Sustainable Bellingham

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

SB Roving Garden Party  – Columbia Neighborhood
** Where: 1507 E. Maplewood Ave. MAP.
** When: Tuesday, May 29th, 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm for work, 7:30 pm socializing and meal.
** Requested Items to Bring: Gloves, shears or hand tools you like to use.
** Tasks: Prepping beds, planting seeds/sprouts, pulling morning glory and other invasives;  some compost maintenance, and maybe building a chicken tractor.
** Food: Food provided is vegetarian curry and gluten free. Please BYOB and if you like to barbeque anything you would like to cook on the grill. We have two fire pits.
** Host: Laura & Steven Bochinski, call at 733-1746, email bsteveb@gmail.com or lsbanks@gmail.com.
** Questions: Email Jean at artiseverywhere@yahoo.com, or info@sustainablebellingham.org.

Join Sustainable Bellingham’s 4th annual Roving Garden Party series, where volunteers help their neighbors create an edible garden. These fun events consist of approximately 90 minutes of gardening, followed by a shared meal. Everyone is welcome!

Making Tortillas From Scratch & Rendering Lard
Tuesday, May 29th, 6:00 pm -9:00 pm, River Haven Farm, 741 River Road, Lynden, WA
Back by popular demand, we will share the timeless art of making masa from the dent corn we grew right here in Whatcom County and turning it into tasty, stone-ground homemade tortillas. We will also teach you how to render lard (from pastured, organic pigs) for a wholesome, local cooking fat. We’ll sample it all with some home-grown beans as we chat about the details of how to grown your own flour corn and dry beans for an exceptionally hearty winter food supply. The cost for attending is $20 if you carpool and $25 if you’re driving solo. R.S.V.P. is required; please contact Krista Rome at 360-224-4757 or kristamrome@yahoo.com.

Blue Water Benefit
Friday, June 1st, 6:00 pm, Multi-Purpose Room (MPR), WWU campus
Western’s chapter of Engineers Without Borders presents the Blue Water Benefit. Come watch a performance by the Dead Parrot Society and eat dinner provided by University Catering! The event will also have a silent auction. Engineers Without Borders is a campus club working with a rural Mayan community in Guatemala to help them build a water supply system. All proceeds from this event go towards supporting this cause. Students with WWU ID will be charged $12, while general admission is $25.
For more information, contact Liv Mothershead at mothero@students.wwu.edu.

Do it Yourself Frames & Mirrors without Miters/Angles: FREE
Saturday, June 2^nd, 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm, Depot Market Square, Railroad Ave
Watch Eberhard of our REvision Division show how to take the mystery and trickiness out of building frames for mirrors, serving trays, and wall art. Learn easy ways to create furniture as he creates functional pieces right before your eyes. Eberhard has been building furniture and doing finish carpentry for 30 years. His skill and creativity is creating new pieces daily in the RE Store’s new REvision division.
For more info contact http://www.re-store.org/revisiondivision or call 393-5255

Cob Designs Workshop: Cob: Short and Sweet
Saturday, June 2nd and Sunday, June 3rd, Bellingham, WA
Learn the basics of cob ingredients, mixing, and tools. Get dirty this weekend perfecting your cob techniques and making friends. All workshops are hands-on and open to all ages. They are fun and physical by nature, we encourage each person to work at a sustainable pace. Pre-registration is required. The cost for this class is $105 plus a $50 non-refundable place holding fee (taken off total). Open to trade. Meals provided, camping available. Sign up with a friend and save 10%. To learn more about the time, location, and how to register, call Carris Lewis at 360-610-7823 or send a message through the contact page.

NSEA Work Party – Happy Valley Park
Saturday, June 2nd, 9:00 am – 12:00 pm, Happy Valley Park,2700 Donovan Ave.
Come join the efforts of (NSEA) and Bellingham Parks to continue the restoration along the trails and creeks that run through Happy Valley Park, located on Donovan Street. We will be removing invasive plants and mulching. Meet at the Happy Valley Park shelter. Parking is very limited so please walk, carpool, ride your bike or take the WTA# 105 off the Blue Line.

Raptor Ridge Challenge
Sunday, June 3rd, 10:00 am, Raptor Ridge Trail
Raptor Ridge 10-Mile Challenge is part of the Bellingham Trail Series directed by Dan Probst. The race is being held to promote Trail Stewardship and of course to enjoy a day of awesome single track. Proceeds from the race will be donated back to the WMBC and to strengthening the trail running community’s trail stewardship. Be a part of your community and give back to the trails. This race will fill up quick, be sure to register early. Race entrants will be limited due to the nature of the course and parking.
For more information, contact Dan Probst at RaptorRidgeTrail@yahoo.com.

Everybody BIKE Summer Rides: School Garden Tour
Sunday, June 3rd, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm, Departs from Youth Grown Garden, 1020 North State St
Common Threads Farm and the School Garden Collective will give us guided tours of each of five school-based gardens. Riders will explore vegetable patches grown by young people at elementary and middle schools. Nationwide, school gardens have become an exciting new way for kids to learn about nutrition and science. This will be the second annual Garden to Garden ride. After the ride, participants can visit a restaurant that uses local produce from gardens like those we visit. For more information, call 671-BIKE or email at info@everybodyBIKE.com.

Diggin’ the Beats Celebration
Sunday, June 3rd, 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm, Boundary Bay Brewery, 1107 Railroad Ave.
Join us to celebrate another successful year of school gardening, raise a glass to our fantastic volunteers, and look forward to another productive summer of growing and learning together! We’ll have a raffle with some great items, including a week of Farm Camp, an afternoon of woodworking instruction, and an hour’s nutrition consultation with NourishRDs. Bid on a Trip to Africa, enjoy the pedal-powered smoothie station, and family-friendly music with Pam Sinnett!

All are welcome, no admission fee – just the chance to support Common Threads Farm through your presence and your participation in our raffle and auction!

ORGANIC FARMING HELPS VETS RECOVER FROM WAR
United States military veterans are trading green fatigues for green thumbs in the Veterans Sustainable Agriculture Training program at Archi’s Acres, an organic farm north of San Diego.

DEVICE MAY LET HUMANS COMMUNICATE WITH DOLPHINS
A new dolphin speaker device could one day help us talk with these remarkably intelligent life forms, scientists say.

SHOULD WE TURN OFF THE LIGHTS?
Street lighting is changing bug communities, and that is affecting everything from the songs birds sing, to the makeup of people.

ROBOT FISH THAT DETECTS POLLUTION TAKES TO THE SEA
LONDON (Reuters) – Robot “fish” developed by European scientists to improve pollution monitoring has moved from the lab to the sea in a test at the northern Spanish port of Gijon on Tuesday, May 22nd.