Upcoming events

Greetings All,
Below you will find info on upcoming permaculture and sustainability events in the near future in the central Virginia bioregion.
For more information about permaculture events, see our website: www.blueridgepermaculture.net (check out the blog as well). If you know anyone else that would like to sign up for this newsletter, or if you have an announcement, email Christine at christinegyovai@gmail.com for the next update, which are sent monthly.
Best,
Christine and the Blue Ridge Permaculture Network team

1.

The Blue Ridge Permaculture Institute is sponsoring a
Community Night with Joel Salatin of PolyFace Farms
on Building a Local Food System that Works
Saturday March 14, 7:00 pm at the Montessori Community School on Pantops Mountain in Charlottesville--305 Rolkin Rd., Charlottesville, VA
Suggested donation $15
To preregister contact Terry Lilley at tygerlilley@gmail.com
For more info and directions, see the website: www.blueridgepermaculture.net


2.
ATTENTION ALL PERMACULTURE DESIGN COURSE ALUMNI AND MEMBERS OF THE BLUE RIDGE PERMACULTURE NETWORK!!
As part of the Blue Ridge Permaculture Institute's third Permaculture Design Course we invite you to join us in welcoming the newest students to the network.
We will be gathering at the Montessori Community School on Pantops Mountain at 305 Rolkin Rd. in Charlottesville, VA, on Saturday March 28 for a potluck dinner. Contact Terry Lilley to preregister or with questions at tygerlilley@gmail.com. For more info and directions, see the website: www.blueridgepermaculture.net.


1.
Permaculture email listserve (different from this newsletter listserve)

Vicky Peterson, a grad from the first Permaculture Design Course, has set up a yahoo group for discussion of all things relating to permaculture in the Central Virginia region. From Vicky: With your help, the group will be a place to ask questions, share information and help permaculture take root in our area.
Here is a link to follow if you would like to join:

http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/BRPermaculture/

There should be a blue button that says "Join this Group!"

If you know of anyone else who might be interested in joining, please feel free to pass this info along.
Other questions? Email me.
Thanks!
Vicky Peterson
vickycp@ntelos.net


4.
Third Annual Gaia Gathering for Women with special guest Deb Soule
MAY 1st - 3rd
Join us this year as we celebrate Beltane by honoring our Earth Mother and the call of the Divine Feminine. For quite some time women have known that the ‘year of change’ is upon us. Join us as we celebrate the power of women’s community and help our world shift into the new consciousness of peace, healing and community living. We are thrilled to have Deb Soule, Maine herbalist and gardener extraordinaire as our keynote presenter (www.avenabotanicals.com)
The weekend will be about collective ceremony, song and learning skills for permaculture, gardening, medicine making, stewarding the earth and so much more. The fee includes camping at beautiful Camp Albemarle, four delicious wild and organic meals, and all class materials. There are also rustic cabins available. We will begin Friday evening and end with our traditional web ceremony after lunch on Sunday. Now more than ever is the time for us to know how deeply we are connected.
Fee for the weekend is $175.00.
For more information, see the website: www.sacredplanttraditions.com

2.
On Friday, April 17, Harvey Ussery (www.themodernhomestead.us) will give an all-day presentation at the Airlie Foundation’s conference center in Warrenton, Virginia, building on his presentation there last spring, “The Integrated Homestead.” The theme of that presentation was: integrating the diverse elements of the homestead so they support and enhance each other, creating synergistic efficiencies and more sustainable ecological patterns.
This year he will continue developing those ideas with “The Integrated Homestead: Elaborating the Theme,” illustrating the heart of our approach with more detailed discussions of particular homestead projects.
Specific topic areas will be chosen from the following:
The Joys of Cover Cropping (An introduction to the mysteries of sustainable soil fertility as well as a how-to on making cover cropping work)
Starting Garden Transplants
Seed Saving
Chickens as Shredder/Composters
Using Cultivated Fungi in the Homestead
Minimizing Insect Crop Damage Without Using Toxins
Vermicomposting Using the Boxwood System
The Multi-Functional Homestead Greenhouse
Cost for this event is $90. The registration fee includes a fabulous lunch based on local ingredients (for which the Airlie kitchen is famous); several information-dense handouts to take home as a resource, some of them new pieces written for this presentation; and a tour of Boxwood, about 20 miles northwest of Warrenton, next morning, Saturday, April 18 (9:30 until noon). Participants will be able to see up close and personal some real-life applications of the ideas presented at Airlie.
There will be a limit of 40 participants, so register early if you want to attend. For more information, check the Local Food Project page http://airlie.org/activities/foodproject.htm
on the Airlie site. Registration will be handled by Airlie: localfoodproject@airlie.org or 540-347-1300, ext 3163


6.
The Charlottesville League of Urban Chicken Keepers (CLUCK) will be hosting its first open meeting for folks who have backyard poultry, or are interested in learning about it. Come on out and meet your fellow chicken enthusiasts!

