TOURS & DEMONSTRATIONS
At Convivium, we love showing people how urban agriculture, community and the enjoyment of fresh, wholesome food come together in action. Through our guided tours and hands-on demonstrations, you’ll get an up-close look at how we grow food, create community and live out our mission to improve life through food.
TOURS
Our tours are a unique, interactive experience that showcases our urban farm and facility.
Our walking tour lasts approximately 45 minutes. Participants see, taste and interact with our network of donated gardens spaces throughout the neighborhood where we grow over 5,000 pounds of produce each year.
Tour members will learn more about how we accomplish our mission to improve life through food as well as see our compost operation, meet our backyard chickens and view a variety of unique, small-space gardening techniques.
Our hope is that particpants leave inspired to get more involved with Convivium and improve their own relationship with food, nature, and the food system.
WAYS TO TOUR OUR FARMSTEAD
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Our self-guided tour is a free, fun way to learn about our mission. Grab a map from the coffee shop (it’s on the back of our menu) or the box on our patio and tour around the 15 stops throughout the neighborhood.
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If you prefer a guided tour experience, private tours of less than 10 people are available upon request, depending on staff availability. There is a charge of $10 per person.
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Our guided group tours can accomodate bus tour groups up to 100 people. We offer special pricing on tours and breakfast or lunch. For more information on pricing and meal options, contact info@convivium-dbq.com.
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Come and meet our bees! Convivium offers garden tours with a special stop to see our bees – followed by a short presentation where participants will learn about the life cycle of bees, hive life and the importance of bees to our ecosystem. This is a 2-hour tour – half of the time is spent in a seated, classroom format. Participants will be able to take home a honey-related gift. These tours take place on the last Friday of the month during the growing season (May-September) at XX time and costs $25 per person. Bee tour sign up link coming soon.
DEMONSTRATIONS
There are a lot of projects happening throughout the year at Convivium and a lot of work going on behind-the-scenes to make them happen! Convivium demonstrations include our demonstration gardens (May through October), educational garden and kitchen videos, as well as in-person events where you can witness some fun behind-the-scenes processes.
The dates for the in-person demonstrations change each year -- be sure to check our calendar or sign up for our mailing list to see the current schedule.
Sap Boiling
Have you ever wondered how maple syrup is made? Each year, as part of our Community Mapling Project, we help Dubuque residents tap their maple tree, collect the sap and then boil it down to make maple syrup. The syrup is then served up at our pay-what-you-can Pancake Breakfast!
Each year, while boiling down the sap, we host a demonstration where you can come see the process of converting 40 gallons of sap into one gallon of syrup.
Compost Turning
Each year, Convivium diverts over 5,000 pounds of kitchen waste from the landfill by composting. This incredible fertilizer then becomes the secret ingredient to a successful harvest in all of our neighborhood gardens each year.
Although a lot of the magic of the composting process happens on its own, there are specific times we tend our compost bins to assist the decomposing process and invite you to come check it out!
Honey Extraction
Convivium has offsite beehives that help pollinate the many neighborhood gardens and collect nectar to make and fill their comb with honey. Once a year, we remove the extra honeycomb to extract the honey – leaving them plenty of food for the winter and returning the empty comb back into the hives in the spring (fun fact: it takes about 9 pounds of honey to make just 1 pound of comb). The demonstration to witness and learn more about the process of extracting honey usually happens in late summer or early fall.