EartHand Gleaners Society

art ~ ecology ~ people

  • Trillium & MOP Stewardship Sessions

    Join EartHand’s Stewardship Coordinator Jaymie Johnson or Sharon and David for satisfying afternoons of hands-in-the-dirt activity keeping the gardens beautiful and great places in which to spend time. Build new pathways, weed the beds, weave fence repair, and possibly take home a little bouquet of herbs, flowers, willow, or other bountry related to the seasonal work. Nothing like a good honest bit of manual labour with friends to make for a hearty appetite and a good night’s sleep!

    February 10, 1-4 pm at MOP: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/february-stewardship-at-mop-tickets-54310195256

    March 9, 1-4 pm at Trillium: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/march-stewardship-at-trillium-tickets-54310666666 

    MOP on the Wild Side – Special Session Saturday April 6, 10am-2pm

    Extra loving attention for the area to the east of MOP main gardens. Come in good work boots and dressed for the weather. Time to listen for birds, rest and contemplate spring life unfolding in the bushes, and discuss how to best support this wild area of the garden. Note: Nesting season began in March, project tasks will respect this.

    April 14, 1-4 pm at MOP: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/april-stewardship-at-mop-tickets-54311367763

    May 11, 1-4 pm at Trillium: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/may-stewardship-at-trillium-tickets-54311843185

    June 9, 1-4 pm at MOP: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/june-stewardship-at-mop-tickets-54312379790

    July 13, 1-4 pm at Trillium: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/july-stewardship-at-trillium-tickets-54312751903

  • Seasonal Lessons from the Land: Spring

    Seasonal Lessons from the Land: Spring
    Homeschoolers 8-12 yrs, Maximum of 12
    Fridays 1.30- 4pm, April 26, May 3, 10, 17
    Trillium North Park

    $95.00

    REGISTER on Paypal

    You don’t have to get in a car to experience nature; when you can open your eyes to the nature around you in the city, you’ll always be connected.

    Designed for homeschoolers wanting to connect with nature in the city, this series combines observations of spring growth, birds and other pollinators with traditional stories of the area and opportunities to make things as our ancestors did, using the plants and materials around them. Each week involves elements of a seasonal garden tending task; observational drawing time and sit-spot contemplation with a personal sketch book; and a making activity such as a communal dye pot, weaving garden fences or making personal baskets, all with materials from the site. Respect for the place, plants and Host Nations is embedded in this program

    A break in the playground and herbal tea time are also included.

    This program creates opportunities for students to develop hand skills through a combination of collaborative and personal projects; and to build observation skills through drawing, sit-spot time, and through tending, harvesting and making with the plants discovered on site.

    Program fee includes personal sketchbook, all drawing materials and an honoraria for a First Nations knowledge holder to join in for one session.

    Instructor: Jaymie Johnson

    Maximum of 12 students

  • EartHand’s 2019 Program Lineup!

    The Master List of our workshop and free program offerings for 2019,
    Most programming takes place in Vancouver, with some field trips and exceptions to accommodate large groups. Our usual haunts:
    – MacLean Park Fieldhouse, 710 Keefer St. @ Heatley, Strathcona
    – Trillium North Park,  Malkin @ Thornton in Strathcona (Official Trillium Park address 600 National Avenue, but we’re on the north side of the park at the mural-painted shipping containers)
    – Means of Production Garden, E 6th Ave & St Catherines St, Mount Pleasant

    Three Season:

    Winter:

    Spring:

    Summer:

    Autumn:

    About Our Paid Programs:

    This feels like an exciting time-  bringing together all of our hard earned skills and materials-  to the design and making of individual projects that can feel useful in our daily lives.

    Working with our amazing skill holders we have designed classes to allow a ‘mix and match’ type of personal learning and making within the collective atmosphere that is so much a part of our EartHand way. 

