We did come and enjoy the music, food, people and the festival this weekend. It was awesome! The music was great, food was incredible and we left with a fistful of information and a gratifying feeling about being part of something good.
Our first experience with the Organic Islands Festival was three years ago. I can’t recall how we found out about it but we were pretty thrilled by what we saw when we arrived.
Upon entering the festival that first time back in 2006 we were initial stunned by the beauty of Glendale Gardens (we are now season’s pass holders), and then the Children’s Garden which is right near the entrance. Step through the vine covered archway into a miniature, magical world of kids vegetable and herb gardens. Everyone got a kick out of the “thyme” out bench.
The kids giggled at the garden beds made from beds and cribs and played endlessly with the water pump, and poked at the toy animals on the living roof of the hut.
The upshot of their little adventure was registration in the Junior Master Gardener’s program for our, then 7-year old daughter. She got so much out of the 1-week gardening camp that we enrolled her again the following year.
She learned how to plant and care for seeds, flowers and vegetables. But more importantly she enjoyed the experience of working with the earth, and with her hands and gained an understanding of where food comes from that you can’t get from books. She also made a couple of close friends.
I highly recommend the Junior Master Gardener camps to anyone with children between 7-10 years of age. The courses are:
- July 13th – 17th from 9am – noon
- August 10th – 14th
The curriculum includes:
- soils and water
- fruits and vegetables
- ecology and environmental horticulture
- plant growth and development wildlife
- literature in the garden
- health and nutrition
The cost is $100.00 for 15 hours of instruction. To register or for more information call 250-479-6162.
Written by Chris Burdge (BWEST Interactive)
I am constantly surprised at the number of people that I come across that don’t know about these wonderful gardens. We too had no idea until we went to last year’s Organic Island Festival – and we were absolutely gobsmacked at the stunning beauty that we found there. The Junior Master Gardener Camp sounds awesome – something else we didn’t know about – so much to do here – gotta love Victoria!