Calendar of local events
Given the current coronavirus crisis, it is unlikely that many, if any, of these events will actually be happening.
View calendars for specific Council areas:
All areas Banyule Boroondara City of Yarra Darebin Manningham Maroondah Moreland Nillumbik Whitehorse Whittlesea Yarra Ranges
View calendars for specific types of event (and the key to the colour coding):
All events All once-off events (Cooking, Everything else, Free) Community gardens Food swaps Free meals Markets Farmers’ markets Garden clubs
A small group of gardening volunteers meets every Friday at 10 am and works until 12:30 pm when they break for a free community lunch! They incorporate produce from the garden into these weekly community lunches. New visitors and volunteers would be more than welcome.
Click here to read about the garden.
What you will learn:
- Ways to create and look after your own Sourdough starter culture, flour to use for the best nutrition and results.
- Ways to knead sticky high hydration dough for a more authentic sourdough loaf, equipment needed to produce a great looking and tasting sourdough tin loaf at home.
- Ways to bake sourdough bread using a bread tin in a home oven, bread dough looks and feels like at its various stages of preparation and development.
What you will get:
- Comprehensive workshop notes.
- Sourdough starter culture.
- A discount on a professional quality bread tin.
Join Rick of The Life We Want as he demonstrates this age old process and introduces you to the equipment and skills required to get started baking at home.
Participants will be limited to 8 to maintain an informal interactive format.
What you will learn:
- Mexican cuisine.
- Improve your culinary skills.
- Work with seasonal ingredients.
Presenter: Matt Baker from Whe-Eat. Menu: blackened chicken thighs with quinoa; Mexican corn on the cob; Mexican white bait fritters tortillas with salsa crude; cactus and tomatillos salsa; crispy pulled pork carnitas; and dark chocolate mole.
What you will learn:
- How to make and maintain their own beeswax wraps.
- Learn skills that are transferable to the home environment.
- Bundling techniques.
What you will get:
- Take home your beeswax wraps.
Presenter: Emma Grace. You will learn how to make and maintain their own beeswax wraps for keeping food fresh and hygienic without the use of single-use plastics such as cling-wrap. This is a hands-on workshop where participants will make their own washable and re-usable ready-to-use beeswax wraps.
SEEDs is a communal garden, that grows natural networks, skills, mutual opportunities, friendships, organic food and community for all who are involved in it.
Every other Saturday.
Open Table “take surplus food that would otherwise be thrown away, and turn it into nutritious meals to share with the community, in order to reduce food insecurity and food waste”.
It appears that there are some months when the meal doesn’t happen so check their Facebook events page before going.
What you will learn:
- How to coagulate milk using acid and rennet.
- How to stretch and shape mozzarella.
- How to make whole milk ricotta.
What you will get:
- Recipes and the essential techniques of cheesemaking.
- A tasting of the cheeses made.
- Notes about the major steps of cheesemaking and resources for quality milk and supplies.
- A 20% discount on cheesemaking kits and equipment purchased in conjunction with the workshop.
Join Jacqueline Bender as she demystifies the art of making two of Italy’s most beloved cheeses. You will make mozzarella and ricotta from bio-dynamic milk (or organic if unavailable) to be eaten at the conclusion of the class. Ricotta will be made from whole milk (paneer style), which you will roll in home-made dukkah (chopped nuts and spices).
Participants will be limited to 8 to maintain an informal interactive format.
Click here to read about the garden.
Click here to read about the garden.
What you will learn:
- How to grow a variety of fruit and nut trees in your backyard.
- Pruning techniques.
- Pest and disease management.
Presenter: Justin Calverley.
What you will learn:
- How to make your own vegan cheese.
- How to make vegan milks, creamy spreads and dairy-free desserts.
Presenter: Nase Supplitt.
Click here to read about the garden.
What you will learn:
- How to coagulate milk using acid and rennet.
- How to stretch and shape mozzarella.
- How to make whole milk ricotta.
What you will get:
- Recipes and the essential techniques of cheesemaking.
- A tasting of the cheeses made.
- Notes about the major steps of cheesemaking and resources for quality milk and supplies.
- A 20% discount on cheesemaking kits and equipment purchased in conjunction with the workshop.
Join Jacqueline Bender as she demystifies the art of making two of Italy’s most beloved cheeses. You will make mozzarella and ricotta from bio-dynamic milk (or organic if unavailable) to be eaten at the conclusion of the class. Ricotta will be made from whole milk (paneer style), which you will roll in home-made dukkah (chopped nuts and spices).
