KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The Lake County Community Co-op invites the community to a unique garden tour in Kelseyville on Saturday, Aug. 14.

The tour takes place from 10 a.m. to noon.

Meet at the home of Monte Black and Ancient Lake Gardens, 8993 Soda Bay Road in Kelseyville. From Kit's Corner on Highway 29, take Soda Bay Road for about three miles. Park across the road from the farm’s property entrance and meet at the gate of the entrance.

The tour is free and open to Lake County Community Co-op members and the public.

Experience Ancient Lake Garden's food forests, which mimic the resilient and beneficial relationships between plants found in natural forest ecosystems.

Food forests typically include complex perennial polyculture plantings, rich in biodiversity and productivity.

Local residents and permaculturists Mari Silva and Grover Stock will share their conscious designs.

In their garden, you’ll learn about guilding, swaling, and contouring to eliminate soil erosion and water waste. Learn why they emphasize growing soil and beautiful perennial vegetable and flower gardens.

Permaculture is an ecological design system for sustainability in all aspects of human endeavor. It teaches how to build natural homes, grow food, restore diminished landscapes, catch rainwater, build communities and much more.

Silva and Stock, originally from California, established an off-the-grid permaculture homestead and nonprofit to teach sustainability in Iowa before returning home to the Golden State.

With their combined decades of gardening and teaching experience, they will be leading this most exciting and information-packed garden tour set at the foot of beautiful Mount Konocti.

One of the Lake County Community Co-op’s goals is to educate Lake County residents on how to live more healthfully and sustainably by keeping it local and, in this case, learning to become more self-sufficient with their own ecologically friendly gardens.

Don’t miss this chance for an unequaled opportunity to pick the brains of these gardening experts and at the same time meet other good people with similar interests.

For more information on the tour, contact Lori Patotzka at 707-994-1618.

Now celebrating two and one half years in existence, the Lake County Community Co-op (LCCC) envisions cultivating an evolving community by nurturing values of social, economic and environmental responsibility.

The co-op wishes to support local farmers and producers and provide a forum for community activities.

For more information or to become a member of the LCCC, follow the links at http://lakeco-op.org or call 707-993-4270.