Crossroads Educational Vegetable Garden - Spring Soil Prep
2024-04-17 10:00 - 11:30 | St Margarets Bay Crossroads, 5209 Saint Margarets Bay Road, Tantallon, B3Z 4R5, Canada
Join us in preparing the soil for our 13th Season! We will be adding compost, amendments and prepping the soil for spring planting. We will be there rain or shine. We will also install the Seed Library stocked with free seeds!
Each year, Transition Bay volunteers grow about 500 pounds of vegetables from these four raised beds for the St Margarets Bay Food Bank. They greatly appreciate this fresh produce. The Crossroads Garden is also intended to inspire everyone about the benefits of starting or expanding a home vegetable garden. This is becoming very important in this era of rapidly increasing food costs.
Transition Bay is always looking for more volunteers to help with the garden. If interested, reach out to us at: info@transitionbay.ca.

HalifACT Human Library
2024-03-26 17:30 - 20:30 | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Road, Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
HalifACT Human Library
Join HalifACT for an evening of inspiring climate conversations.
Members of HalifACT, in collaboration with Halifax Public Libraries and Transition Bay, will be acting as the curators of a “human library.” Check out a human “book,” a person with real experience in climate action, to gain insights on doable actions that you can take in your life.
Three of the “books” will be members of Transition Bay:
Cam Farnell will be a “book” about energy (off-grid, reducing your electricity usage, generators and energy return on energy invested) as well as food resilience (deep pantry and water bath canning).
Dawn Suzette Smith is a “book” about connecting your family with nature whatever the weather.
and, Robert Cervelli’s “book” subject is creating a backyard grocery store (i.e. your garden) and other ways to build resilience in fragile times.
Drop in anytime from 5:30 – 8:30 pm, March 26th, at the Tantallon Public Library
Let’s make a difference right here at home, one practical idea at a time.

Seedy Saturday
2024-03-23 10:00 - 16:00 | St. Luke’s United Church Lower Hall, 5374 St Margarets Bay Rd., Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
Join us at Seedy Saturday! A great gardening event sponsored by the St Margarets Bay Garden Club, featuring over 12 different vendors and a great slate of speakers. Transition Bay will be one of the vendors, so visit our booth.
In the Sanctuary from 2:00 to 3:30, Transition Bay’s Bob Cervelli will speak on:

“Lessons Learned from 10 Years of Running a Cooperative Food Garden in St. Margaret’s Bay.”
Cooperative gardening is a powerful way to bring people together to learn from each other and share the harvest as the season progresses. It allows people to cooperatively manage a single large garden with equitable shares of the food grown, rather than managing the traditional small plots that are assigned in community garden models.
AND also in the Sanctuary, follow Bob’s presentation,
Karen Llewellyn; SMBGC Member, and Chicken Whisperer
“Raising Backyard Chickens for Fun and Food”
Eggs, meat and compost, just a few good reasons to look at raising chickens. Karen will cover the basics for keeping your backyard flock happy, healthy and safe.
At St Lukes, 5374 St. Margaret’s Bay Road, you will be able to access the whole event from the lower or upper level doors and walk through (via stairs). Each level is fully accessible, but there is no elevator in between.
For more information, visit: https://www.stmargaretsbaygardeningclub.org/seedy-saturday-2024

Domestic Preparedness: Resilient Home Systems for Fragile Times
2024-02-25 14:30 - 17:00 | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Road, Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
We live in fragile times. We all know the issues near and far around fires, floods, hurricanes, power outages, geopolitical strife and supply chain shortages. Yet, there is a lot the average householder can do to build in redundant systems and back up plans into your domestic situation – having a ‘plan B’ to meet your basic needs and those of your neighbours or community.
Join Cam Farnell and Bob Cervelli for a thought-provoking discussion exploring multiple ways to insure access to water, food, heating, electricity, first aid, repairs for broken items or vehicles and much more. Discussion will also pursue the benefits of close collaboration with neighbours and friends to meet these needs.
The workshop is free for all attending (donations are encouraged!).

