ALL MONTH

Sat 5, 10-2pm Plant Walk: Traditional Use of Plants  facilitated by Pakki Chippa, Experience an ethnobotanical walk to become familiar with local and native plants and talk about their traditional uses. There will be time to stop and reflect about the plants and the way we think about them. $45 Royal Roads Continuing Studies ( http://www.royalroads.ca/continuing-studies/CYGLNA2642-Y11.htm ). 250-391-2600 x 4801

Sat 5,10am-12pm. FREE Composting Basics Workshop. Learn all the basics of composting and discover which system is right for you! Pre-register by emailing  office@compost.bc.ca or call (250) 386-9676

Sat 5, 10:30am & 1:30pm Nature’s Inventory Guided Walk, All ages Witty’s Lagoon Regional Park, Metchosin. CRD Parks.

Sat 5, 2-4pm. Grow the Best Tomatoes. Learn what growing great tomatoes takes in terms of heat, sun, water, pollination fertility, pruning and staking as well as the importance of saving seed. Cost $15 Non-Members $10 Members. Pre-register by emailing office@compost.bc.ca or call (250) 386-9676

Sun 6, 10am–2pm What’s That? Ask A Nat! Drop-in Event at Island View Beach Regional Park. Come with your curiosity to explore low tide and all the marine critters it reveals. Borrow our dip nets and ask a CRD Regional Parks’ naturalist to identify your treasures. Be prepared to get your feet wet (bring sandals or beach shoes). Meet at the picnic shelter on Homathko Road, off Island View Road.

Sun 6, 10am-2pm Rites of Spring Bike Ride. Bike tour of public gardens to see flowers blooming around our fair cities.  Meet Selkirk Station (80 Regatta Landing) just off the Galloping Goose trail south of the Selkirk Trestle.  20 easy kilometers.  Bring a lunch. Suggested donation $5.  250-382-8619 gvcc@gvcc.bc

Sun 6, 10am-4pm? Seaweed Workshop. Learn to identify local seaweeds; to harvest edible seaweeds sustainably; the health benefits and properties of seaweed and more. Includes: a wild seaweed lunch; a trip to the beach at low tide;  and presentations on seaweeds. Cost: $85.00/person. Location: Ocean Wilderness Inn, Shirley, B.C., Vancouver Island (approx. 42km west of Victoria)?Presented by Amanda Swinimer and Christine Hopkins.  For more details or to register:  http://dakinitidalwilds.blogspot.ca/

WEEK ONE

Mon 7, 6pm The first Blue Drinks Victoria. What better way to spend a Spring evening during Drinking Water Week? Please plan to join us to share conversations about water. Office Lounge, opposite Odeon, Yates St. Lambert 250-516-1406

Mon 7 – Fri 25:  Adaptation Strategies for Climate Change Impacts ONLINE facilitated by Dr. Audrey Dallimore. Asynchronous. $295. Examine climate change models and their predictions of future environmental and natural conditions, such as rainfall, temperature, and sea level, and how those conditions will impact the natural capital relied upon by communities, businesses and individuals. Register at Royal Roads Continuing Studies (http://www.royalroads.ca/continuing-studies/CYGLLE2619-Y11.htm).

Tue 8, 10am Island Transformations AGM. Keynote speech by Rob Wickson, and report on the Portland LRT trip. Assembly hall, church at Blanshard and Humboldt St. 250-383-2501 islandtransformations.org

Tue 8, 3-5pm Smart Environmental Policy with Full-cost Pricing presented by Nancy Olewiler, PICS Program Committee member and Professor, SFU School of Public Policy. UVic Social Sciences and Mathematics A110. pics.uvic.ca.

Tue 8, 5-7pm Green Drinks at The Office on Yates, across from the Odeon. Drink and be green! greendrinksvictoria.ning.com

Wed 9, 7pm Civilizing the Economy, a 2-part film that features the Emilia-Romagna area of Northern Italy where 45% of the GDP is from cooperatives and a look at Canadian cooperatives, followed by discussion with cooperative development experts Don Brown and Andrew Moore. Edward Milne Community School theatre, 6218 Sooke Rd. www.awarenessfilmnight.ca

Fri 11, 11-12:30pm City of Victoria Edible Garden Planting Party. Join food garden enthusiasts, city councilors and parks staff to create Victoria's newly located Small Steps Edible Food Garden in Centennial Square. Bring small shovels if you've got them, edible plants you'd like to contribute. Music and lemonade provided.

