http://blog.gmane.org/gmane.technology.permaculture.sdpg hourly 1 1901-01-01T00:00+00:00 http://gmane.org/img/gmane-25t.png http://gmane.org http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.technology.permaculture.sdpg/1174 <pre>Local Earth San Diego hosting events, activities &amp; workshops leading to a more healthy &amp; sustainable community... ------------------------------------------------------------ Email not displaying properly?http://localearthsandiego.wordpress.com/2012/02/06/local-earth-news-february/View it in your browser (http://us4.campaign-archive2.com/?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=7f8cf07c99&amp;e=2c834145f1) . (http://local-earth.us4.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=352bd48c32&amp;e=2c834145f1) http://local-earth.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=781b7758bf&amp;e=2c834145f1 http://local-earth.us4.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=a7d7ed8912&amp;e=2c834145f1 http://local-earth.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=d412ef3226&amp;e=2c834145f1 ... a healthy, happy &amp; sustainable San Diego [www.local-earth.org] ** ------------------------------------------------------------ ** Local Earth Newsletter / June 2013 / Happy Solstice! ------------------------------------------------------------ ** by the San Diego Earthlings ------------------------------------------------------------ http://local-earth.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=a6e9c7659d&amp;e=2c834145f1 Monthly Socials 1st weekend of month (see calendar for details) http://local-earth.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=14218f88aa&amp;e=2c834145f1 Bonfire &amp; Potluck Summer Solstice Celebration Friday, June 21st 6:30 PM - 10:00 PM http://local-earth.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=f6f8a90f51&amp;e=2c834145f1 July Social WATER Saturday, July 6th 6:30 PM Summer Solstice Potluck &amp; Bonfire (http://local-earth.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=f3837b6666&amp;e=2c834145f1) Friday, June 21st / 6:30 - 10:00 PM Ocean Beach / End of Saratoga St. Together we will be celebrating the longest day of the year, sharing tasty food, singing songs around the campfire &amp; planting our seeds of intention as we move into our next season... summer! We want to support our Local Earth values... healthy, local, organic, vegetarian ingredients please! The intention of our events is to 'leave a positive trace'... please bring your own reusable cutlery, plate, bowl, drinking vessel etc. so we create no waste. Bring lotsa instruments, smiles and laughter!!! We will be creating some beautiful commUNITY musica by the firelight! We will gather at the fire pits and picknick tables at the end of Saratoga Street at 6:30 PM ... this is near the Life Guard Station at the end of Santa Monica Ave in Ocean Beach (near to the pier). Look for the group with lotsa instruments and tasty food! (http://local-earth.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=75ed488632&amp;e=2c834145f1) Address for parking lot is 1959 Abbott Street, San Diego, CA 92107. *** NOTE: No alcohol or drugs please. There is no alcohol allowed on the beach, last year someone brought beer and the police very abruptly ended our gathering with an unfriendly demeanor... we don't want that to happen this year! Thank you! July Social / WATER (http://local-earth.us4.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=8f133510fb&amp;e=2c834145f1) Saturday, July 6th / 6:00 - 9:00 PM Venice Farm 4286 Del Mar Ave. San Diego, CA 92107 Come get your hands wet and your bellies filled. The theme for July will be WATER: a precious resource we cant live without! We will have a FREE rain water harvesting hands on workshop, community potluck, campfire, and lots of great mingling. Please bring a vegetarian dish to share and tell at least 3 friends :) More info: At this workshop we will be setting up an 1100 gallon rain water harvesting system at an urban farm in OB, the system will be used for watering fruit trees and other edible plants.We will also hear from local water conservation experts on what you can do to make your home more water efficient. With warmth &amp; gratitude, The Local Earth Collective ============================================================ Copyright © 2013 Local Earth, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you have expressed interest in the health &amp; sustainability of San Diego! Our mailing address is: Local Earth 4801 Santa Monica Avenue San Diego, California 92107 Email Marketing Powered by MailChimp http://www.mailchimp.com/monkey-rewards/?utm_source=freemium_newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=monkey_rewards&amp;aid=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;afl=1 ** forward to a friend (http://us4.forward-to-friend1.com/forward?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=7f8cf07c99&amp;e=2c834145f1) ** unsubscribe from this list (http://local-earth.us4.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=ada6505b4b&amp;e=2c834145f1&amp;c=7f8cf07c99) ** update subscription preferences (http://local-earth.us4.list-manage.com/profile?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=ada6505b4b&amp;e=2c834145f1)</pre> Local Earth / San Diego 2013-06-19T19:57:40 http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.technology.permaculture.sdpg/1174 <pre>Local Earth San Diego hosting events, activities &amp; workshops leading to a more healthy &amp; sustainable community... ------------------------------------------------------------ Email not displaying properly?http://localearthsandiego.wordpress.com/2012/02/06/local-earth-news-february/View it in your browser (http://us4.campaign-archive2.com/?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=7f8cf07c99&amp;e=2c834145f1) . (http://local-earth.us4.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=352bd48c32&amp;e=2c834145f1) http://local-earth.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=781b7758bf&amp;e=2c834145f1 http://local-earth.us4.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=a7d7ed8912&amp;e=2c834145f1 http://local-earth.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=d412ef3226&amp;e=2c834145f1 ... a healthy, happy &amp; sustainable San Diego [www.local-earth.org] ** ------------------------------------------------------------ ** Local Earth Newsletter / June 2013 / Happy Solstice! ------------------------------------------------------------ ** by the San Diego Earthlings ------------------------------------------------------------ http://local-earth.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=a6e9c7659d&amp;e=2c834145f1 Monthly Socials 1st weekend of month (see calendar for details) http://local-earth.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=14218f88aa&amp;e=2c834145f1 Bonfire &amp; Potluck Summer Solstice Celebration Friday, June 21st 6:30 PM - 10:00 PM http://local-earth.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=f6f8a90f51&amp;e=2c834145f1 July Social WATER Saturday, July 6th 6:30 PM Summer Solstice Potluck &amp; Bonfire (http://local-earth.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=f3837b6666&amp;e=2c834145f1) Friday, June 21st / 6:30 - 10:00 PM Ocean Beach / End of Saratoga St. Together we will be celebrating the longest day of the year, sharing tasty food, singing songs around the campfire &amp; planting our seeds of intention as we move into our next season... summer! We want to support our Local Earth values... healthy, local, organic, vegetarian ingredients please! The intention of our events is to 'leave a positive trace'... please bring your own reusable cutlery, plate, bowl, drinking vessel etc. so we create no waste. Bring lotsa instruments, smiles and laughter!!! We will be creating some beautiful commUNITY musica by the firelight! We will gather at the fire pits and picknick tables at the end of Saratoga Street at 6:30 PM ... this is near the Life Guard Station at the end of Santa Monica Ave in Ocean Beach (near to the pier). Look for the group with lotsa instruments and tasty food! (http://local-earth.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=75ed488632&amp;e=2c834145f1) Address for parking lot is 1959 Abbott Street, San Diego, CA 92107. *** NOTE: No alcohol or drugs please. There is no alcohol allowed on the beach, last year someone brought beer and the police very abruptly ended our gathering with an unfriendly demeanor... we don't want that to happen this year! Thank you! July Social / WATER (http://local-earth.us4.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=8f133510fb&amp;e=2c834145f1) Saturday, July 6th / 6:00 - 9:00 PM Venice Farm 4286 Del Mar Ave. San Diego, CA 92107 Come get your hands wet and your bellies filled. The theme for July will be WATER: a precious resource we cant live without! We will have a FREE rain water harvesting hands on workshop, community potluck, campfire, and lots of great mingling. Please bring a vegetarian dish to share and tell at least 3 friends :) More info: At this workshop we will be setting up an 1100 gallon rain water harvesting system at an urban farm in OB, the system will be used for watering fruit trees and other edible plants.We will also hear from local water conservation experts on what you can do to make your home more water efficient. With warmth &amp; gratitude, The Local Earth Collective ============================================================ Copyright © 2013 Local Earth, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you have expressed interest in the health &amp; sustainability of San Diego! Our mailing address is: Local Earth 4801 Santa Monica Avenue San Diego, California 92107 Email Marketing Powered by MailChimp http://www.mailchimp.com/monkey-rewards/?utm_source=freemium_newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=monkey_rewards&amp;aid=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;afl=1 ** forward to a friend (http://us4.forward-to-friend1.com/forward?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=7f8cf07c99&amp;e=2c834145f1) ** unsubscribe from this list (http://local-earth.us4.list-manage.com/unsubscribe?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=ada6505b4b&amp;e=2c834145f1&amp;c=7f8cf07c99) ** update subscription preferences (http://local-earth.us4.list-manage.com/profile?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=ada6505b4b&amp;e=2c834145f1)</pre> Local Earth / San Diego 2013-06-19T19:57:40 http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.technology.permaculture.sdpg/1173 <pre> &lt;http://media.chelseagreen.com&gt;Cows Save the Planet And Other Improbable Ways of Restoring Soil to Heal the Earth http://media.chelseagreen.com/cows-save-the-planet/ By Judith D. Schwartz Foreword by Gretel Ehrlich &lt;http://media.chelseagreen.com/cows-save-the-planet/cowssaveplanet-2/&gt; [] Unmaking the Deserts, Rethinking Climate Change, Bringing Back Biodiversity, and Restoring Nutrients to our Food Cows saving the planet? Why not? An idea that sounds preposterous begins to make sense when you take a soil’s-eye view of our current ecological predicament. In Cows Save the Planet, journalist Judith D. Schwartz looks at soil as a crucible for our many overlapping environmental, economic, and social crises. Schwartz reveals that for many of these problems­climate change, desertification, biodiversity loss, droughts, floods, wildfires, rural poverty, malnutrition, and obesity­our ability to turn these crises into opportunities depends on how we treat the soil. Where do cows fit in? Cattle, like all grazing creatures, can, if appropriately managed, restore land and help build soil. Rebuilding soil is only one aspect of this important, paradigm-shifting book. Drawing on the work of thinkers and doers, renegade scientists and institutional whistleblowers from around the world, Schwartz challenges much of the conventional thinking about global warming and other problems. For example, land can suffer from undergrazing as well as overgrazing, since certain landscapes, such as grasslands, require the disturbance from livestock to thrive. Regarding climate, when we focus on carbon dioxide, we neglect the central role of water in soil­“green water”­in temperature regulation. And much of the carbon dioxide that burdens the atmosphere is not the result of fuel emissions, but from agriculture; returning carbon to the soil not only reduces carbon dioxide levels but also enhances soil fertility. Cows Save the Planet is at once a primer on soil’s pivotal role in our ecology and economy and an antidote to those awash in despairing environmental news. It is also an important call to action on behalf of the soil­and, by extension, those of us who benefit from it. PODCAST Judith Schwartz, author of "Cows Save the Planet: And Other Improbable Ways of Restoring Soil to Heal the Earth" http://kdhx.org/ondemand/podcasts/earthworms/judith-schwartz-author-of-cows-save-the-planet-and June 5, 2013 by Jean Ponzi Earth healing underfoot? Biodiversity underground? Cattle as a carbon-sequestering force? All these real options and much more, explored by eminent journalist Judith D. Schwartz in her new book, Cows Save