Sustainable Bellingham

(Compiled by Shannon Maris/ Garden E-News, Arthur Tenebrae and Rachel Perry)

SB Yoga at the Parks Tour: Birchwood Park
Tuesday, August 7th, 7:00 pm, Birchwood Park, 2709 Cedarwood Avenue, Bellingham, WA
This week continues the Sustainable Bellingham and Kaleidoscope Yoga’s Yoga in the Parks Tour. Each week includes a different beautiful park in Bellingham. The yoga begins at 7:00 pm on each Tuesday through July. Bring a dish to share; after the yoga, we sit and eat together.

This week will be held at Birchwood Park, weather permitting. If it rains, we’ll be inside the Majestic Underground on 1207 N. Forest Street at 6:00 pm. Check the Kaleidoscope Yoga Facebook page, or call 360-676-1487 if the weather is questionable.

These are great events, and a sign that summer is here. We do yoga for approximately one hour, and then share a meal together. Bring a light dish to share, your dish and utensils; and a drink. The suggested donation is $5 – $10. If you have any questions or get lost, call 360-927-8735 before the class begins.

Moroccan Cooking with the Boujrada Family
Wednesday, August 8th, 6:30 pm, In the Kitchen, 207 Unity Street, Bellingham, WA
Ciao Thyme is proud to present a Morocco cooking class hosted by Fouzia and Mehdi Boujrada. The Boujrada Family is hailed as the finest seafood chefs of Essaouira. Learn how to make briouates, heirloom tomato salad, fava bean salad, taktouka, roasted beets, lamb tagine, and briouates. To learn more and register, call 360-733-1267 or email at info@ciaothyme.com. The cost is $55 per person.

“It’s in the Bag!” Market Tote Bag Workshop
Thursday, August 9th and Saturday, August 11th, 11:00 am – 1:00 pm and 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm, Fourth Corner Quilts, 1844 North State Street, Bellingham, WA
 Make an eco-friendly reversible grocery tote for shopping. Be prepared for the City of Bellingham bag ordinance that goes in effect Wednesday, August 1st! All supplies including the use of one of our Janome sewing machines provided. To learn more or register, call 360-714-0070 or email at service@fourthcornerquilts.com. The cost is $5 per person.

Incognito Special Event: Morocco
Thursday, August 9th, 6:00 pm, In the Kitchen, 207 Unity Street, Bellingham, WA
Join us for a spectacular dinner with the Boujrada Family, the finest seafood chefs from Essaouira, Morocco. Enjoy the finest east African cuisine right here in Bellingham, including roasted snapper chermoula, Rghaif with kefta filling, Saffron scented broth artichokes, Moroccan Mahalibi, Cornes de gazelles and many more on the menu! To learn more and make reservations, call 360-733-1267 or email at info@ciaothyme.com. The cost is $75 per person plus tax.

Stone Town Theatre Works Presents “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
Thursday, August 9th – Saturday, August 11th, 7:30 pm, Carrot & Stick Community Farm, 4104 Y Road, Bellingham, WA
Enjoy a late summer evening of William Shakespeare’s classic “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” A special benefit performance will be held on Thursday, August 9th with the proceeds going towards Food To Bank On. The stage and props are built out of recycled materials and the lights are low-powered LED. This will be an outdoor presentation, so bring a seat, blanket, and a bite to eat. For make reservations, call 360-201-5922 or email at info@stonetowntheatreworks.com. Tickets cost $10 each.

Anything Grows Neighborhood Farm Workshop: “Cob Building and Bottlework”
Friday, August 10th – Sunday, August 12th, Bellingham, WA
Join us for some hands-on lessons in earthen home building. Learn how to mix materials like sand, straw, and clay; pack on the cob, and illuminate makeshift windows with colorful bottles. Meals will be provided including vegan and gluten-free cuisine. On site camping is encouraged. To learn more about the time, location, and registration, contact Traesti Gundmundson at 360-510-2667 or traeti@hotmail.com. Only 11 spaces are available for this workshop. To cost is $100 per person. Signing up for this class plus the earthwood building course on Friday, August 17th – Sunday, August 19th would be $150.

Natural Farming Weekend: One Straw Revolution
Saturday, August 11th – Sunday, August 12th, 9:00 am – 1:00 pm, 652 Halvorsen Road. Friday Harbor, WA
Join Larry Korn, editor of One Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka, for two days of practical, hands on workshops, talks, films, music, and feasting inspired by the natural farming philosophy of Masanobu Fukuoka. For more information or to register, call 360-298-5699 or email at goodearthcentre@gmail.com. The cost is $175 for general registration and $75 for farm-workers and students plus $55 for meals.

