Fall 2010 Adult Programs

 

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Community Events

 

harvest dinner & silent auction
Feast on local and organic foods provided by the Natick Community Organic Farm and specially prepared for you by the Welleseley College Club Executive chef. All proceeds will go to our Teen Work Crew program.
When: Monday, September 21

Time: 6 - 9 p.m.
Where: Wellesley College Club, 727 Washington Street, Wellesley
Fee:

$70 per person before September 6

$90 per person after September 6

 

Book Disscussion Series
Discuss titles related to sustainable living in a mutually supportive and encouraging atmosphere. Join us for all four thought-provoking sessions, or select a discussion or two of your interest.

Books to be announced soon!
When: Wednesdays, September 22, October 27, and November 17
Time: 7:30 - 9 pm   
Fee: Free! Please call at 508-655-7666 to pre-register
Facilitator: Melissa Kenny Probst, NCOF member and parent

 

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Classes and Workshops

candlelight yoga at the farm
Join Sivananda Hatha instructor Melissa for a candlelight yoga class this fall and warm yourself by the Farm's wood-burning stove! Class will be a meditative, relaxing flow style suitable for all levels. We'll be practicing outside until it gets chilly, so bring a sweatshirt and a mat or blanket. Beginners are welcome. For more info, please call at 508-651-9229.
When: Tuesdays
Time: 6:30 - 7:45 p.m.
Fee: $15 (registration is not through NCOF)
Instructor: Sivananda Hatha teacher Melissa LaScaleia

 

Harvest time at the farm - painting locally grown produce
In this four-day seminar which is co-sponsored with the Wellesley College Friends of Horticulture and taught on the Farm, learn to paint economic plants grown locally - take your observations from the Farm's fields back to the studio to portray the plants in drybush watercolor. Sarah Roche's expert instruction will fine tune your drawings to be botanically accurate and expand your watercolor skills to capture textures and tones and the vibrant colors of fruits, vegetables, and foliages - your paintings will look good enough to eat.

Watercolor and Drawing experience required. (Foundations or equivalent course required).
When: Tuesdays, September 7, 14 and Thursdays, September 9 and 16
Time: 9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Fee: $300 (members $250)
Instructor: Sarah Roche, Certificate Program Education Director, teaches at Wellesley College as well as the South Shore Art Center in Cohasset, MA where she is a Gallery Artist. She is Education Co-chair of the American Society of Botanical Artists and a professional artist member of the Copley Society of Art, Boston.


cheese making workshop
Join us for a fun-filled Saturday morning making cheese at the Farm. Cheesemaking is a hands-on process, and this course will teach you just how easy and inexpensive it is to make homemade mozzarella and ricotta cheese. No special equipment or ingredients are required; and to achieve delicious results, all you need to do is to follow a simple recipe involving whole milk and left over whey. In addition to learning techniques for making your own selections at home, you'll leave with cheese that we prepared in class. Samples for snacking will be available as well. Students will receive an illustrated cheesemaking instruction booklet. Kits can be purchased for $10 from the instructor for making additional batches.
When: Saturday, October 16
Time: 9 - 12 noon
Fee: $60 (members $54)
Instructor: John Thompson is a serious cheese maker, organic gardener, and cook.

 

Cleanse, nurture, revive
Join a fabulous group of people at the farm to cleanse, nurture, revive your body!
One of the most important steps we can take to immediately improve our overall health is to learn about detoxifying our bodies. We are exposed to an enormous amount of toxins daily from the air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink and the medications we take. As a result, we increase our chances of manifesting diseases such as cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome, ADHD, ADD, and autoimmune disease. Cleanse your body by removing toxins and strengthening the organs involved in the body’s detoxification process. Nurture and revive your body systems by eating an abundance of healthy foods. Whether your goal is to eat better, reduce stress, reduce cholesterol, lose those extra pounds, or lessen your risk of disease, we will examine how the foods we eat impact our health and wellbeing.

What have we got to lose? Just excess weitht and toxins!
Program components:  Comprehensive Guide Book, Three educational meetings, Daily e-mail inspiration, Support throughout the de-tox
Here's what past de-tox program participants had to say:
"Through de-toxing, I've reduced my cholesterol from 202 to 134.  It's changed the way I eat forever!"
"These past 2 weeks were the best nights of sleep I have had in years".
"This has been so good for me in so many ways! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"I was very happy to lose weight! I'm extremely inspired to lose more."
"I feel so good knowing I could stick to a plan of healthy living by choice."
"I will definitely want to do this again in the Spring."
When: Thursday, October 7 (Natural Health Seminar),14 (De-Tox Kick-off) and 21  (mid-point Support/Discussion)
Time: 7 - 8:30 pm
Fee: $65
To register please call Linda Tighe at 508-333-1202 or e-mail Linda at lindatighe@gmail.com, no registration through NCOF
Instructor: The Wellness Initiative, Linda Tighe (find us on our facebook "De-Tox for Optim

