This community events calendar is the place to find fun activities and things to do throughout Lewis County, including Centralia, Chehalis and beyond.
February 7th – November 6th 2024: 1st Wednesday of the month
$250 for all 10 classes, $130 for a 5-class series, or $30 per class
6 pm – 8 pm PST
Grow Your Own Produce is a 10-class monthly series taught by permaculture expert Marisha Auerbach. Each class features seasonally relevant information about planning, growing, maintaining, and harvesting food from your own vegetable garden.
Each month, the class is designed to help you maximize your yields and efforts in the garden by providing an overview of key activities to engage in at the right time each month from February through November. We meet on the first Wednesday of each month through Zoom. Before the class meeting, participants will receive a collection of handouts supporting the key topics for the month with a garden checklist for the month ahead. We will discuss different subjects that are pertinent to the garden that month using slides and the month’s handouts as references. There will be ample time each class session for questions. After each class, participants receive a video of the class and a pdf of the slides.
Marisha Auerbach has spent many years observing and interacting in her garden and in the gardens of the greater Pacific Northwest bioregion. She has been growing most of her own produce year ‘round for over the past decade. To learn more about Marisha, please visit her bio page. This is the 11th year that Marisha will be offering the workshop series.
2024’s Schedule of Classes:
Wednesday, February 7: Planning, Design, & Framework
Wednesday, March 6: Indoor Seed starting, Early Season Plantings, & Perennial Vegetables
Wednesday, April 3: Cole Crops, Greens, & Soil Building
Wednesday, May 1: Warm Season Crops, Edible Flowers, & Attracting Pollinators
Wednesday, June 5: Maintenance & Harvest
Wednesday, July 3: Berries, Herbs, & Water Catchment
Wednesday, August 7: Seed saving & the Winter Garden
Wednesday, September 4: Putting up the Harvest
Wednesday, October 9: Garlic, Cover Crops, & Compost
Wednesday, November 6: Nourishing Soups, Wildlife in the Garden, & Planning for the Coming Year
Time to be planning your garden!
Many Master Gardeners are helping you out by starting your seeds for you. We will have LOTS of tomato plants as well as peppers, vegetables, annuals, perennials, houseplants, even trees and bushes for sale!
Jean Bluhm is our Guest Speaker for May and will share about the rest of the Borst Family and community in her books: Joseph Borst Family Tree (1564 – 2022); The Borst Home Guide; Book 3 People who lived in … Borst Home Museum; and, Book 4 The Borst Museum Expanded. A deeper Look into the Past (on how the buildings help us see our past). Jean is always a pure delight.
Time to be planning your garden!
Many Master Gardeners are helping you out by starting your seeds for you. We will have LOTS of tomato plants as well as peppers, vegetables, annuals, perennials, houseplants, even trees and bushes for sale!
Timberland Regional Library and the Capital STEM Alliance at ESD113 welcome you to our third Moving Forward Together virtual summit on Thursday, June 6, 2024, from 4:30-6:00 pm. Our focus will be on childcare – an issue that affects employers, families, educators, and communities throughout the Capital region.
Our Keynote speaker, Gary Burris of the Child Care Action Council, will kick off the event, followed by a panel discussion around family-friendly workplaces, child care recruitment and retention, and universal access for families. Attendees will come away with information about:
Childcare deserts and how they affect working families
Childcare provider training, recruitment and retention issues
How family-friendly workplaces can contribute to employee retention and a positive culture
We hope you will join us for this informative event!
Panel speakers include:
Shelly Willis Executive Director of Family Education and Support Service
Melody Furze Early Learning Education Specialist and Child Find Coordinator at ESD11
Mary Rulewicz, Early Learning Coordinator – Timberland Regional Library
Regular maintenance of your garden tools will make them last for seasons of gardening. Sharp tools help to keep your plants healthy and disease free. Come and learn with the experts!
Why Celebrate the our Independence Day? Who Signed the Declaration of Independence? How did they see celebrations for future generations? Flags of
our fledgling nation and Flag Etiquette … Songs of our beginning …
4th of July is on Thursday this year … Go see a parade in your community, enjoy a
picnic or BBQ … Enjoy your freedom with friends and family, readying for our 250th upcoming celebration.
Now is the perfect time to plan and plant for a year-round vegetable garden that will produce through fall and spring. This workshop will teach you what to plant and how to rotate garden space all without a greenhouse.
The Chehalis River Basin Land Trust and the Lewis County Stream Team will hold a work party at the Chehalis River Discovery Trail, near Centralia on Thursday, June 27th from 9 am ‘til 12 noon
Come join volunteers from the CRBLT and the Lewis County Stream Team for a Work Party at the Chehalis River Discovery Trail on Thursday, June 27th. We’ll gather at the trailhead, near the river, at 9am, then proceed to the work area near the north end of the trail.
Most of the work will be knocking down reed canary grass, to encourage growth of 250 young trees and shrubs that were planted last fall. If time allows, we may also remove some other invasive plants.
Snacks and drinking water will be provided. (Bring your own bottle.)
Where: Chehalis River Discovery Trail, 1545 Goodrich Rd, Centralia, WA. Follow the signs and continue through the gate to the parking area near the old red barn.
When: From 9 am until 12 noon, on Thursday, June 27th, 2024.
Dress for the weather. Sturdy shoes, gloves, long pants and sun-protection are all recommended. We will have some gloves available at the site.
Please pre-register for this event by emailing an RSVP to:
office@chehalislandtrust.org
Please let us know how many people you expect in your party.
We also ask that you arrive early to sign a liability waiver for the day.
Thanks in advance for your participation!
Burnt Ridge founder and co-owner Michael Dolan will lead each tour of the 20 acre farm and nursery, focusing on diverse fruit and nut crops that can be grown organically in western Washington – including blueberries, figs, mulberries, kiwis, hazelnuts, and chestnuts. A sample platter of fresh, seasonal fruits will be provided along with chef-prepared treats to highlight the unique flavors at their peak ripeness.
Certified organic fresh fruit, farm-made jam, live plants and more will be available for purchase after the tour. Michael and other knowledgeable nursery staff will be available to answer your questions.
There are two tours per day, at 10:00am and 1:30pm. Tickets must be purchased in advance: $15 each, $35 for a party of three, and $40 for a party of 4, available at https://www.burntridgenursery.com/Farm-Tours/products/165/ . Due to the sloping and rugged ground of this working farm, the tour is not suitable for strollers or those with limited mobility.
