This workshop is offered in partnership with the National Farmers Union Ontario – North.

Join us for an immersive one-day workshop at Grenville Farms, led by the renowned soil ecology expert Vivian Kaloxilos from DocTerre. This workshop will delve into the fascinating world of living soils, focusing on two main topics:

• How to Make a Small-Scale Fungal Extract and Application: Learn the step-by-step process of creating a fungal extract that can enhance soil health and productivity. This practical session will cover everything from the ingredients and equipment needed to the application techniques that ensure maximum benefits for your soil.
• What Are the Weeds Telling Us: Discover how weeds can be indicators of soil health and nutrient deficiencies. This segment will teach you to interpret the presence of various weeds, helping you understand what they reveal about your soil’s condition.

We look forward to a productive and enjoyable day of learning and community building!

Important information

We will meet at 10:30am in the Community Hall (1035 Southwood Road, Severn Bridge). After lunch we will walk to Grenville Farm (1142 Graham Road, Severn Bridge, ON) for the hands-on workshop and demonstration.

Lunch at the Community Hall is included with your registration.

If parking is tight at Grenville farm, please park at the Community Hall down the road.

About the speakers

Vivian Kaloxilos is passionate about the natural world, assisting and documenting life and biodiversity as it bounces back from states of degradation. She is an ecologist who specializes in soil ecology and applied soil life regeneration. She sees herself as a support system to farmers and landowners who are at the front lines of the regenerative movement. Through her company Docterre, founded in 2015, she has been educating, supporting and accompanying farmers in their processes of regenerating soil biodiversity, understanding the connection between the health of subterranean biodiversity and above ground plant and ecosystem health and performance, and helping them to develop the practical skills needed to do so.

Dianne Kretschmar grew up in Edmonton, Alberta, and was used to the big skies of the Canadian prairies. While living in Toronto in the 1970s and eating a vegetarian diet to avoid commercial meat, she began looking for land where she could raise her own cattle. She ended up in the rocky Muskoka region, in the southernmost part of the Canadian Shield, raising livestock and running a market garden. Her goal is to restore the fungal content of the agricultural soil, knowing that our health and the soil health are intimately connected.

Dan Kretschmar grew up on Grenville Farm learning organic agriculture from his mother, Dianne Kretschmar. He became involved in the political side of agriculture as a youth delegate for the National Farmers Union at gatherings of Via Campesina, the transitional coalition of Indigenous and small farmers. Dan plans to start an agroecology school on his mother’s farm and is committed to a model of farming that honours the earth, promotes biodiversity, and offers dignified work.

This field day is supported by funding from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario.