Super Summer Salads

Nothing tastes better than a nourishing salad with a zippy homemade salad dressing! Culinary Dietitian Dixya Bhattarai will teach the art of well-composed, nutritious salad inspired by seasonal and local ingredients. She will share her tips for adding pops of color, bursts of flavors and unexpected textures for every lifestyle. To dress the salad, you will whip up a punchy vinaigrette and a creamy dressing.

Instructor Dixya Bhattarai graduated with a major in dietetics and a minor in Biology from Idaho State University in 2010 before she received a Master of Science in Nutrition in 2016. She has 6+ years of experience in acute care clinical dietetics and food service management. She also collaborates with corporate wellness companies through nutrition education, cooking demonstration, and workshops. To learn more about Dixya, please visit: https://www.foodpleasureandhealth.com/.

We apologize for the inconvenience but this class has been cancelled.

$40 members/$45 non-members

Do you want an organic garden?  Have you heard about companion plants for your vegetables? Come learn about “insectary plants” and the beneficial insects they support.  Use Nature’s predator-and-prey relationships in insect control.

Instructor Gail Manning is an entomologist and has been at the Botanic Garden for 13 years. Her focus is conservation and citizen science, primarily on the monarch butterfly. 

Please note: this class will take place at BRIT.

$20 members/$25 non-members

In this two hour, hands-on class floral designer Stephanie Bergmann will teach you how to take that grocery store bundle of flowers and make a unique arrangement for your home. This is the class for you if you've ever wondered how florists compose a perfect arrangement, where they get their inspiration, how they work with difficult vases and containers, and how they take common everyday items found in most gardens and turn them into something special. 

Please note: This class will be held at BRIT.

$40 member/$45 non-member

Using papers strewn with leaves and petals, students will construct an eye-catching, sewn binding, handmade book. We will discuss papers, peruse examples of similar book structures, and learn the step-by-step process for designing and assembling your book. Your handmade book can later be used for writing, drawing, or nature journaling. Craft a book as a gift for a friend, family member, or keep it for yourself!

Instructor Carol Parker Mittal is an energetic and creative teaching artist with experience in educational program development and implementation, writing, and working in arts settings with students and participants of all ages. She has a unique ability to communicate her love of art to her students, to  motivate them to accomplish projects that they might not otherwise attempt and to celebrate their successes. You can see examples of her book binding work at Attack Cat Studio.

Please note: This class will be held at BRIT.

$60 member/$65 non-member

From Amazon.com: "The acclaimed author of Motoring with Mohammed brings us a compelling adventure into the remarkable world of the orchid and the impossibly bizarre array of international characters who dedicate their lives to it."

Click here to register! 

K-2nd: Enjoy story time with Carlos the Cactus as he teaches us about the importance of pollinators in the Backyard Veggie Garden. Then explore the garden as we work together to solve the Case of the Fallen Pollen and discover why pollinators are disappearing.

3rd-5th: Saddle up as we head out for a Texas Ecoregion Roundup! The flora and fauna from each ecoregion need your help to find their way home. Work together to determine which animals and plants belong where.

6th-10th: Think like a scientific engineer while examining two distinct sets of soils to determine which type is used on BRIT’s very own living roof. Texas Instruments Nspires and probes will be in used outdoors, and drop-ins experts will help establish career pathways.

Times:
K-5th:10:00—11:30, meet/park/pick up at the Japanese Garden Parking Lot. We will have a sign in sheet for students there.

6th-10th: 9:45—Noon, meet in the BRIT Atrium (1700 University Drive, Fort Worth, TX 76107) ** Parking is available outside of BRIT**

Cost: $5 per person (includes adults and children)

Click here to register! 

Come join in on the summer fun!

We offer two hour custom experiences during the summer at both BRIT and the Fort Worth Botanic Garden campuses. Students have the opportunity to learn about composting, become scientists in our herbarium of over 1.5 million plant species, explore the many areas of the gardens, and learn about botany in TEKS based, nature-inspired field study trips! 

