Chautauqua-Wawasee, Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation (WACF) and the Syracuse-Wawasee Garden Club are jointly sponsoring a presentation, discussion and workshop focused on “Gardening in the Face of a Changing Climate”. The workshop will be held at the Oakwood Resort Inn, Syracuse Indiana, February 8, from 1:00 – 4:00. The event is open to the public and free to attend. The first hour consists of a presentation. The 2:00-4:00 period will be for deeper discussion and questions. 

The workshop will be led by John Edgerton of Shelbyville, Michigan. John has been doing small-scale farming for forty years, striving always to work in cooperation with nature. In this workshop we plan to explore wholistic, resilient, sustainable techniques for gardening and small farming. We will look at the importance of healthy soil, healthy plants and helpful insect habitat. We will also want to think about variety selection and other ways to account for climate-related imbalances of diseases and insects. We will share what others in the bioregion are doing to address these issues. Finally, we want to think beyond our own personal garden: We will consider the importance of collaborating and cooperating in our wider communities to build on food security and justice. 

What: One hour presentation, followed by deeper discussion. If people want to stay for the discussion portion, they’re welcome to remain. 

When: February 8, 1:00 – 4:00 

Where: Oakwood Resort Inn, Syracuse, Indiana 

Cost: Free to the Public. No registration needed 

About the Presenter. 

John Edgerton lives with his partner and fellow farmer, Amy Newday. Together, they have done both market gardening and community supported agriculture. John has done dozens of workshops on gardening and seed saving, most recently, at conferences sponsored by the Michigan Food and Farm Alliance, Michigan Integrative Food and Farming Systems, and KEEP GROWING DETROIT. He and Amy have worked with the Inter-Tribal Food Summit to grow out and repatriate several varieties of indigenous Northern Flint Corn. They also work with a network of northern gardeners to perform grow-out trials of Upland Rice varieties to determine suitability for our northern bioregion. John and Amy co-taught a course for seniors at Kalamazoo College on "Slow Farming" a form that is committed to limited and appropriate technology. John co-founded a local community garden in Martin, MI. He has also served as a schoolteacher in the Martin Michigan public school, and, long ago, at The Learning Center, a parent-teacher non-public cooperative elementary school, in Fort Wayne. 

About Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation 

The Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, was created to protect, preserve, and enhance the Wawasee Area Watershed for present and future generations. The Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation (WACF) was formed in 1991 to anticipate, seek out and resolve threats to the water quality in the Wawasee area watershed. The Foundation is dedicated to promoting education, encouraging best management practices to reduce erosion and acquiring wetlands and endangered shoreline areas. Now in our 27th year, our efforts have resulted in the acquisition and protection of over 10 miles of shoreline and 51 wetland areas totaling over 900 acres. 

See the website: http://wacf.com/ 

About Chautauqua-Wawasee 

Oakwood Foundation Chautauqua-Wawasee, is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization focused on providing life-enriching programs with cultural, educational, spiritual and recreational events to the Kosciusko community and northern Indiana. Our programs strive to conform to four pillars: Education, Arts, Recreation or Religion, and serve interests of families, seniors, retirees, students and young adults. Our offices are in Oakwood Resort, Syracuse, Indiana. See our website: http://www.chautauquawawasee.org or our Facebook site: