Islanders interested in working outdoors to make a little extra money are invited to attend a free workshop on collecting, storing and selling seeds from the forest.
Nova Tree Company and the Department of Environment, Energy and Forestry will host the Forest Seed Workshop at Watts Tree Farm in Kilmuir Saturday, August 11, from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. The workshop will focus on a few of the more common species of small woodland plants from which seeds can be collected.
Sid Watts, Provincial Forest Products Marketing Development Officer with the Province says, when it comes to collecting seeds, timing is everything. Collecting at precisely the right time is not always easy.
“This workshop will provide Islanders with the opportunity to familiarize themselves with some of the woodland plants and learn how to properly collect seeds,” said Mr. Watts.
Topics covered during the morning workshop will be techniques for collecting, hulling, cleaning, sorting and storing seeds, as well as conservation.
“In the case of rare species, only a few seeds should be collected,” said Jim Verboom of Nova Tree Company. “It’s important to leave most of the rare plants alone so that they may self sow and perpetuate the species for future generations to enjoy.”
Pre-registration for the workshop is not required. The Watts Tree Farm is located at 2025 Heatherdale Road on Route 316, approximately four kilometres south of Montague. For more information on the workshop, call 838-0623.