PARIS — The Spring workshops for the Oxford County Soil & Water District are continuing and upcoming classes are filing up fast.
Upcoming classes are:
Forestry for Maine Birds, Saturday, May 7, 9 a.m.-noon: Join OCSWCD and Maine Audubon to learn about managing woodlands with birds in mind. The Forestry for Maine Birds approach integrates bird conservation into forest management and planning. In this workshop, you will learn how to improve habitat for priority forest birds and a variety of other wildlife species, take care of your woodlands, work with other forest management goals, and enhance the value and enjoyment of Maine woodlands for many generations to come.
This event, with participants meeting at the Tenmile River Demo Forest in Brownfield, is being offered for free. Pre-registration is required; please register no later than 2 p.m. on Friday, May 6. This event must have 10 participants registered in order to run.
Be Your Own Soil Detective, Wednesday, May 18, 2-4 p.m.: The University of Maine Cooperative Extension and OCSWCD will offer an in-person, hands-on workshop about soil health in Paris. Join Rebecca Long, sustainable agriculture and horticulture professional with UMaine for “Be Your Own Soil Detective” to get the dirt on dirt. Participants will learn how to assess their own soil and make any necessary improvements to maximize soil health and plant productivity.
Registration is required and a sliding scale program fee of $15 per family is optional. Registration and payment information is available on the event webpage. For more information or to request a reasonable accommodation, contact Chantelle Hay at OCSWCS at 207.744.3111, or oxfordcountyswcd@gmail.com (email preferred). Please register no later than 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 17.
Naturescaping: An Ecological Approach to Landscaping, Friday, June 3, time to be decided: Create your own backyard wildlife sanctuary. Join Rebecca Long, sustainable agriculture and horticulture professional with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, and Chantelle Hay, education and outreach coordinator with OCSWCD, to learn to work with nature to make your landscape more resilient, pollinator and wildlife-friendly, and easy to care for. We’ll discuss ecological design principles, including the use of native plants, rewilding, and using natural materials to enrich your landscape. We will gather at the Cooperative Extension office in Paris.
Fee is a sliding scale of $0-15 per family, due at the event by cash or check. Pre-registration is required as this event is limited to 30 participants. Please register no later than 5 p.m. on Thursday, June 2.
Yoga and Mindfulness for Gardeners, Thursday, June 16, 10-11 a.m. (rain date, June 17, 10-11 a.m.): Sara King will lead participants through a yoga flow inspired by the sun and the natural world in an outdoor setting. This session will include yoga postures, breathwork, and a mindful visualization, and is open to all ability and experience levels. Sara King is a RYT 200, getting her certification in Pokhara, Nepal in 2017. She is also a children’s yoga and mindfulness instructor for youth ages 5-18. Sara currently works full-time as a 4-H professional with UMaine Cooperative Extension in Oxford County, is a Registered Maine Guide, and owns a small jewelry-making business with wooden materials.
Fee is a sliding scale of $0-15 per person, due at the event by cash or check. Pre-registration is required as this event is limited to 15 participants. Please register no later than 2 p.m. on Tuesday, June 21.
To learn more, or to register, go to: oxfordcountyswcd.org/workshops.
The OCSWCD Native Plant and Seed Sale is accepting orders until May 6.
This is one of our biggest fundraisers of the year, and the proceeds support educational programs in Oxford County. We’re pleased to offer an amazing list of native and naturalized plants for beginning to advanced gardeners throughout Oxford County and the surrounding area. We will also be offering, for the first time, two different seed mixes with a variety of native and naturalized annuals and perennials to provide your yard with years of color.
Nearly 1,500 species of native plants are found in Maine. They provide food, fiber, and habitat for wildlife and humans. The sale will include: flower annuals and perennials, vines, groundcovers, edible plants, shrubs, trees (including conifers), seed mixes.
The sale is only native plants and seeds that have not been harvested from the wild; no invasive non-native species
Learn more and download an order form at: oxfordcountyswcd.org/native-plant-sale.
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