News and Events

May 09, 2009
Free workshop to learn about turning horse manure into Black Gold! Learn about manure management practices, waste management regulations, how easy it is to compost manure and compost troubleshooting. Resource materials will be provided. Saturday, May 09 2009, 10:00am - 12:00pm, Coghlan Hall - 6795 256 St. For registration and information please contact 604-532-7339 or worms [@] tol.bc.ca. Event brought to you by LEPS and Township of Langley along with Glen Valley Watersheds Society (with thanks from Vancity Regional Grants program).

Past News & Events

March 17, 2009
Horse Manure and Pasture Management Workshop with the Langley Vintage Riders Equestrian Club. Andrea will be speaking at the club's regular meeting held at St. Andrew's United Church (9025 Glover Road, Langley) at 7pm. Non-members are usually welcome for a minimal fee. Check out their website, www.vintage-equestrian.ca or more information and to find out what this great club is up to!

October 17 – 18 – Mane Event
Once again the Manure Maiden will be making an appearance at The Mane Event: Equine Education and Trade Fair from October 17th to 19th. There will be a booth set-up and an opportunity to ask all those great questions about horse manure and pasture management. For more information on scheduling and ticket prices please consult the Mane Event website at http://www.maneeventexpo.com.

September 20th – Fall in Place for Winter with Horses for Clean Water

Join LEPS and Horses for Clean Water on Saturday, September 20th from 9am to 3pm for a Saturday workshop that will help get your horse property ready for the upcoming rainy season. HCW will lead you through a checklist on how you can winterize your horse property to beat mud & become chore efficient -- at the time of year when all that really counts! Get tips and techniques on choosing footings for paddocks, getting gutters and downspouts in working order, chemical-free ways to eliminate pesky rodents, ideas to keep water supplies from freezing -- and more! Learn how to compost horse manure, see different bin designs, find out about off-site options for dealing with stall waste and view the latest techniques for reducing stall waste in the barn. Get a jump on winter and learn how to make the coming rainy season easier to live with for you, your horses, and the environment! Location to be announced, but a farm tour will follow a morning workshop. PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED & seats are limited. Contact Andrea at 604-532-3515 or by email.

This year LEPS is working to create a network of Manure Maven facilitators throughout the main regions in BC: Lower Mainland/Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island, Thompson Okanagan, Kootenay Rockies, Peace River, Northwest Coast, and the Cariboo Chilcotin. We are looking for interested participants who are willing to act as a resource in their respective regions and potentially conduct workshops and site consultations on their own time. There is a small financial incentive as you are free to charge for your workshops, site consultations, and Land Management Guides. LEPS will be available for technical support within the first year of the program.

Qualified applicants will join us for a workshop at the Springbrooke Retreat Centre in Langley, BC from September 9th to 11th (www.springbrookeretreat.com) where you will be provided with two nights accommodation, meals throughout your stay, resource materials to facilitate your own regional workshops, and copies of the new Land Management Guide for Horse Owners and Small-Lot Farmers to distribute to your clients. This workshop can also be used towards professional development hours for professional or articling agrologists registered with the BC Institute of Agrologists.

For more information or to obtain the application form please contact Andrea Lawseth at 604-532-3515 or by email.

Come join LEPS again at the Feast of Fields on September 7th from 1pm to 5pm at the UBC Farm in Vancouver. This is a wonderful event that showcases local food and agriculture and provides a great opportunity to eat your way through the Lower Mainland. Tickets are $75.00 and you must pre-register. Visit the Feast of Fields website at http://ffcf.bc.ca/feast/home.html for more information.

March 1, 2008

Come join the Manure Maiden at the 4H to the Extreme 2008 on March 1st, 2008. There will be a one-hour workshop entitled Water Wellness so come prepared to roll up your sleeves and solve some typical farming challenges such as riparian area and waste management. The event will be located at Aldergrove Community Secondary and starts at 8:00am. The event runs until 3:30pm and the Water Wellness workshop will be held from 1:15 to 2:15pm.

March 15 – 16, 2008

Once again the Manure Maiden will be bringing her booth to the Lower Mainland Quarter Horse Association Horsemans’ Bazaar and Country Fair. The booth will be set up from 9:30am to 6:00pm on Saturday March 15th and again from 9:30am to 4:30pm on Sunday March 16th. A representative from the Manure Maiden will be available all day on Sunday to help you with your manure woes and answer any questions you may have on manure management and pasture management. We hope to see you there!

