News

Wintergreen’s first annual Gala to celebrate ‘all things local,’ held on October 23rd, was a smashing success.  Seventy-five gorgeously dressed people ate local foods and drank local wine and beer while perusing silent auction items and listening to live music by fireweed and Sheesham & Lotus. The gala raised over $3000 for an endowed fund for school gardening programs, to be administered by the Community Foundation for Kingston and Area. For more information about the Gala visit  ‘Events – Share the Harvest’ on the Wintergreen web page. And mark your calendars – next year’s gala is scheduled to take place on September 24, 2011!  Posted Nov. 7th, 2010

The entire junior division of Central Public School, Kingston, Ontario, spent the day at Wintergreen on October 4. Children and their teachers learned about various kinds of gardens, including the Three Sisters Garden, the Victory Garden, and the Spaghetti Garden. The also learned about worm composting and other ways of dealing with food waste, including the green cone. While at Wintergreen, they saw the logs we use for growing mushrooms, they planted spring bulbs, and everyone took the trail to the lake for lunch and to see the Hobbit House. An exciting day! posted October 5, 2010

Kingston writer Lawrence Scanlan was elected to the Wintergreen Studios Board of Directors at the Annual General Meeting on September 20, 2010, for a three-year term.  posted September 26, 2010

Showcasing gardens using simple and sustainable systems that work for families and schools is the focus of a four-way partnership we have just formed. With the support of a Frontenac CFDC Local Initiatives Project grant, we have created a series of gardens and we are now hosting workshops and related school projects. Our gardens include a Wartime Victory Garden, full of vegetables that are easy to grow and do not require a large amount of space. Another traditional garden, is the Three Sisters Gardens of the Six Nations. It features corn, beans, and squash. Earthworx provided the soil and stones for the Wintergreen gardens. They will also be involved in the second phase of the project when Wintergreen brings the gardens to the schools. Three schools in the Frontenacs will design their own gardens, with the assistance of Wintergreen staff, and when the schools are ready, Earthworx will jump in and donate soil and mulch to the participating schools. posted June 14, 2010

Five open house workshops will take place at Wintergreen on June 20, July 18, August 22, September 19, and October 17 from 11 am – 4 pm. In partnership with Gerrie Baker of the The Worm Factory, the workshops demonstrate the process of vermicomposting (using worms to create compost). Another composting approach will show how Compostec’s Green Cone technology “digests” food waste including bones and oils. While visiting Wintergreen, guests can also view the cordwood buildings, the off-grid straw bale lodge, and take self-guided hikes on the 200-acre wilderness property. Information will be available on other workshops and retreats and organizations interested in hosting events while reducing their carbon footprint can learn about the facilities available throughout the year.  posted June 6, 2010

Wintergreen had a lively booth at Toronto’s Green Living Show, held at Exhibition Place from April 23-25, 2010. There were over 20,000 attendees at the show, and while they didn’t all stop at our booth, we met some fine people and enjoyed seeing some of our Toronto contacts. Our grand prize winner for the draw, Julia Laidlaw of Affinity Healing Arts, received a Green Cone food waste digester, generously donated by Compostec. (The Green Cone food waste digester takes care of what your composter can’t, using energy from the sun and naturally occurring reactions underground to reduce organic waste.) Other draw winners, Anne Bergman, Lori Alcorn, Marcie Costello, Andrew Gendron, and Elaine Cote, each received a fused glass pendant incorporating slivers of mica found on the Wintergreen property. posted May 15, 2010

In March, 2010, we launched a new publishing company called Wintergreen Studios Press. The first title published by WSP is Raising a School: Foundations for School Architecture. It is distributed by Amazon.com. Click here for details. posted March 30, 2010

Come and join us for our inaugural fundraising event, Share the Harvest, to be held on October 23, 2010. at Wintergreen. It promises to be evening of merriment and conversation, fine food and wine, and live music. There will be a silent auction and displays by local businesses emphasizing sustainable environmental practices. For more details, click on Share the Harvest. Tickets are $75 (with a $25 receipt for tax purposes) and include food and wine. posted February 12, 2010

On the heels of a very successful concert by Rick Fines and Terry Tufts, Wintergreen is launching a Dinner and Entertainment Series. Come for dinner and music or a reading for $30. Click here for details. posted January 25, 2010

We’re excited to announce that we have just hired a full-time Director of Marketing and Communications. Dawson Hamilton began working with us on January 4, 2010. The position is funded in part by the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation. If you’d like to reach Dawson directly, please email him at dawsonhamilton@gmail.com. posted January 9, 2010

Check this page regularly for updates on media reports and research developments at Wintergreen. You can also sign up for our MAILING LIST. We send updates about activities at Wintergreen four or five times a year.

“Our culture's frenzied and mindless assault on the last shreds of nature may not be the wisest course... we're melting the ice caps, ripping up the rain forest, and vacuuming the oceans of everything that wriggles.”

- George Meyer, writer for The Simpsons (BBC Green Room, 3 August 2006)