Calendar of local events

8 sessions on consecutive Wednesdays starting 21st April, each 9.30am-midday.

This introductory course will provide the practical skills and knowledge in a broad range of tasks in gardening work including safe handling and use of pesticides, general workplace safety, skills in propagation, compost making, tending plants, treating weeds and irrigation.

No garden of your own? Would you like be able to share some fresh produce? Go along and join Span’s gardening team. Wheelchair accessible, fun and supportive. You just need your skills, or want to develop skills.

Click here to read about the garden.

Whether you are a local worker, live locally, are a church member or just looking for a place to have a meal – they welcome you to their monthly community meal. Their desire is to create a safe space for all people to connect, be encouraged and feel cared for as a valued member of our local community.

They provide a comfortable and welcoming environment where you can receive wholesome meals and friendship. Succulent soups please the palate in Winter and, in Summer, savouries are the order of the day.

Click here to read about the garden.

The meal is provided undercover at the front of the church by either New Community Ringwood Church or UrbanLife. It consists of soup, then BBQ hamburgers with bread rolls and salad, followed by dessert (usually a selection of cakes). Tea and coffee is available through the night.

Food Not Bombs Melbourne is part of a worldwide movement that cooks and distributes vegan organic food to anyone and everyone, without restriction. It bases itself in Brunswick, gathers leftover organic fruit and vegetables from Queen Victoria Market and elsewhere, gives some to worthy causes, then cooks up the rest and serves it on the streets of Coburg and Collingwood. They would welcome more people to help them cook the meals (you can cook what you like or help someone else cook). The cooking starts 2 hours before the serving times.

Join Alice Zaslavsky in conversation about her new book In Praise of Veg, which comprises plant-based recipes. Alice will talk about the joy of cooking and eating veggies, share some plant-based cooking tips and tricks, reveal some of her favourite plant-based restaurants and cafes, and importantly, talk about why eating more plants is one way we can take action on the climate emergency.

Anyone is welcome to attend and no ongoing commitment to the garden is required.

Click here to read about the garden.

Feel free to drop by to have a look at the garden, to find out more and to meet the garden coordinator, Trevor.

Click here to read about the garden.

Everyone welcome. Help them continue to transform their garden into an edible, beautiful and educational sanctuary for all who pass through their gates.

Click here to read about the garden.

Share a healthy home-cooked lunch and chat with fellow community members and Carlton Neighbourhood Learning Centre staff.

What you will learn:

• How to prepare authentic authentic Roman dishes.
• How to adapt Australian ingredients to Italian dishes.

What you will get:

• A three-course meal with a complimentary glass of wine, plus finger food before the meal.
• A full set of recipes for all dishes.

This is a hands-on cooking experience teaching you how to make dumplings from scratch. Sit and eat together at the end with a glass of sparkling wine. The ingredients for the various dumplings will include a wide range of spices, seasonings, vegetables, meats and seafood.

What you will learn:

• How to get started with keeping chickens in a suburban backyard.
• How to house and protect chooks from predators.
• How chooks can be used to improve your garden and soil.

Presented by Tess Gosling. Keeping a few chooks in the backyard used to be a staple of Australian suburban life, and their eggs made up a healthy part of our diet. But even though our house blocks might be shrinking, a smaller backyard doesn’t necessarily mean an end to raising or enjoying them. In this class, you will find out just how easy it is to keep a few hens as pets and as the ultimate garden recyclers, as well as everything you need to know about housing, protecting and feeding them, and lots of practical ideas on how to live harmoniously with them in your garden. Suitable for those who have never kept chooks before.

FoodStop creates a safe and positive environment for those needing a meal and/or social interaction.

Whilst FoodStop is usually located at the entrance to the Lilydale Showgrounds, in the colder months (mid May to mid September), it is in The Chapel at 42-44 Castella Street, Lilydale.

The Community Grocer aims to improve access for people living on a low-income to fresh, affordable food. They do this by running weekly fruit and vegetable markets across Melbourne. Everyone is welcome.

Click here to read about the garden.

A behind-the-scenes tour of the 10 step chocolate making process at Ratio Cocoa Roasters. Followed by a guided chocolate tasting.

Tasting plate can be adapted to non dairy / vegan, please advise on arrival.

Learn to craft your own pizza dough from scratch. Taste a variety of topping combinations. Eat together at the end with a couple of glasses of wine.

This is a weekly event, on every Friday evening except for the 3rd Friday of each month and public holidays. See the Salt Foundation’s Facebook page for details about each week’s particular meal. Dinner is usually served at 6.30pm, with coffee and nibbles starting 5.30pm or 6pm.

Learn about the flavours of Middle Eastern cooking. Try out recipes and cooking methods while preparing a three course menu. Stay and share your freshly prepared dinner with the group.

This is a hands-on cooking experience with an expert cooking instructor. Explore the fundamentals of cooking ingredients, spices and flavour profile, then enjoy with complimentary wine or beer. The menu: chicken tikka masala, prawn curry masala, naan, mint raita and palak paneer.

Learn how to grow high profit crops with Farmer Ben including: bed preparation; farm toolkit; how to build a polytunnel; working with a BCS walk behind tractor; choosing crops; and pest control.

Dogs not permitted.

The Community Grocer aims to improve access for people living on a low-income to fresh, affordable food. They do this by running weekly fruit and vegetable markets across Melbourne. Everyone is welcome.

Every Saturday except during January.

Organised by Australian Plants Society – Yarra Yarra, there will be sales of native and indigenous plants plus books.

The plant sellers will include: APS Yarra Yarra growers; La Trobe Wildlife Sanctuary nursery; Natural Plantscape Nursery; Sunvalley Plants Nursery; and Vaughan’s Australian Plants.

In a 45 minute ‘parent-free zone’, children aged 6–12 years can learn from their chocolatiers how to make their very own chocolate creations. Includes personalised badge, chef’s hat and apron, graduation certificate plus take home three chocolate creations to enjoy.

This is a hands-on cooking experience teaching you how to make dumplings from scratch. Sit and eat together at the end with a glass of sparkling wine. The ingredients for the various dumplings will include a wide range of spices, seasonings, vegetables, meats and seafood.

Organised by Outer Eastern Permaculture Swap. For the latest updates, see their Facebook page.