Classes
Green Learning Station Tours
To learn more about the Green Learning Station's features, stop by during daylight hours for a self-guided tour using our educational signage and QR code-linked videos. Want to talk to a real person? Attend one of the guided tours listed below. Tours happen the last Saturday of the month in the spring, summer and fall at 10 am and 11 am. See below for specific dates and tour descriptions. Tours begin at the base of the Green Learning Station steps, are engaging and interactive, fun for the whole family and free. You will be outside in the sun for a full hour so please plan accordingly.
10:00 am tour: Growing Food in the City
Growing food isn’t just for farmers! At the Civic Garden Center we grow food in pots, on rooftops and in our own "backyard.” Learn easy strategies for getting started with urban (or suburban) vegetable gardens on this tour that will have you tasting, tromping and digging in the dirt (and compost).
11:00 am tour: Slowing Stormwater in the City
Did you know that you can help improve the quality of the Ohio River from your own backyard? Visit the Green Learning Station to find out how we are keeping rain where it falls and what you can do at home to do the same.
2013 Tour Dates: March 30, April 27, May 25, June 29, July 27, August 31, September 28, October 26
Registration is not required.
May
Container Gardens Indoors and Out
Monday, May 13, 6:00-8:00 pm
Instructors: Bennett O. Dowling, CGC Horticulturist and Ali Burns, Horticulturist
Cost: $10 (free for CGC volunteers)
Are you interested in gardening but lack a yard? There are plenty of plants you can grow in containers… on a roof, balcony, stoop or even indoors. Learn the basics of keeping container plantings healthy and fresh throughout the seasons. We will dive into how to design both ornamental and edible containers for visual, olfactory and taste appeal.
June
Permaculture Series: Introduction to Mushroom Cultivation
Saturday, June 1, 9:00-11:00 am
Instructor: Romain B. Picasso, Mycologist
Cost: $20 ($10 for volunteers)
This workshop teaches the basics of mushroom cultivation by focusing on techniques practiced indoors. From learning to build your own laboratory, to using sterile and semi-sterile inoculant for propagation, the introduction course is an in-depth hands-on workshop explaining every step needed for abundant and on-going harvests. Hands-on activities will include making spore prints, sterile water-based inoculants, and jar cultures and propagating grain to straw bags or boxes. Participants will take home materials to start their own fungi gardens at home.
Planning a Shade Landscape
Wednesday, June 5, 6:00-8:00 pm
Instructor: Bennett O. Dowling, CGC Horticulturist
Cost: $10 (free for CGC volunteers)
As the heat of summer sinks in, gardeners spend a little more time in the shade, often to find this is the least interesting part of their yard. This class will help you assess the conditions of your shady site and choose plants accordingly. Different shade perennials and shrubs will be presented along with their cultural needs and factors such as pest and deer resistance.
Unique Plants for Cincinnati Landscapes
Saturday, June 8, tours will start as groups collect, starting at 10:30 am, ending at 3:00 pm
Location: 6396 Licking Pike, Cold Spring, KY 41076
Instructor: Kevin O’Dell, Founder, Kendrick & O’Dell Landscaping, Inc and his staff
Cost: $10 (free for CGC volunteers)
Are you tired of seeing burning bush, taxus and callery pears everywhere? There are an amazing variety of beautiful, interesting and easy to grow trees, shrubs and vines for the tri-state that few people are planting. Get the inside scoop on both new and old varieties of underutilized plants that will be conversation starters in your garden. Explore the amazing collection of plants at the Kendrick & O’Dell nursery in Cold Spring, Kentucky with Kevin O’Dell and his staff, who have scoured the region for superb specimens. Tours will meet directly at the nursery.
Rain Gardens
Tuesday, June 11, 6:00-8:00 pm
Instructor: Brian Crone
Cost: $10 (free for CGC volunteers)
Rain gardens and bioswales are simple and beautiful plantings that can capture stormwater on your property. The class will cover site selection, testing your soil's ability to absorb rainwater, plant picks for shade and sun rain gardens and installation basics. Please bring a topographic map, or sketch showing contours, of your site.