the Planet: And Other Improbable Ways of Restoring Soil to Heal the Earth About the Author &lt;http://media.chelseagreen.com/cows-save-the-planet/judithschwartz/&gt; [] Judith D. Schwartz http://www.judithdschwartz.com/ is a longtime freelance writer whose work has appeared in venues from Glamour and Redbook to The Christian Science Monitor and The New York Times. She is the author of several books, including Tell Me No Lies: How to Face the Truth and Build a Loving Marriage (coauthored) and The Therapist’s New Clothes. She has an MA in counseling psychology and an MS from the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. She lives with her family in Southern Vermont. Articles by Judith D. Schwartz * Just Planting Trees Won’t Stop March of Desert, Pacific Standard, June 17, 2012 * Turning the Clock Back on Desertification, Christian Science Monitor, October 24, 2011 * Greener Pastures, Conservation, June 2011 * How to Save the Grassland: Bring in More Cattle, Time.com, September 7, 2010 * This Import Might Save American Jobs, Miller-McCune, December, 2009 * What Jane Jacobs Can Teach Us About the Economy, Miller-McCune, October, 2009 * Can “Slow Investing” Remake America’s Food Industry?, Time.com, September 11, 2009 * Dollars with Good Sense: DIY Cash, Yes! Magazine, June 2009 * Communities Plan for a Low Energy Future (Transition), Christian Science Monitor, September 11, 2008 BOOK DATA ISBN: 9781603584326 Book Publisher: Chelsea Green Pub Date: May 20, 2013 Retail Price: US $17.95 / Canada $20.95 Category: Nature &amp; Environment Santa Babara Permaculture Network Logo (805) 962-2571 P.O. Box 92156, Santa Barbara, CA 93190 margie-i2Jb4f2yvuzq4VKKpy30dR2eb7JE58TQ&lt; at &gt;public.gmane.org www.sbpermaculture.org PlPlease consider the environment before printing this email. </pre> Margie Bushman,Coordinator SBCC Center for Sustainability 2013-06-17T21:24:31 http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.technology.permaculture.sdpg/1172 <pre>Arcadia teacher struggles to save school permaculture garden By James Figueroa, Staff Writer http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/news/ci_23470632/arcadia-teacher-struggles-save-school-permaculture-garden Biology teacher Joan Stevens is trying to save the permaculture garden she cultivated at Arcadia High School from becoming concrete planter boxes as the school modernizes, Thursday, June 13, 2013. (SGVN/Staff Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz) Biology students pull weeds Thursday, June 13, 2013 in a permaculture garden at Arcadia High School that biology teacher Joan Stevens is trying to save from becoming concrete planter boxes as the school modernizes. Gallery: Arcadia High School's permaculture garden ARCADIA - The permaculture garden at Arcadia High School is hidden behind a tall, red picket fence. It's overgrown and many students don't even realize it's there. Its wild look and lily-padded pond also clash with the carefully manicured trees, small bushes and clean concrete benches that mark the landscape throughout the rest of the campus. However, the garden's existence is important enough to biology teacher Joan Stevens that she's trying to save it from being bulldozed as part of major renovation and construction at the school. "It's not an aesthetic that everyone likes," Stevens said. "I recognize that my aesthetic is different than what the school is trying to create." But perma-culture gardens have also grown in popularity, and Stevens enjoys teaching her students about sustainable practices, such as leaving tree cuttings on the ground to act as mulch. "It's amazing. It's gorgeous, why would they tear this down?" sophomore Josh Bay said Thursday, after helping out on some maintenance on the last day of school. Sitting on a plot of land between classroom buildings, the garden was also next to an old greenhouse that was damaged during windstorms in 2011. The greenhouse has now been torn down as part of the renovation work. Given two weeks to come up with a plan to save the garden, Stevens - with the help of landscape architect Marco Barrantes - has submitted a proposal to school administrators to add a semicircular amphitheater and teaching platform that would be part of an outdoor classroom. Anyone from math to English teachers could then use that space for lessons. Stevens has already received positive feedback from the science department and Principal Brent Forsee, who told her the idea is viable if it's not too costly. "He said if it's comparable, then great, let's do this," Stevens said. Foresee, who participated in Arcadia's graduation ceremony Friday, couldn't be reached for comment. Arcadia Unified School District declined comment in an email from Assistant Superintendent Christina Aragon, who noted the plan is under review. The district is performing construction through Measure I, a $218 million bond program passed by voters in 2006. While the proposal to save the garden might work, it will require some help by other teachers and possibly student clubs to keep it maintained, and it will have to fit in with the rest of the campus instead of being fenced off. That means letting the garden take on a larger role as part of Arcadia's school culture. "It's up to me to let go of my garden," Stevens said. Read more:http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/news/ci_23470632/arcadia-teacher-struggles-save-school-permaculture-garden#ixzz2WOPiK8ko</pre> Wesley Roe and Santa Barbara Permaculture Network 2013-06-16T15:52:35 http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.technology.permaculture.sdpg/1171 <pre>Sustainable Vocations A Sustainable Living, Leadership, Green Vocations and Permaculture Design Course for Young Changemakers (ages 15 to 25) When: July 30 - August 18, 2013 Apply ASAP, some scholarship and financial aid still available! Sustainable Vocations weaves science, economics, nature awareness, and social dynamics into a holistic training program that empowers students to create meaningful change. The synergy of practical and life skills equips participants with the tools and wisdom to enhance personal, ecological and community health. Graduates receive an internationally recognized Permaculture Design Certification. Who: Youth and young adults ages 15-25 seeking to change the world through inspired action Instructors, mentors, and guest speaker/entrepreneurs include: Warren Brush, Jan Smith, Brenton Kelly, Alex Vincent, Daniel Parra Hensel, Sasha Rabin, Tynes Viar, Owen Dell, Dave Fortson and many more! Where: Quail Springs Permaculture (Southern California mountains) and Santa Barbara, California (extended field trip and practicum) Learn More: Visit www.sustainablevocations.org Contact: Kolmi Majumdar at info-C3xH88btZzoC0mqONBcAJQ&lt; at &gt;public.gmane.org </pre> Quail Springs Permaculture 2013-06-09T21:33:41 http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.technology.permaculture.sdpg/1170 <pre>PERMACULTURE DESIGN COURSE FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP at Quail Springs Permaculture (http://www.quailsprings.org/permaculture-design-course-for-international-development-social-entrepreneurship/ ) JUNE 24 - JULY 7, 2013 A few spaces still available in this course! Payment plans, Couples and PDC refresher rates available. CONTACT WITH QUESTIONS: Kolmi Majumdar, info-C3xH88btZzoC0mqONBcAJQ&lt; at &gt;public.gmane.org, 805-886-7239 LEAD INSTRUCTORS Warren Brush with Quail Springs and True Nature Design Joseph Lentunyoi of the Maasai people, Permaculture Research Institute of Kenya GUEST INSTRUCTORS Jeremiah Kidd, Global Permaculture Designer and Educator Cathe’ Fish , Founder of Practical Permaculture Research Institute Loren Luyendyk, Co-Founder of Surfer’s Without Borders Alissa Sears, Global Betterment Director at Christie Communications Jeannette Acosta, Indigenous Permaculture Designer and Educator Brenton Kelly, Principle Farm Educator for Quail Springs Permaculture Tom Cole, Principle Agricultural Advisor with Save the Children Alexis Slutzky, Council Trainer Tara Blasco, Co-Founder of Global Resource Alliance Instructor Bios: http://www.quailsprings.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Instructor-Bios-2013.pdf This course will assist you and your organization in integrating into your projects: Holistic Design - Increased Food Security - Community-Based Development - Waste Cycling - Sustainability Education - Clean Water and Drought Proofing - Health and Nutrition - Sustainable Vocations &amp; Enterprise - Collaborative Strategies This course is designed for people who work with non-government organizations or government agencies, who are community organizers working in international development and/or social entrepreneurship, as well as volunteers and students with dedicated interest in the subject matter. TOPICS INCLUDE: Integrated Design, Composting, Water Harvesting, Compost Toilets, Waste Cycling, Earthworks, Rocket Stoves, Design Priorities, Ecological Building, Aquaculture, Bio-Sand Filtration, Broad Acre Applications, Food Forestry, Bio-Engineering, Resilient Food Production, Greywater Systems, Livestock Integration, Soil building, Watershed Restoration, Integrated Pest Mgmt, Biomimicry, Appropriate Technology, Peacemaking, Conflict Resolution, Community Organizing, Drought Proofing Landscapes, Rebuilding Springs, Refugee Camp Strategies LOCATION: Quail Springs Permaculture in the Southern California mountains www.quailsprings.org Quail Springs is an ideal drylands site to learn about permaculture for international development. REGISTRATION DETAILS Cost includes instruction, certification, catered meals, and camping accommodations. Cost: $1,650 (a deposit of $300 reserves your space with the balance due by June 10) Ask about Discounts (PDC Refresher, Couples, Families) HOW TO REGISTER: Fill out Online Pre-Registration: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1OZK4riZDhdN7YuURi10kSONqxGI-5CM7pdke0Zqthis/viewform CONTACT WITH QUESTIONS: Kolmi Majumdar, info-C3xH88btZzoC0mqONBcAJQ&lt; at &gt;public.gmane.org, 805-886-7239 </pre> Quail Springs Permaculture 2013-06-06T19:45:39 http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.technology.permaculture.sdpg/1169 <pre>Oprah 2 toured California with Pat Patricia Foreman in 2011 with her booktour organized by Santa Barbara Permaculture Network City Chicks: Keeping Micro-flocks of Chickens as Garden Helpers, Compost Makers, Bio-reyclers, and Local Food... http://wtvr.com/2013/06/06/virginia-this-morning-raising-chickens/ Chickens not only provide a sustainable food source, but they can actually help your backyard. Patricia Foreman, RPh, MPA from ‘The Chicken &amp; YOU Training Series, shared more details and brought along with her chicken ‘Ms. Oprah Hen-Free’. _______________________________________________ Sdpg mailing list Sdpg&lt; at &gt;arashi.com https://www.arashi.com/mailman/listinfo.cgi/sdpg </pre> Wesley Roe and Santa Barbara Permaculture Network 2013-06-11T16:14:03 http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.technology.permaculture.sdpg/1168 <pre>Wood Fire Earthen Oven Workshop June 15&amp; 16 Quailsprings near Ojai CA Cost $250 Includes workshop fee , catered meals and camping Sat Night Contact Sasha sasha-C3xH88btZzoC0mqONBcAJQ&lt; at &gt;public.gmane.org or call 805-886-7239www.quailsprings.org</pre> Wesley Roe and Santa Barbara Permaculture Network 2013-06-07T14:47:45 http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.technology.permaculture.sdpg/1167 <pre> Water Harvesting Earthworks Workshop with Brad Lancaster On June 29-30 we welcome Brad Lancaster to our community to share his deep knowledge of how to make our landscapes water efficient. Participate in a hands-on day or weekend of water harvesting out at Blue Sky Ranch in Lakeside. For more information: http://sdsustainable.org/event/rainwater-harvesting-earthworks/ Brook Sarson H2OME Smart Water Savings 619.964.4838 brook-sjebeZ5it0vQT0dZR+AlfA&lt; at &gt;public.gmane.org </pre> Brook Sarson 2013-06-06T21:16:23 http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.technology.permaculture.sdpg/1166 <pre>Watersheds and Reed Beds: A hands-on FlowForm &amp; Pond Workshop $22.00 | 10am-4pm | Sat, June 8 | Calabasas, CA 1666 Las Virgenes Cyn Rd. Calabasas, 91302 Bring clothes/shoes to get dirty/wet ---and a bag lunch too! "Flowform" is a design concept and a study of the dynamic flow of water in nature. When a constant flow passes through these highly specialized series of concave shallow basins (flowforms) the movement is designed to mimic the most active parts of a cascading stream so that the water creates a vortex. This vortex may be enhanced to create a pulse due to the pressure within the basin as it cascades down to the next basin in the series. The vortex movement helps to supply additional oxygen saturation in the water so that it can assist in a natural cleansing processes. These beautiful water sculptures are used world wide in water treatment systems and Biodynamic preparations. Learn about flow form water features, constructed wetlands, grey water treatment and pond systems for home or retreat centers. REGISTER: send $22 via PayPal to &lt;permaculture-ZV4Hafx/zcuD2xfEYUDpZg&lt; at &gt;public.gmane.org&gt; info-ZV4Hafx/zcuD2xfEYUDpZg&lt; at &gt;public.gmane.org 310.383.5495 * . