Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Upcoming Events - August


Greetings all,

Below is an amazing collection of upcoming permaculture and sustainability events in the central Virginia bioregion, including information on a FORAGE walk in Charlottesville tonight. If you know anyone else that would like to sign up for this newsletter, they can sign up here.  If you have an announcement, email us at blueridgepermaculture@gmail.com for the next monthly e-newsletter. Click here to view this email as a webpage.  Happy Summer!
We are looking for a few volunteers for the Blue Ridge Permaculture Network table at the Heritage Harvest Festival at Monticello on Saturday, September 7th.  Please email us by August 20th if you can join us for this wonderful community event. 

Best,
Christine and the BRPN team
www.blueridgepermaculture.net  


1.
TONIGHT - Wednesday 8/7 MapLab: Riverview Park Forage Walk
6-8pm at Riverview Park in the Woolen Mills neighborhood in Charlottesville.

Stroll through the park and scout for urban edibles like blackberries and pawpaws. Bring a foraging guidebook if you have one. We will try out the “Find Fruit” forage mapping app to record what we find so that other urban foragers can enjoy the bounty. This event is a collaboration with C’ville Foodscapes, BRPN, and Transition Cville.


2.
Join the Blue Ridge Permaculture Network for a workshop on Sept. 6th or our table on Sept. 7th at the Heritage Harvest Festival at Monticello September 6-7

Creating Abundance with Permaculture
with Christine Gyovai of Blue Ridge Permaculture
Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. • Classroom 6, Visitor Center
Learn how to build sustainable gardens in your home and community through the use of permaculture, a system of ecological design based on natural patterns. $10

3.
Living Earth School – Fall Youth Programs
We are offering a homeschool nature studies program this fall for ages 7+, located in Charlottesville (behind the Belevedere neighborhood, on over 100 acres of land along the Rivanna River). Our programs use a unique mentoring style that connects youth with nature, each other and themselves.  Participants will learn so much about nature through exploring the forest directly and making deep nature connections in a fun and nurturing way. 8 Wednesdays in the Fall from Sept. 25 - Nov 13, 9:30AM - 3:30PM;  Weather pending, we will have an overnight on the last session.
Plus - Red Arrow Boys and Woodland Girls seasonal programs for ages 8-15 to explore nature awareness, survival skills, wild edible plants, responsibility and respect, self-expression and deep nature connection. Saturdays - 9/21, 10/6, 11/16 (overnight), 12/14 ($180)
More info:  info@livingearthva.com, 540-456-7339


4.
Nature’s Friends Presents:
“Learning from the Most Sustainable Place in the World!”
with Cuban Permaculturist/Environmental Educator Roberto Perez
Friday, August 16, 2013  

Policy Forum - Video Conference   Noon -1:00     
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
1779 Massachusetts Ave.   Washington DC
Community Reception  6:00-8:00 pm
Plymouth Congregational UCC Church
5301 N. Capitol St. NE.   Washington DC

Suggested Donation  $10- $25
A benefit for scholarships at the Eleventh International Permaculture Convergence

TO REGISTER FOR FORUM Contact:    Matthew    202-939-4000      mjtobin@wm.edu
FOR MORE INFO Contact:    Rev.M. Dele (804) 389-5150  wearenaturesfriends@gmail.com

Nature’s Friends hosts Roberto Perez, featured in the award winning documentary, “The Power of Community, How Cuba Survived Peak Oil.” Perez is on a national speaking tour promoting the 11th International Permaculture Conference to be held in Cuba in November. The DC office of the College of William&Mary is hosting a policy forum at noon and Plymouth Church is hosting a community reception in the evening. RSVP is needed for the forum. Co-sponsors include College of William and Mary, Groundwork Anacostia River, DC., and Black Belt Justice Center.

For more information: contact Dele at (804) 389-5150, wearenaturesfriends@gmail.com. www.naturesfriends.ning.com
Background  Info
The Power of Community, How Cuba Survived Peak Oil Documentary http://vimeo.com/8653921
Short Video of Roberto Perez Explaining the Special Period in Cuba
The Eleventh International Permaculture Conference & Convergence
  www.ipc11cuba.com (in English & Spanish)
Antonio Núñez Jiménez Foundation for Nature and Humanity is the oldest environmental organization in Cuba.www.fanj.org
Eco Cuba Network has been asked by the 11th International Permaculture Convergence, International Support Group (IPC 11) to provide support to US citizens to participate in the International Permaculture Convergence in Havana, Cuba, November 24 ­ December 6, 2013.