Someone Lives Here Film Screening & Panel Discussion
2023-11-09 18:00 - 20:45 | Halifax Central Library, 5440 Spring Garden Road, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3J 1E9, Canada
Someone Lives Here Film Screening & Panel Discussion:
Home Sharing as an Immediate Solution to the Housing Crisis
Thursday, November 9, 6:00 – 8:45 pm | Paul O’Regan Hall, Floor 1, Central Library

Join us for a screening of the film Someone Lives Here followed by a panel discussion and Q&A regarding shared housing. Learn how shared housing can be an effective, immediate, and economical next step.
About the film: Someone Lives Here is a modern-day David and Goliath story, set against the backdrop of North America’s housing crisis. Carpenter Khaleel Seivwright builds small, life-saving shelters for unhoused people living outside in Toronto during the winter of the pandemic. His actions attract international attention, but also staunch opposition from city officials.
No registration required. All are welcome!
Hosted in partnership with The Community Housing Transformation Centre.

Why Home Sharing Really Matters: An Open House
2023-11-09 14:00 - 16:00 | Halifax Central Library, 5440 Spring Garden Road, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3J 1E9, Canada
Why Home Sharing Really Matters: An Open House
Thursday, November 9, 2:00 – 4:00 pm | Paul O’Regan Hall, Floor 1, Central Library

Join us at Halifax Central Library on Thursday, November 9th from 2:00 – 4:00 pm for an open house and discussion on home sharing: the benefits and hurdles, building personal comfort, bringing those with excess housing together with those in need of housing, and determining what ongoing supports are needed.We will present findings from the November 4 Housing Outside the Box symposium and share videos featuring highlights from the event and interviews with community members.
Volunteers will be on-hand to answer questions and hear ideas about shared housing.
No registration required. All are welcome!

Housing Outside the Box Solutions:
2023-11-04 09:00 - 17:00 | Estabrooks Community Hall, 4408 St Margarets Bay Rd, Lewis Lake, Nova Scotia, Canada
Auxiliary Housing, Backyard Suites, & Co-Living for Community Health
Exciting things are happening in St. Margarets Bay this fall! Transition Bay St Margarets is hosting a one-day housing symposium on November 4th, building on our successful 2018 Housing Outside the Box event.

Our focus for this program will be home sharing: the benefits and hurdles, building personal comfort, bringing those with excess housing together with those in need of housing, and determining what ongoing supports are needed.
We will come together with neighbours, community leaders, and experts from around the province to discuss:

The nuts and bolts of home sharing: housing formats and solutions, current legislation, funding resources
The inner tools for home sharing: understanding hurdles, building trust, health benefits of home sharing
Forming relationships: making connections with potential home sharing partners
Community advocacy: supporting solutions in the community

Join us for expert discussion panels, community sharing, and exploring new connections.
A light lunch and refreshments will be served.
This program requires registration. Please visit our listing on Eventbrite to register.
We are also inviting all attendees to please fill out this form. This information will help us shape the programming to ensure everyone gets the most from our workshop.
We are grateful for the generous support of the Community Housing Transformation Centre and welcome all community partners.
————————————-
AGENDA
Doors open, Registration starts at 8:00 am.
9:00 to 9:15
Opening: David Wimberly, Transition Bay St Margarets – Welcome and thanks to our supporters, overview of the day, introduction of Transition Bay.
9:15 to 9:30
Introductory Speaker: Nancy Gilbert, St. Margarets Bay Housing Coalition – Affordable Housing in the Bay: An overview of the affordable housing situation in St. Margaret’s Bay, Past Present and Future
9:30 to 10:00
Opening Keynote: Lori Weeks, Dalhousie School of Nursing – Social and Health Benefits of Shared Housing
10:00 to 11:15
Panel One: Nuts and Bolts of Home Sharing – Outer tools
New directions in what is being encouraged – Accessory dwelling units (AUD’s), Community Land Trusts and more.

Kevin Hooper, United Way Halifax – Taking Stock and Taking Action – Our Collective Responsibility to a Better Housing Future
Laurie Cook, Housing Innovation Co-operative – Land sharing and the use of AUDs: ‘gentle density’ to increase access to housing in rural communities, awareness, and education needed.
Aiden Kivisto, Manager of Community Development, YMCA of Cumberland – Rural House Sharing is Invisible

11:15 to 11:30
Break
11:30 to 12:45
Panel Two: Community Building by Home Sharing – Inner tools. Finding how to live together in confidence and comfort.