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . L.SantoyoDesigns* &lt;http://earthflow.com/blog/permaculture-courses&gt;(310) 383-5495 COVOLV: A Sustainable World http://vimeo.com/19619520 COVOLV: Permaculture-Vol 1 http://vimeo.com/19619175 </pre> el santoyo 2013-06-06T16:46:28 http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.technology.permaculture.sdpg/1165 <pre>*** of note, the San Diego Sustainable Living Institute will be hosting a workshop with Brad Lancaster on June 29 &amp; 30th, more info at bottom of this email. Santa Barbara Permaculture Network &amp; Sweetwater Collaborative Present: Booksigning &amp; Evening Talk with Brad Lancaster ~ http://sdsustainable.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Volume-1.jp author of Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands Turning Water Scarcity into Water Abundance; Vol.1, 2nd Edition Tuesday, June 25, 2013 7:30 pm, $5 donation Santa Barbara Central Library, Faulkner Gallery Rainwater Harvesting expert Brad Lancaster returns to Santa Barbara with his newly published 2nd Edition of his award winning, best selling book Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands; Turning Water Scarcity into Water Abundance, Vol. 1, 2nd Edition on Tuesday, June 25. Brad's books have always encouraged readers to turn water scarcity into water abundance by welcoming rain into our lives, landscapes and soils. In this newly updated 2nd edition, Brad updates real life case studies for harvesting rainwater, completely renovates the approach to seeing &amp; understanding sediment flows, and adds more tools for harvesting rainwater and other often overlooked free on-site resources, such as wind, sun, and shade. Rainwater harvesting is the process of capturing rain and making the most of it as close as possible to where it falls. By harvesting rainwater on the land within the soil and vegetation, or in cisterns that will later irrigate the land, it is possible to control erosion, reduce flooding, and minimize water pollution. This practice is enormously beneficial in a world with a finite supply of fresh water that is becoming increasingly polluted. Although rainwater harvesting has been accomplished by humans in virtually every drought vulnerable region of the world for millennia, our society, until very recently with the help of people like Brad Lancaster, seemed to have a collective amnesia about the utility, efficiency, and beauty of rainwater harvesting practices. Brad Lancaster is an author, permaculture teacher, designer &amp; consultant, and co-founder of Desert Harvesters (&lt;http://DesertHarvesters.org&gt;DesertHarvesters.org). Brad has taught programs for the ECOSA Institute, Columbia University, University of Arizona, Prescott College, Audubon Expeditions, and many others. He has helped design integrated water harvesting and permaculture systems for homeowners and gardeners, including the Tucson Audubon Simpson Farm restoration site; the Milagro &amp; Stone Curves co-housing projects. Brad lives on an eighth of an acre in downtown Tucson, Arizona, where annual rainfall is less than 12 inches. He practices what he preaches by harvesting over 100,000 gallons of rainwater a year, and with his brother Rodd, have created an oasis in the desert by directing harvested rainwater into a thriving landscape that includes abundant gardens, food bearing trees, and habitat for wildlife, instead of into the streets and storm drains of Tucson. The evening talk &amp; book signing takes place at the Santa Barbara Central Library, Faulkner Gallery, 40 East Anapamu St, SB, 93101, in downtown Santa Barbara, on Tuesday, June 25, 7:30-9pm. $5 donation, no reservations required. Co-sponsored by Santa Barbara Permaculture Network, Sweetwater Collaborative, &amp; the Permaculture Credit Union. For more information, please call (805) 962-2571, margie-i2Jb4f2yvuzq4VKKpy30dbhSVCA9We0C&lt; at &gt;public.gmane.org Event Sponsors: Santa Barbara Permaculture Network www.sbpermaculture.org &amp; Sweetwater Collaborative http://www.sweetwatercollaborative.org/ [] [] MORE INFO: *June 29,30 Rainwater &amp; Greywater Workshop with Brad Lancaster hosted by the San Diego Sustainable Living Institute &lt;http://sdsustainable.org/event/rainwater-harvesting-earthworks/&gt;http://sdsustainable.org/event/rainwater-harvesting-earthworks/ Harvesting Rainwater: www.HarvestingRainwater.com Sweetwater Collaborative https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sweetwater-Collaborative/113158298771036 We are the successor to the Santa Barbara Green Living Co-op and are now locally based. Our legacy is putting in water harvesting projects using a barn raising model, in hands-on, community-based workshops. Permaculture Credit Union &lt;http://www.permaculturecu.org/&gt;http://www.permaculturecu.org/ You Tubes: Rainwater Harvesting with Brad Lancaster http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9Ku_xpyLK4 Sustainable World Radio Podcast Brad Lancaster http://pdcastsusworldradio.libsyn.com/webpage?search=brad&amp;Su Santa Babara Permaculture Network Logo (805) 962-2571 P.O. Box 92156, Santa Barbara, CA 93190 margie-i2Jb4f2yvuzq4VKKpy30dR2eb7JE58TQ&lt; at &gt;public.gmane.org www.sbpermaculture.org PlPlease consider the environment before printing this email. </pre> Margie Bushman, Coordinator,SBCC Center for Sustainability 2013-06-05T21:11:49 http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.technology.permaculture.sdpg/1164 <pre>Folks, This hearing set for Wed. next week in Long Beach (!) might be worth attending...i imagine others got this info too? It would allow (to a limited degree) for retail farms and farmers' markets in commercial zones in San Diego   details here: http://www.coastal.ca.gov/mtgcurr.html info re proposed amendment here: http://documents.coastal.ca.gov/reports/2013/6/W16i-6-2013.pdf raffi ****** “The things we need most are the things we have become most afraid of, such as adventure, intimacy, and authentic communication. We avert our eyes and stick to comfortable topics. We hold it as a virtue to be private, to be discreet, so that no one sees our dirty laundry. We are uncomfortable with intimacy and connection, which are among the greatest of our unmet needs today. To be truly seen and heard, to be truly known, is a deep human need. Our hunger for it is so omnipresent, so much apart of our life experience, that we no more know what it is missing than a fish knows it is wet. We need more intimacy than nearly anyone considers normal. Always hungry for it, we seek solace and sustenance in the closest available substitutes: television, shopping, pornography, conspicuous consumption — anything to ease the hurt, to feel connected, or to project an image by which we might be seen or known, or at least see and know ourselves.”   Charles Eisenstein </pre> Raffi Aftandelian 2013-06-05T20:09:43 http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.technology.permaculture.sdpg/1163 <pre>http://pdcastsusworldradio.libsyn.com/permaculture-high-school Imagine completing your Permaculture Design Certification Course, planting a food forest and building a cob oven- at your high school. Sounds like a dream come true? Thanks to teacher Kevin Gleason students at Dos Pueblos High School (DP) in Goleta, CA have the opportunity to learn Permaculture and get high school credit. In this episode, Jill Cloutier talks with some of the students inspired by the course, Avery Hardy, a senior at DP and a budding Permaculture designer and advocate and Kevin Gleason, an artist, teacher and Permaculture Designer. Kevin is the instructor of the new Permaculture course at Dos Dos Pueblos High School (DP) Goleta, CA . For more information contact Kevin Gleason at kgleason-3ZNcQNwo7OM&lt; at &gt;public.gmane.org </pre> Wesley Roe and Santa Barbara Permaculture Network 2013-06-04T14:41:38 http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.technology.permaculture.sdpg/1162 <pre>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxPlrTJf1Oc Ben Falk's NOFA Vermont 2013 conference talk on regenerating soil, water and human health while addressing some of the primary resiliency challenges of the 21st century. NEW BOOK The Resilient Farm and Homestead Ben Falk /An Innovative Permaculture and Whole Systems Design Approach NEW BOOK The Resilient Farm and Homestead Ben Falk /land designer and permaculture research farm http://www.wholesystemsdesign.com/resilient-farm-homestead-book/ The Resilient Farm and Homestead is a handbook for developing regenerative human habitat systems adaptive to drought, flooding, heat, power outage, price spikes, pest pressure, and the multitude of challenges brought by climate change, peak oil, food system contamination and economic decline. The book also details leading-edge strategies for regenerating soil, water systems and human health through the design and operations of the homeastead and farm. "Ben Falk calls his book about reviving a wornout hill farm in Vermont an example of resilience and regeneration; I call it pure natural magic. Grow rice in New England? Yes. Heat water to 155 degrees F on cold winter days at a rate of gallon a minute by piping it through a compost pile? Yes. How about dinner tonight of your own rack of lamb garnished with homegrown mushrooms? Yes. Your choice of scores of different vegetbles and fruits even in winter? Yes. Plus, your own dairy products from your own sheep. All the while, the soil producing this magic, on a site once thought little more than a wasteland, grows yearly more fertile and secure from natural calamity." - Gene Logsdon The book covers the groundbreaking systems Ben Falk, M.A.L.D. and his team have established at the Whole Systems Design research farm over the past decade. The book includes detailed information on earthworks, water systems, rice paddies (likely the first on the planet in such a cold climate), livestock, species composition, site design and management, fuelwood production and processing, human health-soil enhancement strategies, topsoil production and remineralization, nuts, perennial food and medicine crops, and high performance buildings. Ben Falk extends the conversation about resilience to deep resilience--resilience from the level of personal attitudes and skills to the design and creation of the maximally resilient homestead.The Resilient Farm and Homestead weaves together permaculture theory as modified by actual practice on a ten-acre Vermont farm with a thorough preparedness guide for times of climate change and greater uncertainties of all kinds and sizes. The book is greatly enhanced by numerous glorious photos of permaculture plantings as hedge rows, rice paddies, people swimming in swale-enclosed ponds, fruit and vegetable harvesting, and foraging sheep, chickens, and ducks. I particularly appreciate that Falk tells us what didn't work as well as what did. This book will be essential reading for the serious prepper as well as for everyone interested in creating a more resilient lifestyle or landscape. —Carol Deppe, author of The Resilient Gardener: Food Production and Self-Reliance in Uncertain Times The Resilient Farm and Homestead is more than just a book of tricks and techniques for site development, but offers actual working results of agricultural ecosystems and presents a viable home-scale model for food-producing intentional, ecosystems in cold climates and beyond. Real world farm and homestead systems are articulated with gorgeous full-color photography and dozens of landscape architectural drawings. Ben Falk, M.A.L.D is a land designer and site developer whose permaculture research farm has drawn national attention. His home landscape and studio site in Vermont's Mad River Valley serve as a proving ground and educational setting for his land design company Whole Systems Design and their workshops. </pre> Wesley Roe and Santa Barbara Permaculture Network 2013-06-01T16:04:07 http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.technology.permaculture.sdpg/1161 <pre>http://www.instituteofurbanecology.org/2013/05/focus-on-food-ep-31-water-water-everywhere-we-need-to-protect-it/ Interview with Brock Dolman of Occidental Arts and Ecology http://www.oaec.org/ Focus on Food Ep. 31 – Water, Water, Everywhere &amp; We Need to Protect it Amazing interview focusing on Los Angeles and more Protecting Our Watersheds with Brock Dolman of Occidental Arts and Ecology Center‘s WATER Institute More about Chaffin, and Regenerative Agriculture: - OAEC’s WATER Institute - Restoring Watersheds by Brock Hosted by Carter Wallace and Rishi Kumar Brock Dolman is a Sowing Circle Communitymember and the Director of OAEC’s WATER Institute (www.oaecwater.org) andPermaculture Design Program, and he co-directs our Wildlands Biodiversity Program. He co-instructs Basins of Relations and permaculture-related courses. Brock also co-manages the Center’s biodiversity collection, orchards and 70 acres of wildlands. Living up to his specialized generalist nature, and rekindling the dwindling art of the peripatetic natural historian, his experience ranges from the study of wildlife biology, native California botany