August 2025 Newsletter
Events & Workshops
Harvest Festival
You’re Invited to the 2025 Harvest Festival happening September 13th, 12-5PM at the Crescent City Food Forest ~ College of the Redwoods
Join us to Celebrate Local Food, Music & Community at the Del Norte & Tribal Lands Harvest Festival!
Celebrate the bounty of Del Norte and Local Food Month this September 13th at our Harvest Festival - a celebration of our local farmers, food producers, and community spirit.
This year’s festival has something for everyone:
Kids’ fun – from a corn-eating contest, food tastings and scavenger hunts you kids will have a blast with a variety of activities.
Photo booth – capture fun family photos with the beautiful backdrop of the Crescent City Food Forest
Live music – enjoy performances by Woodpile and Rebel Tree.
Beer & wine garden – featuring brews and pours from Port-o-Pints. All proceeds benefit the DNATL Community Food Council.
Harvest exchange – bring your garden bounty and trade for produce from fellow community members
Delicious food vendors – serving up tasty local favorites
Our last Harvest Festival in 2023 was a huge hit—you won’t want to miss the fun, food, and festivities this time around!
Want to be part of the fun behind the scenes?
Sign-up to volunteer here!
Salmon Festival
The 61st Annual Yurok Salmon Festival is taking place on Saturday, August 16, 2025.
All are invited to the family-friendly event.
The festival includes: numerous activities for kids
Cultural demonstrations, Ney-Puy Run/Walk 5k, live music and more.
Vendors selling high quality, locally made gift items and specialty foods.
When: Saturday, August 16, 2025.
9:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Where: 190 Klamath Blvd, Klamath, CA
In front of the Yurok Tribal Headquarters
Compost & Microscopy Workshops
Microscopy Workshop
BioBlends Composting is offering an extensive, four-hour microscopy workshop on August 16th from 10am-2pm! Participants will work with Declan Ramsay-Malone, our Soil Food Web Consultant, to learn how to evaluate their own soils and composts!
Participants will learn:
How to care for their microscope
How to take samples and create dilutions
How to prepare slides for accurate results
How to identify and correctly use every component of their microscope
How to identify the most influential microbial life in soil
How biological assessments are performed
No microscope experience is required, but a basic understanding of soil biology will help.
Please bring a microscope if you own one. We will have two microscopes provided, and everyone will get a chance to familiarize themselves with them.
Due to the specificity and value of the knowledge provided from this workshop, the price will be a sliding scale $100-$150 per person. Pay what you can!
Location will be determined depending on the number of tickets sold.
Please email BioBlendscomposting@gmail.com for more information and to purchase tickets.
Compost Workshop
BioBlends Composting is offering a three-hour composting workshop on August 17th from 12pm-3pm! Participants will work with Declan Ramsay-Malone, our Soil Food Web Consultant, to explore various methods of composting. Any experience level is welcome. Tickets will be $25
Participants will:
Learn how various composting methods work and see them in action
Vermicompost (worms)
Three bin system
Over winter static compost
Johnson Su Bioreactor
Dr. Elaine Ingham’s BioCompleteTM method
Learn about the importance of microbiology with live microscopy session
Learn to make compost extracts and teas
Tour our half-acre garden powered by all the compost methods featured in the workshop
Build a pile based on Dr. Elaine Ingham’s method (optional)
Everything you need to know about creating the best compost for your garden in one workshop!
The workshop will take place at 6621 South Bank Road, Crescent City
Please email BioBlendscomposting@gmail.com for any questions and to purchase tickets!
Community Input Meetings- Sustainable Solutions for Del Norte Composting, Mulching & Food Rescue
Building a Resilient Local System for Organic Waste
Public Meetings on Mulching & Composting
The Del Norte Solid Waste Management Authority, DNSWMA Task Force, and the Del Norte & Tribal Lands Community Food Council invite you to two upcoming sessions on reducing organic waste and building local reuse systems.
