Want to do something different, unusual, fun, healthy and will help the area be green? This weekend, Saturday, October 24 thru Sunday, October 25, 2009 there is a great event going on at the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. It is the Fairchild’s Edible Garden Festival and Scarecrow Contest. You can always call for directions or more details on what they have to offer. There are going to be contests, food, lectures, cooking demonstrations, plant vendors and demonstrations on how to create a fruit and vegetable garden in your own home garden or as a container garden. Wouldn’t we all love to have fresh fruit and vegetables on our plates knowing they are free from chemicals? They do taste so much better and healthier for us too.

Bee Heaven Farm & Redland Organics will also be there with their first batch of certified organic heirloom tomato & veggie starts, plus some farmer’s market style items with the first of the local harvests - all certified organic as well.

So bring the kids, grandma and grandpa, aunts and uncles, friends and neighbors. Maybe this would be the time to start a neighborhood garden. All the information needed at your fingertips and what a fun way to show our children a better way to eat and be healthy.

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It’s time for the 2nd Miami Changemaker Conference on July 18, 2009. This conference is the 2nd in a 3-year series - each one with its own focus. In July, participants and speakers will focus on “Placemaking”: How Local Residents Can Create Better Parks, Beaches, Blocks, and other Public Spaces.

Advance registration is $25, with a special $5 registration for parents/caretakers of children 17 and under (requires filling out an application before July 8, space is limited). I moderated a panel at the first conference and found it to be a fantastic setting for inspiring ideas - with a diverse range of people participating. In fact, I wished I could stay longer, but had to get back to my son.

But they’ve thought of the childcare issue this time. The Changemaker Conference is offering free eco-activities all day for kids 5-17 (agenda), and FREE childcare for the littler ones. Awesome.

Read more details & Register now!

See the entire press release below.

Read the full story

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This post was contributed by Joe Naroditsky.

Want to learn more about climate activism and what you can do to help fight global warming? Bill McKibben, best-selling author, lifelong activist, and founder of Step it Up will be joined by Mike Tidwell of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, one of the most effective regional climate groups in the country, for a FREE climate activism training.

Thursday, November 29, 2007. 5pm-9pm

Miami-Dade College, Wolfson Campus - Building 3000 - Room 3210

300 NE 2nd Ave Downtown Miami (campus map)

RSVP: Space is limited - please RSVP with your contact information by November 21st.

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We’ve got lots of events to announce this week! Here’s the latest event you should be involved in, according to supporters of the Hold the Line campaign. It’s the South Miami-Dade Watershed Study and the meeting is from 9:30 am to 2 pm on Friday the 13th in South Dade.

The study is evaluating water supply and many other factors vital to the health of Miami-Dade residents and it’s importance reaches far beyond just South Dade. If you cared about and were involved in helping to stop the recent attempts to move the Urban Development Boundary in the past year, know that you are needed October 13.

Too few people like yourself are being engaged on this study and developers and those seeking to profit at the expense of quality of life have been given enough air time- it is time for your concerns to be heard! Don’t think you have to be an expert- common sense and concern for Miami-Dade’s future is all you need to make a difference! Call 305-485-5949 for details.

Learn more about the Watershed Study.

View the event flyer (pdf).

Attend the meeting this Friday in Homestead, October 13 @ 9:30 am. South Dade Agricultural Center (map).

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Our friends over at Slow Food Miami and Redland Organics are throwing a big event that sounds incredible. Support local food and check out the event!

The Redland Ramble
A day in the country, from brunch to supper, with something for everyone in between!
Saturday, September 9th
Join the Ramble anytime, from 9:30 in the morning on!
RSVP conviviumpro [at] aol [dot] com when you’ve reviewed the suggested tour, so that we can let our hosts know how many to expect!

Williams Grove  9:30 am
Your first stop, close to US 1  on SW 248 Street. Start here for coffee, tea and mango smoothies for the kids. Williams Grove is a farm and a study collection curated by the tropical fruit experts of Fairchild Tropical Gardens, and the fruit market is a delicious learning experience. September’s Fruit of The Month, several cultivars of avocado, will be available for sale at $2.00 each.  Open 9:30 am to 2:00 pm. 14885 SW 248 St, Homestead FL 33187 Directions

Fruit & Spice Park 10:30 am
Follow SW 248 Street to this 35-acre park and take a tram tour featuring over 500 varieties of fruits, vegetables, spices, herbs & nuts, with commercially important plant specimens from around the world. Sample fruit in season at the tasting counter and shop for unique tropical food-related products.  Tour $5.00  (plus gift shop sales)  From Fruit & Spice Park, head to Bee Heaven Farm for brunch; directions below.

Brunch

Bee Heaven Farm 12:00 noon Directions: from Fruit & Spice Park: Go south on Redland Rd (187 ave) 1 mile, turn west (right) on Bauer Drive (264th St), & follow the signs to Bee Heaven Farm.
Join the Ramble at a certified organic, genuine family farm for a tour, an introduction to Community Supported Agriculture, and a satisfying brunch at noon. The chef has created a menu that will delight even the youngest palate: Hand-made corn tortillas with farm fresh eggs and local herbs accompanied by guacamole from Bee Heaven’s own orchard. Served with sublime  homemade guava shells and local farm cheese, and a down-home side of traditional American black-eyed peas. Beverages include iced herb teas and ades with fresh allspice berries. Brunch $16.00 (plus farm stand sales of raw farm honey, herbs, culinary garden plants and avocados from Redland’s organic farms)  More about Redland Organic Farms… 

Schnebly Winery Tour & Tasting  2:30 pm
Tour $7.00.   Tasting  $3.00 (plus wine & gift shop sales)  Directions and more about Schnebley Winery… 

Slow Food Country Pot-Luck Supper 4:00 pm
Following the tour & tasting at Schnebly Winery, Slow Food Miami members will meet in the breezy covered picnic area beside Schnebly’s waterfall. Bring your favorite dish & join us for a Country Pot-Luck Supper to celebrate delegates from our farm community to the Terra Madre World Food Congress, meeting in Italy in October.  More about Terra Madre … and about Slow Food Miami…

Reservations are appreciated by our hosts at all the stops.
Please e-mail the following information to  conviviumpro [at] aol [dot] com.

Your name ________________________________
Number in your party ____
I/we will participate in the following activities:
   ___ Williams Grove 9:30 am
   ___  Fruit & Spice Park 10:30 am
   ___  Brunch at Bee Heaven Farm 12:00 noon
   ___  Schnebly Winery Tasting &/or Tour  2:30 pm
   ___  Slow Food Country Supper 4:00 pm
(For a map of the general area that identifies a few of these sites, visit our friends at Redland Riot.)

Let us know your plans by email at conviviumpro [at] aol [dot] com

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Head to Davie this weekend to check out Broward’s Water Matters Day!

Saturday, March 11, 2006, 9am - 3pm

Tree Tops Park, Davie

Park Admission $1/person, kids under 5 free

Bring your own bucket and receive free mulch! Also free native trees and rain gauges.

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