Archives: Events

  • Building Thriving Gardens from the Ground Up!

    Building Thriving Gardens from the Ground Up!

    You wouldn’t build a house on unstable ground, and the same is true in your garden—healthy soil creates a foundation of nutrients, support, and biodiversity that will help your gardens thrive.  Join soil and compost educator Scott Guzman, owner of Diggers Cooperative, a local Maine compost business, to learn how to create abundant soil ecosystems right in your backyard with commonly accessible and affordable materials.

    First we’ll go underground and discover the web of life that supports plants. Scott will highlight the importance of plant roots, fungi, and microbes in your soil. Then we’ll look aboveground to learn how to create your own healthy soil by creating layers of deep mulch.  Scott will also demystify home composting so you can start making your own compost right in your backyard!

    This program is promotion for AVSWCD’s Conservation Landscape Certification program – a free checklist designed to help landowners improve their properties for wildlife, soil + water conservation, and overall ecosystem support.  To learn more about the program, click here.

    After the workshop, stick around to ask questions, talk with Scott, peruse resources that will help you improve wildlife habitat in your yards, and grab some free garden goodies!  We’ll have seeds, bird feeders, seed kits, garden tools, and an opportunity to win a free rain barrel!  Snacks and refreshments provided. We look forward to seeing you there!

    Reservations are requested, but not required.

    This event is funded by a grant from the Davis Foundation.

    MEET THE PRESENTER:

    Scott is a natural builder, compost educator, inventor, and farmer with a degree in chemical engineering from W.P.I. and 10 years of experience in the world of cooperative business. He is the founder of Diggers Cooperative, a local Maine compost business.  Scott and his team’s project portfolio includes raised bed gardens, permaculture design, greenhouse installation, composting systems, habitat restoration projects, soil remediation, pond installation, and all types of stonework. Scott brings permaculture principles to the workplace while keeping the group organized and on task. In collaboration with the permaculture education group, Permatours, and several other highly skilled educators, Scott is building an online education platform to share educational content on various topics such as natural building and composting.

  • Climate Resilient Gardens

    Climate Resilient Gardens

    Learn how to make your backyard more resilient to a changing climate! There’s been a lot of scary conversations as we recognize stronger storms, warmer winters, and changing ecosystems; but we want to equip you with solutions you can implement TODAY! We’ll talk about ways to reduce your lawn (and associated maintenance) by swapping it for pollinator gardens, edible landscapes, rain gardens, vegetative buffers, groundcovers, wildflower meadows, and more. We’ll also highlight specific species to plant to support pollinators and other wildlife, prepare for a warming climate, and help with soil erosion. Create wildlife habitat, grow food for your family, and protect your local waterways while improving the appearance and functionality of your yard!

    We’ll highlight our new program – the Conservation Landscape Certification program– a free checklist available to help landowners improve their properties for wildlife habitat, water and soil quality, and overall ecosystem support. If you’d like to learn more about the program click here.

    After the workshop, stick around to ask questions, talk with staff, peruse helpful resources, and grab some free garden goodies! We’ll have seeds, gardening books, seed kits, garden tools, and an opportunity to win a free rain barrel! Snacks and refreshments provided. We look forward to seeing you there!

    Reservations are requested, but not required.

    This event is funded by the Androscoggin Valley Stormwater Working Group ​and the Davis Foundation.
  • Earth Day Mini-Greenhouse Planting Session

    Earth Day Mini-Greenhouse Planting Session

    Gather at the Auburn public library for a community learning session on converting plastic trash into mini greenhouses! Signups for 2024 community garden plots will also be available.

    For more information contact

    • Alison McConnell (Auburn)
      • 207-208-8503
    • Bridgette Bartlett (Lewiston)
      • 207-241-9310
  • L/A Community Meal

    L/A Community Meal

    Join the Lewiston-Auburn community for a community meal at St. Mary’s Nutrition Center!

    Volunteers needed:

    • 11:00AM – 3:00PM: Prep
    • 3:45PM – 6:00PM: Serving
    • 5:30PM – 6:00PM: Clean Up

    Contact Alison to volunteer:

    • amcconnell@covh.org
    • 207-208-8503 (Call, VM, SM)
  • L/A Community Meal

    L/A Community Meal

    Join the Lewiston-Auburn community for a community meal at St. Mary’s Nutrition Center!

    Volunteers needed:

    • 11:00AM – 3:00PM: Prep
    • 3:45PM – 6:00PM: Serving
    • 5:30PM – 6:00PM: Clean Up

    Contact Alison to volunteer:

    • amcconnell@covh.org
    • 207-208-8503 (Call, VM, SM)
  • L/A Community Meal

    L/A Community Meal

    Join the Lewiston-Auburn community for a community meal at St. Mary’s Nutrition Center!