FALL GARDENING
Fall can be an exhilirating time to garden, as you reap what you sow; we'll cover fall crops, season extensions for later crops as well as early spring crops. The organic gardener is also looking ahead to the next season and planning for it. We'll discuss some techniques you can use in the fall to increase next years's fertility.
When: to be announced soon
Time: 6:30 - 8 pm
Fee: $27 (members 25)
Instructor: Jean-Claude bourrut Lacouture, Assistant Director at NCOF


growing great garlic
Learn how easy and rewarding it is to grow your own garlic bulbs. We'll discuss the differences between hard-neck and soft-neck types, and which varieties thrive best here in New England. You'll discover that home-grown garlic is vastly superior to what you can purchase in the supermarket, and that different cultivars range in flavor from sweet and mild to hot and zesty. Come prepared to sample cloves, both raw and roasted, and to leave with cloves to plant in your garden.
When: Wednesday, October 13
Time: 6:30 - 8:30 pm
Fee: $38 (members $34) Materials included
Instructor: Editor, writer, and gardener Trish Wesley Umbrell is a proud alumnus of the NCOF Summer Youth Program


Raising backyard chickens
Phrases like "hen pecked", "birds of a feather flock together", and "flew the coop" dapple American vernacular from the days when most familis kept chickens on the farm. American culture is enjoying a return to local food resources.

Come to this workshop about Raising Backyard Chickens to learn more about how you, too, can have eggs fresh from your very own hen house! You'll learn how to care for them, how to build a coop, which chickens to choose and that you don't need a noisy rooster to produce eggs. (Local town rules vary so be sure to look into that before you get started.)
When: Wednesday, October 20
Time: 7 - 9 pm
Fee: $36 (members $32)
Instructor: Barbara Emerson is a Principal Master Gardener and 16 year veteran of Horticulture magazine. Her chickens wer proud to be featured in the May 2008 issue! She is an enthusiastic home gardener and raising hens has become a favorite pastime at her Manchester, MA home.

 

Edible landscaping
Starting with a brief history of food gardening, Barbara covers the concepts to consider when integrating edible plants in your ornamental garden so you will have fun and enjoy the process. She shows how the height, shape, texture, fragrance and color of edibles can make your garden look and taste wonderful next summer. For example, consider Rainbow Swiss Chard planted with your spring flowering perennials to extend the color, or nasturtiums and mesclun mixes used as ground covers. Don't have a lot of space? Barbara shows how container combinations can help anyone with a patch of sun grow their own delicious food and look beautiful at the same time.
When: Wednesday, October 27
Time: 7 - 9 pm
Fee: $36 (members $32)
Instructor: Barbara Emerson is a Principal Master Gardener and 16 year veteran of Horticulture magazine.

 

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mosaic projects
Learn how to create your own mosaic piece. Projects to choose from include mirrors, flower pots, trays and small table tops using colorful broken tiles and pieces of broken plates or pottery. Design, mosaic and grout your own beautiful 15" round mirror. We will provide the plywood base, a mirror, colored tiles, mastic and grout. You bring your imagination and any broken plates or pottery you'd like to include in your mosaic design, and wear clothes that can get dirty! Please also bring a pair of Tile Nippers which are available in the tile department of a hardware store, and a 1/4 " wide painting knife from a craft store.
When: Monday, November 1, 8 and 15
Time: 7-9:30 pm
Where: 97 Woodland Street, Natick, MA 01760 at the Krentzman residence
Fee: $90 (members $81); materials included
Instructor: Carol Krentzman designs custom mosaics and stained glass. For more information, please go to her website www.piecefulcreations.com.

medicinal teas
Learn to grow, harvest, dry and blend your own medicinal teas for winter health care. We will be sampling all of the blends and discuss thewe receive from plants grown right outside your door. Refreshments will be served at the tasting.
When: Saturday, November 6
Time: 10 - 12 noon
Fee: $60 (members $54); includes all materials
Instructor: Cindy Cheever is an avid soap maker, spinner, weaver and knitter. She runs her own soap making business out of Paxton called “Commonfolk Herbal Soaps, Lotions and Teas”.

 

goat milk soap
Goat milk is very soothing and moisturizing on all skin types. Learn to create your own using fresh raw goat milk and olive oil. Students, please bring a small cooler and blanket or towel to wrap their soap mold up in.
When: Saturday, November 20
Time: 10 - 1 pm
Fee: $70 (members $63)
Instructor: Cindy Cheever is an avid soap maker, spinner, weaver and knitter. She is now starting up her own soap making business out of Paxton called "Commonfolk Herbal Soaps, Lotions and Teas".

NM = Non member
M = Member                                                                          


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To check on your membership status please send an e-mail to rfritz.ncorganic@verizon.net

If you would like to become a member or would like to renew your membership you can do so at the same time you sign up for a program.