Discover Solar PV 2019
2019-06-26 18:00 - 20:00 (America/Halifax) | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Road, Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
In partnership with communities throughout the province, Solar Nova Scotia will be offering public information sessions on solar electricity (PV). These presentations are designed to de-mystify the technology, economics, and regulations that apply to homeowners interested in producing their own sustainable energy.
Solar PV is one of the lowest emission sources of electricity available!
Please visit www.solarns.ca for more information about Solar Nova Scotia, including details about grants and incentives, solar providers, and a list of other scheduled events. Community groups interested in hosting or helping to publicize an event are invited to get in touch with Solar Nova Scotia: 902-852-4758 or info@solarns.ca.
Questions? Join the conversation in our event on facebook!
RSVP to info@solarns.ca is greatly appreciated, though not required.

Crossroads Educational Vegetable Garden - Fall Harvest
2019-09-28 09:00 - 11:00 | St Margarets Bay Crossroads, 5209 Saint Margarets Bay Road, Tantallon, B3Z 4R5, Canada
Join us for the 2019 eight-season’s main harvest of the Crossroads Educational Vegetable Harvest. We have already harvested of kale and carrots. During this main harvest, we will pull the carrots, rutabaga and onions – they all look huge! And, dig potatoes and parsnips Also, we will harvest more kale.
All vegetables go to the St Margarets Bay Food Bank.
We hope to see you there. For more information contact info@transitionbay.ca
Free – All welcome – No registration, just come!

Climate Change: Heading for Extinction (and What to Do About It)
2019-10-06 14:15 - 16:30 | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Rd., Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, B3Z 1H3, Canada
~ Transition Bay St Margarets hosts Extinction Rebellion NS
for them to present their exciting, informative, and timely program! ~
This is telling the truth, the genuine truth we all need to understand!
This public talk has been given hundreds of times around the world and is the main tool in increasing the numbers that have stood up to rebel against a course set for extinction.
We will share the latest climate science on where our planet is heading, discuss some of the current psychology around climate change denial, and offer solutions through the study of social movements.
Our speaker is Lisa Strickland-Clark, a leader in Extinction Rebellion NS and a psychologist with kids and families in Bridgewater. She has given this talk numerous times. She has actively applied compassion and meditation to her life for 30 years.
Note – we are not trying to “save the planet”…we are at the point where we need to save ourselves and ecological systems.
The Earth itself will go on…the issue is whether we as humans and all other species will be here too.
ALL WELCOME! – FREE! – No Registration Needed – just come!
To learn more about XRNS, click here for an intro letter, and sign up if the movement speaks to you.
https://actionnetwork.org/forms/join-extinction-rebellion-nova-scotiaCome learn more about exciting upcomming events with XRNS! And with Transition Bay!
Come learn more about exciting upcoming events with XRNS! And with Transition Bay!
There will be an opportunity for folks to talk with one another and meet others who share your concerns + Q & A.
This event takes place on UNCEDED, and UNSURRENDERED Territory of the Mi’kmaw People. We are all Treaty People and have responsibilities to each other and this land. (More info on the Peace and Friendship Treaties: http://mikmaqrights.com/negotiations/treaties )
This is an emergency.
We need to build a mass movement that is prepared to accept what is happening and act accordingly. We need rapid change. We need to rebel. – Extinction Rebellion

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Transition Bay is offering this spot to Extinction Rebellion because we want to hear their perspective on the truth about climate change and associated effects. Hosting their talk is not taking a position on their actions. Rather it is providing a forum for public discourse. Transition Bay is a non-political group by design so we can focus on other essential needs towards transformation. We are part of a global network of over 2,000 groups in over 50 countries worldwide that contributes towards building resilience on a community level. We help local communities act on what really works to prepare for: Climate Change/Ecological Disaster, Economic Fragility, and Going Beyond Fossil Fuels, AND we have fun in the process by helping each other! See www.transitionbay.ca for much more!

Climate Emergency! Solutions for Survival
2019-11-14 18:30 - 20:30 | Halifax Central Library, 5440 Spring Garden Road, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3J 1E9, Canada
The best from the land of Greta Thunberg. Act now! Grow Local Resilience!
The climate emergency is far worse, & growing faster, than expected – with shockingly rapid deterioration of food, weather, and ecological systems upon which we depend. Green, resilient technologies are better for economy, community, children’s future, environment, and democratic government.
Learn the power of localizing and working together as a community to build self-sufficiency. It’s not only about “technologies,” but very much about cooperation and action at a local level. We can transition workers, and all of us, from damaging forms of energy and out-dated processes —and be much better off!
Join Tina Clarke & TransitionBay.ca to learn to translate these ideas into tangible actions!
Scientific evidence is now irrefutable and new reports suggest alarming trends. We are, at last, where we need to be: transitioning to a green, more resilient future. The moment to act is now. We in the industrialized, wealthier, democratic western nations are the ones to lead, from the bottom up.
Bring your questions, concerns, ideas, and voice to a community gathering of local projects working for our common good. Invite your neighbors who share your care and concern for the well-being of all.
Our guest speaker, Tina Clarke is a global educator and community resilience consultant from the Transition Movement who has been working with climate leaders in Denmark, Sweden, and communities across Europe. She will share stories and inspiring models from the lands of Greta Thunberg and the two “greenest” cities in the world, and elsewhere.

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Bio:

Tina Clarke has a B.A. from Macalester College and an M.A. from the University of Chicago. Tina has been a program director, trainer and facilitator since 1985. She has directed several national and regional citizen initiatives, facilitated multi-stakeholder coalitions, led educational and training programs on environmental issues, and led several grassroots nonprofit organizations. Since 2008, Tina has been a Transition Towns Trainer (www.TransitionNetwork.org) and served over 240 communities worldwide, delivering 65 Transition Training courses and providing hundreds of presentations. She is currently in a four-year consulting contract in Denmark and Sweden, supporting several NGOs, universities, and a collaboration of six networks across Europe. Tina can be reached at: TinaClarkeOz@gmail.com.

