AMGA Conference 2015

Presented by: David Oldacre to Halton Master Gardeners October 7th 2015

1: Atlantic Master Gardeners, Dalhousie University, Truro, NS2: Hope Blooms Community Garden in North Halifax3: Community Gardens in Truro4: Sustainable Gardening5: Living Walls6: Using a Home Greenhouse7: An Apple a Day8: Visit to an organic garden in Nova Scotia9: Another garden in Quebec10: Website references

Atlantic Master Gardeners, Dalhousie University, Truro AMGA Founded in 2007 website at http://www.atlanticmastergardeners.ca/

Members from the four maritime provincesMembership of garden club required – current membership = 35Classes of membership

Active – student membersInactive – on leave of absenceEmeritusCertified – regular members who have to be re-certified every yearAssociates – former members with non-voting privileges (newly approved)

Certification rules 25 volunteer hours per year, includes serving on executive of garden club of which 8 must be in training others presentations, writing articles,

8 hours of education in a 2-year period.Dalhousie University – Agricultural Campus

Founder of the AMGA; Runs the certification program, Host and sponsor of Conference

City of Truro – The Hub of Nova Scotia.Now quite influenced by Dalhousie faculty!

Hope BloomsCommunity Garden founded in 2008 on abandoned land in North HalifaxFounded by Jessie Jollymore, Community Dietician.Focussing on food security issues, helping people with chronic illnessEngage at-risk youth to build environment to grow own food, work together, and skills

developmentFirst year: worked with 9 local children to clear land, planted tomato seeds made Salsa and sold

240 bottles of itBranched out to salad dressing business and student membership grew from 9 to over 50Key determinants for health food security, social inclusion, social safety network“Planting the Seeds” program – Holistic approach, collaborative partnership, youth as change

agents, entrepreneurial spirit, grass roots philosophy, mentorship, prevention based.2013 Featured on CBC Dragons Den reality show, trip to TorontoNow have charitable status and a community building 4000 square feet

An inspiring presentation given by Jessie and three of her students

Community Gardens in TruroSpeaker: Andrew Williams, Dept of Engineering & Public Works, City of Truro

First Community Garden privately established in 1999Pressure on the city to tidy up abandoned propertyHow the city first got involved – installation of flower beds to pretty up one of the major

boulevards in TruroGardening as a leisure activity is coming back in Truro as elsewhereRepurposing a vacant area of ground often the spur to establishing a community gardenVacant area being looked after by a couple of people, Seedy SaturdaysBeautification of vacant property by several downtown businessesGlenwood Community GardenTruro Marshland Garden Truro has now hired its first horticulturalist

Sustainable GardeningSpeaker: Tracey Mackenzie, Dept of Environmental Sciences,

Faculty of Agriculture, Dalhousie University

UN definition of Sustainability: The design, construction, operation practices, that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs

SULIS Sustainable Urban Landscape Information SeriesFive considerations: Functional, Maintainable, Environmentally sound, Cost Effective, Visually pleasing

Design PrinciplesDo no harm, Design with Nature and Culture, Preservation, Conservation, Regenerative

Support a Living ProcessUnderstanding site; Preserving Nature, Understanding Needs, Choosing Plants wisely.

Environmental BenefitsAir purification, Saving energy, harnessing the wind, encourage biodiversity, Reduce inputs

Rain GardensLocation – e.g. shallow depression, Criteria, Design, Building

Very enthusiastic speaker who ran out of time at this point!

