May 15 WEDNESDAY 6-8 pm
NATURAL DYES with Lindsey Warf
The earth is bursting with brilliant colors and now is a perfect time to learn to wear those colors too! Come learn the art of natural dying with many of the plants surrounding us in the landscape and our own gardens. This class will provide you the skills to harvest, mordant, and dye your wardrobe and possibly anything esle near your dye pot. We will discuss ethically harvesting plants in this area at the best times for optimal colors as well as understanding which parts of the plants are needed. We will also talk about growing dye plants that best suits our garden spaces. We will learn different methods of mordanting fibers to create a multitude of colors and keep the pigments beautifully saturated in your material. Students can take home samples.
Lindsey Warf is a fiber artist and gardener of vegetable, medicinal, and dye plants who grew up in the Appalachian mountains. She uses her surroundings in her work as inspiration and as her medium. Currently, she is homesteading in Madison County, NC where she is establishing gardens and experimenting with natural dyes and wearable art in her felting/fiber arts studio.
$20 per person.
May 16 THURSDAY 6-8pm
GROWING TOMATOES with John Hew
The time is near for one of the most iconic symbols of a summer vegetable garden! Come learn about all things tomato in preparation for this year’s crop. Whether your transplanting your seed starts or seeking out information on which plant varieties to take home to your garden, this workshop will help you to understand how to cultivate healthy, productive, and delicious tomatoes in our region. In this free workshop, master gardener John Hew will discuss tips for growing and caring for tomatoes, including seeding and transplanting. Information covered in the class will include different tomato varieties and their care, as well as common diseases and pests in Western North Carolina.
John Hew is a Buncombe County Extension Master Gardener and has taught tomato workshops for the NC State cooperative extension office at the Spring Gardening School and other venues in Buncombe County.
FREE WORKSHOP, Register in advance at the store or online.
May 19 SUNDAY 5-7pm
WISE WOMB: FERTILITY CHARTING AND HERBS TO MANAGE YOUR CYCLE with Asia Suler
Developing a relationship with your cycle is an ancient and empowering practice. As women, the ability to cultivate this relationship can be profound. In this class we=E2=80=99ll learn how to chart our fertility, exploring how this simple daily practice can give you valuable insight into your ovulation schedule, hormonal balance, and general health. Learn how to tellwhen you are fertile and incorporate this knowledge into a larger contraceptive practice. We’ll explore the many herbal allies for regulating our cycles and smoothing the rough edges of our moontime. We’ll also discuss the concept of herbal contraceptives. What are they? How do they work? Are they effective? Leave this class with the information that is our birthright, and be inspired to develop an even deeper level of communication with your body and its innate wisdom.
Asia Suler is awriter, gardener, energy healer and plant-devotee who has made it her business to study the deeper needs of holistic healing. With her Appalachian-grown herbal company, One Willow Apothecaries, she offers gluten-free medicine made with guidance, humility, and a profound hope for a collective movement towards inspired self-healing and natural balance.
$15 per person.
May 22 WEDNESDAY 6:30-8:30pm
BIRD LANGUAGE: AN INTRODUCTION with Clint Corley + Luke Cannon
Bird Language is an incredibly powerful tool for revealing the secrets of the natural world. Come learn how amazing our avian neighbors are! Class will include how to understand and interpret various songs, calls, and behaviors of birds, as well as awesome facts about bird natural history and physiology.
First, we will outline the five most common bird vocalizations, discuss their meanings and implications, and illustrate several behavioral patterns and how to interpret what they’re telling you about yourself and the other animals on the landscape. Then we will facilitate an interactive Bird Mapping exercise where you will apply this new knowledge to reveal the often hidden activities that are occurring in the natural world all around you.
Clint Corley and Luke Cannon operate Forest Floor Wilderness Programs, which provides nature-connection mentoring programs designed to connect youth and adults with the natural world. Clint is a Certified Wilderness Guide and First Responder, and has worked extensively with children as an instructor for the Living Earth School and the Institute for Wild Intelligence. Luke has studied at the NE School of Botanical Medicine, the Chestnut School of Herb Medicine, and Karuna Falls School of Permaculture, and been a teacher of various wilderness and botanical medicine programs.
Suggested donation of $10-20 per person.
May 29 WEDNESDAY 6:00-8:00pm
BIRD FEEDER BUILDING WORKSHOP with Derek Clatterbuck
Take this opportunity to apply what you learned about bird language by spurring some bird activity in your backyard! Join us for this follow-up workshop in which each participant will construct a wooden backyard bird-feeder to take home with them. Materials for the feeders will be provided, as well as the tools to construct them in class. Derek will go over the bird feeder design and assist in each participant’s building project. Register for the workshop by Thursday, May 22nd in order to guarantee a spot in the class and your materials!
Derek Clatterbuck graduated from Warren Wilson College and currently builds bee boxes for Wild Mountain Apiary. He lives in Madison County, writing music and growing vegetables.
Cost per person TBD, please check back with us in the shop or online.
For more information visit Small Terrain online at smallterrain.com.