Credit: Aaron Escobar via Flickr

Easy Eco Baby is a local company that sells environmentally friendly baby care products. We receive their newsletter and they have let us know about events taking place around Manitoba for earth day. Why not take in an event and help celebrate earth day!

Brandon Earth Day Celebrations

Celebrations to be held on Sunday April 19 at 12 noon to 5:00 pm with many displays and information handouts. There will be free compost available to individuals and a free draw will be held for a bicycle and Easy Eco Baby Gift Pack.

WHEN:  Sunday April 19th, 2009
Time:  12pm to 5pm
WHERE:  Princess Park
Princess Avenue and 8th Street
Brandon, Manitoba
Visit www.earthday.ca for more info

Earth Day Canada Event at St. Mary’s Road United Church

Come and hear speakers from the University of Manitoba and the Manitoba Geothermal Energy Alliance talk about green cities and geothermal energy. There will also be displays featuring Climate Change Connection, Ten Thousand Villages, MPI, Easy Eco Baby and an E-Waste Depot in the parking lot area.

When:  Wednesday April 22, 2009
Time: 7pm to 10pm
Where:  St. Mary’s Rd United Church 613 St. Mary’s Road
Phone 257-0678 or visit www.earthday.ca for more info

Manitoba Eco-Cafe and Market:

Find earth-friendly products and connect with local environmental groups over fair trade coffee at the Earth Day Eco-Café & Market. Enter your name in our door prize draw to win a fabulous gift basket compliments of Easy Eco Baby.

When:  Sunday, April 26th, 2009
Time:  10:00am to 4:00pm
Where:  Robert A. Steen Community Centre
980 Palmerston Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Visit www.mbearthday.we.bs for more info.

Credit: Daniel Morrison via Flickr

The Assiniboine Park Conservatory will be holding their “Seedy Saturday” event coming up on March 7th. The event is free to attend, there will be workshops, a speaker series, tool swap and more. A friend who attended last year was able to take part in their seed exchange. Here’s a direct quote on how it works:

You just have to bring couple packets of seeds and drop them on a communal table.  This gives you the right to pick up packets of seeds that others have brought, many of which are quite interesting and new.

Might be a good way to get some rare or hard to find vegetables for your garden! Below is the press release from the Friends of the Assiniboine Park Conservatory:

The majority of Winnipeg residents may not consider March the beginning of
gardening season, but the Assiniboine Park Conservatory is working to change
that through their Seedy Saturday event.  This year the Assiniboine Park
Conservatory is hosting their annual Seedy Saturday on March 7 from 10-3.  Free to the public, this event includes a speaker series, a seed and tool swap,
hands-on workshops and over 15 vendors representing various garden and food based organizations.  Gardeners will not be the only ones interested in this event, assures Bonnie Tulloch from the Assiniboine Park Conservatory, “We try and include all aspects of gardening, incorporating everything from birdwatching to local food.  People can come here for more than just seeds; they can get locally made soaps, dried herbs, teas, honey, botanically inspired clothing, as well as information and resources on various sustainability
issues.”

Seedy Saturdays have been popping up all over the country since the late
1980’s. The Assiniboine Park Conservatory started participating in the Seedy
Saturday movement back in 2001.  Many of the early Seedy Saturdays were
designed to create a space where seed savers could exchange heritage seeds with one another at no cost.  The purpose was to encourage more people to grow and save heritage seed varieties, so as to prevent them from going extinct.  Today, Seedy Saturdays often include a wider agenda that includes related sustainability issues.

The organizers of this year’s Seedy Saturday recommend getting there early if
you are planning on swapping seeds because gardeners are always eager to access new and exciting varieties.   The speaker series begins at 11 am with certified Horticultural Therapist Millie Richard, who will share her experience in this new and exciting field.  Julie Fine from Growing up Organics will discuss how her organization is increasing children’s access to organic food at 12 pm. At 1 pm David Hanson from Sage Garden Herbs and Karen Pearce from Assiniboine Park Conservatory will present on designing small scale ornamental and edible gardens.   The day will end with a hands-on seed starting workshop with the education staff at Assiniboine Park Conservatory.

www.friendsconservatory.com