Deer Proof Gardening
Saturday, August 11th, 10:00 am, Bakerview Nursery & Garden Center, 945 E. Bakerview Rd.
Chuck McClung, gardening columnist for Grow Northwest will show you plants deer seem to avoid and the plants deer really love to eat. He’ll discuss the three strategies of scare tactics, repellents and prevention for creating a deer proof garden. To register, call 360-676-0400.

Sacred Agriculture: Biodynamic Honeybee Sanctuary
Saturday, August 11th – Sunday, August 12th, 10:00 am – 3:30 pm, Friendly Haven Rise Farm, 20309 Northeast 242nd Avenue, Battle Ground, WA
“Immerse yourself in the magical world of honeybees” for two days on a biodynamic-organic farm near Battle Ground, WA with Jacqueline Freeman and Michael Thiele.”Bees were once thought to be heavenly messengers, an expression of wisdom in the universe. The oneness of the bee colony reveals the interconnectedness of the world and of ourselves within the world. To recognize and understand the unique nature of the bees means to recognize and understand our own fundamental nature. The oneness of the bee colony reveals the interconnectedness of the world and of ourselves within the world.” For more information and to register, call 360-687-8384. The cost is $175.

Succulent Pizzas!
Saturday, August 11th, 2:00 pm, Bakerview Nursery & Garden Center, 945 E. Bakerview Rd.
One of our gardening experts will show you how to create a colorful “pizza” or dish garden using cold-hardy succulent plants. This low maintenance succulent pizza is drought tolerant and easily portable for year round interest. Come join this class and learn how to create your own succulent pizza!! To register, call 360-676-0400.

Samish Watershed Garden Tour
Sunday, August 12th, 11:00 am – 3:00 pm, Alger Community Hall, 17835 Parkview Lane, Burlington, WA
Friday Creek Habitat Stewards, Chuckanut Transition and the Skagit Conservation District have put together an area garden tour highlighting gardens that are beautiful and bountiful while providing healthy habitat and economic opportunity in the Samish Watershed. You can pick up tips on wild crafting natives, growing food in challenging climates, using a greenhouse, edible perennials and much more! For more information, contact Kristi Carpenter at 360-428-4313 or Kristi@skagitcd.org.

Wild Medicinal Plant Walk
Sunday, August 12th, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm, Discovery Park, 3801 Discovery Park Blvd., Seattle, WA
You need to meet the plants before you do anything with them! From the tallest tree to the deepest root, medicinal plants are all around us. With miles of hiking trails, salt water of the bay, fresh water streams in the mountains and exquisite views, dozens of species of flowering plants, trees and ferns in varying ecosystems will delight and open your eyes to the bounty of nature.

Learn their medicinal and culinary benefits, ethnobotany and sustainable, ethical harvesting methods. Find out where to harvest herbs on your own and when to harvest each plant for optimum vitality, potency and nutrition. Click here to register. The cost is $35 per person. For more information, email at Suzanne@cedarmountainbotanicals.com.

PRUNING ORNAMENTAL SHRUBS AND TREES IN YOUR GARDEN
Sunday, August 12th, 2:00 pm, Hovander Homestead Park, 5299 Nielsen Avenue, Ferndale, WA
Learn when and how to prune the shrubs and small ornamental (not fruit) trees in your garden. For more information, call the WSU Whatcom County Extension at 360-6766736.

NEW FARM AND GARDEN BISINESS IN TOWN: Hannegan Farm & Home
Mondays – Saturdays: 9:00 am – 6:00 pm and Sundays: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm, 6931 Hannegan Road, at the northwest corner of Hannegan and East Pole Road, Lynden, WA
We are a community focused small business helping folks get started or continue down the path of raising their own food – whether on an apartment balcony, in the garden, or in the barnyard. Small farm life is what we love – who we are – and we’d love to have you stop by and see what we are up to. Bring the kids to visit Chickenlandia, the Northwest’s only dedicated Poultry Room, and Parker’s Ark Farm Zoo, with chickens, ducks, baby goats, alpacas, and Opie the miniature donkey! For more information give us a call at the store 360-389-5268.

