~ Class Dates Yet To Be Determined For 2024 ~
Workshops provide an opportunity to receive hands-on skill development with practical techniques and real life perspectives. Our workshops include: Fruit Tree Pruning & Success, Living Willow Structures, Bamboo Forest Exploration & Crafting Series, Seasonal Gardening & Food Preservation, Gourd Crafting Series, Broom Crafting, Small-Scale Farm Business, and more! Below is our current list of workshops. Our workshops are open to all ages and take place at our farm (31239 Lanes Turn Road, Coburg, OR 97408). For registration questions or additional information, email us at:
~ Living Willow Structures ~
Come learn about everything that goes into growing and crafting your own Living Willow Structures such as fences, domes, art installations, support structures, benches, and more. There will be hands-on demonstrations and creation of a new structure each class. We will check on some structures from years past and demonstrate how to maintain them and form them as they grow. We will provide the opportunity to view and understand willow propagation for harvesting, along with pollarding and coppicing techniques used to get the largest number of usable whips off of your willow tree. Don’t miss out!
~ Bamboo Forest Exploration & Crafting Series ~
Join us to explore our 3 acres of Bamboo forest and craft with our wide assortment of bamboo. Learn about the world’s largest grass while creating a functional piece of your own. Cured bamboo, tools, instruction, and examples will be provided to guide your inspiration. Example Bamboo Crafts: Learn how to create and care for a your own native bee home, or Customize a Walking Stick, make a Pencil Holder, a Hawaiian Trumpet, and more! Ages 5+ welcome to participate, minors need to have an adult registered to attend the class with them. Workshop crafting focus alternates between Native Beehouses and Walking Sticks.
~ Fruit Tree Pruning & Success ~
Come enjoy our fruit orchard with over 500 fruit trees including Apples, European and Asian Pears, Quince, Cherries, Plums and more! We will have hands-on opportunities to familiarize yourself with several pruning styles. We will offer examples of different ages and sizes of trees, as well as some that have been maintained and some that have not been pruned in several years. We will cover dry-farming techniques for orchards and how to plant and establish your very own fruit trees at home.
~ Seasonal Gardening & Food Preservation ~
This workshop is centered around teaching all ages how to successfully grow food and preserve it for your table year round. We will offer one workshop each season, focusing on a type of preservation appropriate for that season and the crops that will be in abundance. Spring = Dehydrating herbs & soups, Summer = Water Bath Canning & Pressure Canning, Fall = Fermentation.
Learn about planting methods (succession, companion, rotational), planting for the season, and more! We will cover harvesting and preservation, natural pest control and how to create plant food! Includes an annual planting guide & recipe to take home.
~ Gourd Crafting Workshop ~
Join us in crafting some GOURDGEOUS Bowls & Scoops, or Birdhouses out of gourds that have been grown and cured here at Parker Learning Gardens! While crafting enjoy historical facts about gourds and their uses throughout time. The creativity is endless when it comes to customizing your gourd project. We will offer beeswax, soldering irons, paint, clear coating, wire, and more to use on your extra GOURDINARY piece! Minors need to have an adult registered to attend the class with them. Ages 5+ welcome to participate!
~ Meet the Bees & Pollination ~
Come out to meet our Honeybees and Beekeeper, Doug, owner of Emerald Valley Bees while he shows us the inside of the beehives! He will try to find us a queen bee to look at and will be available to answer all of your honeybee questions! Following that we will dive deeper into bees and the many types of Native Bees and why they are so important to pollination and our food sources. We will end the class making bee houses for Native Bees, out of recycled items and bamboo, for your to take home and promote Native Bee populations in your neighborhood!
Inclusion Statement:
Parker Learning Gardens is committed to providing an inclusive environment for all participants. We strive to support communities and individuals who have experienced the detriment of racism, inequality, and violence. Parker Learning Gardens is an organization that seeks to bring all members of the community together to create positive change. We acknowledge that we have room to grow to further diversify and serve our community better. As we continuously develop a plan for the future, Parker Learning Gardens is: actively educating our staff, interns and volunteers, having challenging discussions within our leadership team, and creating an strategic plan to identify and improve upon our deficiencies. We will continue to advocate for those who have faced inequality by creating a safe and inclusive community for all.
Anti-Discrimination Statement:
Parker Learning Gardens prohibits discrimination and harassment, and will take affirmative measures to ensure against them, especially if they are implemented on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, national origin, disability, status as a veteran or disabled veteran, neurodiversity, personal appearance, genetic information, family responsibilities, matriculation or political affiliation. This policy applies to all employees or potential employees, interns, volunteers, participants, members of the Parker Learning Gardens’ Board of Directors, and anyone attending Parker Learning Gardens’ events, classes, workshops, garden clubs, youth programs, field trips, and tours. This policy extends to all aspects of employment and participation at Parker Learning Gardens, including hiring, promotion, training, working conditions, policies, compensation, evaluation, discipline and termination.