WHEN: Tuesday, March 10, 6 pm
WHERE: Jefferson-Madison Regional Library, Jefferson Conference Room (third floor)
WHAT SHOULD I BRING?: Your enthusiasm for backyard poultry, an interest in meeting other chicken-keepers, ideas for how CLUCK can be a supportive, educational, creative network!

Come on out, and bring a friend. And, though the name implies that CLUCK is exclusively for those of us who live in Charlottesville city limits, we welcome our counterparts in the county as well. For more information, email cvillecluck@gmail.com, or visit www.HensInTheHood.blogspot.com


7.

New good book: Depletion and Abundance: Life on the New Home Front by Sharon Astyk. The byline is: "One woman's solutions to finding abundance for your family while coming to terms with Peak Oil, Climate Change and Hard Times."

Also check out her blog at: www.sharonastyk.com


8.
Greet Matters Featured Workshop - March 25, 2009
Social hour with refreshments:5:00pm-6:00pm
Workshop:6:00pm-7:30pmNetworking:7:30pm-8:00pm
The Company We Keep
John Abrams is the founder and President/CEO of South Mountain Company. Come hear this remarkably dynamic speaker give his take on the built environment, and our obligations to the community and natural environment in which we live. Click title for more
Speakers:John Abrams, founder and President/CEO of South Mountain Builders
Refreshment Sponsor:The Habitat Store
http://www.greenmatters.info/


9.
Montfair is a great space to hold meetings, retreats, and other events. They have eco- friendly vacation cottages and quiet country retreat overlook lake
in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, 15 miles NW of Charlottesville,
40 minutes from Jefferson's Monticello. 129 acres of Hiking trails,
Mountain Bikes, Canoe, Fishing. Rustic lodge for weddings, retreats and
reunions.

For more info:

www.montfairresortfarm.com
2500 Bezaleel Drive
Crozet, Virginia 22932
montfair@ntelos.net


10.
Info below on a potential cob workshop:
Hey folks,
Dave and I have been interested in cob building and other forms of natural building for quite a while. We are hoping to have a home very soon and have plans for a cob addition and other cob projects. We wanted to send this out to all of you who might be interested in exploring cob building. I am hoping that you can pass it along to anyone you may know who might be interested as well. We hope to have Betty and Tach (cob teachers from the west coast) come and do a workshop here in Charlottesville. Let us know if you are interested in that as well and we will organize one. If you are interested in helping organize a Cob workshop let us know and we can plan to get together and work out some details.
Have a beautiful winter day,
Estela Knott

Blue Ridge Music Together
807 Elliott Ave.
Charlottesville, VA 22902
434.293.6361
www.blueridgemusictogether.com


11.“Visions for a Sustainable and Just Community”Sponsored by the Sierra Club, ASAP, and CCPJ. 1:30-4:30 PM, Saturday 14 March, McIntire Room, Jefferson-Madison Regional Library The aim of this forum is to foster a public discussion of the requirements for a sustainable and just community. What kind of community do we want 50 years from now and how do we go about making this a reality. Speakers include: James King - "Long Range Visioning"Jack Marshall - "Capping Population Growth"Dawn Story - "Envisioning our Food Future"Al Weed - "Live Without Clean Energy"Dave Shreve - "Population, Inequality, and a Steady State Economy"Rev. Ralph Brown - "Equity as it Relates to Food"Peter Kleeman - "A Sustainable Transportation Future"Tom Olivier - "Ecosystems and their Services" Contact: Tom Olivier (tolivier@starband.net, tel. 434-831-2408)

Depeletion and Abundance

Hey all,

You've gotta check out the book Depletion and Abundance: Life on the New Home Front by Sharon Astyk. It is the book I've been waiting for the last few years. The byline is: "One woman's solutions to finding abundance for your family while coming to terms with Peak Oil, Climate Change and Hard Times." I just got it from the Permaculture Activist.

Also check out her blog at: www.sharonastyk.com

Let me know what you think -
Christine