2023 Harvest Moon Festival Workshops

Workshop schedule for the 22nd Perennial Harvest Moon Festival (Sept 15-17, 2023 in Clearwater, MB)

The Harvest Moon Society’s Education Committee is really proud of how our workshop line-up came together this year. We’re really looking forward to doing some shared learning!

We have been working to improve the Festival Workshop experience this year by moving around some venues. Workshops that are being held in ‘Tent #1’ will be in the courtyard of the former United Church, located across the street, just northwest of the Harvest Moon Learning Center. ‘Tent #2’ will be in the vacant lot just north of that church, and the venue labelled ‘Church Basement’ will be the same as last year, in the basement of the aforementioned formed United Church.

Scroll down to learn about each workshop and its presenters.

Mushroom Cultivation

Tom Nagy is a restoration ecologist with a passion for the botanical sciences, sustainable agriculture and mycology. Tom has experience working as a field botanist, environmental consultant and as an operations manager for a certified organic market garden. In 2018 Tom began River City Mushrooms; a small-scale mycological interest project based in Winnipeg that focuses on cultivating an appreciation for edible and medicinal fungi as well as supplying the knowledge and tools necessary for a new generation of mushroom growing enthusiasts to flourish. Tom continues to advocate for a greater understanding of how we perceive, understand and develop relationships with the natural world by conducting engaging public programs discussing native plant communities, sustainable agriculture, mushroom cultivation and wild foraging.

Camping Gear Repair and Maintenance

Merrill is an exuberant bike tripper, bike mechanic at the Wrench, canoeist and camping enthusiast for over 2 decades and loves to repair and make her own gear for these adventures. Anneliese has a passion for DIY and repair. Has made and her own outdoor clothing and tents. Anneliese has been outdoor adventuring for 15 years doing biking and hiking trips.

They’ll teach you how to save money and reduce waste by mending your own gear! An overview of how to repair and replace zippers, rips, tears, punctures, broken poles and other camping gear mishaps and how to store and maintain the life of your camping gear and essential repair items to have on hand.

The Power of Place: Cultivating Change Through Agency and Identity Within Communities

Shawn Bailey is an Indigenous Scholar and practicing architect at the University of Manitoba, where he is a faculty member in both the Faculty of Architecture and the Price Faculty of Engineering. Raised in Lake of the Woods, Ontario, Shawn has a deep understanding of the natural world due to his immersion in a rich natural environment, which has given him a strong connection to the land and an understanding of the interrelationships within it.

Shawn’s research and teaching approach is based on a dedication to understanding how traditional Indigenous Knowledge can be integrated into practice and education, fostering community, and finding meaningful ways to include the natural world. He is particularly interested in how Indigenous teachings can provide new perspectives on sustainability through ideas of interconnectedness. He focuses on community-centered design processes and methods, fostering connections to the Land by incorporating Indigenous Knowledge through discussions, teachings, and ceremonies.

Lancelot Coar: is a White settler man and father with the privilege to live and work on Treaty 1 Territory. Lancelot is an Associate Professor in the Department of Architecture, a researcher at the Centre for Architectural Structures and Technology (C.A.S.T.) at the University of Manitoba and a Ph.D. candidate at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels. In his teaching and research, Lancelot works collaboratively with Indigenous community partners to address design practices to establish design sovereignty with and for First Nations communities rooted in local knowledge, identity, and Indigenous world views.

This workshop will tell the story of how two professors discovered empowerment in their role as instructors by embracing not knowing, and instead led students by listening to places, the land, diverse histories and the people who lived them. Focussing on community-based knowledge, decolonial practices, and Indigenous ways of knowing, Shawn and Lancelot will share some of what they have learned in their nearly 2 decades of working with communities and why this approach to teaching gives them hope about the future of design practice, education, and community resiliency in the face of global challenges brought on by industrialization.

Festival Magic Wands

Lauren Treble is the land based learning interpreter at Harvest Moon Society. She spends her summers planning field trips, educational camps for kids, youth nights and other events in the summer. She is attending Brandon University for education in the fall.

Get in touch with your inner child and spread festival magic! All ages can come and get creative making their own whimsical masterpiece using upcycled materials.

Low Carbon Pantry

Feeding ourselves and our offspring is one of our main tasks as humans. We all need to eat, many times a day. Yet eating is fraught with many tensions. What is the most ethical diet? Which foods are best for the earth? How can we avoid exploiting others' work while eating given that many of the worst labour violations happen in the agriculture and food industries? Is organic the best option? And how do we reconcile living in a culture of food excess when so much of the world does not have enough? It's easy to feel shame about our eating habits and it's easy to shame others for what they eat. Every W

Jennifer deGroot raises kids, grows food and makes stuff on Big Oak Farm near Morden, Manitoba

Climate Change Communication

Devin Latimer is a faculty member in chemistry at the University of Winnipeg focussing on green organic chemistry and environmental communications, artistic director of Trout Forest Music Festival in northwestern Ontario, and a struggling bass player with Winnipeg music collectives Leaf Rapids and the Juno winning Nathan Music Co. The second edition of his free online textbook Chemistry and the Environment is available at: bit.ly/Chem-Env

Record heat waves, floods, tornadoes… all coinciding with increasing carbon emissions and atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. The evidence seems to be all around us, but many seem to argue that climate change is a myth. This ‘difference in opinions’ is a major political, and therefore scientific, obstacle in the cooperation and funding needed to solve the dilemma of the energy transition. When we’re celebrating and communing with nature at an event like the Harvest Moon Festival, people from all backgrounds seem to be unified on the beauty around us… can we perhaps use this to get people working together? Come review some scientific basics and discuss another opinion on the matter.