Dianne McDonald, Nova Scotia representative for HomeSHARE Canada, HomeSHARE: Matching the Needs of Home-Providers with the Needs of Home-Seekers: learn how sharing your home can be beneficial to you, the Home-Seeker, your family, friends, and community.
Blayne Robinson, Marketing and Brand Manager for Happipad NS, Introduction to the Happipad home-sharing process; how to register and start homesharing at no cost using Happipad.
Daytona O’Leary, We Want to Stay: difficulties with affording to live in the bay as a young adult.
Suzanne Bourque-Pelham, It’s in the second drawer, to the left of the stove: from early childhood to senior years, thoughts and experiences from a lifelong advocate of home-sharing.
Meghann Kerr, GPI Atlantic Youth Representative, Young Perspectives on Housing: a presentation of thoughts on the housing crisis from local youth.

12:45 to 1:30
Lunch & Learn – regulations, by-laws, grants related to shared and auxiliary housing
1:30 to 2:00
Keynote: Max Chauvin, Director of Housing and Homelessness, HRM, Hope and Context, Opportunities and Solutions in HRM Developing a municipal strategy and response to the growing homelessness crisis in our community, “ Housing is a human right and everyone deserves a safe, supportive, and sustainable home.”
2:00 to 2:30
Q&A with All Speakers
2:30 to 2:45
Presentation wrap-up, Description of breakouts
2:45 to 3:00
Break
3:00 to 4:30
Breakout Sessions

Digging Deeper: small group discussions with our presenters, allowing participants to delve further into the issues and solutions
Making Connections: a chance for those with excess housing to make connections with those looking for home-sharing opportunities

4:30-5:00
Wrap-up and next steps, adjourn

Off-Grid Living
2023-10-01 14:15 - 16:30 | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Road, Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
Back by popular demand ! We are thrilled to present this lively and informative workshop with Cam Farnell.
Are you wondering what it’s like to live without a connection to the electric grid and with no electric bill? Then this 2-hour presentation and discussion is for you.
Some of the topics that will be covered:

Introduction to off-grid
Types of off-grid systems
Off-grid for new construction
Off-grid as a retrofit for existing houses
Components of off-grid systems
Energy use reduction techniques
Trade-off choices
Cost of some sample off-grid packages
Discussion of off-grid living
Ample time for questions

Cam is an engaging and knowledgeable presenter with experience constructing multiple off-grid homes in Nova Scotia. He has been happily living off-grid for 10 years, with no plans to go back.
There is no cost to attend this workshop. Donations are appreciated!
Reservation is required. Visit our eventbrite page to reserve your spot. If your plans change, please cancel so we can release to our waitlist.
Saltwire interview with Cam: https://www.saltwire.com/nova-scotia/news/shining-a-light-on-solar-power-283427/
More details on Cam’s home at: http://www.fundysolar.com/installed-systems.php?id=8
If you would like to make a donation to Transition Bay St Margarets to help with the costs of our events and community programs, please visit our donate page. Your support is greatly appreciated!

The International Transition Movement
2023-06-11 12:00 - 13:30 | Virtual, Everywhere, Canada
The Transition Movement is a movement of communities coming together to reimagine and rebuild our world in the face of the world’s huge challenges (climate change, social inequality, economic decline, resource depletion and so on).
Transition started in England in 2005 and rapidly spread worldwide to over 48 countries, 23 Transition Hubs and thousands of communities. Community-led Transition groups are working for a low-carbon, socially just future with resilient communities, more active participation in society, and caring culture focused on supporting each other.
In practice, they are using participatory methods to imagine the changes we need, setting up renewable energy projects, re-localising food systems, and creating community and green spaces. They are nurturing the Inner Transition of the cultural and mindset changes that support social and environmental change. They are sparking entrepreneurship, working with municipalities, building community connection and care, repairing and re-skilling.
Transition Bay St Margarets was founded in 2011 as the first Transition community in Nova Scotia, and remains one of the most active in Atlantic Canada. As Co-founder, Robert Cervelli will describe the international movement, some of the latest global initiatives and activities with Transition Bay.
Join us for the virtual webinar which is hosted by the Touching the Earth Collective and the Earth Salon, Sunday, June 11th from 12:00noon to 1:30pm.

