Contra Costa Master Gardeners Sustainability Fair

Free family event with hands-on demonstrations, speakers, and a plant sale.

WHAT:                 From compost and insects to honey, eggs and wine; the “Sustainability Fair” is a                                                                 

WHEN:                 Saturday, September 7, 2013, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

WHERE:               “Our Garden” the Contra Costa Master Gardeners’ demonstration site:

N. Wiget Lane and Shadelands Drive, Walnut Creek

On Saturday, September 7, Contra Costa Master Gardeners (CCMG) is celebrating its 30^th anniversary of promoting healthy gardening with a sustainable garden fair that features hands-on demonstrations, topical talks, a plant sale, and self-guided tours of “Our Garden,” the Master Gardener’s demonstration site in Walnut Creek.

“Growing your own vegetables can be a first step in a sustainable, healthy lifestyle that connects you in new ways to the food you eat, “according to Jackie Kennedy, CCMG Association President of the all-volunteer organization.

The surge of interest in eating locally-grown food is part of the evolving sustainability movement. The energy expended to transport food over large distances not only impacts the environment, but the nutritional quality and flavor of food are degraded when produce is harvested for shipping long before it is ripe.

At the Sustainability Fair there is something for everyone: a Children’s Activity Center to entertain the youngsters, vendors offering healthy local food, and ongoing talks and demonstrations on canning and preserving, growing winter vegetables, raising chickens, beekeeping, beneficial insects, making good compost, and much more.

“It is exciting to see so many other organizations joining Contra Costa Master Gardeners to promote sustainability in our gardens, neighborhoods and communities.  We must take care of our planet so that it can take care of us,” according to Judy Ryan who is the CCMG Sustainability Fair coordinator.

More than a dozen partner organizations will be on hand to encourage the cross-pollination of information and ideas on sustainable strategies including recycling, sheet mulching, smart-water usage, and replacing a lawn using the drought-tolerant UC Davis Arboretum All-Stars.

About Master Gardeners

Master Gardeners are educators trained by the University of California in horticulture, pest management and home gardening. Among the program’s goals is to produce an annual crop of educated volunteers to join the ranks of seasoned Master Gardeners. This year, Contra Costa Master Gardeners (CCMG) celebrates 30 years of providing research-based, sustainable gardening advice to home gardeners.

Founded in 1983, the Contra Costa Master Gardener program (CCMG) is comprised of volunteers trained in the University of California’s cooperative extension program to provide research-based knowledge to: improve residential horticulture, assist in urban pest management, and share resource conservation methods in Contra Costa County.  Currently, CCMG supports home and community gardeners with the following programs: the Help Desk, Speakers Bureau, Our Garden, School Gardens, and “Ask a Master Gardener” tables at Farmer’s Markets.  The CCMG Help Desk is open Monday through Thursday, from 9am to noon, (925) 646-6586.

website: http://ccmg.ucdavis.edu/ email: [email protected]