Click here to view our Field Study Trip Guide with details and pricing. 

To book, contact Michelle at mschmidlkofer@brit.org. Please provide number and grade level of students as well as preferred date, time and experience(s) for your trip. 

Register here! 

$45 non-members

$35 GROW members

**Tickets include a signed copy of Vitamin N**

Join GROW Education as we welcome Richard Louv in this fundraiser to create a Nature Play space at BRIT.

Recent research suggests that exposure to nature can improve all children's cognitive abilities and resistance to negative stresses and depression. In 2008, University of Michigan researchers demonstrated that, after just an hour interacting with nature, memory performance and attention spans improved by 20 percent. Not long ago, researchers at the University of Kansas reported a 50 percent boost in creativity for people who were steeped in nature for a few days. as the research suggests, a case can be made that nature time can improve adult cognitive and creative functioning. Useful anytime, especially in the current job market. Businesses, too, can become nature-smart.

Richard Louv is a journalist and author of nine books, including Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature-Defecit Disorder, The Nature Principle; and Vitamin N. Translated and published in 24 countries, his books have helped launch an international movement to connect families and communities to nature. In 2008, he was awarded the Audubon Medal, presented by the National Audubon Society. Prior recipients included Rachel Carson, E.O. Wilson and President Jimmy Carter. Among other awards, Louv is also the recipient of the Cox Award for 2007, Clemson University's highest honor, for "sustained achievement in public service." He speaks frequently around the world, including keynote addresses at the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference, the first White House Summit on Environmental Education, the Congress for the New Urbanism, and the Friends of Nature Conference in Beijing, China. He is chairman emeritus of the nonprofit Children & Nature Network.

The lecture will begin at 7:00 in Lecture Hall at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden.

GROW Members are invited to a wine and cheese reception honoring Richard Louv just prior to the lecture, from 5:30 - 7:00 PM in the BRIT Atrium.

Not a member? Become a member today by visiting fwgrow.org.

All compost is not created equal so, if you've learned the basics of composting, come take a deeper dive and learn which type of composting is considered the gold standard and how to make aerated compost tea. Learn how to determine whether your soil needs fungal or bacterial compost, how to make these two types of compost and the best way to use both. Join us for this 5 hour hands-on workshop and harness the power of compost! 

Instructors Kim Martin and Laurie Bostic, owners of Barking Cat Farm, focus on growing high quality crops in an organic and sustainable manner. Brix testing is done regularly to monitor the nutritional quality of the produce and compost and compost teas are applied to the soil to ensure that soil biology is constantly improving. Both Laurie & Kim have their Permaculture Design Certificate from Geoff Lawton’s Permaculture Design Course. Both have studied under Dr. Elaine Ingham and are working towards becoming Certified Soil Life Consultants. They offer permaculture design and soil biology consulting services to other growers and gardeners.

Please note: This class will be held at BRIT.

$75 members/$85 non-members

Join Agrilife Horticulturalist Steve Chaney to learn how to work smarter not harder to have a luscious landscape by choosing more efficient methods of watering as you add plants that require less water.  Learn to maintain your yard even with the water restrictions that are necessary in our climate.  

Instructor Steve Chaney is originally from a small town in Southern Oklahoma where he learned to love the garden from a very young age.  After receiving two BS degrees from Oklahoma State University in Landscape Architecture and Marketing, he owned and operated a design/building firm for over ten years before joining the Extension family and acquiring his Master’s Degree in Agricultural Education.  He first served as a CEA in Wichita County and, after four years, continued his service to the community as a CEA in Tarrant County, where he still continues to make a significant impact.  His experience and expertise have helped the Tarrant County Home Horticulture programs to become recognized as ‘tops in the state’.

Please note: This class will be held at FWBG.

$20 members/$25 non-members

$10 per scout

Click here for event details. 

Location: BRIT 1700 University Drive Fort Worth,TX 76107

Parking: You can park in BRIT's main parking lot. Kat, our program lead, will be there to greet you inside the main entrance!