Crossroads Educational Vegetable Garden - Spring Planting
2023-05-13 10:00 - 11:30 | St Margarets Bay Crossroads, 5209 Saint Margarets Bay Road, Tantallon, B3Z 4R5, Canada

Gardening for Butterflies and Other Pollinators
2023-04-23 14:30 - 16:30 | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Road, Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
Join Carter Feltham from the Mersey Tobeatic Research Institute (MTRI), who will talk about the institute, some of the projects they work on, pollinators, and in-depth about the endangered Monarch butterfly. Find out what butterflies and pollinators need to survive and how you can make your home a pollinator sanctuary. Also, learn more about MTRI’s research and how you can get involved!
This two-hour workshop will cover recommended garden pollinator plants as well as sources for seeds, native wildflower seed blends and milkweed plants.
The workshop is free and open to the public. Donations are greatly appreciated. To register, visit our Eventbrite listing.
Transition Bay is welcoming new volunteers to help with events like this one. Contact: info@transitionbay.ca

Crossroads Educational Vegetable Garden - Spring Soil Prep
2023-04-04 10:00 - 11:30 | St Margarets Bay Crossroads, 5209 Saint Margarets Bay Road, Tantallon, B3Z 4R5, Canada
Join us in preparing the soil for our 12th Season! We will be adding compost, amendments and prepping the soil for spring planting. We will be there rain or shine.
Each year, Transition Bay volunteers grow about 500 pounds of vegetables from these four raised beds for the St Margarets Bay Food Bank. They greatly appreciate this fresh produce. The Crossroads Garden is also intended to inspire everyone about the benefits of starting or expanding a home vegetable garden. This is becoming very important in this era of rapidly increasing food costs.
Transition Bay is always looking for more volunteers to help with the garden. If interested, reach out to us at: info@transitionbay.ca.

PLANET LOCAL: A Quiet Revolution
2023-03-26 14:30 - 16:30 | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Road, Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
Join us for a screening of the short film PLANET LOCAL: A Quiet Revolution, followed by a community discussion.
PLANET LOCAL is about a quiet and transformative revolution emerging worldwide. As people work to protect and restore their local economies, their communities and the natural world, countless diverse initiatives are demonstrating a new path forward for humanity. It’s a path that localizes rather than globalizes, connects rather than separates, and shows us that human beings need not be the problem – we can be the solution.
This 50-minute film gives voice to a growing number of people building a more beautiful world. Featuring grassroots activists from every continent alongside internationally known figures like Noam Chomsky, Vandana Shiva, Russell Brand, Naomi Klein, Jane Goodall, Gabor Maté and Helena Norberg-Hodge – all of them bringing inspiration and clarity to a world full of dark news.
This event is free and open to the public. Donations are greatly appreciated. To register, please visit our eventbrite listing.
We welcome new volunteers to help with events like this one. Please contact us at info@transitionbay.ca for more information.

Seedy Saturday
2023-03-18 11:00 - 16:00 | St. Luke’s United Church Lower Hall, 5374 St Margarets Bay Rd., Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
Transition Bay has partnered with the St Margarets Bay Gardening Club on:
Seedy Saturday March 18, 11:00am to 4:00pm
St Luke’s United Church, Upper Tantallon
Robert Cervelli, Transition Bay, will be speaking on Climate Victory Gardens at 12:45.
15 Vendors in the Lower Hall with lunch & snacks available for sale.

You, energy, and fossil fuels - a footnote to the end of the current era
2022-11-13 14:00 - 16:00 | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Road, Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
This presentation is about energy. Why it is important, why it is going to change your life, and some things you might want to think about.
Join us for this timely and critical workshop about energy, with host Cam Farnell.
This event is free (donations appreciated!), and takes place at the Tantallon Public Library.

Did You Know You Can Eat That?
2022-09-22 19:00 - 20:30 | Virtual, Everywhere, Canada
Thursday, September 22nd, 7:00-8:30pm
Join Melanie Mulrooney, Dawn Smith and Bob Cervelli for an evening walk through a list of everything that you can eat that you probably didn’t know about.
HINT: It’s a long list – whether its those parts of vegetables you usually throw away, plants already growing in your yard or ornamental beds, or common wild plants found just about everywhere.
This is a virtual Zoom webinar.
This event is free (donations appreciated!) and requires registration via Eventbite.
We will be conducting this event on Zoom with livestreaming to Facebook, and we will send you the Zoom link via Eventbrite upon registration.