Awesome Foundation‘s Food Chapter
The Awesome Foundation‘s Food chapter is now taking applications for its $1,000 microgrants to further food awesomessness in the universe. Apply at Awesome Foundation and submit under “Food” category. Every month, one microgrant will be given for an awesome idea involving food, be it urban farming, food truck, recipe collects, pop-up cafes, or health. The more inventive the better. The deadline is currently still open.

How Do Ya Like Them (Genetically-Modified) Apples?
Ever feel tongue tied when trying to explain why GMOs are a big problem? No more. Now, finally, we have Earth Open Source’s “GMO Myths and Truths” by scientists citing hundreds of peer-reviewed journals. And, it’s all clearly laid out for non scientists. The authors – including a molecular geneticist and biochemist – shoot down every argument you’ve ever heard from the pro-GMO interests.

Fall and winter gardening is easier than summer gardening in lots of ways–there are fewer weeds, fewer pests, no glut, and a slower pace that makes keeping up easier. Anything you grow is so appreciated when the days are cold. The hard part is knowing when to start those fall crops. In most places, most plants won’t grow much in winter–they need to be pretty mature before cold weather, and will then hold for a long time.

If you don’t know when is best for your region, we suggest planting some fall vegetables in pots or flats in a partly-shady place right now. Then start a few more every week for the next month. You will be able to see which ones perform best in your particular microclimate.

Water supplement for bees is claimed to prevent Colony Collapse Disorder
Around the world, honey bees have been vanishing at an alarming rate. Since bees not only provide honey, but are also vital for pollinating crops, this is not only distressing, it also puts agriculture at risk. The reasons for this decline are still unknown, but a Florida-based company claims to have found a solution in the form of a concentrated organic feed supplement. BeesVita is purported to not only protect bee colonies in danger of collapsing, but actually causes them to grow and thrive. Read on Desktop or Read on Mobile.

Secret to Perfect Sandcastles Revealed
Scientists have cracked the code for building the tallest possible sandcastle.

Bowhead Whales Jam Like Hendrix for Months
Bowhead whales are now thought to have song repertoires rivaling those of birds, except the tunes sound more like psychedelic Jimi Hendrix guitar licks than avian tweets.

Drilling Discovers Ancient Antarctic Rainforest
Palm trees flourished on Antarctica about 34 to 56 million years ago

Caffeinated Seas Found off U.S. Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest’s coffee culture may not stop at the shoreline, thanks to caffeinated human waste streaming off the coast.

TOO HOT TO CAN PICKES? TRY THE LACTO-FERMENTED PICKLE RECIPE
County Hot Summer Tomatoes for Fusilli
With this recipe, the only thing you have to cook is the pasta. My Italian cousin Edda makes it all summer long. This is a sauce of raw tomatoes and uncooked seasonings. You rub a bowl with garlic, dice up ripe tomatoes, leaving their skin and seeds intact, tear a few leaves of fresh herbs over the tomatoes, twirl in a thread of olive oil and finish with salt and pepper. Nothing could be easier, or taste better.

In some country houses, you might find capers and oregano in the bowl, or hot pepper and crushed garlic, or mint or even celery leaves. Everything in this dish is about what the country cook has on hand.

Cook to Cook: Exceptionally good tomatoes and olive oil you want to eat with a spoon are the only requirements for this recipe. Try a variety of tomatoes if possible-the punchy little Sweet 100s or Sun Golds, mellow beefsteaks and maybe one or two sweet yellow or orange ones. Tear the basil with your hands, rather than chopping with a knife. You enjoy more of its fragrance this way.

4 servings
• 1 clove garlic, split
• 2-1/2 to 3 pounds richly flavored tomatoes (if possible, one-third cherry type, one-third mellow-tasting, and one-third low-acid), unpeeled, unseeded, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 2 tightly packed tablespoons fresh basil leaves or other favorite herb, torn
• 3 to 4 tablespoons fruity extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound fusilli, penne, linguine or spaghetti
• 6 quarts boiling salted water
• 1/2 to 1 cup freshly grated aged Pecorino Romano cheese or domestic Fontinella (optional)
1. Vigorously rub a pasta serving bowl with the garlic. Add the tomatoes, basil, oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Let stand at room temperature while you cook the pasta, or up to several hours.
2. Cook the pasta in fiercely boiling water, stirring often, until tender yet firm to the bite. Drain in a colander and turn it into the pasta bowl, tossing all the ingredients together. Taste for seasoning and serve. If you like, pass cheese at the table.