Waste Not: A Panel

A panel to help inform festival goers about the waste management industry in Manitoba, and how it impacts our community. What the future holds from a sustainability and environmental perspective, as well as some takeaways like tips for being mindful consumers and 'wasters' in the future

Richard Bolton - Environmental Planner, City of Winnipeg
Jeanette Sivilay - Formerly the Coordinator for the Winnipeg Food Council
Jill Hisco - Environmental Crew lead for the Harvest Moon Festival
Jordan Guiboche - Community Pathfinder, First Nations Waste Minimization at Green Action Centre

Young Agrarians

Young Agrarians (YA) is a farmer to farmer educational resource network for new and young ecological, organic and regenerative farmers in Canada. We recognize the Indigenous lands and territories that we work on and alongside, and are committed to providing programs that are inclusive and available to farmers and friends of diverse backgrounds. YA is volunteer-driven, with farmers across the country organizing on-farm events and building community to create spaces for knowledge sharing and growth. The network is made up of a diverse array of food growers and lovers including farmers, fishers, holistic managers, market gardeners, ranchers, seed savers, food activists, bee keepers, community gardeners, and food and farm organizations.

Young Agrarians is currently running two programs in Manitoba - The Apprenticeship Program and the Business Mentorship Network. Organization members Lydia Carpenter and Dana Penrice will lead a discussion about opportunities for young farmers, and the work that is happening through YA, challenges, and what the future holds. The panel will also feature participants from the programs.

Youth Climate Action as Reconciliation

Elder David Scott of Swan Lake First Nation has been leading a land-based Youth Climate Group with both indigenous and non-indigenous youth for the last three years and they are going to show how their work is an act of reconciliation.

Elixir Crafting

There is more to a delicious beverage than simply just the taste. Elixirs offer nourishment, boost energy, can balance hormones and are deeply delicious! Learn to craft a high-vibe functional elixir at home using functional mushrooms, moon water, tea, herbs + spices and more! Michelle will teach the basics of elixir crafting while inspiring you to get creative in your own kitchen. Get inspired to craft the elixir of your dreams with Michelle Leona!

Michelle is the owner of Wolseley Kombucha- a Winnipeg kombucha company! Currently a student at the Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine. Her passion is elixirs- functional beverages crafted with mushrooms, superfoods and herbs or spices. Her dream is to open an Elixir Bar in Winnipeg.

Responsive Creating

The Harvest Moon Society’s Recent Graduate Artist Residency program was excited to invite Rae Swan and Alice Hamilton for a two-week residency back in May. As part of their time with us, they presented a workshop at United Community Arts in Pilot Mound and they’re going to come back and do it again at the Festival!

How to Write a Song Every Week

In 2020, over a hundred people joined Natalie Bohrn (of Slow Spirit) in weekly online songwriting circles. Each person miraculously kept creating a brand new baby song every single week for way longer than you’d think was possible. Natalie has kept these writing circles going over the last 3 years, on and off, for songwriters situated across the globe. In this workshop, Natalie and Eric Roberts (also of Slow Spirit) guide you through how to start writing songs you like every single week, even if you’ve never written a song before.

Roaming Night Sky Stories

After a decade of teaching Astronomy at the Planetarium star theatre, StarGirl (Ashley Hoeppner) takes her show on the road and brings her curiosity for space and the wonders of the night time sky to the Harvest Moon Festival. StarGirl will take you in a sky tour of the planets, constellations, shooting stars, and Northern Lights.You can find StarGirl roaming the festival grounds after sunset (look for the star shaped helium balloon attached to her backpack) and join her on a fascinating journey through the Universe above our heads and inside our hearts.

Garden Yoga with Philip will be in the Secret Garden in the Harvest Moon Learning Center yard at 10am on Saturday (**PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGED TIME**).

Saturday Morning Yoga

Philip Rosario has been teaching yoga since 2015. The style of class will be Hatha yoga in which you’ll practice traditional standing, seated and postures laying down we will move at a medium pace with a focus on mind, body , and breath. You can find Philip teaching regular classes in Winnipeg at Sport Manitoba, Winnipeg Winter Club, Winnipeg Squash Racquet Club, St.Boniface University Sportex , and Altea Active ... He loves skateboarding, his cats, the beach and is super thrilled be teaching at Harvest Moon! IG:@philiprosario_

A Guided Birdwatching walk on the “Lessons From the Land” trail will take place Sunday morning at 10am. Meet at the north doors of the school. **PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGED TIME.**

Sunday Morning Guided Birdwatching

Jon Benson was born and raised in Winnipeg on Treaty 1 Territory. He first got into birds in his early 20s when he heard the song of the White-throated sparrow outside of his window, and for the first time ever wondered "What bird is making that sound"? He's now an avid year-round birdwatcher, asking himself that same question while visiting locations all over Manitoba, and abroad.

Come join us for a walk on the "Lessons from the Land" trail, and we'll use our eyes and ears to discover what species of birds are on the land at this time of year. Bring a pair of binoculars if you have them, but they're certainly not required to participate. This walk will be guided, however all participants are encouraged to share their own knowledge and experiences with birds as we go.