Crossroads Educational Vegetable Garden - Spring Planting
2022-05-07 09:30 - 11:00 | St Margarets Bay Crossroads, 5209 Saint Margarets Bay Road, Tantallon, B3Z 4R5, Canada
Join us on Saturday, May 7th from 9:30 to 11:30am as we plant the crops for the eleventh season for the Educational Vegetable Garden. Last year, we grew over 500 pounds of vegetables for the St Margarets Bay Food Bank.
We will be planting onions, potatoes, carrots, beets, kale, chard, parsnips and cabbage.
Come and meet the Crossroads volunteers, learn new gardening skills and pick up some seeds from the Seed Library.
If you are unable to attend, consider a donation to Transition Bay St Margarets by using the DONATE button on this website.

Fruit Tree Planting Day 2022
2022-04-15 | 15 Schooner Cove Rd., 15 Schooner Cove Rd., Head of St Margaret's Bay, NS, B3Z2B3, Canada
Every year Halifax Earth Tech partners with Transition Bay St Margarets to order productive trees from a local nursery and get growing! We can grow many kinds of fruits and nut trees. We do NOT take money “off the top” and you save a little on shipping through the bulk order. Most importantly we are selecting and sourcing excellent trees highly suitable for this area.

PAYMENT:
We must receive full payment by the deadline, April 15, 2022, in order to include your order. Payment can be made by e-transfer to jenstotland@gmail.com. The pickup location will be at 27 Rufus Avenue for Halifax orders, and 15 Schooner Cove Rd. for St. Margarets Bay orders, date to be determined based on weather. We do not want frost to nip your tree’s tender buds.
All trees are $95.00 or $114.25 with tax and shipping except multigraft apple which is $177.50. Trees are 6-8′ tall. These trees are premium trees and will be producing far sooner and more reliably that lesser, cheap trees.

Hazelnut, Corylus avanella
6 to 15 feet. A small tree that will assume a shrubby shape if not pruned. Hazelnuts will put out their female flowers and male flowers at different times, so plant two for best fruiting success. A bristly cap (like on an acorn) envelopes the nut almost entirely.

A hazel bush grows 6 to 15 feet and provides fall colour

Carpathian Walnut, Juglans regia
Walnut is a large tree from 70 to 120 feet. When nuts comes off the tree, they will have a husk that will turn black and fall off when the nut is ripe.

American chestnut, Castanea dentata
A large tree producing hundreds of small and flavourful chestnuts. Plant 2 for pollination.

American Pawpaw, Asimina trilobum
North America’s largest native fruit, the pawpaw rivals the size of the mango! It tastes like a cross between banana, avocado and vanilla, and can be eaten raw or in baked goods. The fruit will grow filled with large inedible black pits. Pawpaw tolerates shade and benefits from a sheltered spot. Plant 2 for pollination.

Montmorrency cherry, Prunus cerasus
A prolific tart cherry. Because they bloom later than sweet cherries, Montmorency are more dependable fruit producers in cooler climates. It is self fertile and requires no pollinator. The juicy, tart cherries ripen early, just two months after spring bloom.

Reliance Peach, Prunus persica
not confirmed – availability uncertain

Apple Multigraft, Malus domestica
Multigraft apples are 150.00. M26 rootstock produces a medium size apple tree which might be 15 to 25 feet. If your tree is not multigraft you need to have 3 types of apple or have some in your neighbourhood for pollination. Four varieties on each tree. Mix of varieties varies. More details soon.

Dandelion Cuisine with Celebrity Chef David & Heroic Herbalist Deborah
2022-04-14 19:00 - 20:30 | Virtual, Everywhere, Canada
Who knew that a “weed” was likely the most nourishing green in the garden, tasty when prepared right, and even a super medicinal? Learn all about it with David as Chef and Deborah as Herbalist!
After exploring the history of the dandelion, we will go through the steps of just some of the myriad ways to prepare dandelions – especially as magnificent omelettes! We will also showcase some of the medicinal uses of dandelions for the home herbalist.
Dandelions greatly contribute to the nourishment and aeration of lawns as well as adding early warm colours to the palette of spring. Don’t just blow it away, eat it up!
David Wimberly eagerly awaits the first dandelions of spring to make thick omelettes (a colander full of leaves in each), flower fritters, and more! Deborah Luscomb makes a variety of dandelion-based medicinals that are nourishing and beautiful.
Don’t “bee” absent bee-cause the bees also bee-light in dandelion pollen and nectar. All I am saying is give bees a chance!

What do you make with dandelions? Share the love!

This event is free (donations appreciated!) and available for registration on Eventbrite.
We will be conducting this event on Zoom, and the link will be provided via email at time of registration.
It will be recorded.

Crossroads Educational Vegetable Garden - Seed Library and Site Prep
2022-04-10 11:00 - 12:30 | St Margarets Bay Crossroads, 5209 Saint Margarets Bay Road, Tantallon, B3Z 4R5, Canada
Join us on Sunday, April 10th from 11:00am to 12:30pm as we install the Transition Bay Seed Library and our interpretive information sign at the Crossroads Educational Vegetable Garden. This is our third season for the Seed Library and eleventh season for the Educational Vegetable Garden. Last year, we gave out over 300 packages of seed to the public requesting only donations in return.
We will also be replacing the lumber around the raised beds and prepping the soil for spring planting.
If you are not able to attend, please feel free to make a donation to Transition Bay by clicking on the DONATE button on this website.

Grafting Apple Trees: Why, What, When, Where, & How
2022-03-31 19:00 - 21:00 | Zoom
All welcome. Register free via Eventbrite to receive the Zoom event link.
Help save your grandparent’s apple varieties for today and tomorrow. Create a future with more apple choices. Meet and spend time online with David Maxwell, the experienced apple grower whose passion is teaching and growing, collecting, and saving apple varieties.

Growing apples and other fruit in small backyard orchards, avoiding the use of chemical sprays, motivated by an awe of nature rather than commerce, requires a very different approach from that of the large commercial growers. This Zoom session aims to share some of the insights gained over an almost 50 year experience of growing apples and other fruit in small back yard orchards.

David Maxwell has been growing apples, (and other fruit), in small backyard orchards, as he moved around the country, for almost 50 years. His current incarnation comprises a luxurious 1/6 of an acre with approximately 180 trees of 50+ varieties, mostly apples, in Middle LaHave.) His initial motivation was saving the old varieties which were rapidly disappearing from commerce, but over the years he slipped into collecting lesser known, more modern, cultivars also.
David is now entering his twilight years and feeling an imperative to pass on the insights gained over 50 years of amateur growing, working with nature rather than fighting her, and spreading his (apple) seed as widely as possible.

Workshop Description
There are as many as 20,000 named cultivars, (varieties), of apples, of which at least half have disappeared entirely within the last hundred years. The remaining ones are very rapidly headed for extinction, and are being replaced by a few dozen modern varieties heavily marketed by BigAg. If you want even one of the apples your grandparents grew up with, such as a Baldwin, King, or Wolf River, you have to grow it yourself. And if you hanker after “foreign” fruit like the Dutch Belle de Boskoop, or the British Bramley Seedling, (which is absolutely unexcelled in the world as a “cooker”), you are even more dependent on your own resources. Finally, if you want to sample apples which have justifiably continued to be cultivated for many centuries, like the Pomme Gris, which was known in France in 1585, and could very possibly have been brought to North America by Isaac de Rassilly in 1632, you need to join the fellowship of amateurs who are dedicated to the preservation of these cultivars.
This Zoom presentation intends to cover:

How to choose what to grow,
How and where to find trees,
How to create your own trees by grafting or budding, (with direction on where to find materials and resources.),
How to manage your new trees,
And a quick discussion of organic management of diseases and insect pests.

With an agenda as wide ranging as this it is obvious that we cannot expect to do more than skate over the surface of each item, and so we plan to leave time to address subjects which catch the attention of the participants, in greater depth, in an interactive Q&A.

Participants will be offered resources to get started successfully grafting and growing apples. Apples don’t come true to seed, so the necessity to graft.
So, where does this leave us? 1) buy grafted trees – from David Maxwell, from Maple Grove Nursery, from WhiffleTree Nursery, from Alicia (a local source), and from nurseries in Ontario and elsewhere. David will provide listings of trees available from these sources and can advise to help determine what might work best for you.
Alternatively, graft your own. David will help with listings of resources on the web. And will list where locally to get rootstock and where to get scion wood. Participants will be offered a group purchase of rootstocks and suitable grafting knives, and a selection of high quality, fresh scion wood free from local sources dedicated to preserving worthy apples. All will be delivered locally to St. Margarets Bay and to Halifax for pick up.
Additionally, for participants, more personal help from David can be arranged, both online and in person.

This event is free (donations appreciated!) and requires registration via Eventbite.
We will be conducting this event on Zoom, and the link will be provided via email at time of registration.
It will be recorded.