and watershed ecology, to the practice of habitat restoration, education about regenerative human settlement design, ethno-ecology, and ecological literacy activism towards societal transformation Focus on Food is a radio program which airs regularly on KPFK 90.7FM in Los Angeles, CA. The show features interviews with the world’s leading urban ecology experts such as Vandana Shiva, Geoff Lawton, and Toby Hemenway, the latest news in the world of food, as well as gardening tips and recipes. Focus on Food is hosted by Institute of Urban Ecology founders Carter Wallace &amp; Rishi Kumar. Focus on Food airs regularly in Southern California on KPFK 90.7FM Los Angeles on Thursdays at 2pm www.kpfk.org Outside of Los Angeles, subscribe to our podcast using the two links below, or listen in http://www.instituteofurbanecology.org/focus-on-food-fm/ Basins of Relations: Restoring a Watershed State of Being http://www.earthactionmentor.org/articles/20090507 By Brock Dolman Watershed, catchment, drainage, basin, cuenca by any name they function the same, and everyone on the planet lives in one, sailors on the sea alone excepted. Watersheds at all scales are uniquely evolved geomorphic, hydrological, and biological entities that provide permaculturists a most efficacious benchmark for judging the wisdom of our past, present and future land use practices. The exciting art and science behind thinking like a watershed nurtures our hearts and sparks our imaginations. I emphasize HEART here because as a global society, the quality we most urgently need is an open heart, a humility that allows us to perceive the Earth‚s watersheds not as human commodities but as living communities. Corporate oil versus community water paradigms do not mix well. In light of recent events and global climate trends the current commodity based path seriously threatens the continuance of our own and all species. Solar power fuels Watershed processes, but it will take SOUL-ar power to restore healthy watersheds. Bring your hands together and cup them, creating a vessel. Envision the rim of your hands being a water-parting divide with thumb and fingertip ridgeline spires. Fingers become the mountain slopes, palms the hills and floodplains. Each wrinkle and crease a watercourse conveying over-hand flow to the mainstem riparian ecotone of adpressed hands, spilling forth towards the mouth of articulated wrists. Soul-ar-powered watershed regeneration rests in the hands and hearts of each one of us: the power to restore ourselves by restoring our relations with our home basins. Watersheds in the Mind Ecological illiteracy is epidemic and the time for a heightened campaign on how to read and interprete the landscape is long overdue. Effective watershed restoration must be based in watershed literacy. The word "watershed" has many different meanings and intentions, the least of which being a shed for water. In its most literal sense, watershed refers to the parting of waters, the actual ridge dividing drainages. In 1852, Darwin refered to the "Line of Watershed dividing inland streams from those on the coast" the continental divide of North America being a primary example. In 1878 Huxley first invoked watershed as a landscape entity or catchment basin stating "all that part of a river basin from which rain is collected, and from which therefore the river is fed." This definition encapsulates the basic physical definition of a watershed today. Our challenge is to move beyond a static, hydrologic definition towards a dynamic understanding of the wholeness of watersheds and how they literally underlye all human endeavors. It's all watershed "Watershed‰"is continually used in reference to a significant event. Lodged deep within our collective psyche is a subconscious recognition of the profound meaning each distinctive drainage basin holds: new creatures, new places, new experiences, a new face of divinity awaits. A certain excitement of impending discovery, an archetypcal intrigue, arises as you pass into a new "watershed." Watershed as metaphor brings awareness to a critical transition or point of demarcation, as, for instance, „they reached a watershed in the peace negotiations.‰ What does it imply to "reach a watershed"? How does this resonate with the feelings of awe and apprehension at cresting a ridge and gazing down into a new, unknown, and promise-filled "Basin of Relation"? The figurative watershed moments in one‚s life are often where a certain clarity is achieved, marked perhaps by a rite of passage fulfilled or by the unexpected reappraisal of deeply held beliefs. In Aldo Leopold‚s, A Sand County Almanac, he describes a personal "watershed" moment after shooting a she-wolf in the Gila Wilderness in1922: "We reached the old wolf in time to watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes. I realized then, and have known ever since, that there was something new to me in those eyes something known only to her and to the mountain. I was young then and full of trigger itch; I thought that because fewer wolves meant more deer, then no wolves meant a hunter's paradise. But after seeing the green fire die, I sensed that neither the wolf nor the mountain agreed with such a view." Terra Incognita The earliest descriptions of North America by Europeans evoke a vision of snow-capped peaks, forested ridges, wooded slopes, rolling prairies, flood plains, riparian jungles, beaver wetlands, and river mouth estuaries brimming with wildlife˜an ecstatically pervious world that cleansed and cycled and savored its own water to the benefit of unfathomable biodiversity. Let us dive into that vision for a moment: Rain falling at 30 mph is slowed and sweetened by outstretched leaves, these in turn drip nutrient-laden tea from the canopy to a forest floor of fluffy duff. Infused with humus capable of absorbing ten times its own weight in water, this protective sponge spreads the life-giving liquid over a flocculated soil shot through with nutrient-grabbing mycorrhizae, fungal threads connecting all the rooted plants. These vegetated landscapes of yore seeded and combed the aqueous clouds, rehumidifed the downwind air, buffered their own climates, and passed on the surplus to recharge groundwater aquifers that sustained the flow of springs, creeks, and rivers. Approaching the Tipping Point Now imagine this hydrological wonderland after some centuries of development based on dessication: Cutting, clearing, burning, draining have hardened the upland capillaries and aquatic arteries of the landscape. Clearcut logging, mining, over-grazing, plow agriculture, housing, commercial development, road building, and parking lots, all add up to extreme imperviousness in a watershed. In a Baltimore Sun story by Tom Horton, October 6, 2000, he reports on studies in Maryland indicating that "once development hardens even 15% of a stream's watershed, aquatic health falls off sharply, (at) 25%, degradation is severe. Native brook trout may disappear after as little as 2%." Tom Schueler, Center For Watershed Protection in Ellicott City, MD, further states that "around 10%, which is equal to single family homes on 1-2 acre lots, is often the tipping point where you begin to see decline." This 10% tipping point is a critical "watershed" divide in relation to fundamental system thresholds and carrying capacity. "Tipping" initiates an accelerating feedback reaction of mutually failing inter-dependencies, the breaking of links that once formed the foundation of ecosystem health and resiliency. The synergistic effects of cumulative impacts present a daunting challenge to would-be restorationists. Fragmented habitat, species extinction, soil erosion, sedimentation, flooding, loss of ground water recharge, contaminated water, reductions in stream flow, salted soils, microclimate alterations, reduced ecological carrying capacity, social disruption, community collapse, and economic hindrance form a litany of issues screaming out for holistic response. Running Upstream Certain "canaries" in the watershed coal mine can help us begin to think like a watershed. Freeman House‚s recent book, Totem Salmon, examines the plight of chinook salmon˜a species decimated by the effects of human ignorance, and provides an inspiring view of one community‚s response. Residents of California‚s Mattole River watershed have adopted the chinook as their totem animal. Let's meander down the stream of salmon consciousness for a moment to see if we can understand why. Chinook, like other salmon species, are anadromous, i.e., they‚ are hatched and spend the early years of their lives in cold freshwater streams; then swim to downstream estuaries to adapt physiologically for life in salty oceans fattening up on a smorgasbord of prey rich in eons worth of minerals leached from the land. After a species-specific number of years they return home to the farthest headwater reaches of their natal streams to procreate, die, and leave their weighty corpses of reclaimed elements for future progeny and myriad other life forms. The anadromous nutrient pump is no trivial concept: University of Oregon researchers studying cannery records from the turn of the 19th century found that roughly 390 to 500 million pounds of salmon flesh was annually returning to Pacific coast watersheds in Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and California. In contrast, today‚s figures are roughly 5 to 7 million pounds. Other researchers have chemically analyzed the isotope ratios of specific elements such as nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, and calcium in riparian forest trees, grizzly bear bones, and young fish. Research has shown that up to 60% of the nitrogen in protein tissues of young steelhead trout is of marine origin. These juvenile fish could only have metabolized this nitrogen by consuming, directly or indirectly, the bodies of decomposed adult salmonids. The idea of sustainability begs the question of ability to sustain what? The critical answer is cycles. Apparently one of the most profound generators of the nutrient fertility cycle of Pacific Northwest forests is anadromous salmonids and Pacific lamprey. One can safely extrapolate that historic populations of Atlantic salmon provided a similar function in their waterhseds. With the near extinction of salmonids disappears a cornerstone of the watershed systems ability to feed itself. Salmon return, spawn, and die: Bears, eagles, otters, crawdads, coons, and multitudes of aquatic macroinvertebrates eat them and go forth throughout the watershed dispersing these nutrients via their excrement or corpses. Salmonids are a watershed keystone species, in that their presence disproportionately elevates the web of life. But salmon are not only a keystone species, they also represent the keystone process of nutrient cycling. Watershed starvation resulting from the near extinction of totem salmon is a reality of untold proportion. Speak Softly Permaculture is a design science with a pragmatic attitude of applied positive action. As specialized generalists, permaculture designers are well prepared for the task of watershed regeneration. So where are the fecund edges that permaculturists can begin to work for the benefit of the whole? Archimedes argued that with a lever big enough and a fulcrum in the right place, he could move the world. Analogously, how do we design an (energetic) lever to move attitudes about, and thus the fate of watersheds; where do we apply it, and how many people can we convince to help us pull it? The following is a short list of various strategic lever placements for permaculturists interested in watershed protection and restoration: 1. Create a community-based watershed council: Watershed or sub-watershed boundaries are one of the best means of literally finding common ground between neighbors. Creating a community-based watershed council that embraces all residents, stakeholders, and agency representatives helps bring focus to the unique needs of each watershed. Build community by having regular meetings to share information; identify priority restoration projects, education, and research needs; host field trips to get to know the watershed, organize watershed clean-up days and hands-on community restoration projects. 2. Get or make good watershed maps: Maps may be the most effective tool to catalyze people's consciousness about their relation to their basin. Indicate on the map where roads cross both watershed divides and creeks. What about other landmarks? 3. Watershed signs: Work with your local county or state road agencies to place signs both at creek crossings and at watershed and sub-watershed divides. Signs offer a profound opportunity to educate people as they move about the landscape they inhabit. Build watershed divide interpretive displays at strategic locations with public access. Have each council representing the adjoining watersheds manage the information displayed as a public outreach/education tool. 4. Watershed Welcome Wagon packets: A perfect initial project for a newly formed watershed council. Compile a succinct citizen‚s guide to information for watershed landowners about watershed processes, maps, wildlife, native plants, erosion, fencing, chemical use, forestry management, rural roads, alternative energy, impervious surfaces, permaculture design, and other regionally appropriate land use issues. These packets can be provided to all existing residents and through real estate or county offices to all new people who purchase property in the watershed. Most people will attempt to do the right thing if they have good information. 