5.
Great events from our friends at Transition Cville

Thursday 8/8 Green Drinks
6pm at Champion Brewery, 324 6th St. SE, Charlottesville
Green Drinks is a monthly social event for the local environmental community. Come by for some great conversation.

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Thursday 8/8 2013 Farm Food Voices
3pm-9pm, Monticello High School, Charlottesville, $25 donation welcome
This VICFA event will bring farmers, consumers, and vendors together to better understand the local food movement.  Featuring guest speakers Joel Salatin, Ivana Kadija, and Lisa Reeder as well as booths and door prizes. Families and guests may bring a dish to share.

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Saturday 8/10 Edible Food Fest
10am-6pm in Downtown Orange, adjacent to the Route 15 Bypass
Edible Fest celebrates food “from earth to table.” Chef demonstrations, guest speakers, live music, kids’ activities, tons of local food & drinks, and a Marketplace featuring some of the region’s most acclaimed farms, restaurants, purveyors, gardeners, sustainable living experts and more.

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Monday 8/12 Skill Share: Intro to Home Canning
7-8:30pm, Special Location! In the kitchen at The Haven, 112 West Market St. Charlottesville.
Melissa Wender will walk us through the basics of home canning, from selecting & preparing your produce, to setting up and handling your equipment, to the finished product. Total beginners will leave with newfound confidence, and those with some canning experience will pick up new tips & tricks. This is a FREE workshop, and all materials will be provided.

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Tuesday 8/13 Women’s Bike Night Group Ride + MapLab Activity
From Community Bikes: We will take an easy paced cruise through several city neighborhoods, ending the ride at The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative for food and talking about the way we navigate our city with all of our senses- and especially by bicycle. Ride will embrace all skill levels. All ladies in our community welcome to join along. Come with a working bike and a helmet. (let us know with some notice if you need any help acquiring) Any questions? Call or email Shell at 434.882.1516 or shellbellding@gmail.com

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Tuesday 8/13 Edible Landscaping Volunteer Work Day
9am-3pm, 361 Spirit Ridge Lane, Afton
Have fun working at the nursery and receive a credit of $10/hour. Type of labor to be determined. You will need to bring pruners and don't forget your gardening gloves and to dress for the weather. YOU MUST PRE-REGISTER as space is limited. Call (434)361-9134 or email info@ediblelandscaping.com.

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Wednesday 8/14 Summer Garden Workday at the Buford Schoolyard Garden
9am-12pm, Buford School
Join the Buford Garden Crew to tackle weeding, watering, and regular garden maintenance.To RSVP, or to learn more, please contact Emily Axelbaum at emily@cityschoolyardgarden.org.

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Thursday 8/15 Workshop:  Integrated Pest Management
4pm-7pm, Maple Hill Farm, Scottsville, $20
Potato beetles got you down? Aphids having a field day with your heirloom tomatoes? Don’t let those bugs get the best of you! Instead, join The Local Food Hub for their most popular workshop: Integrated Pest Management (IPM).  Research Entomologist and Lead Scientist for the USDA Don Weber will lead this class focused on tackling pests and diseases in your vegetable garden.  More info. at: http://localfoodhub.org/our-programs/workshops/

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August Workdays at Casa Alma, the Charlottesville Catholic Worker
From Casa Alma: We're working hard to finish the addition on our community house and keep up with the gardens.  If you have time to help us with these efforts, we'd love to see you here on any of the following days:
Community house addition: Th. 8/15, Th. 8/22, Sat. 8/24, Th. 8/29 and Sat. 8/31.   We'll begin work at 8:30am and end at 3:30pm.  You are welcome to come for any amount of time.  Please RSVP so we can plan accordingly for lunch.  We'll be working on drywall, sanding, painting, flooring, tiling, trim, and finish details.
Gardening/landscaping: Get your hands dirty with us from 7:30am-9:30am on the following mornings: Wed. 8/14 and Fri. 8/16.  No RSVP needed - just come on by and wander into the backyard if you don't see us in the front.
Thanks so much for your help!  We hope you and your loved ones are doing well and enjoying the summer. peace, Laura and Steve and the Casa Alma community

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Tuesday 8/20 350 Central Virginia Meeting
6:30-8:30pm at Charlottesville Friends Meetinghouse, 1104 Forest St.
350 CVA, the first officially recognized Virginia chapter of international 350.org, meets on the third Tuesday of each month. At least one hour of the monthly meeting is set aside for activist program work.  Everyone is welcome, from high school students up to adult seniors.  Light refreshments are provided. We seek to grow in numbers and effectiveness, specifically effectiveness for changing our future to one that is safe from the looming, catastrophic amount of climate change that science predicts, unless we quickly and greatly reduce or replace our use of coal, oil and gas for energy.