Sat 12, 7am-2pm 3rd Annual International Migratory Bird Day. Celebrate the journey that birds take between their summer and winter homes. Engaging activities for birders of all ages - guided bird walks, mist-netting demonstrations, hummingbird and passerine banding demonstrations, live raptors, children’s activities.  Elk/Beaver Lake Regional Park. Victoria Natural History Society and CRD Regional Parks. 7am Birding walk (meet main parking lot at Beaver Lake). 9 am Event opening at the Picnic shelter (Elk/Beaver Lake filter beds). Displays, touch tables, crafts, scavenger hunts, and games. 9am-2pm: Bird banding demonstrations. Birding walks leave from the picnic shelter every hour, starting at 10:15am.

Sat 12, 1-3pm Growing Winter Vegetables, with Philip Young. Public Library, Emily Carr Branch, 3500 Blanshard. 250-475-6100

Sat 12, 10am-2pm.Annual Organic Plant Sale! Start your garden right this spring by filling it with locally produced organic seeds and seedlings, heirloom vegetables and rare varieties that grow beautifully in our temperate climate! Multiple vendors, music and local goodies. GVCEC Centre 1216 North Park Street.

Sat 12, 10-11:30am Outdoor Labyrinth Walk in James Bay http://walk-victoria.com/trail-more-hints/  

Sun 13, 10-11:30am Urban Nature Peace Walk at Swan Lake http://walk-victoria.com/trail-more-hints/  

Sun 13, 11am–3pm Cougar Ridge Hike Guided Adult Hike. Roche Cove Regional Park, East Sooke. This scenic hike led by a CRD Regional Parks’ naturalist begins at Roche Cove and follows the Cedar Grove Trail to spectacular viewpoints. We return via the Galloping Goose. Bring sturdy shoes and lunch. Meet at the parking lot off Gillespie Road.

Sun 13, 1–2:30pm Mystery Creature at Gonzales Hill Guided Walk. Oak Bay. Solve the riddles to the clues with a CRD Regional Parks’ naturalist on this ‘skill-testing’ quest atop Gonzales Hill. The panoramic view is breathtaking. Meet at the Denison Road parking lot.

WEEK TWO

Mon 14, 7pm Building the Environmental Movement in the Year of Rio: Principles for campaigning and mass organizing on climate change and the environment, with Ken Wu of the Majority for A Sustainable Society MASS. Norway House, 1110 Hillside (by Graham). $10. majoritysustainable@gmail.com

Sat 19, 10am–1pm Mount Work-Out! Guided Hike (12 years+). Mount Work Regional Park (Highlands)

Join a CRD Regional Parks’ naturalist on this vigorous hike from marshy lowlands to rugged rocky outcrops. Bring a lunch, water, rain gear, and wear sturdy hiking shoes. Meet at Munn Road parking lot.

Sat 19, 9am–5pm. Introduction to Cob Building, with instructor Beth Cruise, Canadian Earth Institute. $70 Register: www.royalroad.ca/continuing-studies, Course GLEL2612, 250-391-2600, ext 4801.

Sun 20, 10-11:30am Native Plant Garden Urban Nature Peace Walk in Oak Bay http://walk-victoria.com/trail-more-hints/  

Sun 20, 3-5pm Fairfield Transition Café at the Tin Roof Market and Deli, 101-1075 Pendergast. A new monthly drop-in to talk about ways we can transition to a future with less oil – and a great opportunity to get to know Fairfield neighbours who hold similar green values.

Sun 20, 5: 30 - 8:30  VIVA-Raw Potluck  Pioneer Room A  + B, Esquimalt Recreation Centre, 527 Fraser St. Speaker: TBABring raw veganfood dish  of 6 or more servings with ingredients list, serving utensils  $5 per adult.  http://vivaraw.caorLinda:  (250) 380-6383

WEEK THREE

Mon 21^st-June 8^th:  Forest Carbon Dynamics 101 ONLINE facilitated by Caren Dymond. Asynchronous. $295 (tax exempt). Carbon uptake in forests is an ecological service that is becoming one of the priorities for natural resource managers and society as a whole. This course will introduce learners to the science of carbon cycling in forest ecosystems and as consumer products. Register at Royal Roads Continuing Studies (http://www.royalroads.ca/continuing-studies/CYGLLE2625-Y11.htm). Or call 250-391-2600 x 4801 or toll free 1-866-890-0220.