Backyard Composting
Saturday, June 15, 10:00 am-Noon
Instructor: Jerry Luebbe, Master Composter
Cost: $10 (free for CGC volunteers)
Do you want to start a compost pile but have no idea how to even begin? Come learn the basics about composting to get you started. This class is an excellent introduction to why we compost, different styles of composting, and how to compost.
Get the Most out of your Tomato Plants
Tuesday, June 18, 2013, 6:00-8:00 pm
Instructor: Jerry Luebbe, President - Cincinnati Heirloom Open Pollinated Tomato Associate Growers (CHOPTAG)
Cost: $10 (free for CGC volunteers)
Help your tomato plants not just survive but thrive throughout the growing season. Learn how to prevent or deal with common pests, diseases and other pitfalls of tomato cultivation to maximize your plants’ yield and the flavor of their fruit.
How to Build and Use a Rain Barrel
Saturday, June 22, 1:00-2:30 pm
Instructor: Jerome Wigner, CGC Volunteer
Cost: $10 (free for CGC volunteers)
FREE WATER for your plants! A rain barrel is a great way to help reduce storm water runoff and save a little money spent on summer watering. Take home tips to help you install and maintain a barrel at your home.
Green Renovation and Construction 101: Materials & Sustainability
Thursday, June 27, 6:00-8:00 pm
Instructor: Heather Curless, LEED AP, Architect, owner of Greener Stock
Cost: $5 suggested donation
Thinking about renovating a space and want to make it as green as possible? This class will walk you step by step through how to improve the health and well being of your home or office environment using sustainably sourced, energy efficient and low-emissions products. Whether paints and counters or sun tunnels and carpets, Heather knows the greenest options and will provide insight on which can improve the value of your home as well. If time allows we will also touch on locating new construction, LEED Construction, and the German based "Passive Home" system newly available in Greater Cincinnati. All of these topics will be highlighted in future classes by The Sustainability Partnership of Cincinnati!
September
Master Composter Series
Twice a year the Civic Garden Center hosts the Master Composter Training Series in collaboration with Hamilton County Recycling and Solid Waste District. The classes are offered free of charge. Participants who take all three classes and complete 10 service hours can be certified Master Composters. You may also attend one or two classes of your choosing if you are not interested in the certification process.
Fall Dates: September 4, September 11, September 18 from 6:00-8:30 pm
Class 1: Why do we compost? Reducing waste, saving our soil, and growing healthy plants
Before we learn how to compost, we want to learn why we compost and analyze our soil’s needs. This first class will cover why we stopped using organic matter in our soil and what modern agricultural methods are doing to our soil. To build a foundation for the remaining series, participants will learn soil basics, including its chemical and physical properties, how these properties relate to healthy plants, and how to conduct a soil test. Analyzing your soil can help you know your soil’s specific needs.
Class 2: Soil Biology and Composting Methods
Participants in this class can explore our demonstration compost piles and discuss the pros and cons of various bins and tools. Come practice flipping and sifting, and discover the differences in open and closed compost bins. This class covers the most simple and straight-forward composting techniques, explores different ways to compost in place and how to use soil amendments like biochar. Finally, we will dive deeper into the benefits of compost from a microbial perspective: what exactly does compost do to soil? How do plants relate to the ecosystem of fungi, bacteria, nematodes, worms, and arthropods living in your finished compost?
Class 3: Composting in Small Spaces: Vermicomposting and Bokashi
By introducing red wigglers or effective microorganisms we can use the same basic principles as outdoor composting but apply them to more concentrated spaces. We will learn how to use these methods by actually building bokashi bins and worm bins. If you would like to take one home, you must order your vermicompost or bokashi system ahead of time.