Click here to register! 

Contact rlincoln@brit.org with any questions or concerns. 

As a GROW member benefit, members at the Supporter level and above are invited to a free Gallery Night at BRIT preview on Friday, September 6, from 5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. This includes heavy hors d'oeuvres, wine and first-chance at art and artisan market finds. Click here to register. Contact Christy Brammer at cbrammer@brit.org or 817-332-7518 for more information.

Not a member? Click here to become a member today.

Join BRIT as we celebrate the arrival of fall with the Fort Worth Art Dealers Association Fall Gallery Night and our exhibits Botanical Art - 6 Ways featuring the work of six regional botanical artists working in a  variety of mediums in the Madeline R. Samples Exhibit Hall, The Fifth Kingdom by Denis Benjamin in the Welcome Center Gallery, and Outside/In by Carol Benson on the Prairie. 

This year BRIT's First Saturday and Gallery Night fall on the same day so it will be a full and fun day. Take a class, bring your kids for story time with Bella, learn about BRIT on the free tour, do some shopping at the Gallery Night Artisan Market and enjoy an evening of beautiful art. The complete schedule is below.

9:00 am
Doors open

10:00 am
Adult Ed - Plant Portraits: Acrylic Techniques
Adult Ed – Pesto-mania

10:30 am
Free tour of BRIT
Bella’s Saturday Storytime

11:00 am 
Artisan Market* opens 

1:00 pm
Adult Ed – Preserving Nature’s Bounty: Canning Pickled Peppers
Adult Ed – Wildflower Hand Embroidery

6:00 pm
Gallery Night Reception for Fifth Kingdom, Botanical Art – 6 Ways, and Outside/In

9:00 pm
Doors close

 * If you are interested in becoming a vendor at the Artisan Market click HERE 

For more information please contact Laura or Layla.

Not sure what to do with your bumper crop of basil? Are you swimming in sage? Overrun by mint? Learn how to use your late summer harvest of herbs to create several different types of pesto and bring fresh, new tastes to your dinner table.

Instructor Nancy Curl has been a Tarrant County Master Gardener since 2007. She has served on the board of the TCMGA for 4 years and as president for 2 years. She was named Tarrant County Master Gardener of the Year and State Master Gardener of the Year, large counties in 2012. As a Greenhouse, Oak Wilt, Propagation, and Rain Water Harvesting Advanced Trainer, she teaches gardening and garden- related topics at the Botanic Garden, TCC, Home & Garden shows, the Union Gospel Mission and garden clubs. She is the Education Coordinator for the TCMGA and the Water Works Learning Center at the Resource Connection of Tarrant County and she volunteers as a docent at the Botanic Garden Japanese Garden, Butterflies in the Garden, and with the BG/BRIT GROW Education Series.

Please note: This class will be held at BRIT.

$20 members/$25 non-members

Join us for this fast paced, fun, hands on workshop and paint a 20' x 16” portrait of your beloved plant and/or favorite plant specimen. Class will begin with the instructor demonstrating various painting techniques that can be achieved with acrylic paint. We will also talk about how to create compositional balance within the painting and how to correctly use color. For further inspiration, we will look at contemporary artists who have worked with similar subject matter. Students may choose to paint from life or from a photograph. 

Instructor Erika Duque is a painter who lives and works in Fort Worth, TX. She is originally from Flushing, Queens, NY. Duque received her BFA at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is currently an MFA candidate at TCU in painting and graduates in May of 2018. http://www.erikaduque.com

Please note: This class will be held at BRIT.

$85 members/$95 non-members

August and September in most North Texas gardens is a time of transition. The spring and summer vegetables have finished up and their fall counterparts are just getting started. Peppers are one plant that shines in late summer all the way through to the first frost. Your plants may be producing much more than you know what to do with. Canning or pickling them is a great way to store extra garden produce or in season groceries when the prices are low. Participants will enjoy a hands-on class on pickling peppers (sweet or hot) with an experienced instructor before trying it themselves at home.

