Summer Fruit Tree Pruning
Our next workshop, to be held on Saturday, August 17, 10am–2:30pm at the Laytonville Ecovillage, is coming up soon!
Seasoned fruit tree expert Richard Jeske will be teaching a one-day class on how to prune fruit trees in the summer. Many fruit trees are overgrown due to lack of maintenance. Instead of pruning in the winter to invigorate trees, summertime pruning de-invigorates fruit trees to make them more manageable and to have richer quality fruit. The Laytonville Ecovillage has several older overgrown fruit trees and summer pruning has allowed them to produce abundant fruit and also has made the trees easier to maintain.
For more information about this workshop, go to: laytonvilleecovillage.com/workshops
Walking in Wonder
On July 13, the Laytonville Ecovillage hosted a nature walk with naturalist and author Kate Marianchild. Author of Secrets of the Oak Woodlands, Kate’s work opens our eyes to the abundance of nature that coexists within and around oak woodlands. Rather than focusing on oak trees themselves, Kate weaves a rich tapestry of detail about the ecology of oak woodlands. Birds, fungi, mice, mistletoe, newts, manzanita, wood rats, and dozens of other species play a reciprocal role—both supporting and benefitting from oak trees.
Pictured below, Kate is reading from her book about poison oak. While many people don’t like poison oak and shudder at the mere sight of it, it actually plays a critical role in oak woodland ecology. Rats, mice, bear, coyotes, and over sixty types of birds eat poison oak berries!
You can learn about Kate’s work here: www.katemarianchild.com
Salt Point Seaweed
Tessa, Avery and Catherine of Salt Point Seaweed practice sustainable seaweed harvesting on the Mendocino coast and dry their seaweed at the Laytonville Ecovillage. They returned this year for another season, bringing a troop of friends to help, and they installed a greenhouse to help the drying process. Salt Point Seaweed is growing and their products are wonderful!
For information about Salt Point Seaweed, go to: www.saltpointseaweed.com