5. Education, adopt a watershed: Working at all levels within the education system. There are some very good watershed curricula available such as Adopt-a-Watershed and The Streamkeepers Field Guide. Host workshops such as OAEC‚s four-day training, "Basins of Relations: Creating Community Watershed Councils." 6. Watershed monitoring: Design a monitoring program that collects data in a standardized manner with consistent quality control for accuracy and reliable analysis. * Analyze channel types, whether confined or unconfined; * Determine bank full width; select an appropriate unconfined study reach that is roughly 10 times as long as the bank full width; * Survey the channel cross section of the reach; determine the embeddedness of gravel by doing pebble counts; * Paint flow gauges on bridges; distribute a number of rain gauges to council members; work with existing local weather data; * Do riparian habitat assessment using aerial photos; determine riparian canopy density using a densiometer; assess the impact of invasive plant species; determine revegetation project needs; * Use GIS for watershed analysis issues, data collection, and storage; * Perform wildlife or endangered species surveys; evaluate habitat connectivity and wildlife movement corridors; * Initiate water quality monitoring for pH, dissolved oxygen, temperatures, and conductivity; perform benthic macro-invertebrate assessment; * Assess fuel load conditions in upland vegetation communities; * Map upland erosion sites and road networks towards developing a priority restoration plan; assess percentage of watershed with impervious surface cover and map locations and types; * Study historical and present land use changes and practices. 7. Roads: Paved and unpaved roads are cause destructive watershed impacts such as: salting and toxic runoff, habitat fragmentation, road kill, fish passage issues, and direct delivery of sediment products to active channels. According to Danny Hagens of Pacific Watershed Associates, roads need to become "hydrologically invisible," and "nothing in nature mimics a road." Road drainage must be disconnected from direct discharge to waterways. All creek crossings must not divert the flow from its natural channel by installing a critical dip. Critical dips have a reverse grade on both sides so that when the culvert backs up the overflow only washes out the crossing fill instead of being diverted onto the road network to discharge disastrously downhill. Rural dirt roads can be safely outsloped with no outside berms and graded with numerous rolling dips to divide the road into a series of sub-watersheds that discharge small volumes of runoff. Berm material can be used to fill the inside ditches and often results in greater road widths. Where a road section absolutely needs to be insloped then adequate ditch relief culverts should be installed so that they discharge at the base of the fill into energy dissipation structures. More culverts discharging smaller volumes are preferable with insloped roads. 8. Instream Restoration: Use biotechnical methods whenever possible to stabilize failing streambanks and gullies. Use locally harvested willow and cottonwood sprigs for woven walls, mattresses, and bundled fascines. Using biological intelligence is cheaper, provides habitat, shade for streams, food for animals, sequesters and buffers pollutants and sediments, is more aesthetically pleasing, and hands-on community groups and students can do the work with minimal technical supervision. Increasing woody debris for structural complexity and installing boulder clusters to create pool habitat and sort spawning gravel has proven effective for many salmon streams. A critical caveat is that until we stabilize the hydrological condition of the uplands the functional restoration of the active channel will be impossible, but some critical bandaids may be justified to stabilize specific situations. 9. Cost Share/Grant Programs: Numerous federal, state, county and city programs exist that provide cost share/grant funds to landowners or watershed councils to perform restoration projects or educational programs. Federal agencies include: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USF&amp;WS), and Forest Service (FS), to name a few. For technical and financial help contact your state, county or city agencies that provide support for agriculture, forestry, natural resources, fish and game, wildlife, water quality protection, flood control, environmental quality, education departments, stormwater management, regional water supply agencies, road departments, cooperative extension, resource conservation districts. 9. Political: Become involved in the democratic process. Work with political officials at all levels. City councils and county boards of supervisors are especially pertinent for local watershed-related issues. Become involved in your county general plan or similar process, and support the development of watershed-based general plans and regional planning units. Because most politicians and their planning staffs may be reticent to look favorably on the watershed idea, you need to make a convincing case that it is in their best political, economic, constituency support, and regulatory-compliance interests to think like a watershed. All public and private landowners are mandated to comply with Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Clean Water Act (CWA) regulations. Become knowledgeable about EPA regulations such as their new Phase II Stormwater Management program, National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits, and non-point source pollution issues. Where streams or lakes are on the impaired water bodies list, counties have to comply with impending total maximum daily load regulations (TMDL‚s) for watershed specific pollutants. Obviously at the state level numerous regulatory agencies are also pressuring county, city, commercial, and private authorities and landowners to comply with a barrage of seemingly impossible and costly regulations. Absent a holistic watershed-based strategy, these myopically frustrated entities will be right in concluding that regulatory compliance is impossible. By bringing watershed literacy to politics you will actually be helping them do their their job, save money, and support improvements in watershed function and health. 10: Impervious surfaces: Imperviousness presents the most insidious impact on watershed health. By addressing impervious surfaces the majority of the agency issues above can be mitigated. Increased frequency and intensity of flooding is directly correlated to increased area of impervious surface in the drainage basin. Lack of ground water recharge and thus compromised water supply issues are directly related to imperviousness. Water quality degradation and its ecological consequences from toxic and/or sediment-laden agricultural, urban, and industrial runoff is again related to excessive impervious cover. This may be where the permaculture movement is most advanced in its understanding and strategic application of solutions. Increasing roof catchment, infiltration of runoff into groundwater recharging, wildlife friendly, botanically diversified, phytoremediating, aesthetically pleasing swales, contour ditches, detention ponds, settling basins and constructed wetlands are simple and cost-effective solutions. Daylighting (bringing out of pipes) urban streams increases quality of life and connections with nature for starved denizens of the concrete jungles. The East Indian proverb "Catch rain where rain falls" is most relevant here. We must stop using storm drains that are connected to sanitary sewers that eventually overflow and pollute the ecosystem. Many pervious paving options are available that infiltrate runoff and bioremediate the runoff of urban chemicals, oils, and gasoline. These ideas are being mandated by water quality agencies the time is ripe and affordable. At an urban scale I would refer you to the Nine Mile Run Model in the Pittsburgh area. For a suburban model I would refer you to Village Homes in Davis, California, and at the rural scale Keyline principles can be further elaborated. Waterspread Restoration The challenge before us is to design development patterns based on principles of rehydration instead of dehydration. Water is the ultimate resource not the problem. The old school engineering practices of capturing, concentrating, and removing water from a site as quickly as possible are now unequivocally recognized as disastrously flawed. A new paradigm based on Waterspread restoration is being heralded. Spread the water out, slow it down, facilitate its proper percolation, instead of shedding the water away to flood your downstream neighbors with topsoil-laden, toxic fish-killing effluent. To quote David Orr "It makes far better sense to reshape ourselves to fit a finite planet than to attempt to reshape the planet to fit our infinite wants." There is an old bumper sticker that reads "Minds are like parachutes, they only work when they are open." Watersheds are similar in that they only work when they are open and porous, permeable, and pervious to the bounty of falling water. Restoring a watershed state of being means we open up our mind-sheds so they become permeable to new ideas. With cerebral swales we can best absorb the idea that biological understanding holds the optimal promise of solutions for the seven generations to come. Receptivity to water wisdom is the path bringing us closer to „living like a watershed.‰ With those who share your watershed, your fundamental connection as a community is directly related to your shared existence amidst each Basin of Relation. Water movement over and within the land is a watershed‚s primary energetic commodity and our local currencies should carry the message "In Water We Trust." Water is the defining element that unrelentingly determines a community‚s ecological and economic carrying capacity. From living water all things spring and bubble forth: totem salmon, totem soil, totem forest, totem wildlife, totem watershed, totem planet. Brock Dolman holds a BA in Biology and Environmental Studies from University of California Santa Cruz. He works professionally as a wildlife biologist, watershed restoration consultant, ecological educator and is OAEC's Permaculture program director. He is a founding partner of the Sowing Circle Intentional Community and the Occidental Arts and EcologyCenter, 15290 Coleman Valley Rd., Occidental, CA 95465, and may be contacted at brock-in3PInkAEpE&lt; at &gt;public.gmane.org and www.oaecwater.org or www.oaec.org </pre> Wesley Roe and Santa Barbara Permaculture Network 2013-05-31T13:50:41 http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.technology.permaculture.sdpg/1160 <pre>Why shareholder engagement with fossil-fuels companies won’t work By Michael Kramer This article is written by Michael Kramer Permaculture Colleague , friend and PC teacher and long time consultant for Natural Investing LLC http://naturalinvesting.com/ http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2013/05/29/why-shareholder-engagement-fossil-fuels-companies-wont-work?goback=%2Egde_105358_member_245217556 Tags: Social Responsibility, Socially Responsible Investing Last week, climate activist Bill McKibben (co-founder of 350.org) was the featured speaker of the Finance for a Sustainable Future conference in Chicago, the annual gathering of sustainable, responsible and impact investment professionals and investors organized by the industry trade association USSIF: The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment. Given that most actors within the SRI industry have not embraced McKibben's call for divestment from fossil fuel companies, it was both meaningful that he was invited to speak -- and essential that investors ascertain the best tactics to reduce atmospheric carbon. During the last 40 years, the SRI industry has used three primary strategies to foster change: engagement as shareholders to influence company and industry policies and practices; advocacy with regulators and policymakers to rein in abuses to protect share value; and divestment (what the industry refers to as environmental, social and governance portfolio screening). The challenge SRI investors always face is determining which strategy is appropriate for which circumstance. Historically, the SRI industry has preferred engagement, because one can use ownership to encourage companies to, for example, adopt ecological practices, embrace fair labor standards and improve diversity. And it works: With sweatshops and workplace safety in the apparel industry, for example, the SRI industry has a long history of engagement with companies. They've gotten them to embrace higher standards and provide greater supply chain transparency on ESG issues to investors. However, the