As a semi-retired CPA, instructor Teresa Day-Fickel enjoys gardening and volunteering her time as a Tarrant County Master Gardener and has completed advanced training in Vegetables, Propagation, and Greenhouse Management. She loves teaching people how to grow, harvest and preserve food at the Harvesting Hope Community Garden in Arlington. She is always ready to lend a hand at the Tarrant Area Food Bank Kindred Spirits Kitchen Garden and she developed and teaches the food preservation series of classes at the TAFB demonstration kitchen.

Please note: This class will be held at BRIT.

$30 members/$35 non-members

GROW adult education is thrilled to welcome Colleen Duarte of And Other Adventures Embroidery who will walk you through step-by-step instructions for the 5 basic stitches used in her Wildflower Hoop.  In addition to step by step instructions, Colleen will share with you the tips and tricks she has picked up over the years and she'll get you started on your own Wildflower Hoop. This workshop is perfect for all levels so whether you already know your way around a hoop or you have never picked up a needle before, there is a little something for everyone. Please keep in mind, hand embroidery is a slow craft that is meant to be done at a leisurely pace.  While we will have time to walk-through and practice each stitch during the class, it is expected that additional stitching time will be required at home in order to complete the project. A full Wildflower Hoop embroidery kit  in your choice of color palette is included with your tuition. Additional kits will be available for purchase.

Please note: This class will be held at BRIT.

$60 members/$65 non-members

The key to growing nutrient dense food and happy plants is having healthy, functioning soil in your garden. The organisms living in soil are crucial to soil health and in this five hour, hands-on class participants will work with microscopes to identify the different types of organisms that live in the soil and learn how to manage them for optimal soil health. This workshop will give you an understanding of how to use soil biology in your organic gardening to grow tasty, healthy, nutritious food. 

Instructors Kim Martin and Laurie Bostic, owners of Barking Cat Farm, focus on growing high quality crops in an organic and sustainable manner. Brix testing is done regularly to monitor the nutritional quality of the produce and compost and compost teas are applied to the soil to ensure that soil biology is constantly improving. Both Laurie & Kim have their Permaculture Design Certificate from Geoff Lawton’s Permaculture Design Course. Both have studied under Dr. Elaine Ingham and are working towards becoming Certified Soil Life Consultants. They offer permaculture design and soil biology consulting services to other growers and gardeners.

Please note: This class will be held at BRIT.

$75 members/$85 non-members

Join Tarrant County Master Gardener Rita Hottel to discuss how best to use local herbs in oils, vinegars, and salad dressings and discover inventive ways to use your new creations. Come expand your culinary skills and go beyond the expected combination of red wine vinegar and olive oil. Don’t miss this chance to taste and take home some new ideas and easy recipes that provide a big range of flavors for everyday cooking.

After becoming a Master Gardener in 2000, instructor Rita Hottel quickly found her niche in herbs. She is currently the Lead Gardener of the Herb Garden at the Tarrant County Master Gardener Community/Education Garden. Even though she was trained in all aspects of gardening, herb gardening was the perfect complement to her other hobby of cooking. 

Please note: This class will be held at BRIT.

$30 members/$35 non-members

From Amazon.com: "The universal appeal of Laura Ingalls Wilder springs from a life lived in partnership with the land, on farms she and her family settled across the Northeast and Midwest. In this revealing exploration of Wilder’s deep connection with the natural world, Marta McDowell follows the wagon trail of the beloved Little House series. You’ll learn details about Wilder’s life and inspirations, pinpoint the Ingalls and Wilder homestead claims on authentic archival maps, and learn to grow the plants and vegetables featured in the series. Excerpts from Wilder’s books, letters, and diaries bring to light her profound appreciation for the landscapes at the heart of her world. Featuring the beloved illustrations by Helen Sewell and Garth Williams, plus hundreds of historic and contemporary photographs, The World of Laura Ingalls Wilder is a treasure that honors Laura’s wild and beautiful life." 