How Shall We Talk Together About the Climate Crisis? An Intergenerational Conversation
2019-11-15 18:30 - 21:00 | St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican Church, 3751 Robie St., Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3K 4T3, Canada
Youth Experiences and Intergenerational Exploration of our Responses to the Climate Crisis ~
Youth around the world are calling for immediate, emergency climate action, and growing a vibrant movement in northern Europe and across the world. Greta Thunberg and the “Green Students” in Sweden and Denmark have helped to spark a fire of youth leadership to save the climate. Last spring over 1.3 million young people in over 100 countries rallied in the streets of their cities to call on governments to take strong action. This fall, even more! Momentum continues to build.
In response to youth action, Denmark’s newly elected centrist government has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 70% below 1990 levels by 2030. This is the most ambitious goal set by any government, and it is a direct result of student leadership and the support of older generations.
Each panelist will introduce their perspective; more youths than elders. Together we will explore how to build a united, shared, positive understanding. The evening will include interactive conversation with all attending.
Where do we go now ourselves? How can we learn to speak together with truth, integrity, and compassion across diverse ages, cultures, and experiences? How can we discover together the wisdom to survive?
Join us! Join in!
The workshop was initiated by Tina during a Transition workshop in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was publicly offered with Danish colleagues at the annual national Democracy Festival last June. The sharing was profound and meaningful, and inspired all to work more together. The model is now being developed with Røskilde University for municipal and community use.
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Event by donation, $10 suggested. Help continue the work!
To reserve tickets in advance, please visit our eventbrite listing.
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Guest moderator Tina Clarke has been working on climate issues and “bottom-up” action in Denmark and southern Sweden for years. She will briefly share stories of this inspiring growing movement and the conversation between the generations that it has inspired.

Tina Clarke has been a program director, trainer and facilitator since 1985. She has directed several national and regional citizen initiatives, facilitated multi-stakeholder coalitions, led educational and training programs on environmental issues, and led several grassroots nonprofit organizations. Since 2008, Tina has been a Transition Towns Trainer (www.TransitionNetwork.org) and served over 240 communities worldwide, delivering 65 Transition Training courses and providing hundreds of presentations. She is currently in a four-year consulting contract in Denmark and Sweden, supporting several NGOs, universities, and a collaboration of six networks across Europe. Tina can be reached at: TinaClarkeOz@gmail.com.

Training for Transition (Transition LAUNCH Workshop)
2019-11-16 - 2019-11-17 | St. Luke’s United Church Lower Hall, 5374 St Margarets Bay Rd., Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
Are you worried about the climate situation but aren’t sure what you can do? Do you want to be part of the growing number of people stepping forward to act across our globe?
In response to scientific warnings that the climate situation is far worse than expected, networks of global municipalities are sprouting like mushrooms across the world; tens of thousands of citizen groups are demanding a transition from fossil fuels and ecosystem damage.

Invitation
Join Tina Clarke & TransitionBay.ca to explore and co-create ways to move from concern into creative and strategic community action. In this weekend workshop you will grow your network of local relationships, explore ideas with friends new and old, and learn about innovative models to advance change. You can use this two-day workshop to explore new ways to help your community be more proactive, increase community engagement and accelerate more rapid innovation for resilience and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
Transition Bay Margarets will share information and support resources gathered in service to our region.
Building on the existing accomplishments and creative projects in Halifax and the region, we’ll create more ways of working together to build community resilience. Through cooperation, collective genius, and strategic action, we can transition together from damaging and dangerous forms of energy and consumption to a healthier, brighter future.
Background
The first official Transition Town was created by a small group of citizens in a small town in the U.K. in 2004. The idea quickly grew into a massive, global movement of thousands of communities in over 50 countries around the world. The Transition Network continues to catalyze local action and to inspire communities with resources and support.
Training for Transition (LAUNCH Workshop) was created to provide a summary of key methods, concepts, principles, tools, group processes, and practical models for supporting a local transition from oil dependency to community resilience.
Workshop Content
Training for Transition is packed with imaginative ways to delve into the practice of Transition, showing you how to set up, support, and grow a community Transition Initiative. This networking and co-creative weekend increases everyone’s awareness of the good work already underway, and also supports the creation of new collaboration and projects. The conversations and resources are useful for people who are curious, as well as for leaders already actively helping to advance environmental, community-building, climate, and resilience work in the community. Reviews of past workshops have shown that the structure and content of the weekend “retreat” is pragmatically useful both to those who want to develop essential skills and those looking for new insights to help their local initiatives become a greater success.
Transition Training has been delivered hundreds of times in over 35 countries worldwide, gathering and sharing the emerging, collective wisdom of the Transition movement. This is our third time hosting this event and the host committee hopes to help others across the Maritimes to build skills towards successful Transition Towns – or similar groups.
This training is ideal for you if are new to Transition and want to explore the model. It’s also perfect if you are a member of a Transition group and want additional skills or abilities in the fundamentals of Transition. You will learn:

Tools for community engagement
How to communicate why we need to transition our communities
How to set up and run an Open Space event
Keys for creating and supporting a successful transition/community resilience group
How to balance daunting information-sharing with organizing positive action
How to use visioning in practical ways
Ways to deepen your personal transition and resilience
Partnerships & Collaboration
Strategic planning and growth for more rapid transition

Training for Transition will enable you to:

Gain a good working knowledge of how to apply Transition methods and processes
Participate in a shared journey of courage and action for transition
Develop your skills in connecting with diverse members of your community and expanding ways of working together
Meet other people involved in Transition and similar initiatives to share experiences, difficulties and successes, and mutual support.

Training for Transition will help bring your community together to accelerate the transition from dependency on polluting energy, food, and imported products to greater community resilience and well-being. Invite your neighbors to join you in exploring ways to help your community reduce dangerous climate emissions and transition to greater local, practical resilience.
Register
To secure your place, please go to our Facebook event page at: https://www.facebook.com/events/409677876639797/ and click on the “Ticket” button. From there you can register and pay using Tickets by Eventbrite.

Cost – C$150.00.
9 AM to 5 PM each day, Saturday and Sunday, November 16 & 17.