core purpose of certain sectors – alcohol, tobacco, weapons, gambling, even nuclear power – have been widely accepted exclusions by SRI investors for their inherent harm or potential harm they cause to humanity. These are moral decisions, and while they are subjective, sometimes consensus can be formed on an issue that just seems wrong. Take divestment from companies doing business in the South African apartheid regime. This was the last generation’s primary divestment issue in the 1980s, and the pressure it applied was a contributing factor to the evolution of that country’s political system. And this was precisely the point McKibben made to the SRI industry: In this particular case, at this perilous moment in the history of this planet, engagement simply doesn’t achieve the desired outcome (at least, not fast enough). Past efforts to move fossil fuel companies into renewable energy or get fossil fuel companies to report on the impact of climate change on profitability largely have failed. BP had its infamous “Beyond Petroleum” campaign and was once the poster child for the shareholder engagement approach, but it was abandoned and BP then faced a slew of governance problems resulting in the environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Biofuels research by Chevron, Shell and others are merely toe-dipping efforts, while the industry spends $100 million a day on exploration and development of new sources of fossil fuels. Even though it is very clear that burning all the fossil fuels we know are available to use would raise the Earth’s temperature by at least 4 more degrees, taking the planet beyond the point of ecosystem stability and thereby assuring the global decline of human civilization, corporate engagement can’t stop this from occurring. "Their business model isn’t amenable to modest changes because the flaw is their business plan,” McKibben told me during an interview at the conference. This year, a new advocacy approach by As You Sow and other activist shareholders featuring carbon bubble resolutions requests that the nation's largest coal producers report to investors how much of their coal assets would be left "stranded" in the ground if the United States were to pass sweeping greenhouse gas regulations. SRI investors see the companies as majorly overvalued in a carbon-regulated world, and this "carbon bubble" one day could pop, posing a risk to shareholder value. Yes, we are all guilty of using fossil fuel. It facilitates power, manufacturing and agriculture around the world and fuels most of our transportation systems. But as fossil fuel companies are not choosing to spend their $100 million a day budget on renewable energy research and development, McKibben argues that they must be forced to acknowledge the long-term business risk of continued investment in this space alongside the argument that there cannot be a healthy company or global economy and society on a planet whose temperature continues to rise. Despite the ever-present evidence, politicians haven’t responded seriously to the severe nature of this imminent threat. The U.S. blocked the Kyoto and Copenhagen rounds of talks to set carbon reduction targets, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other groups file lawsuits against the federal government when it adopts regulatory policies that protect citizens from harm and Congress passes laws that protect oil and chemical companies. Hence, the people are speaking out and demanding fast action. With atmospheric carbon determined to have reached the unprecedented level of 400 parts per million, it is not surprising that fossil fuel divestment is the single most important issue for the younger generation. It explains why, in only a few months, there are now 380 colleges with students actively seeking fossil fuel divestment. Five universities and two cities already have done so. The truth is that industry can be incentivized to address carbon emissions if a serious price on carbon is set and tax rates are established. The people must demand that politicians do so because, as McKibben noted, “not pricing carbon is a biggest market failure in history,” and divestment movements are an effort to force the politicians to act. Of course, companies don’t have to wait for that, and in fact those that see this coming have the opportunity to get out in front of it and obtain what soon will become a competitive advantage. Many companies are indeed moving off-grid or to other renewable energy sources and leading the eco-efficiency charge in this country. One would think that the severity of recent fires, floods, hurricanes and tornadoes would prompt quick action, but there is still a disconnect among people in this country that humanity’s addiction to cheap oil and gas is causing these extreme weather conditions. People don’t assume, as McKibben pointed out, that ”when people own oil, they are owning extreme climate events like hurricanes and droughts.” Meanwhile, while the populace is largely silent and numbed into its escapes and distractions, Chevron made the single largest political contribution in U.S. history in the last election cycle in order to help preserve the Republican House majority and protect big oil’s economic interests. The most recent legislative plan, the Climate Protection Act of 2013, was introduced in February by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D.-Calif.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and is referred to as “cap and dividend,” a smarter approach than “cap and trade” because it is revenue neutral. It simply requires several thousand coal, oil and gas producers to pay a $20-per-ton carbon fee in the first year and increase by 5.6 percent per year, generating $1.2 trillion over the next 12 years. Yet it hasn’t been taken seriously, as the Republicans care more about shaming the Obama Administration than solving the world’s biggest ecological and economic problems. And while other countries set ambitious targets to become fossil fuel-free nations, we continue to make excuses and consider approving pipelines such as Keystone and fracking in the Marcellus shale to accelerate the burning of more fossil fuels. We do so in the name of domestic energy independence, failing to realize that freedom from foreign oil is merely death by another means. “We have to make it clear to asset owners that fossil fuel assets are toxic," McKibben said. "This is an outlaw industry, not in terms of breaking the laws of the land but in terms of ignoring the laws of physics.” He’s right. The moral argument trumps the economic consequences in this instance. This is not the time for slow deliberation on a crisis situation; it is the time for bold action that reverses an increasingly dangerous global warming trend. _______________________________________________ Sdpg mailing list Sdpg&lt; at &gt;arashi.com https://www.arashi.com/mailman/listinfo.cgi/sdpg </pre> Wesley Roe and Santa Barbara Permaculture Network 2013-05-30T13:25:13 http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.technology.permaculture.sdpg/1159 <pre>NEW BOOK Gary Nabham How to Survive the Apocalypse: Growing Food in a Changing Climate http://www.chelseagreen.com/content/how-to-survive-the-apocalypse-growing-food-in-a-changing-climate/ Growing food in the hottest, driest corners of America is no longer confined to small regions of North America. What to do? More than half of all counties in the United States are now on the USDA’s list of natural disaster areas, according to one recent Grist article, and that list is expected to expand this year. “As global warming unfolds, knowledge of dryland agriculture will become increasingly valuable,” writes Brie Mazurek. Drawing on the knowledge and expertise of traditional and visionary desert farmers is exactly what author and local food pioneer Gary Paul Nabhan has done in his latest book, Growing Food in a Hotter, Drier Land. Nabhan has compiled stories of resilience and adaptation that urge readers to plan for uncertainty, acquire knowledge, and take action. As environmentalist Bill McKibben mentions in the book’s foreword, drought, paired with rising global temperatures, is having devastating effects on the wellbeing of crops and livestock. “We’ve raised the planet’s temperature a degree so far, but that’s just the start,” writes McKibben. “Unless we get off coal and gas and oil…the temperature will rise…past the point where agronomists think we can support the kind of civilizations we now enjoy.” Even if we can’t escape climate change, we can do our best to adapt to it, argues Nabhan. Growing Food in a Hotter, Drier Land: Lessons from Desert Farmers on Adapting to Climate Uncertainty includes tips on how to: •Build greater moisture-holding capacity and nutrients in soils; •Protect fields from damaging winds, drought, and floods; •Reduce heat stress on crops and livestock; •Harvest water from uplands to use in rain gardens and terraces filled with perennial crops; •Select fruits, nuts, succulents, and herbaceous perennials that are best suited to warmer, drier climates; and, •Keep pollinators in pace and in place with arid-adapted crop plants. “If there was ever a moment for this book, now is it,” McKibben writes. “We’ve thought ourselves wise for several generations now, but in fact that wisdom has been a simplifying kind. Now we’re going to need exactly the kind of complex, place-based wisdom that Nabhan outlines here. We’re going to have to wise up, in a hurry. And the biggest part of that wisdom will involve realizing that we depend on others.” The rain may indeed be dying, as a Sonoran Desert farmer once told Nabhan, but there is hope. If a piece of desert land can be healed and restored to a food-producing oasis, perhaps hope for a food-secure future can be restored as well.</pre> Wesley Roe and Santa Barbara Permaculture Network 2013-05-29T15:14:46 http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.technology.permaculture.sdpg/1158 <pre>Home Cookin' with Homemade Biogas By: Stephen Hren http://www.homepower.com/articles/home-efficiency/equipment-products/home-cookin-homemade-biogas?v=print Intermediate Inside this Article Biodigester Efficiency &amp; the Environment Tank Troubleshooting Building the Biodigester Biodigester Maintenance, Costs &amp; Risks About five years ago, writer and renewable energy aficionado Warren Weismann was researching ancient Greece for his novel when he stumbled across information that the Greeks had built anaerobic digesters to produce methane. He then read about similar archaeological evidence in ancient Syria and China. But it was the modern biogas boom in China that got him most excited and distracted him from his writing career: Tens of millions of home-scale biodigesters have been built in China over the last century, with the pace of construction still accelerating. Warren wanted one for himself. After a few years of further research, including conversations with colleagues in India and Nepal, where small-scale biogas production is prevalent, Warren modified traditional designs to create a plan for his own 700-gallon biodigester. He was living at Maitreya Ecovillage, a three-block community and green-building-oriented neighborhood near downtown Eugene, Oregon. After building his first biodigester last year, he’s become increasingly excited about the possibilities for home-scale biogas, and has established Hestia Home Biogas to build biodigesters locally and consult on biodigesters across the globe. Back from Obscurity Biogas has been used for lighting for at least a century, and possibly millennia. But it was mostly abandoned in the United States after cheap and abundant fossil fuel was harnessed in the early 20th century. Home-scale biodigesters have remained on the sidelines in the developed world, but are poised for a comeback as interest in a replacement fuel increases. There are good reasons to consider building biodigesters for a community, small farm, or even home. Biodigesters yield two products that are extremely useful for the home and garden—high-nitrogen compost and flammable gas. Biodigesters anaerobically (without air) break down organic matter in a slurry held in a tank. The nitrogen remains in the composted slurry as ammonia, a vital plant nutrient. The flammable gas produced by biodigesters is about two-thirds methane and one-third carbon dioxide—very similar to natural gas—making it a good cooking fuel. Cooking requires intense direct application of heat on demand, and renewable options for accomplishing this are limited. Solar energy is dispersed and not consistently available, making solar cooking challenging, and burning wood contributes to particulate pollution and further depletes diminishing resources in the developing world. Cooking is not a huge consumer of energy in the industrialized world, but doing it more sustainably is challenging. Unlike cooking with solar electricity, biodigesters can be assembled with readily available materials by a handy homeowner. Any type of propane or natural gas stove will run on biogas. For maximum efficiency, propane stoves will require a larger air inlet. Inside a Biodigester A biodigester is a sophisticated way to harvest fuel from the complex carbon chains of organic matter—energy collected by plants from the sun as they grow—without combusting them directly. Direct combustion of carbon causes air pollution, a loss of much of the nutrient value of the biomass, and a poor energy harvest—especially when used for cooking or lighting, as most of it goes up in smoke. Burning wood, even in an EPA-certified woodstove, can produce more than 500 times the fine particle emissions of burning natural gas. As new plant material is fed into the digester, it is first attacked by acidogenic bacteria, which break the chains holding together some of the more complex plant matter, especially cellulose—the structural backbone of most plants. Ammonia and acetates (mostly acid) are produced, lowering the pH and using up any oxygen in the process. Acetates are the perfect food for methanogenic bacteria, as long as the slurry they reside in is not too acidic and all oxygen has been removed. They consume the acetates and produce methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2), along with a lesser amount of other gases and residues depending on the original feedstock. In consuming these acids, the methanogenic bacteria raise the pH and keep it hospitable for both the acid-formers and themselves, both of which would perish if the pH dropped too low. The high-nitrogen ammonia (a byproduct of the breakdown of plant proteins) remains dissolved in the slurry, unlike in aerobic composting where it is released as a gas. Although both the acid-formers and the methanogens can suffer from rapid changes in living conditions created by the addition of feedstock, the methanogens are especially vulnerable to low pH and the introduction of too much oxygen. For this reason, biodigesters generally work on the principle of steady applications of new feedstock in regular intervals, rather than adding large amounts of biomass at once. There are several different types of methanogenic bacteria that will colonize a digester, depending upon the slurry’s temperature range. The two ranges of interest to home-scale biodigesters are the cryophilic (50°F to 80°F) and the mesophilic (95°F to 125°F). There is a dead zone between these two temperature ranges that must be avoided. Warren’s biodigester operates in the cryophilic range. While mesophilic methanogens can break down material several times as quickly as their cryophilic counterparts, consistently maintaining high temperatures consumes a great deal of energy—which can make a net energy loss for smaller biodigesters. The released CO2 and CH4 gases percolate through the slurry to the top of the tank. Once enough biogas accumulates, the pressure created inside the expanding rubber top reaches 0.25 to 0.5 psi, enough to move the gas through the delivery pipes and use it for cooking or lighting. As new material is added to the tank through the inlet, it displaces an equal amount of slurry through the outlet, which can be applied directly to the garden. Once applied, covering the slurry with soil helps keep the ammonia from turning to gas and losing its coveted nitrogen. Operating the Digester Warren’s biodigester at Maitreya primarily uses kitchen waste once in operation. Getting it up and running, however, requires a whole mess of ruminant manure—about 300 pounds’ worth. There happened to be an alpaca farm nearby, and so he used alpaca manure, but any ruminant manure will be loaded with plenty of methanogenic bacteria. He also added a few gallons of kitchen compost and tree leaves, and then filled the tank to 600 gallons. It takes a minimum of two to three days before a biodigester begins to produce gas, since the acid-forming bacteria need to do their work before the methane-producing bacteria can go to work. About 10 to 15 pounds of kitchen scraps are collected and added to the biodigester daily, producing an average of about 70 cubic feet of biogas, which is the only source of cooking fuel for the community’s kitchen. When the methane content begins to get low, the flame will begin to burn orange. This is remedied by feeding the digester. The scraps are shoved into the digester with a pole, and this slight agitation helps mix the slurry, exposing the material to the bacteria so it can be thoroughly composted. The tank can also be topped off with water at this time if the slurry level is low. As new feedstock is added, it displaces an equal volume of composted slurry through the outlet, which is captured in a 5-gallon bucket and then added to nearby gardens. Biodigesters prefer a carbon-to-nitrogen ratio similar to a conventional aerobic compost pile, with about 25:1 being ideal. Too much carbon-rich material (grass clippings, newspaper, etc.) will slow the digester. Manure is the most common nitrogenous material to add to rebalance a slow digester. The biodigester at Maitreya has been operating for more than a year with consistent results. Warren and Hestia Biogas are in the final stages of getting city permits for new biodigesters, to bring an official stamp of approval to a renewable energy technology with great promise for any homestead. Access Author and builder Stephen Hren lives in Durham, North Carolina. His latest book is Tales from the Sustainable Underground: A Wild Journey with People Who Care More About the Planet Than the Law. Hestia Home Biogas • www.hestiahomebiogas.com Biodigesters in China • www.bit.ly/ChinaBiogas Methane: Planning a Digester by Peter-John Meynell</pre> Wesley Roe and Santa Barbara Permaculture Network 2013-05-27T14:22:51 http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.technology.permaculture.sdpg/1157 <pre>Local Earth San Diego hosting events, activities &amp; workshops leading to a more healthy &amp; sustainable community... ------------------------------------------------------------ Email not displaying properly?http://localearthsandiego.wordpress.com/2012/02/06/local-earth-news-february/View it in your browser (http://us4.campaign-archive1.com/?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=05617a30fb&amp;e=2c834145f1) . (http://local-earth.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=13c098481c&amp;e=2c834145f1) http://local-earth.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=37498d742b&amp;e=2c834145f1 http://local-earth.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=eb017567bc&amp;e=2c834145f1 http://local-earth.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=6d67e8f13b&amp;e=2c834145f1 www.localhealthyfood.org ** ------------------------------------------------------------ ** March for Healthy Food / May 25th 11:00 AM ------------------------------------------------------------ ** ------------------------------------------------------------ http://local-earth.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=4531ab9dad&amp;e=2c834145f1 CommUNITY! http://local-earth.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=f9c5c7c039&amp;e=2c834145f1 Sign Making Party EcoVerse (http://local-earth.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=0cadc9f539&amp;e=2c834145f1) Friday, May 24th 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM http://local-earth.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=71f3195886&amp;e=2c834145f1 Celebration! Greetings friends of local healthy food in San Diego! Sign making party this Friday night &lt; at &gt; EcoVerse at 6:00 PM (http://local-earth.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=6af626bd52&amp;e=2c834145f1) You have a vision for creating a healthy and sustainable San Diego! As an integral part of San Diego's local food community YOU are invited to participate in and support a local food event called the March for Healthy Food’ on May 25th at 11:00 AM. This event has arisen from members our San Diego community who have a passion for local healthy food and are concerned about the current situations in the world regarding genetically modified organisms (GMO’s) and the harmful effects they are having on people and the planet. Click HERE for short video invitation! (http://local-earth.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=556f6d7213&amp;e=2c834145f1) The ‘March for Healthy Food’ is a local component of the global ‘March Against Monsanto’ happening in countries all around the world at the same time on this day. We are focusing on solutions, education, inspiration and positive actions we want to take together as a community to create the most healthy and sustainable local food system possible. This event is about bringing together all of the individuals and organizations in San Diego that are passionate about local healthy food, sharing information, teaching one another and inspiring our community to take positive action to support our local food movement. The March for Healthy Food supports the following values and actions.... * having access to accurate information and the CHOICE to know what is in our food (label GMO’s) * supporting local organic farms, farmers markets, food cooperatives and urban agriculture * learning and teaching one another how to grow our own food * supporting and creating more home gardens, community gardens and yardshare programs * supporting and expanding the ‘Nourish Curriculum (http://local-earth.us4.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=7938d3c8d1&amp;e=2c834145f1) ’ in our local schools * working together with city council and urban planners to create a forward thinking plan that meets the nutritional and agricultural needs of our city (inspiring example: Portland) * accountability for government and corporate institutions with regard to food justice and public safety The march is beginning at 11:00 AM in Balboa Park... will continue to the Little Italy Farmers Market... and then Amici Park at 1:00 PM (2 blocks from the market / W Date &amp; State St). Here at the park we will be having a commUNITY potluck with ingredients from the market and an education/inspiration exchange. We invite you, your organization and your network of healthy food supporters to join us! We will have a microphone and speakers so local organizations and individuals can share what they are doing in our community and how people can get involved with their projects. Please bring literature, flyers and education to share... please feel free to set up a pop-up table for your organization/business and promote what you are doing. We will be inviting the press so there will be media coverage that can provide great exposure for your organization. This event is a celebration being creating by the commUNITY of San Diego, there is no one organization or group organizing this... this is a community effort to support one another and inspire one another with new ideas and creative solutions that will lead to amazing, local healthy food for everyone in San Diego! Let’s inspire other communities all around the world as we lead this ‘March for Healthy Food’! If you would like to participate in the planning and communication for this event please send emails to the google group (healthy-food-san-diego&lt; at &gt;googlegroups.com (mailto:healthy-food-san-diego-/JYPxA39Uh5TLH3MbocFFw&lt; at &gt;public.gmane.org) ). For more information and updates please see the links below... * Website: www.localhealthyfood.org (http://local-earth.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=48bb803f0a&amp;e=2c834145f1) * Facebook EVENT (http://local-earth.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=d111ef083e&amp;e=2c834145f1) : www.facebook.com/events/243732769105207/ * Facebook page: www.facebook.com/HealthyFoodForLocalEarth * MAM website: www.march-against-monsanto.com (http://local-earth.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=36c99cdf67&amp;e=2c834145f1) Please pass this information on to anyone in San Diego who shares a passion for healthy food! Let’s get back to our ROOTS! Let’s GROW TOGETHER as commUNITY! With joy &amp; gratitude, Healthy Food supporters &amp; citizens of San Diego ============================================================ Copyright © 2013 Local Earth, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you have expressed interest in the health &amp; sustainability of San Diego! Our mailing address is: Local Earth 4801 Santa Monica Avenue San Diego, California 92107 Email Marketing Powered by MailChimp http://www.mailchimp.com/monkey-rewards/?utm_source=freemium_newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=monkey_rewards&amp;aid=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;afl=1 ** forward to a friend (http://us4.forward-to-friend.com/forward?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=05617a30fb&amp;e=2c834145f1) ** unsubscribe from this list (http://local-earth.us4.list-manage1.com/unsubscribe?