We Love Gardening!

Event Details

Join us for a full afternoon of gardening presentations by local experts as we celebrate the abundance of summer. Choose from 10 unique garden workshops covering a wide variety of topics.

• The Magic of Fermentation: How Microbes Make Our Food Come Alive! with Joseph Forest, Holistic Chef & Author
  The art of fermentation is experiencing a renaissance in domestic and professional kitchens around the world. This movement is not a fad but a return to ancient food wisdom and gastronomic roots. In this engaging and interactive lecture, you will learn what fermentation is and how it works, the role of microorganisms in creating flavour and preserving food, how fermentation benefits personal health and digestion, and how to safely and easily ferment at home. Two ferments will be demonstrated and sampled in this class.
  
  
• Herbs & Vegetables: A Guided Walk Through the Garden with Chef Joseph Forest, Holistic Chef & Author
  For this interactive lecture, we will walk through the herb and vegetable gardens at The Star to discover why plants are medicinal and how to creatively use them in your everyday life. We will identify, touch, smell, and taste an assortment of herbs and vegetables along the way, and discuss why food is medicine. This is an opportunity to connect with nature, to be inspired by its bounty, and to look at simple ways of growing and using food for personal and planetary health and well-being
  
  
• Extending the Season- How to Grow a Fall Garden in Zone 3 with Aida Mustapic, Organic Master Gardener

  Gardening doesn’t have to end with summer! This practical and inspiring talk explores the benefits and strategies of fall gardening in Zone 3. Learn how to plan for a productive late-season harvest, including selecting cold-hardy crops, ideal planting windows, and preparing your soil and beds for cooler conditions. We’ll cover smart location choices, effective season extension tools (like row covers and cold frames), and key maintenance tips for watering and frost protection. Whether you’re a seasoned grower or new to gardening, you’ll leave with actionable steps to make the most of your fall garden.

• End of the Season Garden Guide - Fall Planting (including garlic!), Soil Care, and Seed Prep with Aida Mustapic, Organic Master Gardener
  As the gardening season winds down, fall becomes a crucial time for setting the stage for next year’s success. This informative talk covers essential fall tasks including garlic and bulb planting, direct-sowing for early crops, and collecting and storing seeds. Learn why protecting bare soil through mulching is vital for long-term garden health, and how strategic watering—especially deep watering and frost protection—can support plant and soil vitality through winter. Whether you’re wrapping up your first season or prepping an established plot, this session will help you make the most of the transition into dormancy.

• The Microclimate Yard with Melissa Penny, Habitat YEG & Author
  When the heat of the summer hits, your backyard can become either a sanctuary or a place to avoid. Learn how your garden can reduce the temperature in your yard and make it more enjoyable for you, pollinators, and birds.

• Seeds and Start Dates with Melissa Penny, Habitat YEG & Author
  

  Collecting seeds is an economical way to grow your garden from plants you already have. Learn how to collect seeds from your plants and discover which plants to start in the summer (to transplant in fall) and which to start in winter (to transplant in spring) to enjoy a bigger, more biodiverse garden.

• Organic Backyard Gardens - Backbone of Urban Sustainability with Antun Mustapic
  

  In a time of rising urban populations, climate challenges, and food insecurity, the humble backyard garden offers a powerful and time-tested solution. This engaging talk explores how organic backyard gardening supports urban sustainability from economic, social, and environmental angles. Learn how these small-scale spaces reduce food costs, cut household waste, and build community resilience—all while regenerating soil and ecosystems.

  We’ll look at the historical role of urban gardens, from Victory Gardens of wartime resilience to today’s grassroots food movements, and share compelling real-life examples of just how much food a backyard can produce annually. When compared to national household food consumption, the results show that backyard gardens aren’t just symbolic—they’re a historically proven, practical response to modern challenges.

• Star Garden Walking Tour with Clint Porritt, Star Garden Coordinator
  Since it’s inception in the spring of 2022, hundreds of curious folks including gardeners, newcomers, school groups, and media have visited Star Cooperative Garden to find out more about regenerative gardening practices. This volunteer-led urban agriculture site is uniquely focused on community-building and education around sustainable organic gardening. Come join an interactive guided tour through Star Garden, to discover how weeding, watering, soil-care, inter-cropping and succession planting work in a deep-mulch, no-till garden space.
  
  
• Understanding Soil Compaction: The Secret Behind No-Till Gardening with Mark Stumpf-Allen, Soil Builder & Urban Carbon Farmer
  
  Is your soil tough to dig, difficult to water, or just not producing like it should? Before you break out the rototiller, discover the real causes of soil compaction—and how to fix them for good. This presentation will explore what leads to compacted soil and offer practical, long-term strategies to restore structure, improve drainage, and build a healthier, lighter, and more productive garden bed year after year.
  