Includes 2 vegan lunches and nutritional breaks. Limited to 45 participants- register now to assure a spot. Pre-registration required. Early registration highly recommended. This has always sold out.
We aim to offer the workshop at the lowest possible price to make this two-day workshop available to everyone, regardless of your financial means. The more people who register at full price, and who donate to help, the more young people and those with lower incomes can attend. Some free and lower cost places are available as work-study. Please contact us if you can help another person attend.

Lead Trainer: Tina Clarke

Our workshop leader, Tina Clarke, is a global educator and community resilience consultant from the Transition Movement who is now working with climate leaders in Denmark, Sweden, and communities across Europe. She will share stories and inspiring models from two of the greenest cities in the world, Copenhagen and Malmo, Sweden, and beyond.
Tina Clarke has been a Transition Towns Trainer (www.TransitionNetwork.org) since 2008, and served over 240 communities worldwide, delivering 65 Transition Training courses and providing over a thousand presentations. Several years ago Transition Network leaders called Tina Clarke the “leading global trainer”. Tina has been a social change leader, consultant, program director, trainer, and facilitator for over 30 years, working in Washington, D.C., Massachusetts, Connecticut, and now Europe. She directed several U.S. national and regional citizen initiatives, facilitated multi-stakeholder coalitions, led educational and training programs on environmental issues, provided strategic planning and organizational development consulting, and directed several grassroots nonprofit organizations. She is currently consulting in Denmark and Sweden, supporting municipalities, NGOs, universities, and local citizen groups in a model collaboration for more rapid transition. In her personal transition journey, Tina did not fly for 15 years, has been over 95% vegetarian and vegan for 35 years, and has lived without her own car for 37 years. She led and organized a team to build the first certified below-net-zero energy house in North America, winning two prestigious awards. The house is Platinum LEED, affordable to families below 50% median income in her diverse, lower income community, and built of local, sustainable wood and insulation, and with mostly non-toxic or recycled materials. Tina can be reached at: TinaClarkeOz@gmail.com.

Inner Transition: Truth, Courage, & Unfolding in a Time of Environmental Crisis
2019-11-16 19:30 - 21:30 | Ummah Mosque Community Centre, 2510 St. Matthias St., Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3L 0A9, Canada
As we face the severity of the climate crisis, and see devastation of lives, communities, and the environment, powerful feelings arise within us. We want to push away the warning signs and continue to live our lives as if nothing is wrong. We feel fear, worry, anxiety, and many other emotions. We feel powerless and overwhelmed. It is easy to withdraw, deny, and distract ourselves – hoping the dangers will go away, or that some miracle solutions will be discovered and implemented by others.
Yet only by allowing our emotions to come into our minds, and by sharing our thoughts and feelings with others, can we come back into balance and be a part of the growing movement to save, protect, and nurture a resilient and healthy world.
In this evening of reflection, you are invited to explore your own strengths, vision, styles of healthy response, and forms of connections with others. Coming together in our concern we will share in silence and in conversation, as you find meaningful for you. A framework of responses and transformational tools will support you in your own path of courage and unfolding.
Cost: By Donation, $10 or more suggested. Please help support expenses. No one turned away.
Eco-Dharma Action Group is the main organizer. Ummah Mosque is the main co-sponsor. Other groups to be invited to be co-sponsors, particularly faith and environmental groups. Email us at info@transitionbay.ca if your group would like to be involved.
To reserve tickets in advance, please visit our eventbrite listing.
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The most thriving Transition groups are paying as much attention to their culture, processes, structures, and relationships as they are to their practical projects, activities and outputs. And we know that individuals and groups risk burn-out or collapse if they don’t balance action, decision-making, and activity with rest, reflection, connection, and celebration (balancing being and doing).
There is a rich and developing body of knowledge about what we call Inner Transition which can help individuals and groups to look after themselves well and to be much more effective catalysts for change.

Inner Transition resources and teachings figure strongly in the Essential Guide to Doing Transition and are threaded through the seven essential ingredients.
You can find out more about the context and history of Inner Transition here.

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Tina Clarke has a B.A. from Macalester College and an M.A. from the University of Chicago. Tina has been a program director, trainer and facilitator since 1985. She has directed several national and regional citizen initiatives, facilitated multi-stakeholder coalitions, led educational and training programs on environmental issues, and led several grassroots nonprofit organizations. Since 2008, Tina has been a Transition Towns Trainer (www.TransitionNetwork.org) and served over 240 communities worldwide, delivering 65 Transition Training courses and providing hundreds of presentations. She is currently in a four-year consulting contract in Denmark and Sweden, supporting several NGOs, universities, and a collaboration of six networks across Europe. Tina can be reached at: TinaClarkeOz@gmail.com.

Keeping a Level Head about Sea Level Rise
2020-02-16 14:15 - 16:45 | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Road, Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
Are you an oceanfront property owner, business owner, municipal manager, or otherwise concerned about our rising ocean levels and related risks?
Transition Bay is hosting a 2 1/2 hour workshop on sea level rise, storm surges and coastal erosion at the Tantallon Library on Sunday, February 16th from 2:15pm to 4:45pm.
Nancy Anningson, Coastal Adaptation Senior Coordinator, Ecology Action Centre, will be presenting on the Coastal Protection Act; coastal climate change; the importance of our coastal ecosystems in withstanding climate change; and coastal adaptation. Nancy has spoken widely across the Maritimes as part of the ECoAS joint project with DFO and other organzations. Visit: www.sealevelrise.ca to see infographics you can print, a video, an interactive map where citizens can enter occurrences in their communities, a community discussion toolkit and all kinds of information above coastal climate change, adaptation tools, etc.
Nancy has a Biology degree from Acadia University and has been working in the non-profit sector since 2000 in policy, research, community engagement and facilitation. Nancy works closely with NS Environment on the Coastal Protection Act, offering support and advice. The EAC’s Educating Coastal Communities about Sea Level Rise (ECoAS) Project www.sealevelrise.ca helped the Coastal Team share information with coastal communities about coastal climate change impacts and adaptation tools.
Li Zhai, PhD, Ocean Stressors and Arctic Science Section, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, who will be presenting Past and Future Sea Level Change in Canada. This presentation will summarize the observed and projected changes in sea level for Atlantic Canada. The latest knowledge on sea level will be drawn from the recently released Canada’s Changing Climate Report and the IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a changing climate. The Canadian Extreme Water Level Adaptation Tool (CAN-EWLAT) will be introduced. CAN-EWLAT tool is a science-based planning tool for climate change adaptation of coastal infrastructure related to future water-level extremes and changes in wave climate.
Dr. Zhai is a physical scientist at Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and is based at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Halifax. Her research includes developing ocean models and analyzing observations and model results to support sound management of Canada’s marine and fisheries sectors. Recently, she has worked with Dr. Blair Greenan on developing climate change adaptation tools to provide science advice to DFO on issues related to coastal infrastructure. Dr. Zhai received her Ph.D. from the Department of Oceanography at Dalhousie University.
The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.
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!