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Tuesday 8/20 Cville TimeBank Orientation
5 or 6pm at Northside Library (choose from either one hour session)
With enrollment at 125 members, Cville TimeBank members have already been part of hundreds of transactions — everything from dog-sitting to yoga lessons, portrait sitting to conversational Spanish — just think how awesome it will be when the membership grows!

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Wednesday 8/21 Seminar:  The Big Picture of a Small Farm
6:30-7:30pm at Rebecca’s Natural Foods, 1141 Emmet St.
As part of the Restoring Local Food Systems summer seminar series, this installment will focus on Free Union Grass Farm,  a small-scale, sustainable, diversified livestock operation.  Visit Rebecca’s on Facebook or stop by the store for more information.

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Thursday 8/22 Our Town Charlottesville Community Meeting: North Downtown
6-8pm at City Space
"Our Town Charlottesville" brings town hall style meetings to every City neighborhood throughout the year so that residents may discuss emerging issues and voice concerns and preferences about their respective communities. Each meeting is attended by citizens, City Council and many other City officials, giving everyone a chance to talk personally in a relaxed, informal environment about the things which matter to them most.

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LEF seed saving workshops 8/24 & 9/21
Living Energy Farm will teaming up with Southern Exposure Seed Exchange to host two workshops on seed saving. The first will take place on August 24th and will concentrate on saving seed from tomatoes, peppers, squash, and melons. The second will take place September 21st and focus more on dry processed seed such as corn and okra. Both will be comprehensive overviews of the political and practical reasons to save your own seed; growing vegetables for seed; and processing, cleaning, and storing your seed.
All of our workshops take place on Saturday afternoons from 1-5pm following a work day from 9am-noon. A potluck lunch will be served at noon, please bring food to share. We ask for a $25 donation in exchange for attending our workshops, although donations of labor, tools or other goods are also gladly accepted. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
For more information contact livingenergyfarm@gmail.com or (434) 409-6006.

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Sunday 8/25 Get involved! Planning meeting for 2014 Earth Day at McGuffey
2pm at McGuffey Art Center Studio #21, 201 2nd St. NW
Artist Kate Samworth is planning a show at McGuffey for April 2014 that combines art and environmental concerns. She would like to hold various events at McGuffey throughout the month of April. Anyone who’s interested in participating is invited to meet for brainstorming and planning at Kate’s studio. Contact Kate at samworthkate@gmail.com

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Monday 8/26 Transition Town Potluck
7pm in the Madison Room at Central Library
An opportunity to informally share a meal and share how your individual and group Transition projects are coming along.   

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Monday 9/2 New Economics Symposium
9am-5pm at Twin Oaks Community
Local currencies, barter networks, Time Banks, co-operative businesses: the New Economy has been around for a long time.  With peak oil, climate change, and casino capitalism looming large, more and more people are seeking and creating a system based on cooperation and sustainability, people before profits, social justice and equality.

Join presenters Lyle Estill, Carol Peppe Hewitt, Solidarity Piedmont, the Baltimore Free Farm, Casa Alma and others for the Monday program of the Communities Conference at Twin Oaks Community. It will be a dynamic and high powered day exploring the big picture of new economics, stories from the front lines, and topics such as financing and development, mapping and networking, and neighborhood integration. Register here, either for the whole weekend or just for the New Economics Monday program ($40).

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9/2 “Meet Yer Eats” Farm Tour
10am-4pm, $15 car pass
Make plans to visit some of the amazing small farms in Central Virginia on Market Central’s 5th annual Meet Yer Eats Farm Tour!  19 farms are lined up this year — some returning hosts, and some new ones in the mix – and all are looking forward to showing off their farms in 2013.  These producers call the City Market home on Saturday mornings, but on Labor Day, you’re invited to their place.  http://meetyereats.wordpress.com/ for more information.

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Worker-owner position with C’ville Foodscapes
C’ville Foodscapes is currently looking for a new candidate worker-owner to join their crew of edible landscape designers. C’ville Foodscapes is a worker-owned edible landscaping cooperative that transforms lawns into beautiful, abundant, low-maintenance, edible oases in and around Charlottesville, VA. Essential qualifications include a commitment to ecological design; understanding of perennial edible plants; and experience designing, installing and maintaining landscapes.


6.
New Branch Farm is looking for farm help 2 mornings a week from August to November.  Days needed are Monday and Wednesday mornings from 8am to 11am.
Work would be assisting with planting and weeding on Monday and harvesting and packing CSA bags on Wednesday.  Our fall CSA starts September 11th and goes for 10 weeks.  Pay is $8 an hour.  