  
• Right Plant, Right Place: Plant Choices for Every Spot in Your Garden with Verne Williams, Master Gardener
  

Whether your garden is hot and dry or cool and shady, there are plants that not only survive but truly thrive—bringing colour, texture, and structure to your space. Join Master Gardener Verne Williams for an engaging discussion on how to choose the right plants for the right conditions and how thoughtful grouping can make your garden look great all season long. Learn how to make the most of your garden’s unique micro-climates and turn into a space full of healthy, beautiful plants.

MEET OUR PRESENTERS

Mark Stump-Allen, Environmental Education and former “Compost Doctor” with City of Edmonton

Mark has gardened in this region for five decades and hope to build soil that will grow tasty, nutrient-dense food like he enjoyed growing up. Since retiring as the City of Edmonton’s Compost Doctor (2008-2020) he’s been heading up the Master Gardener Program in Stony Plain.

Melissa Penney, Habitat YEG

After spending years walking, hiking and driving to photograph birds, Melissa tried something new in 2019. She decided to instead make the birds come to her! In the last five years she has had 108 species of birds visit her urban Edmonton backyard, with 84 species visiting in 2024 alone!

Melissa’s interests have expanded to gardening, native plants, and insects and how they work together to create a diverse wildlife habitat. In May of 2025 she published a book to teach people how to create their own backyard habitats. A Playground for Birds: How to Turn Your Yard Into an Avian Oasis, has become a local bestseller. In addition to her yard being certified by the Canadian Wildlife Federation as a wildlife friendly habitat, she loves having a space for her amazing family to play, relax, and visit with friends. When she isn’t working on her own habitat, Melissa is a freelance photographer, a mom to three amazing and busy kids, and wife to a fantastic guy who understands her need to live outside more than inside.

Aida Mustapic is an urban organic gardener based in St. Albert, passionate about growing nutritious food using regenerative and sustainable practices. In her urban backyard garden, she focuses on building healthy soil and cultivating wholesome vegetables by applying regenerative methods such as crop rotation, companion planting, natural soil amendments, and no-till gardening. Her approach not only nurtures the soil but also supports a thriving population of pollinators.

Believing that anyone—regardless of space or experience—can grow their own food, Aida is dedicated to inspiring and empowering others to embrace urban gardening in any setting.

As a certified Organic Master Gardener, she is deeply committed to ecological landscape design and its role in protecting environmental health. Aida is also the founder and administrator of St. Albert Backyard Gardening Group.

Chef Joseph Forest is a professional holistic chef, best-selling cookbook author, and consultant with over 40 years of culinary experience. Chef Joseph’s understanding of food as medicine and traditional diets are the foundation of his current and expanding work. His passion for cooking expresses itself in the preparation, presentation and teaching of whole food as a path to healing and well-being. His appearances on television, radio, and cooking stages have been a source of learning and inspiration for audiences in Canada and the USA. Chef Joseph has developed and led farm-to-table culinary programs in BC with Innisfree Farm & Botanical Garden and A Rocha BC Centre.

Antun Mustapic, a mechanical engineer by profession, but a gardener at heart, Antun has been immersed in gardening since childhood, practicing regenerative and organic gardening methods throughout his life.

Sustainability, reuse, and recycling are the core principles of his organic urban backyard garden, where he grows nutritious, wholesome food with a deep commitment to eco-friendly practices.

Clint Porritt enjoys "making soil" as part of his work with Star Cooperative Garden: a food security project developed around the ecologically sustainable practices of organic, deep-mulch, no-till gardening. He has served in a planning and development role with both the Carmel Community Garden and the Sinkunia Community Garden in northeast Edmonton and is currently working on his Organic Master Gardener certification. Clint has 25+ years of faith formation experience through teaching, spiritual direction, and program development. He holds a Master of Theological Studies from Taylor Seminary and is passionate about the connections between ecology and spirituality.

Verne Williams developed a passion for gardening growing up in Central Alberta, and growing her very first garden alongside her mother. Her love for gardening has spanned more than 20 years across various Canadian growing zones, including extensive container gardening and eventually establishing her first in-ground garden in Calgary. Now back on the family farm, Verne is reviving her mother’s garden, a cherished space planted many years ago.

An active member and sought-after speaker with the Calgary Horticultural Society, Verne is also a certified Master Gardener. She currently serves as Director of Events (South) for the Master Gardeners Association of Alberta and participates in several other gardening groups.

REGISTRATION

Seniors (65+) & Youth (K-12)     $20
Regular Registration                  $25

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