Category: Edible Brattleboro

Collective Genius, Community Building, Edible Brattleboro, Green Collar Economy, Infrastructure, Local Economy, Pathways to Thriving, Permaculture, Synergetic Genius, Systems Thinking, Turning Point Gratitude Project, Unique Genius

Turning Point Gratitude Project:  What is a “Gratitude Project”? Why Turning Point?

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When I moved to the One and Only Brattleboro VT in September 2014, I felt called to demonstrate my gratitude. This community feels like home. I began planning how I could combine my life philosophy, permaculture, with a service project which would help improve food justice, provide stakeholders with a natural landscape in which to congregate, create workforce training opportunities, and slow, spread and sink stormwater currently inundating the Whetstone Brook. Turning Point’s location at 39 Elm Street is the perfect site for this project, and the staff and stakeholders are just as excited about it as I am. The Board is terrific, and there are many Master Gardeners already tied into the group.

Turning Point Addiction & Recovery Center moved to downtown Brattleboro after being located in a more remote area. The move helped increase their ability to provide services to area residents who don’t have access to private transportation. There was damage in the basement from Hurricane Irene, which brought more than 2′ to the Frost/Flat/Elm corridor. TPAprilShowers (18) TPAprilShowers (25)

Water from sites above, all the way to Western Avenue and beyond, eventually settles in this neighborhood, as do all the pollutants. This makes the area around the building very rocky.      

TPGPHarvestingRockApril (6)Volunteers have begun harvesting rock to be used as materials once the design is completed.

A full Permaculture Certification Course will be offered based at the site during June and July 2015 for a cost of $500. (This is less than half of what courses usually cost, and is mainly to cover expenses for the Gratitude Project.) The course schedule is almost finalized.

We’ll invite individuals to attend the workshops singly. Stakeholders for Turning Point and people receiving EBT (3-Squares VT) will be able to attend the training sessions at no cost. We are also offering an option to attend individual sessions through Brattleboro Time Trade. Participant hours received for attendance of the courses will be used to “pay” volunteers who help implement the project. This could only happen in a town that has hundreds of engaged Time Trade members, as Brattleboro does!

We would appreciate any donations of materials or plants. Right now we need barrels which can be used to hold rocks until the implementation begins. A wheelbarrow or two would be nice!

The Grand Opening of the new site will be in September. That will be quite a celebration for Turning Point staff, stakeholders, and for me. A real celebration of their mission and vision, of the committed staff and Board, and of this town that I love, the One and Only Brattleboro, Vermont!

Check out the program schedule here!

Community Building, Edible Brattleboro, Green Collar Economy, Infrastructure, Local Economy, Pathways to Thriving, Permaculture, Systems Thinking

The Launch of Edible Brattleboro

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A lively group of Brattleboro residents met today at the Brattleboro Co-op cafe to launch a new project. Each of us came to the meeting with varied backgrounds and the unifying goal of encouraging land owners to consider moving away from traditional landscaping and towards using permaculture to design edible front yards. There are already a large number of homeowners in the town proper who grow more kale and other veggies than box hedges and day lilies. We hope to recruit these forward thinkers to assist with implementing similar projects in community spaces.

Upon arriving in Brattleboro I contacted some human service organizations to offer assistance in creating edible forest gardens on their property, as a service project. The ideal organization will see the value in designing their site as a space that will serve many functions: food for the clients and staff, outside meeting areas, wildlife habitat, and badly needed stormwater management that will slow the flow of water to the Whetstone and Connecticut Rivers. This week I will send out invitations to the directors of some of these organizations to explain the benefits of partnering with Edible Brattleboro. Imagine Morningside Shelter surrounded by blueberry bushes! Picture Brattleboro Housing Authority properties with community gardens which could provide healthy food for the families in residence. Permaculture can make this happen in a way that is low maintenance, manages stormwater and educates kids about food systems. Edible Brattleboro can make this happen in a manner that further binds our community together. Do you know a human service organization in Brattleboro that would benefit from partnering with us?

Our first project will allow our team to become acquainted, and to more fully understand the individual gifts we bring to the group. It will provide an an opportunity to share my knowledge of permaculture with people eager to learn about its framework and principles. Our new group is eager to get started. Would you like to play with us? We will be presenting information on Edible Brattleboro at the Climate Change Cafe meeting hosted by Post Oil Solutions Tuesday January 27th at 6 pm in the meeting room at Brooks Memorial Library. Our next team meeting is scheduled for Sunday February 1st, before the CT Rivershed Permaculture Group meeting. (Don’t worry, we’ll be done before the Super Bowl starts!) Feel free to contact me to learn more about Edible Brattleboro, everyone is welcome to participate as we grow edibles everywhere!