Off-Grid Living
2020-03-15 14:15 - 16:30 | Tantallon Public Library, 3646 Hammonds Plains Road, Upper Tantallon, Nova Scotia, Canada
Back by popular demand ! We are presenting this lively and information workshop again. Mark your calendar.
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 are:
o Introduction to off-grid
o Types of off-grid systems
o Off-grid for new construction
o Off-grid as a retrofit for existing houses
o Components of off-grid systems
o Energy use reduction techniques
o Trade-off choices
o Cost of some sample off-grid packages
o Discussion of off-grid living
o Ample time for questions
The primary presenter at this workshop will be Cam Farnell, who has been living happily off-grid for over six years and has no plans to go back.
This event is free, but does require registration. Tickets will be available at Eventbrite on March 1st, and we recommend that you sign up on Eventbrite to be reminded when tickets are released. This workshop tends to fill up quickly!
Chronicle Herald Article featuring Cam’s installed Solar Power System in Tantallon. http://thechronicleherald.ca/artslife/77109-slideshow-couple-lives-off-the-grid plus more details 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!

Prepare for your Future: Livestock in Suburbia
2020-04-19 14:15 - 16:45 | Virtual, Everywhere, Canada
Do you worry about the future? Will crazy weather and food scarcity impact you?
Find out what it takes to be self-sufficient. This workshop will demonstrate tools for suburban homesteading, from preparing your property for livestock, such as chickens, goats, sheep and bees, to feasting on your own eggs, milk, cheese, meat, and honey.
Join Eli Elias and Charlotte Mendel as workshop presenters. For the past seven years, they have worked, raised kids, and maintained a hobby farm. They’re here to share with you the effort and the rewards.
Karen Llewellyn and Claudy Levy love gardening and raising both egg and meat birds in St. Margaret’s Bay. They will share their joy in chickens, and extensive contacts and resources. Just what you need for success.
Let’s share stories to build communities of success with these and other animals. Anyone want to mention rabbits? Ducks? What else?
The conference will take place over zoom, and details for access will be sent out to attendees the day prior to the event.
This event is free (donations appreciated!) and requires registration through our Eventbrite listing. We will be conducting this event on Zoom with livestreaming to Facebook, and we will send you the Zoom link via Eventbrite prior to the presentation.

Climate Victory Gardening
2020-05-03 14:15 - 16:30 | Virtual, Everywhere, Canada
Victory Gardens harken back to World War I and World War II, as a way to support the war effort through home gardening. This presentation and workshop will discuss a modern day version – COVID-Climate Victory Gardens.
We will discuss the exposure we may have in the future from food shortages and higher prices, as we enter an era of increased global food insecurity. Solutions will be discussed, including the incredible capacity to grow significant amounts of our food supply on little land and with only a modest labour input. Discussion will include how to easily convert parts of your lawn to gardens, how to begin or expand your suburban ‘micro-farm’, what to grow that’s easiest and most nutritious, and ways to increase your larder and food stores.
Speakers include Robert Cervelli, who runs a 2 acre ‘micro-farm’ in St Margarets Bay and Erin Clements, who grows a lot of vegetables at her suburban Halifax home and has converted a large portion of her front yard to a garden.

This event is free (donations appreciated!) and requires registration through our Eventbrite listing. We will be conducting this event on Zoom with livestreaming to Facebook, and we will send you the Zoom link via Eventbrite prior to the presentation.

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!

Visions of Survival in a Climate Altered World - Salon Discussion - Postponed
2020-09-03 19:00 - 21:00 | Virtual, Everywhere, Canada
EVENT POSTPONED – STAY TUNED
Join us on-line for a lively virtual salon discussion about our visions for a post-COVID and climate-altered new reality in the years ahead – Visions of Survival in a Climate Altered World.

What will St Margarets Bay and our region look like in 20 years time? In 2040, how will our community have pivoted, flexed and adapted to the new reality, fraught with frequent climatic disruptions and global fragilities? How will Transition Bay and other organizations in our community enable the necessary changes to ensure our continued well-being?
The discussion will be held on Zoom – STAY TUNED for new date and time.

Also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Transition Bay !!! We are nine years old. Celebrate during this discussion with a virtual piece of our traditional gluten-free carrot cake. Here’s the recipe for making your own:
Transition Bay Traditional Gluten Free Carrot Cake
1-1/2 cups rice flour
1/2 cup soy flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup mayonnaise (aka 220 grams)
1 16 ounce can crushed pineapple
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup chopped walnuts
Note: 2 cups of one-to-one all-purpose gluten-free flour can be substituted for the flours and xanthan gum.
In a bowl, stir together the flours, xanthan gum, baking soda and spices. Set aside.
In large bowl of the mixer, beat together at medium speed the eggs, sugar, mayonnaise, and pineapple not drained. Gradually beat in flour mixture until well mixed. With a spoon, stir in carrots and walnuts.
Pour batter into a greased and rice floured 9″ x 13″ pan. Bake in pre-heated 350 degree oven for 45 to 50 minutes, or until cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan.

