Upcoming events

Greetings all,
 Below is an quick update of upcoming events in the central Virginia bioregion, including a talk at 2 pm this afternoon in Afton!  Folks can sign up for the BRPN e-newsletter here.  Send us announcements to: blueridgepermaculture@gmail.com, or click here to view this email as a webpage. And check out the BRPN on Facebook here.

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

1.

From our friends at Living Earth School and Farfield Farm – this afternoon

Sunday 5/6 Book Signing:  "Dawn Again:  Tracking the Wisdom of the Wild"

2-4:30pm at Farfields Farm, Afton

Ever wonder how wilderness knowledge and permaculture can inform our farming practices?  Doniga Markegard, tracker, wilderness expert, rancher, permaculturist, has lived that intersection and tells about it in her fascinating book "Dawn Again: Tracking the Wisdom of the Wild".  With chapters on food, permaculture, and more, Dawn Again dives into Doniga’s real-life experiences while equipping readers with practical knowledge.   Register at  www.facebook.com/events/2101406830088995/.  $10.

From our friends at Transition Cville

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Tuesday 5/8 Cville TimeBank Orientation

6pm at City Hall, 2nd Floor Conference Room

Everyone has something to give, and the TimeBank is a way to trade services and build community at the same time.  Potential members set up a profile on the member portal, and attend an orientation prior to having their Timebank account authorized.  Once your account is authorized, you can begin browsing current offers and requests – and post your own!  Additional session offered on 5/16, 2pm at The Senior Center.   cvilletimebank.com/membership-information/

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Wednesday 5/9 John Dear:  "They Will Inherit the Earth:  Peace & Nonviolence in a Time of Climate Change"

7pm at the Church of the Incarnation, 1465 Incarnation Dr.

Enjoy an evening reading, reflection and book-signing with longtime activist, priest, author and Nobel peace prize nominee John Dear about his new book, "They Will Inherit the Earth", a landmark work which connects the way of active nonviolence with solidarity with creation; shows how the global epidemic of violence and war could only lead to catastrophic climate change; and why we need to help build up the global grassroots movement of nonviolence if we are to protect creation.  For more information contact Michael Reilly, michael.reilly19@gmail.com.

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Friday 5/11 Spring Poultry Seminar

2-7pm at Central High School, Goochland

Featured speakers will talk on the topics of poultry health, predators, and humane practices.  Pre-registration is required by May 8th.   Dinner provided.  $25.  Register at  docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdg3ehvAD6e2RKC973HgMOoE1JU96a3USauFvMzn5OKvjiE_A/viewform.

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Saturday 5/12 Bulk Waste Collection:  Appliances

8:30am-4pm at RSWA, Ivy

Rivanna Solid Waste Authority (RSWA) will host its Spring special collection dates for household waste and bulky waste amnesty days for Charlottesville, Scottsville, and Albemarle County residents.  Appliances will be accepted on May 12, and tires on May 19.  www.rivanna.org/

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Saturday 5/12 Tree Walk

9-10:30am at Riverview Park

The Rivanna Trail is bordered by a wealth of trees.  The Charlottesville Area Tree Stewards will walk the paved, riverside half of the trail, which is half a mile long, considering many interesting riverine species.  Free, registration required.  charlottesvilleareatreestewards.org/learn-about-trees/take-a-tree-steward-class/

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Saturday 5/12 Water Quality Monitoring Training Program

10am-4pm at Union Grove Baptist Church, Buckingham

Wondering what you can do to help protect your water from the Atlantic Coast Pipeline?  Sign up today to monitor water quality!  You will learn how to collect crucial data to protect the streams in your area.  Attendees will develop the skills necessary to collect and report important water quality data before, during, and after pipeline construction. Collecting this data is critical to detecting permit violations and holding pipeline developers accountable.  Due to a limited number of water testing kits and other resources, volunteers need to commit to testing water at least once a month throughout the pipeline construction process.  Sign up at  appvoices.org/fracking/water-monitor-training-acp/.

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Saturday 5/12 Festival of Cultures

10am-4pm at Washington Park

Come and celebrate the cultural and linguistic diversity of our local community. The Festival of Cultures will be a day of free family-friendly fun with all-day entertainment: music, dance, song, and storytelling.  Enjoy hands-on cultural crafts activities, visit cultural exhibits, food, and artisan vendors. The Festival is a gathering place whose mission is to create a space where all can meet, share in, and learn about each others' cultures.  Here you can take a passport and "travel the world in a day".   www.festivalofcultures.org/

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Saturday 5/12 Survival Skills Workshop

2-4pm at Mint Springs Park, Crozet

Learn everything that you'd need to survive in an emergency situation, including how to find shelter, build a fire, find food and water, and put together a survival pack to keep on hand.  Then try your hand at starting a friction fire.  Class by Master Naturalist Steve Pullinger.  Meet at the shelter at Mint Springs Park.  Free but registration required.  jmrl.org/br-crozet.htm#/?i=1

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Monday 5/14 Wild Virginia Book Club:  "Braiding Sweetgrass"

7pm, location TBD

Wild Virginia will be discussing "Braiding Sweetgrass" by Robin Wall Kimmerer. In the preface to her book Kimmerer writes that she offers "a braid of stories meant to heal our relationship with the world."  This braid is woven from three strands: indigenous ways of knowing, scientific knowledge, and the story of an Anishnabekwe scientist trying to bring them together in service to what matters most.  Register at www.eventbrite.com/e/may-book-club-tickets-44742803931?ref=ecal&eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=ef2db416-aefb-45b5-a49f-323b0ab0b0c9