Fri 25, Noon - 3 PM EcoReality Greenhouse Celebration, join us in celebrating the completion of our new greenhouse, with local munchies and the music of Salvidor Dali Lama, a wandering organic minstrel, by donation. http://www.EcoReality.org/wiki/Greenhouse_celebration (Salt Spring Island, near Fulford Harbour)

Fri 25, 10-4pm Off the Grid Music and Art Festival at Royal Roads, Mews Conference Centre (for schools). offthegridfestival.ca

Fri 25, 4-7pm Off the Grid Music and Art Festival at Fort Rodd Hill, public welcome. offthegridfestival.ca

Fri 25, 7pm EcoNews Dessert Potluck Mailout Party. Good friends and company! 395 Conway Road (off Interurban, one block north of Camosun College). Guy, 250-881-1304

Sat 26, 1–2:30pm A Historical Afternoon (18 years+). Francis/King Regional Park. Join a CRD Regional Parks’ naturalist and our guest historical researcher, Kathleen Trayner, for an introduction to researching and writing your cultural history. Whether it’s about yourself, a house or an ancestor, this program will give you tools to launch your own history project. Bring paper and pen. Free, but register as space is limited. 250-478-3344 before May 25.

Sat 26, 2-4pm. Winter Veggie Gardening. This presentation will show you how to make your garden more intensive by planning crop rotations. Cost $15 Non-Members $10 Members. Pre-register by emailing office@compost.bc.ca or call (250) 386-9676

Sat 26, 10-11:30am, Urban Feng Shui Garden Wellness Walk in Saanich http://walk-victoria.com/trail-more-hints/  

Sun 27, 10-11:30am Rithets Bog Urban Nature Peace Walk, Saanich. http://walk-victoria.com/trail-more-hints/

Sat 26-Sun 27, 10-4pm Introduction to Cob Building with Beth Cruise, Horticultural Centre of the Pacific. 250-727-9163. Members $150, non-members $250. To register, call: 250-479-6162

Sun 27, 10am–12:30pm Beginners Birding Basics Guided Walk (9 years+). Island View Beach Regional Park. Ever wanted to bird watch? This is the time of year when courtship and territory disputes fill the air with song. Learn what to look for, and how to use binoculars and field guides. Bring binoculars if you have them. A spotting scope is provided. Meet at the picnic shelter on Homathko Road, off Island View Road.

Sun 27, 10:30-2:20pm am Conservation Funkat Goldstream Nature House. Share your love of nature. Local businesses, musicians, volunteers and Goldstream Park Naturalists will lead you in an educational and musical adventure, to share how we can conserve our unique ecosystems in our day to day living. goldstream@naturehouse.ca250-478-9414

Sun 27, 11-3pm Oak and Orca Bioregional Fair. Free community event with children's crafts and activities, free workshops and demonstrations; a silent auction; healthy lunch and bake sale; used book sale.?Oak and Orca Bioregional School children become strong, self-directed learners with an interest in sustainable communities. 2738 Higgins (Cook & Hillside) Victoria. 250-812-8782

Sun 27, Noon Water Walk 2012 at Elk Lake, to raise awareness for local and global water issues, and fundraise to support and maintain health related programs established by positively AFRICA in Kenya. Join a team of up to 10 people and walk around Elk and Beaver Lakes carrying a shared 10 litre pail of water. This event is a fun way to raise funds and awareness for water-related issues. Registration at 12pm, walk begins at 1pm. VIDEA’s positivelyAFRICA committee. www.videa.ca

Sun 27, 12–3pm Bee Day at Swan Lake Nature House - A honey of a program fit for the royalty of the insect world. What’s the buzz about bees – are they really good dancers? Bee songs, bee crafts and some bee spit to taste. Join us and you’ll bee amazed, bee enchanted and bee happy. Bee there or bee square. By donation. Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary, 3873 Swan Lake Rd. 250-479-0211

WEEK FOUR

Mon 28, 6–9pm Early Evening Canoeing Guided Paddlen(5 years+) Elk/Beaver Lake. Paddle in the lake searching for eagles, herons, turtles and other lake life with CRD Regional Parks’ naturalists. Canoe equipment and instruction are provided and no experience is necessary. Pre–register: $20+HST (15 yrs+); $10+HST (5–14 years & adult non–paddlers). 250.478.3344. BC Transit #70 or #75

Mon 28, Bike to Work Week starts! 224 registered teams. www.biketowork.ca/victoria

Tue 29, Day of the Honey Bee – Proclaimed by municipalities across Canada to raise awareness about honey bees which are responsible for 70% of Canada food crop pollination.?

Thur 31, 12:30 – 9pm Living Building Symposium. Introduction to the Living Building Challenge – the world's most stringent building standard. Keynote speaker Jason McLennan. $55 $30 for Cascadia members. Victoria Conference Centre. Cascadia Green Building Council http://cascadiavi.org/lbs/