Seed Saving Start to Finish
2020-10-08 19:00 - 20:30 | Virtual, Everywhere, Canada
Seed Saving Start to Finish– Take an inside look into a year of small scale seed production at Yonder Hill Farm. From starting seeds and planting to harvesting and processing. Chris Sanford and her partner, Garrett Lauten, grow and maintain over 150 varieties of vegetables, grains, herbs, and flowers at their small diversified farm in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia. They have been farming and gardening ecologically for over 15 years, and producing seeds commercially for over 10 years. You can find their seeds at yonderhillfarm.ca.
Join us for this 90 minute Zoom webinar on Thursday, October 8th from 7:00 to 8:30 pm. The workshop will take place over zoom, and details for access will be sent out to attendees the day prior to the event.
This event is free (donations appreciated!) and requires registration through our Eventbrite listing.
We will be conducting this event on Zoom with livestreaming to Facebook, and we will send you the Zoom link via Eventbrite email prior to the presentation.

Adventures in Bubbles and Brine: Fermentation Gleanings from NS Masters
2020-10-29 19:00 - 20:30 | Zoom
Humans have been fermenting foods and drinks for thousands of years. Fermentation is one of the oldest ways to preserve and transform food, and many favourites — bread, cheese, yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, and of course wine and beer — are products of fermentation. Fermentation also provides a low-cost, low-tech, low-energy method of preserving food for months at a time.
In this session, author and fermentation enthusiast Philip Moscovitch will share stories of Nova Scotia fermentation traditions, discuss the basics of what fermentation is and how it works, and will walk you through the steps of making a simple and delicious sauerkraut at home. There will also be lots of time for a Q&A session.
If you would like to participate in the hands-on portion of the session, please prepare by pre-slicing a 1 kg (2.2 lb) red or green cabbage, and have a bowl, measuring spoons, salt, and a quart-size Mason jar handy. We will use these ingredients and this equipment to make sauerkraut.

Philip Moscovitch is the author of Adventures in Bubbles and Brine. Moosewood cookbook author Mollie Katzen calls it a”beautifully written book – at once a travel memoir, a weave of personal histories, and an inspiring recipe collection – chronicling the exciting fermentation revival in Nova Scotia.”
Join us for this 90 minute Zoom webinar on Thursday, October 29th from 7:00 to 8:30 pm. The workshop will take place over Zoom, and details for access will be sent out to attendees the day prior to the event.
This event is free (donations appreciated!) and requires registration via our eventbrite listing.
We will be conducting this event on Zoom with livestreaming to Facebook, and we will send you the Zoom link via Eventbrite email prior to the presentation.

Find Your Roots - in the Root Cellar: All About Cold Storage
2020-11-26 19:00 - 20:30 | Virtual, Everywhere, Canada
Did you get a great harvest and wonder how to store it all? Are you thinking of buying those big 50 lb. bags of carrots, potatoes, apples or other produce at the market when the price is low?
In this 90 minute webinar, learn most every thing you need to know about cold storing your vegetables in a root cellar or other modified methods of cold storage at home. At least three different methods will be discussed, including a newly built root cellar in an older home.
Presenters include David Wimberly, Cam Farnell, and Bob Cervelli who each cold store vegetables and fruits at home.
Bill Morrow from Halifax Makerspace will join us to describe the control system he built for David’s root cellar. Bill designed and installed a wireless system to use computer and smartphone to control humidifiers and air circulation fans, and to measure temperature inside and outside, plus inside humidity. The fans are in air intake and air outlet vent tubing to control temperature. Bill has written this up into an Instructable, now posted at: https://www.instructables.com/HVAC-for-Root-Cellar/ What Bill designed is new and innovative. It will be of great help in getting better storage conditions. Bill will discuss the system as well as ways to do some of this more simply.
Join us for this 90 minute Zoom webinar on Thursday, November 26th from 7:00 to 8:30 pm. The workshop will take place over Zoom, and details for access will be sent out to attendees at the time of registration.
This event is free (donations appreciated!) and requires registration via our eventbrite listing.
We will be conducting this event on Zoom with livestreaming to Facebook, and we will send you the Zoom link via Eventbrite email when you register.

The Climate Action Simulation Game
2021-02-18 19:00 - 21:00 | Zoom
Would you like to save the world by playing a game?
Join us to experience what it’s like to negotiate a climate deal to address one of the greatest human and environmental challenges of this century.
The Climate Action Simulation game is conducted as an emergency climate summit organized by the United Nations. Participants take on the roles of leaders representing different sectors of the economy and governments. You are charged with creating a global energy transition that limits warming to Paris Agreement goals.
Using the interactive computer model En-ROADS you learn about the dynamics of the climate-energy system by simulating the outcomes of your own decisions. En-ROADS enables users to interactively build energy and societal transition scenarios, providing immediate feedback on the effects of policies and decisions on energy supply, GHG emissions, and expected global climate outcomes over the twenty-first century.
We will have trained facilitator Charlotte Mendel guiding us in playing the game with fun and gusto! The more people playing the more fun this will be. Come join us to have a great time!
Learn more at: https://www.climateinteractive.org/tools/en-roads/

We will be playing on Zoom and all are warmly welcome. Please register via Eventbrite.

Growing Under Cover
2021-03-03 19:00 - 21:00 | Zoom
Join award-winning author Niki Jabbour as she shares her secrets to growing more food, reducing pest problems, and dealing with unpredictable weather in her vegetable garden. She’ll spotlight a wide variety of season extenders like shade cloth, row cover, cold frames, and polytunnels, as well as show you how to use garden covers to prevent damage from deer, flea beetles, and cabbageworms. Put Niki’s techniques to work in your garden so you can enjoy a year-round harvest in any sized space.

Niki’s food gardening books are outstanding! Her most recent book is: Growing Under Cover: Techniques for a More Productive, Weather-Resistant, Pest-Free Vegetable Garden. It was the subject of a recent feature article in the New York Times. Go Niki!

This event is free, although we warmly welcome donations to help us continue these constructive offerings.

Please register on Eventbrite to secure your spot. This presentation will not be recorded or live streamed, so we much encourage you to reserve this time to take part in this helpful event. This is a Zoom event.

