putting on an event..

not sure if this is the right place but..  I have been totally unable to find anyone around here who knows what ANY of the local plants are..as one person said,  "if they didn't plant it, then they try to kill it, don't matter what it is". 

I want to get someone in next summer for a day to simply go around and identify, talk about local plants, maybe do something about wild foods..and a couple of people have expressed interest.  First step is to find someone who can do that, and next step is to see if I can get some people in to help defray the cost of getting that person to come spend a day sharing their knowlege.

Any suggestions as to resources about doing something like this? I have some leads as to step one but step 2 is new territory..so suggestions  are most welcome, especially if someone who has done this would be willing to share their experience/advice

Contact your local extension agency, 4-H, university, master gardeners, etc.
In rural areas several of these can and will over lap, maybe be housed at the same building.

Most likely they already offer gardening tips, food preserving lessons and printed materials.
They are a great resource and the best place to start in your search for a speaker.  They also
know of venues for having presentations, such as local Farmers Markets, Garden Clubs, etc.

I hope this helps ♥

Thank you Jami.  I have already been in touch with the local bird watching club as there was an article in the paper about a farmer in the area who seems to be at least to some degree trying to work with the land and who seemed to have some knowlege. I've also started to try to track down the people who put on a permaculture session a month ago at the University re a resource person. The university is a good three hour drive from here and I didn't even know about the course until it was pretty much underway.

What I am really asking for, I suppose, is some details about how to go about organizing it as I've never been to anything  of the sort. After having listened to Paul's podcast the other day....gotta try to get this right!! I live in a relatively thinly populated area so was wondering if I should be prepared to offer camping  facilities or what...what sort of food is generally served and so forth.

I want to have the thing at my place as I know where many of these things are that I want to know WHAT they are. However, I'm at a bit of a loss to know what would be expected of the host of such an event (in terms what I should be prepared to offer people who would want to be part of the day).

Knowing what things worked and what didn't (and maybe some thoughts as to why) would be very helpful. The thought was if someone had some experience to share it might help avoid some grief.

I see Pam, an outdoor event, in a rural location.

I don't have any experience with something like that,
but from what I hear it's the speakers who decide or
plan a lot of the details, and work with the host.

If someone doesn't jump in here soon maybe you
could PM some of the people who do event trainings
and post here at the forums.  Just search the forums
for key words.

A few months ago I went on a lovely tour of a local permaculture homestead which is now closed to tours (under new ownership).  The tour was by reservation over the phone or email, and the total number of participants was under 20.  The hostess offered some refreshments of water, coffee, cookies and the farm's own dried apples, and invited folks to bring a picnic lunch to eat on the grounds (which my group did).  She was also able to recommend a couple semi-local restaurants where people could have lunch.  The tour lasted more than an hour on a small property (7 acres) and covered an enormous number of topics.  It cost $10 per person and was well worth the cost though if it had cost more not knowing ahead of time the quality of the presentation, I would have hesitated to spend more than that.  This was moderately out in the country (about 12 miles from the county seat and 15 miles from the other town in the country of any size) though only about 5 miles from my place.

Composting toilet facilities were available.  A double-sided printed handout was made available listing the practices used on the farm and some information about our present drought and climate change.

I aspire to be able to host something similar in a few years. 

Hello Pam

First to introduce ourselves, we are Rob and Stacey and we live in Yorkton Saskatchewan. From what we've gleaned from your posts it seems like you may be near us? If so then the area has many great resources growing these days. A local plant expert is Dr. James Jowsey who wrote the book Wildflowers across the Prairies. He live in Saltcoats and loves helping others identify and preserve local plants. There is also the Assiniboine Food Security Alliance which consists of many local gardeners, farmers, and other local producers(many organic)who share a wealth of knowledge about the area.

As to hosting the event, you can announce your event in a number of ways. The local papers, local websites, fliers at farmers markets, local groups(afsa, Hort. society) the list could be endless.

We recently attended a cob oven building workshop where the hosts supplied lunch and beverages. We were told a vegetarian lunch would be provided but it turned out to be  beef on a bun with a number of salads. This we believe worked good as many of the participants were locals and appreciated both options. Food need not be fancy, sandwiches,salads or soups are quick to do and keep well enough. I hope this info is enough to get you started on growing your event, should be a great experience for all who attend. If you'd like to chat more with us feel free to send us a message. We too are planing on hosting a number of events over the coming years.

                            Rob and Stacey (GardenTherapyYorkton)

Hi Stacy!
It's terrific to learn that this stuff is going on around here..I had the impression this area didn't have anything much at all happening!. I wil pm  you..I would have answered sooner but my modem self destructed over the weekend and I couldn't do anything about it until today. 
So good to know that there are people in the area interested in such things! Thanks for replying!