URBAN FARMING CLASSES AT BIOFUEL OASIS
| BioFuel Oasis is excited to be announce its urban farm class series for Spring 2013! We specialize in hands-on, seasonally appropriate classes designed to empower people. MOST classes will be held at: Sticky Art Lab, 1682 University Ave (at McGee), Berkeley Refund policy |
Backyard BeekeepingSunday, May 19, 2 p.m.- 5 p.m.
Location: Sticky Art Lab, 1682 University Ave (at McGee), Berkeley
Cost: $35
This popular class fills up every time we offer it, so sign up early! Honeybees are a joy to keep in the backyard simply for their buzzing presence and, on hot days, the smell of honey, wafting through the air within ten feet of the hive. They increase pollination in your yard and therefore increase your yields from fruit trees and vegetables. You may also harvest honey (gallons per year), beeswax, pollen, and propolis from the hive. We’ll cover what you need to know to feel ready to have a Langstroth backyard beehive – how to get bees, what equipment you need, where to put the hive, how to extract honey and upkeep the hive. There will be local honey to try.
Instructor: Jennifer Radtke is a backyard beekeeper and BioFuel Oasis worker-owner.
Fermentation In-Depth: Expanding Beyond the Basics
Sunday, June 2nd, 10 a.m.- 1 p.m.
Location: Sticky Art Lab, 1682 University Ave (at McGee), Berkeley
Cost: $35
Now that you’ve been making kraut, kombucha, or yogurt for awhile, get ideas and inspiration of where to go from here. Learn tips & tricks from an advanced fermentator! We’ll have hands-on work making some cool recipes to expand your fermentation repertoire like herbal sodas and seasonal kimchis. Nishanga will also describe how you can introduce fermentation into almost any dish, and reap the benefits of the fermentation lifestyle. At the end of class, you are invited to stay for a short tasting and sharing of fermented foods that you and other class participants have brought. Bring a knife and cutting board.
Instructor: Nishanga Bliss is a licensed acupuncturist who has worked in the holistic health field for over 20 years. She lives in Berkeley where she grows, cooks, ferments, savors, teaches, and writes about sustainable food. Visit her blog at http://www.gastronicity.blogspot.com/.
Honey Harvesting
Sunday, June 2nd, 2 p.m.- 4 p.m.
Location: Sticky Art Lab, 1682 University Ave (at McGee), Berkeley
Cost: $30
Interested in learning how honey gets from hive to jar? In this hands-on class, participants will uncap frames of honeycomb and hand spin them in an extractor to expel the honey. The instructor will explain and show a video of how she removed the frames of honeycomb from her hive. Taste three different backyard honeys and go home with a small sample of this delicious honey you help harvest. This class is for the honey-lover, the bee-curious, and the new-ish beekeeper!
Instructor: Jennifer Radtke is a backyard beekeeper and BioFuel Oasis worker-owner.
Make Your Own Mead!
Sunday, June 9, 3:30 p.m.- 6 p.m.
Location: Sticky Art Lab, 1682 University Ave (at McGee), Berkeley
Cost: $60 (all ingredients & equipment provided for a gallon jug of mead)
Learn the secrets to making mead–and take home your own gallon to ferment at home–at this hands-on class taught by apiarist, Robert MacKimmie of City Bees. Speculated to be mankind’s first fermented beverage, mead is easy to make at home, yet fine enough to serve at special occasions (read: no better way to impress guests at your next party). Participants will mix their gallon of mead under Robert’s ever-watchful eye, ensuring delicious results. The class will also discuss and review more advanced recipes for Cyser (apple and honey wine) and Melomel (fruit and honey). Best of all, plenty of tasty samples will be provided. Each participant goes home with a gallon jug of mead and recipes, ready to ferment!
Instructor: Apiarist Robert MacKimmie has successfully tended bees for 16 years. He manages 70 hives, mostly in San Francisco, producing neighborhood-based, micro-climate honeys.
How to Enroll
Please click the “Pay Now” button below the class description to reserve your spot in the class via credit card or debit card. (You don’t need a PayPal account – just click “Continue” next to where it says “Don’t have a PayPal account?”)
You can also sign up by calling BioFuel Oasis (510.665.5509) or coming in during business hours.
Our classes often fill up 1-2 weeks before class date, we strongly recommend you sign up early!
Work-Trade
We have low-income and work-trade spots available. Please inquire if you would like to apply for one.
Cancellations must be made seven days in advance in order to receive a full refund. Refunds are not given for classes canceled less than seven days ahead; however, you can always send a friend in your place.