It looks like the popularity of the Oakhurst Community Garden’s “Chicks in the City” class has given birth to an even bigger event!

Stephanie Van Parys sends along a press release for the new  “Urban Chickens Symposium”, which will take place from 8:15 a.m. to 12:30 on February 6 and held at the Decatur Recreation Center.  You can register for the class here.

The release is worth a read, if only to learn about Allison’s joy of chicken poop.

On the wings of Oakhurst Community Garden Project’s wildly popular “Chicks in the City” classes comes a full morning of urban poultry-keeping. On February 6 the Chicks in the City Symposium offers attendees a full plate of essentials on backyard chickens. Taught by local experts, the six sessions highlight how-tos from coop design to breeds and from chicken illnesses to getting started with backyard poultry.

Along with partners Georgia Organics, Decatur Active Living, and the Chicken Whisperer, Inc., the Oakhurst Community Garden turns our attention toward local food and sustainable practices with this community-focused event. “The interest in growing or raising anything food-related is soaring,” said Stephanie Van Parys, Executive Director of the Oakhurst Garden, and “ . . .chickens are a small animal who easily incorporate into a backyard.” The Symposium will bring together many of these ideas—from the basics of keeping a healthy flock of chickens to growing and keeping food locally to connecting more closely with the environment.

Urban coop-keeping provides the newest in green and local food. As one of their primary attractions, “chickens produce food,” said Van Parys, regarding both daily egg supply and their meat. Backyard birds also provide organic fertilizer for home gardens. “I consider chicken manure as valuable as the fresh eggs,” said presenter and organic gardener Allison Adams. “All that poop and soiled hay goes right into my compost!”

With urban farming on the rise, and as concerns about how food is made increase, this timely workshop will engage and enlighten both the committed “locavore” and the merely curious alike. Van Parys summarizes: “raising some of your own food is an environmental act.” Symposium presenters will address local ordinances along with more practical, day-to-day concerns of attendees such as how to keep chickens healthy and coop maintenance.

The Chicks in the City Symposium runs from 8:15 a.m. to 12:30 on February 6 and will be held at the Decatur Recreation Center, 231 Sycamore St., Decatur, 30030. Cost is $65. Oakhurst Community Garden Project members, Georgia Organics members, and City of Decatur residents pay just $50. Pre-registration is requested and limited to the first 100 registrants. Register at www.oakhurstgarden.org.