Community Event: Ask The Native Plant Expert

Community Forklift, which is quite possibly the coolest place on the entire earth (think Disneyland for home renovation enthusiasts), offers free workshops. Did I say "free?!" OH YES I DID! This month's topic? "Ask The Native Plant Expert!" Woo! And again I say WOOOO!

What: Ask The Native Plant Expert
When: Saturday, August 28, 2010
Time: 3pm to 4pm
Place: Community Forklift - 4671 Tanglewood Drive, Edmonston, MD
Cost: FREE!
Registration: None required

Steve McKindley-Ward is a resident of Mt. Rainier, Maryland, and the horticulturist for the Anacostia Watershed Society. Come learn how growing native plants will thrill the insects and birds, take less time and hassle, lower your water use, bring beauty to your yard - and support the larger web of life!

Learning - April 17, 2010 "A Community of Gardeners"

Work-In-Progress Screening: "A Community of Gardeners"
Date: Saturday, April 17, 2010
Time: 2pm
Location: Arlington Central Library, 1015 N. Quincy Street, Arlington, Virginia

A work-in-progress screening of "A Community of Gardeners," produced by local filmmaker Cintia Cabib. The documentary explores the vital role of seven community gardens in Washington, D.C., not only as sources of fresh, nutritious food, but as outdoor classrooms, places of healing, centers of social interaction, and oases of beauty and calm in inner-city neighborhoods. The screening will be followed by a Q-and-A with Cabib.

The Arlington Career Center's student-built "Little Green House" mobile exhibit, made of recycled and environmentally friendly materials, will be on display outside Central Library during this event.

Call 703-228-6321 for more information.

This event is part of Arlington Reads 2010, featuring appearances by farmer and literary legend Wendell Berry and urban farmer/author Novella Carpenter.

Learning - April 29, 2010 Speaking Event

Heads up, Guerillas!

Peter Golkin of the Arlington Public Library has graciously invited us to some upcoming Arlington Reads 2010 events. (Arlington Reads is Arlington Public Library’s annual one-book, one-community initiative to promote discussion and the joy of reading throughout the County.) This year, our food takes center plate... as Arlington Reads 2010 looks at the movement away from industrial mass production back to safer, healthier meals grown through local, sustainable means.

"Eating Local" Panel
Date: Sunday, April 11, 2010
Time: 3pm
Where: Shirlington Branch Library
More: A group of area farmers and naturalists will look at simple ways to eat foods that are safer, healthier and geared to the bounty of each season. In addition, the films "Food, Inc.," "Fast Food Nation," locally made documentary "A Community of Gardeners," and "How to Cook Your Life" will be screened. Central Library in April is also the site of a month-long juried art exhibition, "The Art of Food."

"The Memory of Old Jack" community discussion
Date: Monday, April 19, 2010
Time: 7pm
Where: Arlington Central Library Auditorium
More: Berry’s book "The Memory of Old Jack" is the Arlington Reads 2010 title, and will be the subject of a community discussion. Leading the exchange will be Professor Patrick Deneen, director of Georgetown University’s Tocqueville Forum on the Roots of American Democracy.

Novella Carpenter, urban farmer and author
When: Thursday, April 29, 2010
Time: 7pm
More: Novella Carpenter, urban farmer and author of "Farm City: The education of an urban farmer," will discuss her experiences connecting with the soil in Oakland, CA. Ms. Carpenter created her own farm in the middle of an Oakland, CA neighborhood called "GhostTown." While in Arlington, Carpenter also plans to share thoughts with high school students and explore some of the County’s farmers' markets and community gardens.

Wendell Berry, literary legend and Kentucky farmer
When: Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Time: 7pm
More: Mr. Berry – who declared "eating is an agricultural act," thus inspiring today’s movement toward safer, healthier, locally produced meals and sustainable living – will discuss his life’s work and his vision of people honoring and reconnecting with the soil. "Wendell Berry actually began the national conversation about food, agriculture, the environment and health decades ago," Arlington Public Library Director Diane Kresh says. "Without him, we probably wouldn’t have a vegetable garden on the White House lawn or Wal-Mart trying to sell organic produce." Kresh says this year’s Arlington Reads celebrates not only Berry’s "remarkable career as a writer of over 30 novels, essays and collections of poetry but his prescience in encouraging readers to 'think globally and eat locally.'"

For more information on these and other Arlington Reads events, visit the Arlington Reads 2010 website.