The St. Margaret’s Bay Gardening Club is partnering with Transition Bay in hosting this event.

Solar Cookers and Rocket Stoves Workshop
2021-03-25 19:00 - 20:30 | Virtual, Everywhere, Canada
Power gone out? Planning on going camping or off-grid, and want alternative ways to cook? Join us for this exciting 90 minute Zoom webinar on Solar Cookers and Rocket Stoves on Thursday, March 25th from 7:00 to 8:30 pm.
Cam Farnell, Transition Bay, will be presenting on a variety of solar cookers available today, as well as some usages of his own stoves. Learn ways to use them and even how to build simple ones. The presentation will be about two solar cookers in particular: a GoSun and a Solar Sizzler. The GoSun is an evacuated glass tube plus a curved reflector. Food goes into the glass tube on a long, narrow, metal sleeve. It’s a bit like a glass thermos bottle with a big opening at the end. The Solar Sizzler is a plastic parabolic reflector, about a metre in diameter, that concentrates sunlight onto a pot or pan.

Mike Batty, Deanery Project, is an Architectural and Permaculture designer with design preferences for sustainable, passive, beneficial, and natural building designs. It is his continuing goal to educate and promote the use of Rocket Stoves and Rocket Mass Heaters, and has been giving this type of presentations in western Canada and Cuba, as well at the Deanery Project on the Eastern Shore.
For this presentation, he will be exploring rocket stove cookers. We will learn a short history and the introduction of rocket stoves that saved lives. We will also investigate the basic design requirements, which will include operation and materials needed to construct one. Examples will be shown to illustrate the diverse designs and uses of rocket stoves. We might even have enough time to also expand on how to heat our home and not just cook a meal.

This event is co-sponsored by Transition Bay and the Deanery Project. It is free (donations appreciated!) and requires registration through Eventbrite.

We will be conducting this event on Zoom with livestreaming to Facebook, and we will send you the Zoom link via Eventbrite email prior to the presentation.

Nut and Fruit Tree – Group Ordering - Spring 2021
2021-04-21 | O
Nut and Fruit Tree – Group Ordering
2021
Transition Bay St Margarets works to help our community build its resilience against global changes. Food and edible landscaping can be an important part of that resilience.
Transition Bay St Margarets wants to help you install more edible landscaping on your property. By offering bulk rates and delivery on fruit and nut trees, we aim to increase the food security and climate responsibility for folks in the Bay for many generations to come. Also, consider sponsoring a nut or fruit tree for your school, community center or public place (pending their agreement, of course).
ORDERING DEADLINE and DELIVERY:
Orders must be paid for by April 21.
ORDERING:
We will offer prices as soon as they become available to us. Please email your order. Tally the cost and add 15% HST. There will be a shipping surcharge that is to be determined.
PAYMENT:
We will inform you of prices as soon as they become available to us.
We must receive full payment by the deadline, to be determined, in order to include your order. Payment can be made by e-transfer to jenstotland@gmail.com
GUARANTEES:
From Charlie the Tree Guy: Charlie guarantees that trees are healthy and have a good root system when they are shipped. He says its hard to guarantee that people planting them do it right and look after them.

TREE CHOICES:
We are offering the following trees for bulk order and delivery from either Baldwin nursery, or Charlie the Tree Guy, Truro (charliethetreeguy.ca). For information on each tree, see the respective website of these growers.
Subject to availability there may be substitutions. If there are no substitutions available there will be a refund. Please specify in your order if this is acceptable.
Carpathian Persian (English) Walnut Mature size: 100 feet
Fruitful Forest: 1′ – $18.00
Charlie the Tree Guy: 6″ – $5.00 , 24″ – $15.00, Bare root – $35.00
Baldwins: $45.00 – $65.00
A large tree, hardy to the North and producing large-meat, thin-shelled walnuts. When nuts comes off the tree, they will have a husk that will turn black and fall off when the nut is ripe.
Hazelnut Mature size: 8-12′
Charlie the Tree Guy: 2′ – $20.00, 4′ – $65.00
Baldwin: $45.00
For all you Nutella freaks, this is the nut! 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. You will need 2 for greatest success.
American Chestnut Mature size: 100′
Charlie the Tree Guy: 24″ – $25.00, 4′ – $45.00
A rare balanced source of fats, proteins and complex carbohydrates. This large indigenous tree used to be widespread. Efforts are now in place to cross breed blight-resistant American chestnuts.
Cherry Mature size: 12-15′
Stella, Montmorrency, Mesabi (tart) $65.00
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.
Apple Mature size: 15-20’
Cortland, Honeycrisp, Gravenstein $65.00
A McIntosh descendant, Cortland is a cross between the Ben Davis and McIntosh. Large globular shape with red-orange stripes. Mild, sweet taste and crisp texture. A great all purpose apple. Excellent for salads and fruit plates; resists browning. Good for pies and sauces. Freezes well.
Peach Mature size: 20-25’
Elberta, Red Haven
Charlie the Tree Guy: $65.00
A hardy peach tree. This tree produces a heavy crop of fruit even after frigid winters. Fruit is medium-to-large with a sweet, peachy flavor. Features a flush of pink flowers in spring. Freestone. Ripens in July. Self-pollinating.