Join us for this workshop and learn which fall nectar plants attract the migrating monarchs.  Learn about the annual migration, the 5th generation, and the overwintering grounds in Mexico. We’ll tag monarchs if our timing is right! This class contains material not covered in the spring Gardening for Monarchs class.

Instructor Gail Manning is an entomologist and has been at the Botanic Garden for 13 years. Her focus is conservation and citizen science, primarily on the monarch butterfly. 

Please note: this class will be held at BRIT.

$20 members/$25 non-members

Add an amazing piece of hand crafted art to your landscape when you learn how to create a concrete leaf cast using Portland cement, fine sand and water. They're fun to make and each one is unique and gorgeous!

Instructor Nancy Curl has been a Tarrant County Master Gardener since 2007. She has served on the board of the TCMGA for 4 years and as president for 2 years. She was named Tarrant County Master Gardener of the Year and State Master Gardener of the Year, large counties in 2012.

As a Greenhouse, Oak Wilt, Propagation, and Rain Water Harvesting Advanced Trainer, she teaches gardening and garden- related topics at the Botanic Garden, TCC, Home & Garden shows, the Union Gospel Mission and garden clubs. She is the Education Coordinator for the TCMGA and the Water Works Learning Center at the Resource Connection of Tarrant County and she volunteers as a docent at the Botanic Garden Japanese Garden, Butterflies in the Garden, and with the BG/BRIT GROW Education Series.

Please note: This class will be held at FWBG.

$40 members/$45 non-members

Join Gay Larson and create a colorful succulent container garden that seems to flow across a pot. Bring your own 12”-14” pot and we'lll supply the other materials including plants, decorative stones, sea glass and, of course, soil! You will leave with a delightful, easy to maintain pot of succulents that will add interest to your patio.

Instructor Gay Larson is a Master Gardener in both Tarrant and Parker Counties.  She is the Project Leader for Union Gospel Mission and has landscaped various Master Gardener projects in Fort Worth, Aledo, Azle, Annetta, Weatherford, and Willow Park since 1997.  She teaches classes to 4 H, Eagle Scouts and various Master Gardener Associations and Conferences. She was recognized by the Star Telegram as one of five Women of the Year in 1997 for her volunteer work at Union Gospel Mission and named Master Gardener of the Year in 2000.

Please note: This class will be held at FWBG.

$40 members/$45 non-members

Honorary Hosts Sasha and Ed Bass, Ramona and Lee Bass, Laura and Greg Bird, and Stephanie and Billy Brentlinger invite you to join us at the Palmwood Event Center in Frost Tower Fort Worth for an evening of enchantment.

Our International Award of Excellence in Conservation recipient, Dr. Shirley Sherwood, is a botanist by training and was part of the research team of Nobel Prize winner Sir James Black, whose group discovered Tagamet, one of the most successful treatments of duodenal ulcers. Nearly 30 years ago, Dr. Sherwood began to collect contemporary botanical illustrations and paintings inspired by her extensive travels. Her now comprehensive collection comprises around 1,000 artworks by 303 artists from 36 countries.

Dr. Sherwood connects people with plants through art with important exhibitions of her collection around the world, and the Sherwood family’s support of the development and operation of the Shirley Sherwood Gallery of Botanical Art at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

For more information, contact Sara Richardson srichardson@brit.org 817.332.2748

In this twelve hour course, students will build on skills acquired in Drawing in Graphite I, and will dive deeper into composition, will discuss mapping to make drawing easier, and will learn how to tackle Fibonacci patterns. Students will also work in depth with flower and leaf shapes. 

Instructor Samantha Peters is a science illustrator based in Dallas, Texas. She received her B.S. in Biology with an emphasis in Neurobiology from the University of Texas at Austin and attended the School of Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, leaving once she realized illustrating her study guides was more fun than actually studying them. Afterwards, while living in New York City, she discovered a love of botanical art through classes at the New York Botanical Garden, and decided to pursue science illustration full time, attending the graduate program in Science Illustration at California State University, Monterey Bay. Samantha currently works in the graphics department at the Dallas Zoo and is the President of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators Texas Group. Member of the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators and the American Society of Botanical Artists.