Participants will be limited to 8 to maintain an informal interactive format.
SEEDs is a communal garden, that grows natural networks, skills, mutual opportunities, friendships, organic food and community for all who are involved in it. Join them to give a hand and help their garden grow – weeding, planting, mulching, harvesting, turning compost, etc. Or just hang out with their beautiful community for a cup of tea.
Click here to read about the garden.
Each course is 14 sessions over a period of a few months.
Presenters: Justin Calverley and Donna Livermore. The topics to be covered will include: permaculture, chook care, bee keeping, propagating, seed saving and community gardens.
There will be around 15 weekday evening sessions, 6.30-9.30pm, plus 2 full weekends away plus around 19 weekend days.
This is a classroom-based, theoretical course, not a hands-on, practical or gardening course. Topics to be covered will include:
- What is permaculture: ethics, principles & history.
- The ecological basis of permaculture: global climate, weather & ecology.
- Patterns in the landscape: major patterns of geology, flora, water & land use.
- Permaculture design methodology.
- Land use and nature stewardship: Soil, cropping, water use and animals in permaculture systems.
- Social applications: permaculture design in the broader contexts of communities.
- Finance & economics, land tenure & economic reform.
- Permaculture in built environments and technologies.
- Implementing permaculture: business strategies, personal strategies and practicing permaculture beyond the PDC.
Trainers: Graeme George, Joel Meadows, Kat Lavers, Monique Miller, Donna Livermore, Ian Lillington, Peta Christensen and Ben Habib.
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 Fitzroy, Footscray and Coburg. 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.
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.
Open Table “take surplus food that would otherwise be thrown away, and turn it into nutritious meals to share with the community, in order to reduce food insecurity and food waste”.
It appears that there are some months when the meal doesn’t happen so check their Facebook events page before going.
A small group of gardening volunteers meets every Friday at 10 am and works until 12:30 pm when they break for a free community lunch! They incorporate produce from the garden into these weekly community lunches. New visitors and volunteers would be more than welcome.
Click here to read about the garden.
What you will learn:
- Improve your gardening skills.
- How to produce new plants from seeds, cuttings and division.
- Seasonal timing for growth.
Presenter: Justin Calverley. Learn the basics of how to produce new plants from seed, cuttings and division in organic growing conditions in this hands-on workshop. Learns about seasonal timing for growth, heirloom and hybrid seeds, and propagation media using practical examples inside the CERES hothouses.
Click here to read about the garden.
What you will learn:
- How to make your own bread.
- How to make your own handmade pizzas.
- More about sourdough.
What you will learn:
- Handmade pizzas for lunch.
- Your own bread to take home and some leaven.
- Recipes.
Presenter: Ken Hercott.
Working bee, market stall and socialising.
One of the volunteers, John, runs this monthly working bee.
SEEDs is a communal garden, that grows natural networks, skills, mutual opportunities, friendships, organic food and community for all who are involved in it. Join them to give a hand and help their garden grow – weeding, planting, mulching, harvesting, turning compost, etc. Or just hang out with their beautiful community for a cup of tea.
Click here to read about the garden.
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 Fitzroy, Footscray and Coburg. 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.
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.
A small group of gardening volunteers meets every Friday at 10 am and works until 12:30 pm when they break for a free community lunch! They incorporate produce from the garden into these weekly community lunches. New visitors and volunteers would be more than welcome.
Click here to read about the garden.
What you will learn:
- Ways to create and look after your own Sourdough starter culture, flour to use for the best nutrition and results.
- Ways to knead sticky high hydration dough for a more authentic sourdough loaf, equipment needed to produce a great looking and tasting sourdough tin loaf at home.
- Ways to bake sourdough bread using a bread tin in a home oven, bread dough looks and feels like at its various stages of preparation and development.
What you will get:
- Comprehensive workshop notes.
- Sourdough starter culture.
- A discount on a professional quality bread tin.
Join Rick of The Life We Want as he demonstrates this age old process and introduces you to the equipment and skills required to get started baking at home.
Participants will be limited to 8 to maintain an informal interactive format.
Presenter: Brendan Morse. you will be shown the secrets to successfully growing mushrooms at home. You will learn the growing methods for oyster and shitake mushrooms, including inoculation and sterilisation, and be introduced to basic mycology. You will undertake practical sessions and learn how to start master cultures and how to make liquid mycelium.
Click here to read about the garden.