    From tanning and felting to button-making and more, we hope these offerings inspire you to learn new skills, practice and honour skills already mastered, and put to good use all those various bits that can be generated in studio sessions. Most classes are materials included, but you will see the leather and stitched felting programs also allow for a materials purchase from the instructor to allow cross over- maybe you really want to learn felting with Amy, then purchase your fish leather for a project with Janey? Whatever combination you come up with, I hope you are inspired to bring your maker-time bits together in an exciting way that leaves you with something to cherish and use or gift to someone with pride.

    As with all of our paid programs, revenue generated helps with our general operating for maintaining our two garden sites at Means of Production and Trillium North Park. Participating in our programs supports these beloved community spaces and our local artists that share their knowledge with us. Thanks for your support!

    Community Celebrations:

    • Feb 2 – EartHand Gleaners Society AGM- and early movie night of Land and Sea videos
    • March 30- Means of Production Open Studio Day 10am-2pm
    • July 6- Means of Production Garden Party- hillside  stairs completion
    • December 21- Strathcona Artist in Residence Final Celebration- linked to Solstice Festival!

    Watch for our partnering programs:

    • Strathcona Community Centre Artists-in-Residence with Rebecca Graham
    • Stanley Park Ecology Society Youth4Nature.

  • Indigo for the Intimidated

    acLean Park Fieldhouse, 710 Keefer St @ Heatley
    2019 Wednesdays 7-9pm Sept 18 & 25
    All tool use and supplies included
    $95
    Sorry, class full

    Feeling blue about the challenge of tackling indigo and fermentation pots? This is a relatively fast and straight forward approach to working with indigo leaves fresh from the garden. Catherine has been inspired by this alternative approach to working with indigo that was shared by Esme Hendrik Wong of Salt Spring Island. Quick dye baths beyond the blues result in toasty-tans and bronze like taupes, and the next step creates a blue pigment for silk painting. These two nights include both and also explorations in soy milk as a binder, as well as mordants not usually associated with the indigo process.

    Note: Japanese Indigo grows well in the pacific west coast environment, so if you plant this spring, you can be harvesting after the workshop and ready to go! 

    Instructor: Catherine Shapiro

  • Spinners Slow Hikes


    Stanley Park & SeaWall
    2019 Tuesday nights 7-9pm, July 16, 30, Aug 13, 20
    Free
    RSVP on Eventbrite

    Join Sharon for these informal groups – coming together to spin  and take time to slow down and see what is at our feet as we stroll. Mark your calendar for these slow walks in Stanley Park and other seawall locations in the downtown area. An opportunity to stand on logs for extra height while plying yarn or to practice the  multitasking art of walking, talking and spinning.

  • Seasonal Fibre Research Guilds 2019

    Once a month, these groups will come together for seasonal based harvest and processing inquiry and to share a meal. Collectively we will work between both MOP and Trillium, stewarding, harvesting and processing. Members divide the days’ processed materials for personal work, bringing their own ideas, experience and plants they want to share and explore together. Fibre-focus will be towards fibres for spinning and basketry materials and include research into various methods of retting, cooking and pounding  fibres. It is anticipated that this group will embark on interesting and unforeseen tangents beyond the discovery and investigation starting points outlined by Lead and Host Sharon Kallis in the descriptions below.

    Participants may register for all three Guilds, or for just one or two Seasonal Guilds, as suits their schedule.

    $385 ALL SEASON GUILD MEMBER 

    REGISTER for ALL THREE GUILDS together on PayPal

    SPRING GUILD – Saturdays 10am-4pm March 9, April 13, May 4 – includes planting flax, Barnston Island *for fleece, willow and other barks. The cost of this guild includes sharing a fleece from the shearing taking place that day. Registration does not include travel to Barnston Island (45 minutes east on the highway), the group can plan this day trip at first meeting.

