Tag: permaculture

@SolarPuertoRico, Community Building, Energy, First Circle Coaching, Green Collar Economy, Infrastructure, Local Economy, Pathways to Thriving, Permaculture, Systems Thinking

@SolarPuertoRico: No Limitations Beyond Design Considerations

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BAREIDanoskiInstall (33)There are no limitations in designing any project, property, or life plan beyond the design considerations. This is the case in Puerto Rico.

Many people have voiced support for @SolarPuertoRico. Each has brought up the difficulties presented by the project. These are all design considerations which will advise how we proceed.

“Wait… What about a budget?? Surely that’s a limitation!”

The budget is a design consideration. It’s part of the existing conditions, present at the start of strategic planning.

“How will we get the solar panels, wiring, infrastructure there?”

This is also an existing condition. The solar company @Sunnova_Solar led by @SunnovaCEO John Berger has projects in Puerto Rico. He has met with Puerto Rico’s governor @RicardoRossello. I hope to hear back from them soon. Perhaps you know someone who works there?

“What about labor? How will you find people with the right experience to train locals in force? People can’t volunteer that kind of time!”

BAREIMichaudPathfinder (1)I agree, it’s not fair to ask people to volunteer their time and expertise to work on @SolarPuertoRico. Those who participate will experience opportunity cost by spending time away from their loved ones, and living conditions in Puerto Rico will be challenging. My plan is that people will get paid for their work. (Though I’m hoping people will contact me to volunteer if they want to help develop the project. It will make this much more fun!)

Would you like to be involved? Do you have a contact in Puerto Rico? If so, please get in touch! ¡Vamos a Hacerlo! Let’s do it!

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PAREI, BAREI & Berlin BetterBuildings Energy Raiser, Berlin NH 2013

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

July 15 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Stormwater Analysis of Crowell Park

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Session 8 of the Turning Point Gratitude Project permaculture course will be a field trip to Crowell Lot in Brattleboro. This session will be free and open to the public.

crowellLot

This heavily wooded park is very popular with neighbors. It borders on the Green Street School and has a playground. It has also been know to be camp for squatters. It was initially chosen as the site for the town skate board park, which will now be built in Memorial Park.

This park is located at the corner of Western Avenue and Union Street. It is owned by the school district, and slops towards the Whetstone Brook and Connecticut River. The “Whetstone Brook flows west to east from the hills of Marlboro across Brattleboro before emptying into the Connecticut River in downtown Brattleboro (Whetstone). The brook’s headwaters originate at over 1,500 feet above sea level at Hidden Lake. The brook cascades down from steep hills and follows Vermont Rte. 9 to the Connecticut River flatlands. The brook empties into the Connecticut River at 250 feet above sea level, dropping over 1,250 feet in just seven miles of stream length (Whetstone). Approximately 69% of the watershed resides in Brattleboro with 29% of the land in Marlboro and 2% of the land within Dummerston (Whetstone, 2008). The watershed contains nearly 20 miles of streams and a mix of rural, residential and urban land.” (Watershed description taken from a Vermont Environmental Conservation publication.)

During this session participants will analyze water flow, including how the site is being affected or affects its neighboring properties. The participants have learned a lot about water flow, how water and land interact, and how to retain this valuable resource on site for use in creating an edible landscape aligned with the existing ecosystem. They’ve learned the value of stacking functions, using and enhancing existing patterns, how forest layers interact, and how to use the permaculture principles and ethics to guide their designs.

Join us for what will be an interesting and informative session. This will be the final session before the students focus on the Turning Point edible forest garden design. If you have questions about the Turning Point Gratitude Project, the stormwater analysis of Crowell Lot, or want to talk about using ecological design to manage stormwater on your site, please contact me!

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

TPGP Makes the Airwaves with Green Mountain Mornings

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Many thanks to Chris Lenois of WKVT Radio’s Green Mountain Mornings. Chris invited us in to speak about the Turning Point Gratitude Project. Chris asked many really insightful questions about the benefits to the Turning Point of Windham County community. Take a listen!

TPGPPC

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

Turning Point Gratitude Project Recieves 2015 Seed Grant from NEGEF!

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We are deeply grateful to the New England Grassroots Environmental Fund for awarding the Turning Point Gratitude Project one of their 2015 Seed Grants. Wrote Ally Philip, Program Coordinator, during a recent correspondence, “We are happy to support such an innovative project that touches upon several of NEGEF’s issue areas.” We are quite happy too, Ally! The funds will go to defray some of the costs incurred in setting up the program, purchasing materials for the classes and implementation of the design.

Thank you so much NEGEF! Want to donate to our project? Contact Turning Point of Windham County Executive Director Susan Walker at TPWC.1 (at) hotmail.com. Your gift is tax-deductible! We will also need materials and manpower to implement the design once it’s complete. You’ll be in great company!

Here is the course outline: TPGPCourseOutlineRev. The registration fee for the full PDC is $500, (which is one third to one quarter of the usual cost for certification). If you would like to enroll in the Permaculture Design Certification course please use this form: TPGPCourseReg.

To enroll in individual courses, download this registration form: TPGPINDCourseReg. Those who have EBT cards may enroll in individual courses at no cost! If you have questions, please contact Cimbria CimbriaGratitudeProject (at) gmail.com. We look forward to having you play with us in the garden!

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

Turning Point Gratitude Project Course Outline & Registration Forms

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We are less than a week away from the first session of the Turning Point Gratitude Project Ecological Design Course. The first session begins at 8 a.m. on Tuesday June 2nd and runs until 1 p.m. Here is what will be covered next Tuesday:

Session 1 ~ Introduction to Permanent Agriculture and Ecological Design Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Cost: 5 BTT Hours or $35 (Free with EBT Card)

Certification Course Registration Form: TPGPCourseReg
Individual Course Registration Form: TPGPCourseBTTEBTReg
To view the Course Schedule: TPGPCourseOutline

In this session you will learn the origins of Permaculture and how it is meant to provide a means to ecological justice for all beings. The earth and other living beings demonste what works best, what they need to thrive, and how to live in an integrated landscape. Permaculture is a way of life, not a different way of gardening. What are your hopes for the session?

Knowledge covered
Principles: Observe & Interact, Catch & Store Energy, Obtain a Yield, Self-Regulate/Accept Feedback,  Use & Value Renewables, Produce No Waste, Design from Patterns to Detail, Integrate, Slow, Small Solutions, Use & Value Diversity, Value the Marginal

Ethics: Care for the Earth – Environmental goal, Care for People – Social goals, Fair Share – Embrace justice for all beings

Learning Objectives
The origins and goals of the Turning Point Gratitude Project will be explained. You will meet the Executive Director, Susan Walker of Turning Point of Windham County, and some of the Board Members and Volunteers who will be working with us throughout the project.

How can we slow the damage being done to our planet, and even begin to restore ecosystem services? How much you learn and what your takeaway from the class will be up to you. The best question is the one that is asked. We will begin to develop relationship, and plot our session.

Skills covered:

  • We will begin building a cooperative and non-threatening environment in which to learn.
  • An understanding of the Principles and Ethics, and why they are the bedrock of our practice
  • Principles of Ecology: An understanding of how climate change is affecting us in our daily lives, in our home environment (land practices contributing to Stormwater runoff).
  • We will review the cycles of Earth and the food chain. What are limiting factors?
  • We will begin to understand how time, diversity and stability are related.
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!