DANBURY, Connecticut — Western Connecticut State University offers four free workshops to area fruit and vegetable gardeners who want to know more about permaculture, a method that allows high yields and productivity while gardening in a more sustainable and environmentally-friendly way. Ashley Kenney, a former head consultant and garden manager for WCSU’s Jane Goodall Permaculture Garden and current owner/farmer at Little Spring Farm in Woodbury, is the presenter. She will explain how the WCSU Permaculture Garden operates.
Times are 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at WCSU’s Permaculture Garden behind the Science Building on the Midtown campus at 181 White Street, Danbury. Topics include:
- March 15, 2022 – Pruning Trees and Shrubs/Spring & Summer Crop Planning
- March 25, 2022 – Early Clean Up & Sugar Snap Pea Planting
- April 5, 2022 – Are These Weeds? Weeding 101
- April 19, 2022 – A Week in the Life of the Garden (Planning a Schedule for Summer)
The WCSU Jane Goodall Permaculture Garden teaches students and area youth about permaculture and local food systems, and is part of the university’s Jane Goodall Center for Excellence in Environmental Studies and its Roots & Shoots program. This garden also provides freshly grown food for campus cafeterias, food pantries, and students and community members in need. As a consultant to the WCSU Permaculture Garden, Kenney introduced new perennial vegetable and berry plantings, and worked to ensure that those in need of fresh produce received a supply.
Kenney is self-taught in permaculture techniques and sustainable agriculture, spending years studying, researching and actively participating in farming in the Northeast. She was garden manager and sustainability coordinator for Grace Farms in New Canaan and currently organizes the winter conference for the Northeast Organic Farming Association.
For more information, contact the Office of Public Relations at pr@wcsu.edu.
Western Connecticut State University changes lives by providing all students with a high-quality education that fosters their growth as individuals, scholars, professionals and leaders in a global society. Our vision: To be widely recognized as a premier public university with outstanding teachers and scholars who prepare students to contribute to the world in a meaningful way.