Meeting 4 – Municipal Mulch FeasibilityWhen: Wed, Aug 28 | 1–3 PM Where: Flynn Center – 981 H St., Crescent City
Learn how turning woody debris into mulch can improve soil, save water, and reduce wildfire risk and discuss how to make mulch more accessible for our community.Meeting 5 – Community Composting FeasibilityWhen: Fri, Oct 20 | 10 AM–12 PM
Where: Flynn Center – 981 H St., Crescent City
Explore scalable composting systems with the infrastructure, outreach, and partnerships needed for long-term success.
On-the-Farm Field Day
Learn the Ins & Outs of Farming in Del Norte!
Thinking about starting your own farm? Want to build skills for growing food successfully in our unique coastal climate? Join us at Ocean Air Farms for a special two-day On-the-Farm Field Day & Learning Opportunity on August 29 &30th.
This event is perfect for beginning farmers, gardeners ready to take the next step, and anyone curious about what it takes to operate a farm in Del Norte—come see firsthand the skills and knowledge you can build for a thriving, productive farm.
Day 1 (Aug. 29, 10 AM – 1 PM): Take a guided tour of Ocean Air Farms, learn about local agriculture and farm operations, and get your questions answered by experienced farmers.
Day 2 (Aug. 30, 10 AM – 2 PM): Roll up your sleeves for a potato harvest! Learn how to plant, harvest, store, and prep for market—plus get hands-on experience working on the farm.
Please Register Here for this event.
Tolowa Dee-ni Day
Come Celebrate the 18th Annual Dee-ni' Day
When: Saturday, September 6, 20259:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Where: 101 Indian Ct., Smith River, CAHowonquet Hall Community Center,
A free, family-friendly celebration open to the entire community.
Activities & Highlights:
Kids’ activities
Cultural demonstrations
Stick game & horseshoe tournament
Regalia showcase
Food & art vendors
Tribal Citizen art show
Traditional men’s & women’s gambling
And more!
DNATL CFC Programs
Climate Resilient Farmer Rancher Training
No-Cost Farmer Training – Apply Now!
15 months of hands-on & classroom learning in climate-smart farming and business planning.
You’ll get:
Crop & livestock training
Business planning support
Internship or mentorship option
Travel stipends available
Choose a paid internship or mentorship on your own farm/garden.
Open to new and early-stage farmers, farmworkers, and community gardeners, with priority for historically underserved producers
Starts Jan 2026 – Apply by Fall 2025
Fill out the interest form today!
Climate Resilient Farmer Training Program: Interest Form
Farmers Market -Last POP CLUB
The Downtown Crescent City Farmers Market is buzzing with activity this summer! Join us every Wednesday from 9:00 AM to 1:30 PM at 240 H Street across from the Post Office in the old bank parking lot.
Enjoy live music from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM each market day, plus fun kids activities that bring extra energy and joy to the market.
August 13, is the last day kids can participate in POP Club (Power of Produce) from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM. Engage in activities about food and farming, and receive $6 to spend on produce at the market — all while meeting the farmers who grow their food. In the last 6 weeks almost 100 children signed up and participated in this wonderful program.
The market accepts EBT cards, WIC, and RX vouchers, and shoppers using these programs can benefit from matching programs that double their purchasing power on fresh fruits and vegetables — making healthy, local food more affordable for everyone.
Stay up to date by visiting www.dnatlfoodcouncil.org/farmers-markets and following @dnatlfoodcouncil on social media.
Taa-'at-dvn Chee-ne' Tetlh-tvm': Crescent City Food Forest
It's the height of the growing season at the Crescent City Food Forest! Under the care of our new staff, the Food Forest is flourishing. There are many crops growing, including this year's batch of curious minds.
