This weekend Red Deerians can learn about eco-living, permaculture, seeding, water and more through a variety of workshops and exhibits at the Eco-Living Fair and Seedy Saturday event.

Eco-Living events are hosted internationally, with the local group ReThink Red Deer bringing this event to the City. On March 21st at the Red Deer College Forum, over 20 workshops will be hosted and over 30 exhibitors will share their knowledge of products, lifestyle options and a wealth of information. The event is free to attend, with workshops at variable pricing.

“Our mandate as ReThink Red Deer is to help people affirm their relationship with the land, water and air and live in harmony with the natural world, but still with prosperity. We believe that that is very possible, and it just depends on how you look at the world. If we look towards more renewable resources, we can really live in harmony with the world around us,” said Rene Michalak of ReThink Red Deer.

The symposium keeps the mantra of ReThink Red Deer central throughout the event. There are a wide variety of workshops from learning about the local watershed alliance, to backyard composting and renewable energy. Exhibitors will cover topics from seed variations, to soil products, to gardening clubs and local farms.

The event falls one day prior to World Water Day, and will carry plenty of information on the world’s water supply, sustainable development and the importance and scarcity of freshwater worldwide. Presentations will include a film on a local invasive species, Red Deer Watershed Alliance programming, and the importance of freshwater to the international community.

“This year, we have the broadest representation of the community, and the highest number of workshops to date,” said Michalak.

The Seedy Saturday portion of the event focuses on the availability of seed variety, specifically through open-pollinated and heirloom organic variety seeds.

“I learned that there is available diversity out there but we don’t know much about it. We don’t have a relationship with it, therefore we don’t know how to cultivate that sustainability in the form of food – that’s what Saturday is about. It’s going to introduce people to heritage varieties and to the diversity available to them in terms of growing or accessing food,” said Michalak.

kmendonsa@reddeerexpress.com