New Branch Farm is a small farm growing vegetables naturally since 2005.   For more information about the farm please visit our website:  www.newbranchfarm.com

If you are interested in learning more about the position, please email me at newbranchfarm@gmail.com


7.
Market Central - Upcoming Cooking Classes

 In a Pickle
Saturday, August 24 | Time: 1pm – 3pm | Location: The Haven
$35 online | $40 at the door
Learn the basics of pickle making in this hands-on class taught by Becky Calvert.  In this class, you’ll learn how adding vinegar and spices to fresh produce transforms it into an entirely different flavor experience.  We’ll also cover the basic techniques of hot water bath canning and you’ll head home with jars for your pantry.
About the instructor: Becky Calvert has been growing tomatoes as long as she can remember.   At one point she set a goal of never eating a tomato she didn’t grow, which led to her learning to can.  Since that day, she has also learned to make jams & jellies and her family’s favorite, pickles.  After teaching just about everyone she knows how to can, she branched out to classes full of strangers.  When not gardening and pickling, she can be found writing about her adventures in life on her blog atchickenwirepaperflowers.com.

The Art of Fermentation
Thursday, October 24 | Time: 7pm – 8:30pm | Location: TBD
$30 online | $35 at the door
Discover the art of making fermented foods like sauerkraut and kimchi. Dawn Story of Farmstead Ferments will show us how to make these delicious super foods and will discuss why doing so is a powerful health choice as well as being an excellent food preservation strategy.
About the instructor: Dawn Story is an aspiring homesteader, earth steward, permaculture enthusiast, plant lover and fermentation fanatic. She is the creator of Farmstead Ferments artisanal fermented foods and New Moon Naturals herbal teas and elixirs. She is inspired to share her passions of making and preserving food and medicine with community, preserving the past as a bridge to the future. 



8.
West Virginia Food & Farm Coalition seeks Executive Director

The West Virginia Food and Farm Coalition seeks a dynamic, entrepreneurial, committed leader to help build and support West Virginia's rapidly growing local food system.  Since 2010, the Coalition (www.wvhub.org/wvffc) has supported a statewide network of West Virginians working to grow food and farm businesses while improving access to healthy local food.  The position of Executive Director requires a special individual who is willing to work hard, think outside the box, be an advocate for farmers and consumers, and build partnerships outside of traditional "silos" in order to continue the Coalition's success in promoting food and agriculture as a critical part of West Virginia's economy. 

Download the full job description here  or see it here on our web site.


9.
Future Harvest CASA Partner Announcement
Home Scale Permaculture Design Course Offered by Heathcote Community - Starting Sept. 14-15

Permaculture, a term originated by Australian ecologists, Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, means permanent culture.  Using both ancient and modern knowledge, this methodology mimics universal patterns found in nature to create healthy human habitats.  Guided by ethical behavior, Permaculture is a system of designing ecologically inspired landscapes that integrate home food production, energy, shelter and water.  Participants will learn:
 
       A step-by-step design process that taps your creative genius
       Observation and site analysis to identify resource opportunities
       Bioregional ecosystems, diversity and natural patterns
       How to protect local watersheds and restore wildlife habitat
       Water harvesting and management in the landscape; detoxification with rain gardens 
       Nutrient recycling with grey water and composting toilets
       Identification of microclimates and zone planning for efficiency
       Renewable energy systems and small-scale appropriate technology
       Natural building and passive-solar home retrofitting
       Fruit growing with forest gardens and plant guild design
       Intensive no-till food gardening, soil regeneration and composting
       How to cultivate forests, grains and cash crops
       Integration of domestic animals and aquaculture
       Social/economic strategies for urban/community scale food, energy and water security

Instructor: As a Permaculture designer, architect, and life-long organic gardener, Patty Ceglia is passionate about finding the ecological balance for productive potential of every site.  She teaches at Wilson College, where her students practice hands-on strategies at the 160 acre Center for Sustainable Living.

Co-sponsored by:  SCHOOL OF LIVING, HEATHCOTE COMMUNITY and the GUNPOWDER VALLEY CONSERVANCY.

Course location: Cromwell Valley Park, 2002 Cromwell Bridge Rd, Towson, MD (Baltimore County)

Six Weekends
Fall 2013 & Spring 2014
Sept. 14-15; Oct. 19-20; Nov. 16-17
Mar. 8-9; Apr. 5-6; May 3-4

Sliding scale fee:
Early bird $900 - $1,100, After August 15: $1,000 - $1,200
Group discount:  $50 per person if working on the same project

For more information:
Call: 410-357-9523