How Birds Help: Gardening with Reciprocity

How Birds Help: Gardening with Reciprocity

Learn how common backyard birds can help you become a better gardener.

By Compost Education Centre

Date and time

Sat, Apr 26, 2025 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM PDT

Location

Compost Education Centre

1216 N Park St Victoria, BC V8T 3K5 Canada

Refund Policy

Refunds up to 7 days before event
Eventbrite's fee is nonrefundable.

About this event

  • Event lasts 2 hours

Explore the role that birds play in our ecosystem and how we can mimic conditions in our gardens to form a reciprocal relationship with our winged neighbours.

We will cover:

- What birds are commonly found in Southern Vancouver Island backyards.

- How to find out what birds are in your backyard.

- How birds can help us control pests, rodents, and pollinate our plants.

- How we can use water, food, and shelter to attract birds to our gardens.

Instructor Bio

Zoe-Blue Coates is the office manager at the Compost Education Centre and an avid birder. She frequently leads nature walks for the Special Bird Service Society, a group who is focussed on making nature more accessible for the global majority through birding. Her practice aims to inspire others to form reciprocal relationships with the land through caring for the natural world that is closest to them, regardless of whether it is in a rural or urban environment


How to Register for this Event

This workshop is happening in person only. Please dress appropriately for all types of weather, the workshop may be outside or in our heated strawbale building.

Only current members in good standing are eligible to use the free ticket option as a part of their member benefits package.

There are a limited number of Pay What You Can tickets available for folks who self-identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC), and people who are facing significant financial barriers to their involvement in our programming. The Compost Education Centre is continually in the process of examining the ways in which our program accessibility can be improved for all members of our community. This ticket gesture is by no means a fulsome examination of the systems of oppression that exist for people inside and outside of our community. We welcome your ideas and feedback.

You must pre-register for this event. You can purchase a ticket through Eventbrite. You can also register for the event by calling our office at 250 386 9676 or via email by contacting office@compost.bc.ca

Customers can request a refund within 30 days of ticket purchase. After 30 days refunds and workshop exchanges are not permitted due to administrative staffing capacity.

VERY IMPORTANT: Please be in touch if you are no longer able to attend but hold a ticket so we can make your space available to someone else.

Accessibility

The Compost Education Centre site has flat paths made of woodchips. The strawbale learning classroom is accessed via a wooden ramp and has a wide double door and a ramp leading up to it. Once inside everything is flat.

There is a single-stall gender neutral washroom on site. The washroom is not wheelchair accessible. There is a steep ramp from the wood chip pathway onto the washroom boardwalk, and a 2-inch step up from the washroom boardwalk into the washroom.

About the organization

The Compost Education Centre is located on unceded and occupied Indigenous territories, the land of the Lekwungen people— specifically the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations. These nations are two of many, made up of individuals who have lived within the porous boundaries of what is considered Coast Salish, Nuu-Chah-Nulth and Kwakwa'wakw Territory (Vancouver Island) since time immemorial. At the CEC we seek to respect, honour and continually grow our own understandings of Indigenous rights and history, and to fulfill our responsibilities as settlers, who live and work directly with the land and its complex, vital ecologies and our diverse, evolving communities.

Compost Education Centre memberships get you free workshops, discounts at garden centres around town and more great perks! Sign up or learn more on our website.

Frequently asked questions

What is your refund policy?

Workshop participants can receive a full refund up to 30 days after the ticket is purchased. To obtain a refund, email office@compost.bc.ca. Beyond 30 days, you cannot receive a refund nor switch your ticket to a different workshop.

What happens if I am unable to attend this workshop?

Please email office@compost.bc.ca to let us know you are no longer able to attend. If you purchased your ticket within 30 days of the cancellation, you can receive a refund.

Where will this workshop be held?

The workshop will be held in the Compost Education Centre’s minimally heated Strawbale learning classroom. Some portions of the workshop may be in the Compost Education Centre’s teaching gardens. The pathways are comprised of woodchips. Please dress accordingly for weather.

Is the event location wheelchair accessible?

The pathways at the CEC’s gardens are comprised of woodchips. There are three steps to get into the retail/office building. The strawbale classroom is accessed via a wooden ramp and has a wide double door and a ramp leading up to it, there is a lip in the doorway. Once inside everything is flat.

Is there a washroom at the event location & accessibility?

There is a single-stall gender neutral washroom on site. The washroom is not wheelchair accessible. There is a steep ramp from the wood chip pathway onto the washroom boardwalk, and a 2-inch step up from the washroom boardwalk into the washroom.

Will there be seating during the workshop?

There will be seating available for each participant.

Where should I park?

There is bicycle parking just inside the gate. Car parking is very limited: • Three 2-hour parking spots at Haegert Park • On Saturdays, at the Victoria High School parking lots off Grant St and Gladstone Ave. • Unrestricted parking is available on some sections of Pembroke street.

How do I get to the Compost Education Centre?

The Compost Education Centre is located at 1216 North Park St. The closest bus stops are: Pandora Ave at Chambers St, Cook St at Balmoral Rd, Fernwood Rd at Grant St, and Bay St at Cedar Hill. The Compost Education Centre is accessible by bicycle, and there is ample bike parking available

Organized by

The Compost Education Centre, situated on unceded Coast Salish territories, is a non-profit organization with charitable status. The CEC’s mission is to encourage composting, local food production, and conservation, through education to residents living within the CRD. Created as a community resource, the CEC’s intent is to lower barriers to building skills that support soil stewardship and ecological sustainability. Two of the ways the CEC meets this goal are through free and affordable workshop series for adults, and a diverse, interactive, science-based educational program for students and their teachers. The CEC is mandated to teach people of all ages how to create a biologically active, organic garden amendment, as well as why composting and soil conservation are crucial practices for mitigating climate change.

$0 – $30