Living Walls

Speaker: Shannon Kilyanek, Department of Plant and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Dalhousie University

Indoor Living Walls – Vertical walls, Green walls, Eco wallsPhotographs of Livings walls in various citiesBenefits: Air Quality; Natural air filters; Increase O2, decrease CO2; Reduces other toxins

Health and Wellness: Healthy effect, stress reduction & relaxation, Increase productivityMany designs: Pocket design, Hinged panels, Pockets and trays, GSky Smart wallsMaintenance Requirement:

a working irrigation system, fertilization, pruning, adequate lighting, plant selection Watering: Recirculating using tanks are most efficient Perfect Indoor Plants – Chinese evergreens, Spider Plant, Pothos, Philodendra, Rubber tree Speaker’s favourites included: Moses in the Cradle, Dracaena, Boston Fern, Crotons, False Aralia,

Spider Plants, Coleus, Prayer Plant, Parlour Palm

After the talk, we all had fun placing plants in an interactive living wall design session

Using a Home Greenhouse Speaker: Heather Connors-Dunphy, Past President, AMGA

What would you like to do with your greenhouse?Greenhouse 101

Oriented to East , Flooring provides decent easy-cleanup, Vents are a must in roof (or ends), A fan is a necessity

Greenhouse NecessitiesAbility to heat and cool, Electricity a GFCI ground on circuits, Benches made of cedar, Access to water, Watering cans with a decent rose, Thermometers on benches

Keep Records from year to year of successes and experiments not worth repeatingHow Much Work Is This Going To Be? (How much work do you want it to be?)

Plants require attention in morning and evening. “Greenhouse time” for transplants is April to early JuneYou won’t be leaving home for a weekend if you have a greenhouse!

Growing Plant MaterialStarting Seeds And PlantsGreenhouse HintsGrowing VegetablesClean Up, Storage And Planning

Superfoods and Nutraceuticals An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor away!

Speaker: Vasantha Rupasinghe, Associate Professor/Canada Research Chair, Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture

The magic nutrients of apples that are so good for healthSCIENTIFIC STUDIES have shown that apples are good for

Brain Health, A healthy heart Prevention and Treatment of Asthma , Staying fit, Fighting cancer

BIOACTIVES in apples include: Flavinoids (Micronutrients), Dihydro Chalcones, Phenolic Acids, Triterpenoids

MICRONUTRIENTS above and beyond the Basic Nutrients prevent diseases of chronic disorder Apple peel, but not the flesh of an apple, has some very useful chemicals:

Cyanidin glycosides, Proanthocyanidin, Quercetin glycosides, Epicatechin

APPLE FLAVINOIDS (A/F) have been shown to improve chronic health problems such as Multiple Sclerosis, Cardiovascular disorders (e.g. Artherosclerosis), Hyperlipedemia, Reduce blood pressure, arrest breast cancer cells, suppress cancer cell migration

FOOD INGREDIENTS Dried apple peel powder can be used as a food ingredient; Oil free apple snack

Flavinoids used to enrich functional beverages & as dietary supplements

An Organic Farm in Nova Scotia

Marcus Cusson Farm – general view of the farm

An Organic Farm in Nova ScotiaMarcus Cusson Farm – one of the greenhouses

An Organic Farm in Nova Scotia

Marcus Cusson Farm – the power system!

Another beautiful garden in Québec

Jardins de Domaine de Joly-Lotbinière

Just one slide of some 40 others

Website references

Town of Truro http://www.truro.ca/Dalhousie, Faculty of Agriculture http://www.dal.ca/about-dal/agricultural-campus.htmlAtlantic Master Gardeners Association http://www.atlanticmastergardeners.ca/ Hope Blooms http://hopeblooms.ca/ Cobequid Community Garden Society, Truro http://www.angelfire.com/bug/ccg/ Sustainable Gardening (1) http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/landscaping/

(2) http://landscapemanagement.net/design-for-sustainability/ (3)

http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/landscaping/design/module1.htm (4) http://www.sustainablesites.org/ (5) http://www.iep.utm.edu/kantaest/

Living Walls http://gsky.com/green-walls/smartwall/ Using a Home Greenhouse Stokes Seed catalogue www.StokeSeeds.com

I have a copy of the presentation, but I need permission to save it on Halton website An Apple a Day http://www.chairs-chaires.gc.ca/chairholders-titulaires/profile-eng.aspx?profileId=2792 http://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-02-apple-powered.html Another Beautiful Quebec Garden http://www.domainejoly.com/fr/accueil/