In this workshop, we will discuss backyard composting as a method to manage kitchen food scraps and debris from your gardens and lawns, as well as how to recycle those nutrients into usable compost that can go back into your soil.  We will cover the biology of the composting process and different techniques for successful backyard composting.  This is a live on-line workshop using ZOOM.  Makeup class, if needed, 10/11/23.

C. J. Walke has been working for the Maine Organic Farmers & Gardeners Association since 2006 and for the past decade, he has focused on providing technical services to farmers and teaching practical skills related to organic tree fruit cultivation.

This basic boating class reduces your risk of accidents and injuries, saves you money on boat insurance, and qualifies you for a state boat license or operator certificate in most states (including Maine).  It is the most comprehensive, single source, in-person boating course available to give you the skills you need to enjoy your time on the water and boat with confidence.  The design of the course expects that you've familiarized yourself with the accompanying manual prior to the workshop.  Information about securing a manual covered below.  The course covers:

• safety equipment;
• trip planning;
• navigation rules and aids;
• state and federal regulations;
• anchoring, dealing with adverse conditions and emergencies;
• communications;
• trailering; and
• knots and lines.

The course also introduces navigation and the use of charts-important information on determining where you are and how to go where you wish to go safely. The information is useful for users of all sorts of watercraft (power, sail, paddle) and for both ocean and freshwater boating.

The America's Boating Club website will have additional information about the course.  The course materials are available in either print or e-book format. Please reach out to  the instructor, Scott Miller (scott@ustiger.net) to secure a manual and to request further information about the course. This is an in-person class.  

This course is offered by the Penobscot Bay Sail & Power Squadron.  America's Boating Club®, For Boaters, By Boaters® We’ve been making boating safer and more enjoyable for over 100 years.

Scott has been making adventurous use of the sea since his teens. He’s owned several “cruising andracer/cruiser” sailboats over the last twenty years, and is an active member of the East Coast offshore singlehanded racing circuit. He races single and shorthanded to and from Bermuda almost every year, and has sailed across the Atlantic, singlehanded, 2-½ times (he can tell the story of the half-time in class). He currently races (and cruises) in Resolute, a 46’ sloop. Scott is a strong proponent of practical seamanship for all, and holds the Royal Yachting Association’s RYA Yachtmaster Offshore Certification, several US Sailing Certifications, and teaches virtually the full range of America’s Boating Club courses. 

This 3-part series focuses on organic methods to help gardeners and homesteaders establish and maintain healthy fruit trees for home fruit production. 

In Part 1, we will discuss variety selection and soil preparation for planting young fruit trees, as well as how to grow a young tree in its early years before flowering and fruit production. This is a live online workshop using ZOOM.

C. J. Walke has been working for the Maine Organic Farmers & Gardeners Association since 2006 and, for the past decade, he has focused on providing technical services to farmers and teaching practical skills related to organic tree fruit cultivation.

Beekeeping is a wonderful and fascinating hobby and for Peter, a profession, or should that be obsession? This 90-minute interactive class explores what it is like to keep bees, what equipment is needed, where to go for help and advice, what is the cost and what are the rewards. This is a live online class using ZOOM.  Makeup class, if needed, 10/23/23.  

For those who decide to take up the hobby, Peter will be running several follow-up, in-depth classes. Have your list of questions ready! 

Peter Cowin a/k/a, the Bee Whisperer, started keeping bees in the 70s at the age of 11, and now tends to more than 130 colonies. He is past President of Penobscot County Beekeepers Association and mentor to many local beekeepers. Peter runs a beekeeping supply store in Hampden Maine. He sells packaged bees, produces queens and makes hundreds of nucleus colonies to sell each year. His bees produce thousands of pounds of honey per year sold under the Bee Whisperer name. Peter has been teaching beekeeping at his honey farm and in Adult Ed for more than 8 years.

This 3-part series focuses on organic methods to help gardeners and homesteaders establish and maintain healthy fruit trees for home fruit production. 

In Part 2, we will discuss organic methods of insect and disease management in order to produce quality fruit, as well as how to best manage fruit trees as they get older and larger. This is a live online workshop using ZOOM. 

C. J. Walke has been working for the Maine Organic Farmers & Gardeners Association since 2006 and for the past decade, he has focused on providing technical services to farmers and teaching practical skills related to organic tree fruit cultivation.

Maine has some of the darkest skies east of the Mississippi River.  Learn how to “read the night sky” as you identify the seasonal constellations, the phases of the moon, and visible planets. At least one session will be spent outdoors studying the night sky.  Saturn & Jupiter will be visible in the evening sky.  This is an in-person class.  Makeup class, if needed 11/29/23.

Linda Penkalski retired after 40 years working as a high school science teacher/guidance counselor. Her hobbies include astronomy and weather observation. 

NOTE:  Our website does not allow a 'TBA' for pricing and the details are still in the works for this class, but we wanted to start spreading the word.  Please register here and your name will be placed on the wait list, and you will be contacted as soon as we have the details and can accept registrations! 

Ellsworth Adult & Community Education is collaborating with Axe Women Loggers of Maine to offer a workshop for women who want to learn to safely use a chainsaw for working in the woods or for timbersports competition.  Learn from World Champion Timbersports champion Alissa Wetherbee. 

Safety toed boots or shoes is required, and please bring leather work gloves as well. Chainsaws and safety equipment are provided for the workshop, which will be a combination of presentation, demonstration and practice using the saw. The presentation/demonstration will be indoors and the practical component will be outdoors, so dress appropriately. 

If you have any problems registering for this wait list, please contact us by email at adultedinfo@ellsworthschools.org, or by telephone at 207.664.7110. We will need your name, phone number and email address.