Planting
Dig a hole a little deeper than the pot or rootball and twice as wide. Loosen the soil at the bottom of the hole and roughen the sides so the roots can have nooks and crannies to grow into. A sheer side of the hole created by the blade of a shovel might be too smooth for roots to take hold. Fill the hole with water and allow that water to drain before planting.
Backfill with a mix of the original soil and well-aged compost or manure and two handfuls of bone meal.
If your tree is bareroot, make a pyramid of aged compost and fan the roots out around the pryamid, with the root crown at the top (the part where the stem broadens to become the roots).
Grimo Nuts writes:.”Try the tree in the hole to be sure there is ample room for the roots. Spread out the roots and broaden the hole as needed so the roots can extend outward and downward. Do not cut off or bend roots to accommodate the hole. “
The final position of the tree must be such that the final soil layer for the tree is the same as the soil layer in the pot. It is very detrimental to the tree to have any of the trunk buried, or any roots showing above ground. If you must plant off grade, it is better to have some underground parts exposed than above-ground parts buried.
After planting, water the tree in its new hole again.
Be sure to spread a full bag of mulch 4″ deep around the perimeter of the hole (but leaving a space between the mulch and the trunk of your new tree in order to not bury the trunk any deeper).
If you get a lot of wind, stake the tree.
After you plant
Keep grass and weeds 18″ away from your tree. Grimo nuts writes that “Competing weed and grass roots are almost toxic to a young struggling tree.
For the first two years, water deeply once a week unless there is a deep soaking rain.
Protect the stem of the tree from deer and rabbits as necessary. Young apple trees are also prone to deer browsing in late winter when buds swell. If there are deer in your area, it may be wise to erect 4 posts and chicken wire for the first few years to keep them at bay.
Recipes
Walnut Praline (for Carpathian, Heartnut, Buartnut walnuts and pecans) Natashaskitchen.com

1 cup walnut halves/pieces you can also use this recipe for candied pecans

1/4 cup white granulated sugar (not coarse sugar)

1 Tbsp unsalted butter

Heat a medium non-stick skillet over medium heat, add 1 cup walnuts, 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1 Tbsp butter.

Heat over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently so your mixture doesn’t burn (especially towards the end). When the sugar mixture starts melting, stir constantly until all sugar is melted and nuts are coated.

Transfer immediately onto a sheet of parchment paper and separate the nuts right away. Using two spatulas will make this task go faster. You don’t want to give the nuts a chance to turn into a wad of inseparable delicious goodness unless you are the only person who will be enjoying the wad ;). Seriously, move quickly from the time the nuts are coated until they are separated out on the parchment paper.

Once the coating hardens (5-7 minutes), you can transfer them to a bowl and enjo

Hazelnut Chocolate Spread (Wellness Mama)

2 cups hazelnuts

1/3 cup or to taste sugar, or other preferred sweetener

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 TBSP coconut oil

1 tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375° F. Spread the hazelnuts on a baking sheet and roast for 12 to 15 minutes, until fragrant.

Carefully put the hot hazelnuts in a mason jar with the lid on and shake. The papery skins will fall right off. Remove the nuts that are now skinless and put them in a food processor or a high-powered blender, then re-shake the jar until the rest of the skins come off as well.

Grind the hazelnuts for about 5 minutes until they turn into a creamy hazelnut butter.

Add the sugar or other sweetener, cocoa powder, coconut oil, vanilla, and salt. Blend for another minute until all the ingredients are combined smooth.

Transfer to a pint mason jar. Store in the refrigerator for several weeks.

Microwave chestnuts
Use a knife to score an “X” on the pointy end of each chestnut. Then, place the nuts on a microwave-safe plate, and microwave at one minute intervals, until the outer shell starts to peel back slightly where you made your score (This usually takes 3-4 minutes, depending on your microwave)
Oven-roast chestnuts
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. To prepare your chestnuts, grasp them firmly between your thumb and index finger and carefully make a long slice across the rounded top of the chestnut with a sharp serrated bread knife. Careful, the shell is slippery. You should be able to slice it in one motion. If you have trouble cutting through, use gentle sawing motions, don’t force the blade down or you run the risk of cutting your hand.

Be sure to cut all the way through the shell.

Once all of your chestnuts have been cut, place them into a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a simmer.

Once the water begins to simmer, remove the chestnuts from the water using a mesh strainer or slotted spoon and transfer them to a baking sheet.

Roast for 15 minutes, or until the shells begin to peel back where you cut into them.

Remove the chestnuts from the oven. Place them into a bowl and cover with a towel for 15 minutes. Allowing them to steam a bit will make them easier to peel.

Once the 15 minutes have passed, simply pull on the shell and slip the chestnut out. Some will be easier to peel than others. Both the outer shell and the tough brown skin around the chestnuts should be peeled off. If you run into any nuts that seem gooey or disintegrated inside, it means that they have spoiled. Chestnuts tend to have a short shelf life, spoiled nuts should be tossed.

Thank you for your interest!
Tantallon – Transition Bay St Margarets info@transitionbay.ca
Halifax – jenstotland (at) gmail (dot) com

Crossroads Educational Vegetable Garden - Seed Library
2021-04-24 09:30 - 11:30 | St Margarets Bay Crossroads, 5209 Saint Margarets Bay Road, Tantallon, B3Z 4R5, Canada
Join us on Saturday, April 24th from 9:30 to 11:30am as we install the Transition Bay Seed Library and our interpretive information sign at the Crossroads Educational Vegetable Garden. This is our second season for the Seed Library and tenth season for the Educational Vegetable Garden. Last year, we gave out over 300 packages of seed to the public requesting only donations in return.

Crossroads Educational Vegetable Garden - Tenth Spring Planting!
2021-05-08 09:30 - 12:00 | St Margarets Bay Crossroads, 5209 Saint Margarets Bay Road, Tantallon, B3Z 4R5, Canada
This will be out Tenth Season at the Crossroads Garden! Come and help get the crops in the ground – Saturday, May 8th from 9:30am to noon (rain or shine). This planting will turn into hundreds of pounds of vegetables to be donated to the St Margarets Bay Food Bank.

