Knowledge is POWER

When was the last time you went to a class, just for the fun of it? To learn something new or explore more about something you are already passionate about?  

If you look in the right places, there are a lot of free or low cost options in the Cedar Valley that you can (and should) take advantage of! I'm going to tell you about three that I've signed up for recently and will urge you to keep learning by looking for classes you might enjoy!

Do-It-Herself Workshops

• Free Instruction and Project (At least so far...I'm still a little confused about their process - different with each instructor and site from what I read online...)

Home Depot offers a Do-It-Herself Workshop on the third Thursday of every month. I've gone to three so far. I've built a drawer nightstand, a vertical herb garden and a vertical succulent garden. The instructors have been good. Turnout has been low when I've gone, so I got a lot of one-on-one attention and was able to use the tools needed to complete the project with minimal sharing. They pre-cut everything ahead of time, so really you learn about assembly, which is what I'm most interested in anyway. These classes are empowering. It's a great feeling to walk away with a pretty substantial project at the end of the workshop that you made yourself!

Gardening Series

• Free Class Series

The Waterloo and Cedar Falls Public Libraries have teamed up with the Iowa State University Extension & Outreach department to offer a free Gardening Series in April and May. Joel and I attended the first class on April 13 and it was AMAZING! Great presenter, valuable content and I walked away having learned so much. I felt very inspired and was among "my people" - talking about the excited feeling in the pit of your stomach whenever you enter a greenhouse or watch your own garden grow. I also think these classes will lead to something more for me - finally becoming a Master Gardner. Something I've been interested in for a long time.

Beekeeping for Beginners

• Fee Required - $149 for Eight Sessions

Hawkeye Community College offers some really awesome "hobby based" continuing education classes. In June, I'll start Beekeeping for Beginners and I am BEYOND excited! If you know me, I'm passionate about the three "B's": Bees, Bats, Butterflies. I plan to do at least one thing this summer that supports each of these species. I'm looking forward to sharing more about this class and hopefully inspiring others to look into becoming beekeepers.

Sure, you can look up all of these things online, Google it, YouTube it, etc. - but nothing beats sitting in a room of like-minded people learning about something you're all interested in. You learn from each other as much as you learn from the curriculum. Let me know what classes you plan to or are currently giving a try!