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Tuesday 5/15 Invasive Plant Identification and Treatment Methods

6:30-8:30pm at Albemarle High School

Non-native invasive plants are quickly overwhelming many properties by tearing down the forest canopy and overtaking our native plants at the tree, shrub and/or groundcover levels.  These plants are also overwhelming the ability of many landowners to understand what invasive plants exist on their land and what it will take to control them.  This session will cover how to identify and treat some of the most common and destructive invasive plants in this area, pros and cons of different methods to remove invasive plants, and what methods can be used in late fall and over the winter.  $20.  Register at www.digitalsignup.com/ClassDetail.aspx?code=MaOivjgEVzXxJXCucAZnquxbHAivZBqLKlxpthLpCLVjPkzKPWMxYL11kAPl6QD4&SoftwareID=%2bev50Ymj5avTv1JYXVtHRQ%3d%3d.

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Friday 5/18 - Monday 5/21 Living Energy Farm Immersive Weekend

Friday evening to Monday morning at Living Energy Farm, 1022 Bibb Store Rd., Louisa

This third immersive will be focused on energy self sufficiency and building DC microgrids like they have at LEF.  LEF's integrated village economy uses high-voltage DC daylight drive motors.  The lighting system uses very durable nickel-iron batteries.  You will learn the basics of electricity, and  how to wire solar electric panels, both high voltage and low voltage systems. You will learn how to put together battery banks, as well as understand how nickel-iron batteries work, and how to make them last for decades.  You will work on these projects with your own hands, so you will know how to do it yourself.  Partake in a weekend of homegrown, tasty food, and an engaging social environment.  $150, work trade options available.  Contact Brie at 443-417-7328, or briennagerard@gmail.com.  For a more detailed schedule of events, visit  livingenergyfarm.org/workshops/2018/May18.pdf.

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Tuesday 5/22 Solarize Info in Charlottesville

6:30-8:30pm at Three Notch'd Brewery

Join the Piedmont Environmental Council for an information session to learn more about local and renewable, solar power! Chat with Solarize Piedmont installers, as well as local residents who have gone solar.  Hear about the options, permitting, financing, net metering, the cost, the savings, etc. There will be a short presentation between 7:00-7:30pm.  Free.   www.pecva.org/events/855-solarize-info-session-at-old-bust-head-brewing-company-1

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Wednesday 5/23 Economics for Spaceship Earth Book Club Meeting

7pm at Shenandoah Joe's, 2214 Ivy Rd.

ASAP will discuss chapters three through five of "Toward a Steady-state Economy", edited by Herman Daly.  These chapters were written by Paul Ehrlich and John Holdren, Leon Kass and Kenneth Boulding.  Used copies are readily available online.   For more information contact Wren Olivier at wren.olivier@gmail.com.

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Wednesdays 5/30 - 7/18 Conscious Sustainability

5:30-6:45pm at Common Ground Healing Arts, 233 4th St. NW

Learn how to work toward your sustainability goals by using mind-body practices. This is a course for all levels. You are welcome if you’re a beginner, a weathered eco-warrior, or somewhere in between. You are welcome whether or not you have an existing mind-body practice. Sign up at clients.mindbodyonline.com/ASP/main_enroll.asp?studioid=32584&tg=&vt=&lvl=&stype=-8&view=day&trn=100000153&page=&catid=&prodid=&date=05%2f30%2f18&classid=0&prodGroupId=&sSU=&optForwardingLink=&qParam=&justloggedin=&nLgIn=&pMode=0&loc=1.

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Saturday 6/2 Clean the Bay Day

9am-noon at three locations

You are invited to help save the Chesapeake Bay by picking up shoreline, waterway, and watershed litter during the 30th Annual Clean the Bay Day.  Join thousands of fellow Virginians in removing unhealthy debris from cherished waterways throughout the Commonwealth.  Every year since 1989, thousands of volunteers of all ages have dedicated their time to clear debris from Virginia’s urban, suburban, and rural trails, shorelines and waterways.  There are three cleanup locations this year for the Charlottesville area:   Meadow Creek, Riverview Park and Pollock's branch at Elliot Ave.   Register at  www.cbf.org/events/clean-the-bay-day/clean-the-bay-day-locations.html.  

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Sunday 6/3 Zero Garbage Challenge Presentation

1-2:30pm at the EcoVillage, 480 E. Rio Rd.

Join Rose to hear her Zero Garbage story and share the tips she's learned through the years, including: transitioning to non-disposable products, changing purchasing habits, composting and recycling more effectively, and involving the whole family.  The presentation will include a question & answer session.  Bring your “garbage challenges” for  discussion, and/or stay afterwards for those who wish to delve further into reducing their own garbage stream.  zerogarbagechallenge.info/

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2018 Solarize Piedmont 4/2 -5/31

During the spring of 2018, residents and businesses within PEC's 9-county service area can take advantage of Solarize Piedmont --a cooperative program with the Piedmont Environmental Council, LEAP,  and others to bring solar power to more people in the Commonwealth.  Find out more at  www.pecva.org/our-mission/energy-solutions/solarize-pec.