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=ada6505b4b&amp;e=2c834145f1&amp;c=05617a30fb) ** update subscription preferences (http://local-earth.us4.list-manage2.com/profile?u=010dc5465d8f1edca3d973ee8&amp;id=ada6505b4b&amp;e=2c834145f1)</pre> Local Earth / San Diego 2013-05-23T20:02:29 http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.technology.permaculture.sdpg/1156 <pre>Quail Springs Permaculture - Spring 2013 Newsletter Unfolding Transitions Dear Friends, When grandmother Rachelle Figueroa from the Morning Star Foundation, dear friend and native elder, kindly made a request for Quail Springs to host and help hold their ceremonial sweat lodge, we were both honored and a bit daunted at the prospect. At the time of her request, we were balancing at the precipice of a huge transition and the thought of having “one more commitment” seemed nearly impossible. Early this spring we were at the end of an eight year journey of working to bring change into our county and state government to allow for equitable and sustainable building practices. All our work was coming to fruition and as part of our agreement to leave and make legal a beautiful example of a cob building on the site, we had to completely take down the straw bale community building...who we affectionately call the “Old Lady” and who has for years housed and nurtured so many people. Rachelle, in her Grandmotherly wisdom, countered our hesitancy and shared that the sweat lodge ceremony would immensely help to bring balance and ease to the transition process. With a deep sigh of relief and in a collective surrender, we agreed to bring the lodge to life the weekend before we began the process to transform the Old Lady into mulch for our growing farm and food forest. The ceremony was beautiful, powerful and marked the beginning of what has been an amazing transition for the community at Quail Springs. A week after the sweat lodge ceremony many people gathered to offer their gratitude for the Old Lady as we remembered her grandness and beauty in the way she held us for so many years. Once she came down, her bales went to feeding the soil. This journey of transition has been such a mix of sadness, gratitude, joyful hard work and endless learning. We are transforming the site to prepare for our upcoming summer programs and in a way that honors and supports Quail Springs hosting. We are tired, I must admit, yet we know that in the scope of our 200-year plan, this is just a heartbeat of time and a blink of an eye in the process of our cultural regeneration. We all want to give our deepest gratitude for the many people who have volunteered their time, to the many who have held us in their thoughts and prayers and to the unseen mystery that continues to bless our work and our small and fragile attempt at rebuilding culture for a time beyond our own! In abundance and grace, Warren Warren Brush Executive Director *********************************** Eastern Staple Garden planted by dancing feet in Winter, greens up this Spring... With spring in full gear out at Quail Springs, there has been tremendous growth in the garden and of the farm its self. This winter a half acre east of the existing garden was prepared with the loving care of many visitors and the farm team. Green plots of annual crops between strips of perennial varieties now decorate what has been dubbed the Eastern Staple Garden as the season of growth settles into the year. “The interaction and observation of the systems that we have implemented over the last few years has guided these decisions. We needed more space for staple crops so we wanted to create a larger scale,” said Farm manager, Brenton Kelly. This new space is an alley crop style plot with 13,000 square feet of annual production and 4,000 square feet of perennials and trees. Annual spaces are currently being used to produce staple foods like potatoes, peas, beans, garbanzo, sorghum, millet, wheat and grain experiments. This strip will be shaded and separated by mulberry, apple, olive and black locust trees. There are also many more poplar, locust trees, and prickly pear planted on the edges for wind blocks, fuel and forage. Interspersed with these new trees are tree collards, asparagus, artichoke, comfrey and assorted herbs. “In mid February a cover-crop of oats and vetch was distributed across the whole space which started the fertility space of our dust bin,” said Kelly. Now the 11 goats are munching those crops, including the new baby buck Narwhal, turning that green crop into fresh manure put directly onto the field. Plans to move chickens into the plots to annual strips will increase fertility and prepare the beds that are not already planted. Our great thanks to all the people who helped this new site get rolling. The Vision group all the way from Minnesota's St. Thomas University, Wilderness Awareness School's Anake Program, Cal Poly Permaculture Club, and many others were instrumental in making this dream come to fruition and our gratitude to them as we watch this plot come to life. Singing and dancing we stepped in seeds, we put up over a 1,000 feet of fencing, and planted over 200 trees. As Quail Springs is embarking on many new journeys so is the farm making strides towards our mission, feeding the bellies and sprits of all who bless our lives. - update from Jack Thrift, Apprentice Farm Manager *********************************** "There are so many opportunities right now in the conscious redesign of our human living systems so that they harmonize with nature. The future is bright for ecoprenuers who can see and creatively meet the converging patterns in restoring and making vibrant our bio-regional natural and social capital that has been so heavily denuded by a globalized system of irresponsible commerce. It is my hope and life’s work to support individuals in stepping into their inherent gifts and to become a part of the (r)evolution that is essential for us to support the health and well being of all future generations through living life now in a sustainable and equitable manner." Warren Brush *********************************** Warren Brush teaching around the world allies with Quail Springs mission through cross pollination and solidarity Our Executive Director and one of our founder’s of Quail Springs, Warren Brush, has been traveling the world sharing and inspiring people about permaculture, equitable living, sustainability and honoring the earth. He work and unique storytelling approach toward learning has been in high-demand in Africa, Middle East, Australia, Europe and around the USA over the past few years. His storytelling, teaching and design work has helped to broaden the work and many programs of Quail Springs Permaculture through cross pollination and solidarity with the work of other organizations nationally and internationally. Warren is currently in Europe on a teaching tour through France, Ireland, Germany and Switzerland as a part of a tour organized by the international humanitarian organization started by Amma, the hugging Saint from India. It is being organized by her organization called Green Friends, who are providing a variety of projects and learning opportunities around Europe for the general public. On this tour, he is teaching at a diversity of universities, ashrams, vocational colleges, social change organizations, and sustainable living demonstration sites. He is facilitating two-day Introduction to Permaculture Courses, evening talks in cities like Paris, Marseille, Cork, Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Lucern, and a full Permaculture Design Certification Course in Germany. For more information about this tour go to: www.hof-herrenberg.de/learn-sustainability/ and www.amma-europe.org/events.html . Warren has been working for several years in a variety of different circumstances including working with former child soldiers (future peacemakers), designing orphanages in Africa, working with tribal peoples in America, Africa and the Middle East, and in teaching and inspiring people from modernized lifestyles as well as those who live a more earth based lifestyle. As part of Warren’s ongoing work in training and inspiring others to become teachers of integrated design using permaculture ethics and principles, he will be teaching a Train-the-Trainer course outside of Nairobi, Kenya in January of 2014. His work has helped to inspire the genesis of the Permaculture Research Institute of Kenya who will be hosting this event for local, regional and international students. To find out more information about this exciting course go to the PRI- Kenya website at: www.pri-kenya.org To find out more about Warren’s teaching schedule, permaculture design services or to book him for a talk or course, go to his website at: www.permaculturedesign.us or his for profit permaculture demonstration project at: www.regenerativeearth.com *********************************** International Development &amp; Social Entrepreneurship Permaculture Course hosts Warren Brush back home at Quail Springs We’re pleased that Warren will be teaching with us back home at Quail Springs in Southern California, coming up June 24 - July 7, for our annual Permaculture Design Course for International Development &amp; Social Entrepreneurship. Joining Warren is Joseph Lentunyoi of PRI Kenya, a practitioner of organic agriculture and permaculture advisor/trainer from Kenya and the Maasai tribe. This course is bringing together a stellar array of guest instructors including Cathe Fish, Jeremiah Kidd, Jeanette Acosta, Loren Luyendyk, Brenton Kelly, and Thomas Cole. The participants in this course include professional and students from around the US and the world (including the Cayman Islands), with a diverse set of experiences, projects and interests to share. A few spaces still remain! Visit www.quailsprings.org/permaculture-design-course-for-international-development-social-entrepreneurship/ for more information or contact Kolmi Majumdar at info-C3xH88btZzoC0mqONBcAJQ&lt; at &gt;public.gmane.org . *********************************** Sustainable Vocations GRAD Spotlight Not long after taking Sustainable Vocations summer course at Quail Springs in 2012, I started working with the School Gardens Program. This program builds gardens and hires garden educators to teach kids about gardening throughout Santa Barbara County elementary schools. My supervisor really admired that I had been apart of the course at Quail Springs and knew that I had knowledge about permaculture design methods and a strong desire to continue in a gardening line of work. Being apart of the School Gardens Program is the best work I have ever had and better than I ever expected. I hardly would even call it work because I am doing things I would happily do as a volunteer for the program! The people I work with are all so inspirational with the endless work they do to make the program better and fun for the kids. I am doing work that makes me happy because I am apart of something that is supporting future generations to learn more about where their food comes from, and I am realizing that making that connection with young kids is more powerful than we will ever know. What I have been specifically involved in is installing new gardens in Santa Barbara, Buellton, Lompoc, Santa Ynez and other schools within in those regions. So far, I have been involved in 7 installations over 7 months. Each garden is unique in its design because the students and teachers from the school get to envision how they want the garden to look. My favorite workday is when all the kids, teachers, parents, and other people from the community come together to put the garden together. The kids, parents, and teachers all help plant, sheet mulch, and put in pathways. And as the day goes on it is amazing to see how the whole garden and community come together to create such a beautiful space for children to be learning outside. I am so grateful for the amazing opportunities that are before me, and I am proud to say that my first step toward this direction was because I was apart of the Sustainable Vocations course in 2012. I have felt a huge change in awareness and drive to be a more sustainable human being throughout my life. You have to really believe and work hard, but it is the best, most fulfilling kind of work there is. ~ Ally Arganbright, SV Grad 2012 *********************************** Wood Fired Cob Oven Workshop June 15-16, 2013 Learn to build your own wood fired earthen bread and pizza oven using natural materials from your backyard! Contact: Sasha Rabin, sasha-C3xH88btZzoC0mqONBcAJQ&lt; at &gt;public.gmane.org *********************************** Permaculture Design Course for International Development &amp; Social Entrepreneurship June 24 - July 7, 2013 a few spaces left in this course, inquire asap! Contact: Kolmi Majumdar, info-C3xH88btZzoC0mqONBcAJQ&lt; at &gt;public.gmane.org *********************************** Sustainable Vocations Summer 2013 course is taking applications NOW! Course dates: July 30 - August 18. Learn more about this extraordinary program for Young Changemakers (ages 15-25 yrs) www.sustainablevocations.org Contact: Kolmi Majumdar, info-C3xH88btZzoC0mqONBcAJQ&lt; at &gt;public.gmane.org </pre> Quail Springs Permaculture 2013-05-23T18:15:28 http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.technology.permaculture.sdpg/1155 <pre>Please join us for this wonderful opportunity to work with the guru of rainwater harvesting in drylands, Brad Lancaster! It's at the end of June. Space is limited, so make sure you reserve your spot! Regards, Brook Sarson Begin forwarded message: </pre> Brook Sarson 2013-05-20T18:05:52 Search the mailing list at Gmane query http://search.gmane.org/?group=$group=gmane.technology.permaculture.sdpg