Soups made with love are a nourishing and inexpensive way to feed your family. In this series, we will share techniques, tools, ingredients and tips learned through years of cooking for family and friends. You’ll learn techniques for preparing ingredients and bringing them all together, as well as tips on storage and serving. A focus of the workshops will be the use of affordable and locally available ingredients, and adapting recipes to a variety of tastes and dietary requirements. Handouts, recipes and a small container of soup for your family to try will be provided.  

This is an in-person class; all registration fees are donated to the Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry.  

Chowders  Nothing speaks New England like a creamy chowder!  You can make a seafood chowder for a special event, or a corn chowder for a quick weeknight meal that delights.  We’ll make a simple fish chowder together to learn and share some of the techniques and ingredients universal to chowders. 

Annie has always loved to cook for family and friends. She started cooking when she was seven and was a keen observer of all the cooks in her family and beyond. She's worked in kitchens and also spent most of her childhood and early adulthood in western and eastern Europe, the Middle East and South Asia, so her palate is broad. She shares her love of cooking with family and friends through the preparation of food full of flavor. One of her priorities when she's cooking is to create a meal that accommodates all dietary requirements--a meal that everyone can enjoy. 

Do you know all the amazing things you can make from dandelions?   

Join us in this class to learn how to collect and process these amazing plants. Learn recipes with dandelion greens, use dandelion flowers to make jams, teas and wines, and go over the beneficial properties of dandelion roots. We will taste, create and make some delicious dishes. This is an in-person class. If a student cancels within 10 days of class. The class becomes non-refundble.

The STOP THE BLEED® Interactive Course guides you through the three methods of bleeding control using video demonstrations, interactive learning, and spontaneous quizzes.

A bleeding injury can happen anywhere. We've all seen it happen too often, on the news or in everyday life. Life-threatening bleeding can happen in people injured in serious accidents or disasters. Instead of being a witness, you can become an immediate responder because you know how to STOP THE BLEED®.

The person next to a bleeding victim may very well be the one who’s most likely to save him or her from bleeding to death. By learning how to STOP THE BLEED®, you’ll gain the ability to recognize life-threatening bleeding, and act quickly and effectively to control bleeding once you learn three quick techniques.

Take the STOP THE BLEED® training course and become empowered to make a life or death difference when a bleeding emergency happens. 

This is an in-person class.

Greetings! Good news!  Thanks to a grant our Heartsaver and Stop the Bleed classes are free until the grant funds run out.

Do you struggle with food obsession, overeating, undereating or purging? There is a solution - a free information session online and by phone. Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA) is hosting information sessions where you will hear more about the FA program and from people who have found a solution through the FA program.  There will also be an opportunity to ask questions.  For more information and to receive the ZOOM link, call Sharon at 207.250.7373 or email FA at  fa.newcastle.maine@gmail.com.  This is a live, online session using ZOOM. 

Do you struggle with food obsession, overeating, undereating or purging? There is a solution-a free information session online and by phone. Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous (FA) is hosting information sessions where you will hear more about the FA program and from people who have found a solution through the FA program.  There will also be an opportunity to ask questions.  For more information and to receive the ZOOM link, call Sharon at 207.250.7373 or email FA at  fa.newcastle.maine@gmail.com.  This is a live, online session using ZOOM. 

This class isn't free.  We are hoping to bring this course to our community so we are gauging the interest.  Please register here if you'd like to be alerted when the schedule and pricing is established.

Are you thinking about going on an outdoor trip this summer with family or friends? Are you planning on being a trip leader for a camp or guide service? Are you interested in knowing how to take care of someone if they were hurt in the backcountry? This is a perfect course for someone who would like to get a basic level of first aid training. The Wilderness First Aid is a 16-hour hands-on course. It will provide a comprehensive look at the standards and skills of dealing with:

• response and assessment
•  musculoskeletal Injuries
• environmental emergencies
• survival skills
• soft tissue injuries
• medical emergencies.

This course includes 16-hours in class sessions, out of class reading, and a final exam. It can include a 2-hour CPR course. Course includes SOLO Wilderness First Aid book, Wilderness First Aid Map, 2-year WFA Certification

We are gauging interest in this class.  The likely schedule will be the last weekend in September.  If you register here, we will contact you when the logistics for the course are finalized. 

NOTE:  This class is not free -  we don't have a price for it. We are hoping to bring this class to our community if there is sufficient interest.  Sign up here if you want to be alerted if we bring the course to Ellsworth and when the schedule and price are determined. 

This 72-80 hour Wilderness First Responder Course  provides an in depth look at the skills and standards of the following • response and assessment • musculoskeletal injuries • environmental emergencies • survival skills • soft tissue injuries • medical emergencies.  This is an intensive first aid course designed for participants that are working in a position of leadership in an outdoor setting such as Maine guides, backcountry leaders, ski patrollers or raft guides.  If you are a current EMT you may receive continuing education credits. Once you receive your WFR certification you may take the steps to become certified as a Wilderness EMT.  The course includes SOLO Wildcare - Working in Less Than Desirable Conditions and Remote Environment textbook, 3-year WFR Certification, and 2-year CPR certification.

Note: to receive certification, participants must pass written and practical exams.