This class will meet from 9am to noon on the following dates: 
10/5/2019
10/12/2019
10/19/2019
10/26/2019

Please note: This class will be held at BRIT.

$200 members/$210 non-members

Materials list:

For the first class, please have:

• Paper pad: 9”x12” or 11”x14” of ONE of the following:

• Strathmore 400 Series Drawing paper (brown cover)
• Strathmore 500 Bristol Vellum surface
• Stonehenge 250 GSM Vellum surface
• Fabriano Studio Watercolor 140 lb HOT PRESS (Orange/red cover) (DO NOT BUY COLD PRESS PAPER) If you’re planning to take a bunch of classes or aren’t sure whether you want to focus on a specific medium, I’d recommend this paper. It works well for pencil, colored pencil, and watercolor

• Pencils: 2H, H, and HB graphite pencils, mechanical pencils, or lead with holder. Please bring your own handheld or battery-operated sharpener as needed. Derwent, Staedtler-Mars Lumograph, and Tombow are all good brands.

• Tracing paper: Strathmore 300 series tracing or similar

• Kneaded eraser

• White vinyl eraser (Magic Rub or similar)

• 6” or 12” ruler (clear ones are great!)

• Large fluffy clean brush or feather; new makeup brushes work great

• Drafting tape

• Saral graphite transfer paper

• Divider tool: 5-1/2" or 6"; [Alvin #560 economy divider, Staedtler Masterbow] looks like a compass but with 2 needle points

Take a walk around the BRIT campus with Dr. Grace Bascopé, BRIT Resident Research Associate and Medical and Environmental Anthropologist, to learn about which and how plants were used by the First Peoples of the North Central Texas area. She will also discuss archaeological research carried out right around BRIT. Dr. Bascopé will  show you the First Peoples Demonstration Garden and discuss how Native Americans and others optimize water conservation in their gardens in this dry region.

Instructor Grace is a Medical and Environmental Anthropologist who has spent most of her professional career working in the Maya regions of Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize. However, because she comes from North Central Texas, and because she wants the story of the Prairie to begin with the coming of Native Americans rather than the cowboy, she has also spent some time studying plant uses here before European contact.

Please note: This class will be held at BRIT.

$20 members/$25 non-members

Take an imaginary trip through a typical supermarket with BRIT botanist Brooke Byerley Best and explore basic plant anatomy and investigate some of the wacky ways plants have been “hacked” to satisfy human needs. You’ll never look at your salad the same way again! No prior botanical knowledge is required. Hands-on dissections will help us in our explorations.

Instructor Brooke Byerley Best earned a PhD in Botany from Colorado State University, where she studied floral morphology and evolution in the genus Phlox (Polemoniaceae) and the impacts of native and invasive ant-plant interactions. She joined BRIT in 2007, originally working as a volunteer in the herbarium. Currently she works primarily with the BRIT Press, editing and producing the Botanical Miscellany book series and Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, a plant science and taxonomy journal. 

Please note: This class will be held at BRIT.

$20 members/$25 non-members

We'll release live butterflies at this special fall event on BRIT's prairie! Through interactive stations, scouts will learn about flowers, what butterflies eat and plant their own milkweed! We will also design butterfly picture holders and more! Includes a patch. 

Station #1: Butterfly design center

Station #2: Paper butterfly group art 

Station #3: Exploring butterfly sizes, shapes, and types

Station #4: Butterfly release

Station #5: Butterfly face painting

Location: BRIT 1700 University Drive Fort Worth,TX 76107

Price: $10 per scout

Parking: You can park in BRIT's main parking lot. Kat, our program lead, will be there to greet you inside the main entrance!

Click here to register! 

Contact rlincoln@brit.org with any questions or concerns.