April 4 – 6, 2008

Come on out to the Canadian Morgan Horse Convention in Sun Peaks, BC from April 4th to 6th, 2008. The event is organized by the Canadian Morgan Horse Association and will feature a variety of guest speakers. The Manure Maiden will be giving one seminar on Manure Composting and one seminar geared towards youth, entitled Healthy Streams, Happy Horses. Other guest speakers include Rob Mulligan, DVM from the Kamloops Large Animal Veterinary Clinic, Gord MacKenzie, President of the Back Country Horsemen of BC, and Ryan Sushesju from the American Farrier Association.

November 28 – 29, 2007

November 3 – 4, 2007

We are very fortunate to have Alayne Blickle, program director for Horses for Clean Water and internationally acclaimed sustainable horse expert, here in Langley for the weekend of November 3rd and 4th. Join LEPS for a workshop on ways to manage horse properties to reduce mud and runoff, manage manure, and make pastures more productive. Saturday, November 3rd from 9am to 1pm will be a presentation on Natural Ways to Control Mud, Dust, Bugs and Weeds held at the Langley Township Main Hall and Sunday, November 4th from 9am to 3pm will be a farm tour to see practices on the ground.  PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED & seats are limited.  Contact Andrea at 604-532-3515 or by email. Cost is $40 for the November 3rd workshop & $25 (includes bag lunch) for the November 4th farm tour and there is a discounted cost of $50 for attending both events.

October 25 – 28, 2007

October 19 – 21, 2007

Once again the Manure Maiden will be making an appearance at The Mane Event: Equine Education and Trade Fair from October 19th to 21st. There will be a booth set-up and an opportunity to ask all those niggling questions about horse manure and pasture management. Andrea will also be giving two seminars during the event entitled Manure: Friend Not Foe and Composting: The Next Frontier. For more information on scheduling and ticket prices please consult the Mane Event website at http://www.maneeventexpo.com.

September 9, 2007

Come join LEPS at the Feast of Fields on September 9th from 1 to 5pm. We will be there to answer all your questions about sustainable agriculture practices, watershed stewardship and land management. This is a wonderful event that showcases local food and agriculture and provides a great opportunity to eat your way through the Lower Mainland. Tickets are $75.00 and you must pre-register. Visit the Feast of Fields website at www.ffcf.bc.ca/feast.html for more information.

July 19, 2007

Join us for another Horse Manure Composting Workshop on July 19th, 2007 at the Langley Firehall 6 from 7:00pm to 9:00pm. "Manure: Friend Not Foe" will cover all the basic information regarding manure management such as: common mismanagement practices, regulations regarding waste management, how to compost and some general pasture management tips. The workshop cost is $10 and PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED! Please contact Andrea Lawseth at 532-3515 or by email for more information or to register.

July 8, 2007 

Come check out our booth at the Western Family Festival & Equine Trade Fair on Sunday, July 8th, 2007 at the Thunderbird Show Park in Langley, BC. The show runs from 9:30am until 4:30pm and the Manure Maiden will be available to answer all your questions about manure and pasture management for the duration of the fair.

June 20, 2007

The Manure Maiden will be making another excursion over to Vancouver Island to give a workshop on Manure Composting and Management hosted by the Back Country Horsemen. Join Andrea Lawseth in Courtenay at the Florence Filberg Centre on June 20th to learn more about how to manage your black gold. For more information about the workshop please contact Sharon Pickthorne at 250.337.1818.

May 18 - 21, 2007

Come on out to the Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair from May 18th to the 21st to see our manure composting booth. We will be located in the Alice McKay building on the Cloverdale fairgrounds at 176th Street and 60th Avenue and I will be available to answer questions and concerns for the duration of the rodeo.

I will also be giving two presentations over the weekend focused on general manure management. The presentations will run from 3:30pm to 4:30pm on Saturday, May 19th and Sunday, May 20th in the McKay Building. If you haven't had a chance to attend our workshops then this will be a good opportunity to gain some knowledge on horse manure composting.