Good Gardens: Get Your Best Garden Yet
2021-05-13 14:00 - 17:00 | Zoom
Get your best garden yet with Good Gardens online presentation. Gardening and growing your own produce can be fun, easy and satisfying. By planting the right things together in the right soil, you can get a surprisingly large yield. Learn more from experts.
Transition Bay, SMB Gardening Club. and Bay Seniors are partnering to offer an exciting garden-themed program, with great tips for gardeners of all ages and experience levels, including easy ways to grow delicious food for our own table.
A presentation on food and flower gardening in containers will be given by Karen Lewellen of SMB Gardening Club. A Climate Victory Gardening talk on ways to grow food successfully in this changing and less predictible world will be offered by Bob Cervelli of Transition Bay.
This will be offered on the Bay Seniors Facebook page as two videos downloaded at 2 pm on May 13.
Free. No registration needed. All are welcome to watch and share. Donations gratefully accepted. To donate please click on the donate link on the Transition Bay mainpage near the bottom.
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Home gardening enjoyed a huge boom in 2020, with sheltering-at-home Canadians having more time to watch the flowers—and veggies, fruits, and herbs—grow. St. Margaret’s Bay was no exception to that trend.
Claudy Levy, Gardening Club board member, says we face specific considerations. “We’re coastal, so salt air and ocean winds are factors,” says Claudy, “And mostly rural, so wildlife like deer, rabbits, and raccoons munch on our gardens. ”Claudy says the Bay’s often larger rural properties can inspire gardeners, especially newbies, to create larger gardens than they can realistically manage. Before we take up our spades for another season, she suggests considering how much money, time, and energy we actually have for our garden. “It’s better to start small and build your confidence and enthusiasm with success,” Claudy says.
When it comes to starting small, the Bay Gardening Club advocates container gardening. “Depending on the container size and shape, and the selected plants, you can get a lot from one container garden.” says Claudy. Containers can sit on a porch or deck, and can combine flowers, veggies, and herbs to become decorative accents, as well as practical providers of food for the table. But it’s important to choose the right container, soil, plants, and location.
A second presentation from Transition Bay’s Bob Cervelli will offer tips on growing a vegetable garden to help increase our household’s food security and variety. Bob compares this movement to the Victory Gardens of the two World Wars, in which home gardening was seen as one important way to support the war effort. Bob’s presentation will discuss “the incredible capacity for us to grow significant amounts of our own food supply on little land and with only a modest effort.” His presentation will include information on foods that are especially nutritious and easy to grow.
The three groups are delighted to advocate container and food gardening to their members. Carl Breckenridge, Bay Seniors board member, says, “Container gardening is a great way for people of all ages and states of health to still be able to enjoy the benefits of gardening, and growing some of our own food makes so much sense.”

Medicinal Herbs - Growing and Wild Harvesting
2021-09-08 19:00 - 20:30 | Virtual, Everywhere, Canada
Join Herbalist Savayda for an informative workshop on medicinal herbs. Savayda has been on the plant path for nearly 30 years, she has a herbal clinic and dispensary in Halifax and operates the Bloom Institute for Herbal Studies. Getting together with people and plants is her favorite thing to do and she looks forward to the workshop with Transition Bay. Together you will explore the medicinal plants growing in (and out) of your gardens, and she will highlight homemade preparations for basic self-care.

This event is co-sponsored by Transition Bay and Bloom Institute for Herbal Studies.. It is free (donations appreciated!) and requires registration. Click here to register through Eventbrite.

We will be conducting this event on Zoom with livestreaming to Facebook, and we will send you the Zoom link via Eventbrite email prior to the presentation.

Best of Beekeeping - A World for Bees
2021-11-18 19:00 - 20:30 | Virtual, Everywhere, Canada
Join us for a highly informative workshop on beekeeping by one of the best local beekeepers we know! – Michelle McPherson, A World for Bees.
This event is co-sponsored by Transition Bay and A World for Bees. It is free (donations appreciated!) and requires registration via Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.com/e/introduction-to-backyard-natural-beekeeping-tickets-209754550507.
Michelle McPherson is a consulting ecologist and beekeeper. She owns a small, thriving apiary in Atlantic Canada that emphasizes bee health and sustainability with a natural beekeeping style that is gentle and preventative. Eight years in, her colonies thrive year after year. She also sells high quality raw honey, comb honey, beeswax, and nucleus colonies.
Michelle is passionate about helping people connect with bees and nature. She loves teaching courses about honey bees, wild bees, and bee conservation, and is inspired when people become excited about doing the right things for bees.
As a big-picture thinker, Michelle attends international bee conferences to discover what’s happening for honey bees and wild bees in different corners of the world. Their stories are complex and fascinating. Michelle is committed to life-long learning in the field of apiculture, and will receive a Master Beekeeper Certification from Cornell University in spring 2021.
Learn about bees and beekeeping: https://aworldforbees.com
Learn about Michelle’s Consulting work: www.mcphersonconservation.com

This 90-minute webinar will cover an introduction to getting started and caring for your bees, with a valuable Q&A session at the end.
This event is co-sponsored by Transition Bay and A World for Bees. It is free (donations appreciated!) and requires registration via Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.com/e/introduction-to-backyard-natural-beekeeping-tickets-209754550507.

We will be conducting this event on Zoom with livestreaming to Facebook, and we will send you the Zoom link via Eventbrite email prior to the presentation.

Handmade Holidays - Community Show and Tell
2021-12-09 19:00 - 20:30 | Virtual, Everywhere, Canada
This 90 minute Zoom webinar will take place on Thursday, November 18th from 7:00 to 8:30 pm. Visit our eventbrite listing to register.
Have you been making simple handmade gifts to give this year? Have you seen some brilliant ideas floating around that you think people would enjoy gifting or receiving? We’d love to see what you’ve made, and hear about what you’re planning!
Come to the Handmade Holidays craft along with your work-in-progress and share your project—or projects—and give simple tips to help others get started. Not sure what to make this year? Come for the chat and inspiration!
This will be a casual gathering over Zoom where we can create in community from the comfort of our own homes. Don’t forget to bring your favourite beverage to enjoy!
This event is free (donations appreciated!) and requires registration via Eventbrite.
We will be conducting this event on Zoom. The Zoom link will be provided via email through Eventbrite upon registration.

Seed Planting and Microgreens Workshop
2022-02-17 19:00 - 20:30 | Virtual, Everywhere, Canada
Plan ahead for the coming season to create your big “backyard grocery store.” Get ahead of the increased food costs, shorten your food supply chain and learn what to grow for winter storage.
This workshop will discuss seed purchasing, seed savings from the garden, seed storage, seed planting – timing and cultivation methods, grow lights, timing and methods of transplanting out. There will also some ‘show and tell’ for producing winter sprouts and microgreens.
Gardener Robert Cervelli will provide lots of examples and host a lively discussion during this 90 minute workshop.

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 email prior to the presentation.

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.

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.

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.

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.