July marked the fifth year of our beloved Food & Farm Camp, providing hands-on, enriching experiences to local youth participants. The Food Forest offered a lovely backdrop for youth to learn about ecology, art, cooking, and gardening. As part of our larger effort to support a resilient food system, these camps pave the way for our future eaters to make informed choices that support their well-being. Campers were treated to a nutritious and healthy lunch served fresh on-site daily, along with healthy snacks to fuel the fun.
These camps aren't the only way the public can enjoy the Food Forest! The site also hosts a weekly volunteer time where you can learn more about the space, lend a hand, and harvest some of the abundance. Join us on Tuesdays from 2-5 PM to become a Food Forest friend.
School Gardens
This month has been truly special for our School Garden team. Thanks to the Humboldt Area Foundation we launched a vibrant Summer Garden Camp as part of the Expanded Learning Summer Program. Bess Maxwell Elementary School came alive with over 120 students rotating through the garden.
We worked with the kids making stir fry and spring rolls, butterfly gardens, and we dyed shirts using beets, calendula and carrots from the garden. With the kids' help we also planted potatoes, strawberries, flowers and cucumbers. We imagined what it would be like to be insects in the gardens and went on scavenger hunts.
These hands-on experiences taught our community’s youth the skills of preparing and cooking vegetables, observing nature, planting seeds, transplanting starts, harvesting their own food, and using their minds and imaginations.
They created water stations for helpful little bugs, crafted paper pots for seedlings, mapped their garden journeys, and most importantly—played with joy. One student proudly said, “I never ate vegetables before, and now I love them!” Our hearts are full.
Meanwhile, our team has worked as hard as they possibly can to restore Joe Hamilton Elementary School garden for the 2025-2026 school year. This transformation could not have been possible without the stable support and partnership with Sierra Service Project. Their youth volunteers helped remove, dismantle, and rebuild every garden bed using the recycled materials. A special thank you to Executive Director Megan Taylor for her continued trust and dedication. Thanks to her and the young leaders of Sierra Service Project, Del Norte students will soon have a flourishing garden to help promote food sovereignty.
In addition, the Del Norte School District is partnering with us to install a brand-new irrigation system, paving the way for a fully functional outdoor classroom where teachers can bring learning to life.
We would also like to share our appreciation for the Family Resource Center (FRC). In their community kitchen, and as summer blooms, we’ve been harvesting flowers and drying them for school-year projects. Many of their regulars have happily helped us place the hundreds of flowers in the FRC dehydrator.
Oh, and before we forget, we were invited to chaperone Crescent Elk’s International Club. We traveled to Sacramento to check out universities and historical sites so our youth can dream as big as they want. A heartfelt thank you to Mrs. Xiong and Mr. Vue for giving purpose, inspiration and love to so many Del Norte students.
Harvest Box Calendar
Subscribe to the Harvest Box- Wednesday by 4:00, the week before to get the next distribution
The Harvest Box is gaining traction! The units of food going out between June and July went from 39 to 34! The new add-ons such as the coffee, steaks, and hydrosols are also becoming popular. Thanks to the community, our local farms and producers are receiving more and more support.
Don’t forget to check out the A to Z Seasonal Recipes page on our website for ways to use the delicious, local, seasonal produce available in the Harvest Box - or perhaps from your own garden!
Elsewhere Around Town
Pacific Pantry & Mobile Market
Help Support the Pacific Pantry & Mobile Market
The Family Resource Center of the Redwoods Food Bank has an ongoing commitment to combat hunger in our community. The Pacific Pantry and Mobile Market support the most vulnerable in our community, providing local, nutritious food to families in need.
As we face these uncertain times, please consider joining us to take action against hunger. Together, our actions help ensure our community has the food needed to thrive.
Help make a difference by donating today.
School District Nutrition
Have you looked at the Del Norte Unified School District (DNUSD) Nutrition website lately? It’s amazing! The Nutrition Services team has put together a wide range of information with key details about nutrition, fitness, and wellness for the students they serve.
Check out the website: DNUSD Food Service