May 17th, 2007

Composting: The Next Frontier!
Date: Thursday, May 17th, 2007
Location: Langley Firehall 6 (22170 50th Ave)
Time: 7pm-9pm

Does your pasture look like it's been trampled by elephants? Is your compost system running like a turtle?

Don't worry, we're here to help! The LEPS Horse Manure Composting Program presents its latest workshop, Composting: The Next Frontier, to help you speed up the composting process and make your pastures something your horses will be proud to graze on. This workshop will deal with more in-depth concerns regarding the art of compost management and address proper pasture management regimes. We will also address concerns such as compost facility construction, composting techniques, weed concerns, and grazing management.

The workshop cost is $10.00 and resource materials will be provided. It will be located at the Langley Firehall 6 from 7pm to 9pm and PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED! Contact Andrea Lawseth at (604) 532-3515 or email us for more information or to register.

April 26, 2007
Join the Manure Maiden, Jennifer Grenz, at a workshop in Nanaimo hosted by the Cedar Horse Club on Thursday, April 26th from 7-9pm at the Cedar Hall.  Tickets are $10 for non-members and $8 for members (available at the door).  Seating is limited so please email cedar_horseclub(a)yahoo.ca or leave a message at 250.618.1774 to reserve your seats. There will be a concession and door prizes, so don't miss what promises to be a great event! Resource folders are provided for all participants. Look forward to seeing you there!

April 17, 2007
Horse Manure Management Workshop with the Langley Vintage Riders Equestrian Club.  Jennifer will be speaking at the club's regular meeting held at St. Andrew's United Church (9025 Glover Road, Langley) at 7pm. Non-members are usually welcome for a minimal fee. Check out their website for more information and to find out what this great club is up to!

April 14, 2007
Grass Guru Comes to Langley!
Now that you are composting experts, come out and learn about how important proper pasture management is to your horses' health.  LEPS and HCBC is proud to present Kathryn Watts, world renowned researcher on grass founder, on April 14th in Langley, BC. This seminar will help debunk some common misinformation about the sugar and fructan content of forage and give you more information on how to manage your chronically laminitic horse or pony. Seating is limited and the seminar will count for updating coaching hours. We expect the course to run from 9am-3pm with a lunch. For more information and to reserve your spot contact Jennifer Grenz.

March 18, 2007
Come and check out our booth at the Lower Mainland Quarter Horse Bazaar & Country Fair on March 18th at Thunderbird Show Park in Langley, BC. The Manure Maiden will be available throughout the duration of the show to answer all of your questions about manure management and composting. The show runs from 9:30am-4:30pm.

March 10, 2007
Join Jennifer in Powell River on Saturday, March 10th for a workshop on Manure Management and Composting hosted by the Powell River Therapeutic Riding Association. For more information on this workshop, please contact Joyce at 604.485.5270.

February 17, 2007
Join us at the Pacific Agriculture Show on Saturday, February 17th for the Horse Council of BC's Education Symposium. There will be two seminars on manure management and composting delivered by LEPS' Lisa Dreves. Resource materials will be provided. Seminars are half an hour each at 9:30am and 1:00pm. The Pacific Agriculture Show takes place at the Tradex at the Abbotsford Airport in Abbotsford, BC. Come out for the many other great seminars taking place all day.Check out the Horse Council Website at www.hcbc.ca for more information.

February 17, 2007
Come out to the "Healthy Horse Seminar" February 17, 2007 at The Coast Canadian Inn in Kamloops to see Jennifer speak about Manure Management. The event is sponsored by Purity Feed in conjunction with Kamloops Large Animal Vet Clinic. Other topics to be covered include nutrition, pasture management, safe fencing and veterinary care. This promises to be an excellent learning opportunity and a really fun event. For more information on the event please contact either Mary Ellen or Barbara at Purity Feed for more information at 250.372.2233 or 1.877.372.0282.

November 18, 2006
Horse Manure Composting Program wins Horse Council of BC and the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands 2006 Environmental Stewardship Award

On November 18th, LEPS was presented with this prestigious award at the Horse Council of BC 2006 Awards Banquet. The award, presented by Sarah Bradley, president of Horse Council, is the first award received by the program. We hope it won't be the last! Thank you to Horse Council of BC, the BC Ministry of Agriculture and Lands and our program funder, the BC Agriculture Council.