    Volunteers needed:

    • 11:00AM – 3:00PM: Prep
    • 3:45PM – 6:00PM: Serving
    • 5:30PM – 6:00PM: Clean Up

    Contact Alison to volunteer:

    • amcconnell@covh.org
    • 207-208-8503 (Call, VM, SM)
  • L/A Community Meal

    L/A Community Meal

    Join the Lewiston-Auburn community for a community meal at St. Mary’s Nutrition Center!

    Volunteers needed:

    • 11:00AM – 3:00PM: Prep
    • 3:45PM – 6:00PM: Serving
    • 5:30PM – 6:00PM: Clean Up

    Contact Alison to volunteer:

    • amcconnell@covh.org
    • 207-208-8503 (Call, VM, SM)
  • Liberation Farms: Docada Beer Abuurka 2024

    Liberation Farms: Docada Beer Abuurka 2024

    Join Liberation Farms for their annual Docada Beer Abuurka, a blessing and celebration of the 2024 growing season. The event will include a speech by Executive Director Muhidin Libah around 12 PM, followed by a blessing by a Somali Bantu Elder farmer. Food, music, gathering, and self-guided farm tours will be available throughout, and The Suuq (farm stand) will be open.

    – Please carpool if you can, as parking is limited
    – Please wear appropriate clothing and shoes for a working farm
    – Please do not attend if you are feeling sick

    Join us as we look forward to another successful year at Liberation Farms! Register here!

  • Lewiston Farmers’ Market Opening Day!

    Lewiston Farmers’ Market Opening Day!

    A year-round, family-friendly farmers’ market right in the heart of Lewiston-Auburn, the Lewiston Farmers’ Market offers visitors a chance to connect with one another and shop for a wide variety of fresh, delicious, local foods and goods while fostering a vibrant downtown and building a strong community and local economy.

    FREE PARKING is available in the farmers’ market lot, on Lincoln street, in the Lincoln Street Parking Garage. Parking is ALSO permitted on Oxford Street for the day despite signs stating generally otherwise.

    Visitors to the Lewiston Farmers’ Market can continue to find a variety of vendors selling Maine grown and produced goods including fresh, organic and chemical-free fruits and vegetables, quality and grass fed meats, cow and goat dairy products, baked goods, assorted mushrooms, handcrafted soaps and body products, fresh cut flowers, arts, crafts and more! ​

    Want to learn more about the market including attending vendors? Sign up for their eNewsletter or visit their Facebook page!

    The Lewiston Farmers’ Market is a Local Foods, Local Places partner.

  • Youth Food Champion Awards at Bates MLK Day

    Youth Food Champion Awards at Bates MLK Day

    bates mlk day 2023 lewiston auburn maine young mainers for youth and climate justice

     

    We invite you to join us for “Young Mainers’ Efforts for Food and Climate Justice”, an in-person presentation with Q&A on January 15 , 2024. The presentation takes place at 1:15pm in Pettengill Hall Room G21 during the annual Martin Luther King Jr Day Observance at Bates College, the theme of which this year is “Food & Food Justice”.

    The presentation will begin with the Good Food Council of Lewiston-Auburn’s annual Youth Food Champion Awards which will honor and celebrate the individual contributions toward a healthy local food system in alignment with the Lewiston Auburn Community Food Charter of the 2023 winners:  Brayden Nadeau (Auburn), Houda Aden (Lewiston), Isha Kasai (Lewiston), and Odivio Mariano (Lewiston)!   Ranging in age from 13 to 25, the 2023 winners demonstrate incredible leadership as food systems changemakers:  from growing food for their community and sharing their experiential knowledge with local elected officials about the potential impact of land use decisions on the future of local agriculture, to facilitating meaningful opportunities for their peers to engage with their food system while their deepening cultural and cross-generational connections, and much more! The awards will be followed by a talk with Q&A with Scarlet Labbe-Watson, a young member of Maine Youth for Climate Justice (MCJ), who will discuss Maine’s food sovereignty and climate justice connections.   Reserve free tickets here!

    We invite you to also check out all the other incredible educational and arts based programming with the “food & food justice” theme in honor of MLK’s legacy being offered free to the community that day.

    Our Thanks To:

    • Presenting Sponsors of the 2023 Youth Food Champion Awards:   Bangor Savings Bank, Double Z Farms, & St. Mary’s Nutrition Center  |  Featured Sponsor:  Austin Associates, PA
    • Business Contributors to Prize Package for Youth Winners:   Bangor Savings Bank, OTTO Pizza Auburn, & Flagship Cinemas