    $160 SPRING GUILD MEMBER

    REGISTER for just the Spring Guild on PayPal

    SUMMER GUILD – Saturdays 10am-4pm June 8, July 13, August 10 – includes various vines, primrose stalks, blackberry canes, wood ash research, harvesting and retting flax

    $150 SUMMER GUILD MEMBER

    REGISTER for just the Summer Guild on PayPal

    AUTUMN GUILD – Saturdays 10am-4pm September 14, October 12, November 9 – includes processing nettle, flax, milkweed, fireweed, dogbane

    $150 AUTUMN GUILD  MEMBER

    REGISTER for just the Autumn Guild on PayPal

  • Natural Dyers’ Cooperative Garden 2019

    April-October 2019, see dates below
    Means of Production Garden @ 6th & St.Catherines/ Trillium North Park @ Malkin & Thornton, Vancouver
    $310
    ~Program Full~

    Means of the Production Garden in Mount Pleasant becomes the site for research, work and crop share for a small group of dedicated individuals interested in building community while growing, tending and using natural dye plants.

    Over six months together we will plant, tend and harvest various plants at MOP for shared use and  equal division. Participants agree to attend a minimum of 10 of the 15 offered work dates as well as the site orientation and to work in a collaborative and cooperative way within the small group.Four studio sessions at Trillium North Park allow time for prepping our fibres and cooking up seasonal dye baths. Cost includes an unprocessed  fleece and sample yardage of linen for swatches as decided by the group. Building on what has been learned from 2 successful years of this program it includes:, a later season studio session, material for dying, potluck fibre for dye-pots component and a shared group google document for notes and dye reference. Only 7 spaces max are offered for the 2019 coop.

    Lead and Host: Sharon Kallis

    Garden Dates at M.O.P:

    generally 2nd Wed 6-8pm, 4th Thurs 6-8pm, 2nd Sun 3-5pm

    April 10 (site orientation), 14, 25, May 8,12, 23, June 9,12, 27 Jul 10,14,18 Aug 11,14, 22 Sept 1, Oct 27 ( poke berry harvest and solar dyes for take home)

    Studio Dates at Trillium:

    potluck Sundays 12noon-5pm

    April 28, June 30, July 7, Sept 22

  • Straw Into Gold: Linen Processing Intensive 2019

    Trillium North Park, Malkin & Thornton, Strathcona
    2019 Two Mondays, May 27 & June 3, 6:30-9pm
    All tool use and materials provided; participants will take home seeds and stricks of linen they have processed
    $175
    REGISTER through PayPal

    Interested in growing your own flax, but intimidating by the process of turning it into linen? This two-night intensive will cover the entire process of rippling, retting, breaking, scutching, hackling and finally some spinning time with EartHand’s 2018 crop. Participants will share the  processed stricks for their own future projects. Some time will be spent going over the basics of soil preparation, planting, and crop care. Instructor: Sharon Kallis

  • Knapping in Public

    MacLean Park Fieldhouse, 710 Keefer St @ Heatley
    2019 Sunday May 26, 1-4pm
    All tool use and supplies included
    $75
    REGISTER through PayPal

    Begin your journey of making ancient tools from stone in an urban environment and learn the art and meditation of flintknapping. Beginner to expert – all skill levels welcome. Participants will learn how to test readily available urban materials for the budget conscious practitioner, as well as sample traditional stone such as obsidian.

    Instructor: David Gowman

  • Homegrown Mouthpieces

    MacLean Park Fieldhouse, 710 Keefer St @ Heatley
    POSTPONED — Please email earthandgleaners at gmail dot com to find out about rescheduling
    All tool use and supplies included
    $110

    Program Postponed, email earthandgleaners(at)gmail.com to find out about rescheduling

    Using local fruit and other hardwoods salvaged from tree pruning, participants will carve a mouthpiece for use in a wind instrument or on their own as kazoos. Knife experience and  carving stamina is necessary, the class will work with bent-knives. 

    Instructor: David Gowman