Greetings all, Happy summer all. Lots of good stuff taking place in the region. Folks can sign up for the BRPN e-newsletter here, and view this email as a webpage. Send us announcements here, and post questions, ideas or resources on the BRPN on Facebook here. Sending all of you rest, regeneration and community.
Christine and Terry
Blue Ridge Permaculture Network
www.blueridgepermaculture.net
1.
Farfields Farm Upcoming Classes
Sunday, July 10 from 1-3:30 -- Wildcrafting Art Supplies with Elise Lauterbach
Craft your own wild ink, pigments, pens and brushes from bamboo, walnut hulls, feathers, flowers and more. Join us in learning to craft basic art supplies with objects found in nature. Elise Lauterbach begins this workshop with a walk to gather supplies on the land, so please dress accordingly. After the walk, we'll use what we've gathered (along with instructor-provided supplies) to craft wild ink, pigments, pens, and brushes. Then we'll use our supplies to create art interpreting the landscape. Participants will take home a variety of supplies they've crafted themselves, and the knowledge to make many more. All are welcome! Registrants younger than 14 need to be accompanied by an adult. If the accompanying adult is solely assisting their child, there is no cost to the adult. If adult wants to work on their own project, please each pay the fee. Registration is required. The class fee is a sliding scale of $50-$75. https://FarfieldsFarmWildcraftingArtSupplies.eventbrite.com
Thursday, July 14 from 4-6 pm -- Gathering in the Gardens: Herbal Make and Take
Join us in the Medicinal Gardens to harvest fresh herbs and craft your own Calendula-infused oil! Calendula’s delightful, resinous blooms have been used medicinally for centuries. Come learn more with us about Calendula’s properties, usage, and cultivation. Bring your curiosity, and we’ll provide the rest! Children are welcome to attend with adult participants! Herbal teas and light snacks will be provided. Event takes place rain or shine Suggested donation: $10-15
“Gatherings in the Garden" is a series of bi-monthly hands-on events focused on the culture of plants and herbal medicine, aimed at creating a strong community network to build local resilience through knowledge-sharing and sociality. https://FarfieldsMakeandTake.eventbrite.com
Sunday, July 31 from 1-4 pm -- Beginning Botanical Art and Illustration with Celeste Johnston This workshop will teach the history and traditions of botanical art and illustration as well as how to draw a chosen botanical subject with instruction as to which specific details to include and techniques of the best paper, pencils and other supplies to use. Participants will leave with a small accurate botanical drawing that can be rendered into watercolor at home. Celeste Johnston has two years of education in Horticulture and Flower Design from Northern VA Community College, is certified in Botanical Art and Illustration from the Corcoran College of Art and Design and Geroge Washington University, has taught at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, and is currently teaching at the Virginia Museum of Fine Art in Richmond, VA. Celeste is the founding member of the Central VA Botanical Artists and a Council Member of VMFA. She lives in the Northern Neck of VA where she is a teacher and gallery artist at the Arts Center of Montross. Participants should feel free to bring their own drawing paper or notebooks and pencils, but all necessary supplies will be provided. Registration is required. Class Fee is a Sliding Scale of $35-$50. https://FarfieldsFarmBotanicalIllustration.eventbrite.com
2.
Shenandoah Permaculture Institute Permaculture Design Course
From SPI -- the Fall Permaculture Design Course is on the horizon.
This course will once again be based out of 1Tribe Farm in Mt. Sidney, VA, with 1 weekend hosted by ShireFolk Farm in Palmyra, VA. Emilie, Ryan and Trevor will be teaching their signature mix of SPI's real-world, hands-on, practical Permaculture, complete with farm tours, skill sessions, site visits and design work.
Fall Dates:
September 2, 3, 4; September 24, 25; October 8, 9; and November 12, 13
Here's the link to the webpage for information and registration.
Shenandoah Permaculture Institute
shenperminstitute@gmail.com
3.
The Yes! We Rise Podcast Christine is excited to share the We Rise podcast, which shares stories and strategies to inspire action to build collective resilience and community transformation. It would be great if you’d subscribe to the podcast, leave a rating and review today (especially on Apple podcasts) and follow the podcast on social media. Information about each episode with links to listen can be found at our website: www.yeswerise.org. Sign up for our email list at this link, and check us out on Instagram and Facebook. You can listen to the podcast on your favorite platform (links):
Apple Google Play Stitcher Spotify
Thanks so much for sharing information about the podcast with others!
The We Rise podcast
Instagram: www.instagram.com/yeswerise
Facebook: www.facebook.com/WeRisepodcast
Website: www.yeswerise.org
Sign up for our email list: http://eepurl.com/hzDrHf
4.
Central Virginia Agrarian Commons
Exciting news! The Central Virginia Agrarian Commons has secured an agreement to acquire 5.12 acres of urban farmland so that the Black farmers who have founded Petersburg Oasis CommUNITY Farm can obtain a 99-year leasehold to grow food for their community and to teach elementary school, high school, and college students to do the same.
Located within a food desert with high rates of poverty and food insecurity, the Petersburg Oasis CommUNITY Farm is situated across the street from an elementary school serving over 500 students who are 90 percent BIPOC and 91 percent economically disadvantaged. This location provides this project the opportunity for incredible social, health, and economic impact for the local community.
Please give generously to help raise the $141,853 needed to acquire this 5.12 acres of urban farmland as the Central Virginia Agrarian Commons' first farmland acquisition project! |
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| Duron Chavis, the project lead, launched the Richmond Noir Farmers Market and various urban farms, orchards, and vineyards, and continues teaching and leading new and beginning farmers. |
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| Tyrone Cherry III, who is also helping to lead this project, is the founder of Petersburg League of Urban Growers, and is hired by Virginia Tech to teach agriculture to college and elementary school students. |
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 | Revitalizing the Hood with Urban Agriculture: Duron Chavis at TEDx |
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5.
Deep Belonging - DREAMWORK, RETREATS, and COURSES. Read on for more!
1-ON-1 DREAMWORK SESSIONS (& a special offer!)
1-on-1 Deep Dreamwork sessions! For anyone who has previously participated in a Deep Belonging program (dreamwork, retreat, mentoring, or course), I'm offering a 50% discount on 1 session of dreamwork if you submit a Google Business Review (use this link t submit the review: https://g.page/r/CWt65cEvTflEEB0/review). Of course, I hope that you will give us 5 stars! If you have a less than favorable rating, I would prefer to receive that directly and not on the business profile.
RETREATS & COURSES
First retreat of the year — the Deep Psyche Daylong — has been rescheduled to Saturday, July 16 due to Covid. This retreat will be held @ Soft Front Studio in Floyd, VA. We JUST added our first course for 2022 (more to come!).
4-day retreat — Re-membering the Wild Earth — in Floyd, VA from Friday-Monday, September 23-26. We will likely be holding this at a new location, which we are very excited about!
6.Living Earth School
Living Earth Adult Foundations (LEAF)Nine Empowering Weekends in Community and NatureOne weekend per month Sept 2022 – May 2023If the program is marked as FULL, please do register for the waiting list
(no cost, by going through the regular registration process). We WILL be offering spots to folks on the waiting list, so please do sign up.In this world of technology and choice, we find ourselves busier than ever. Many of us feel alienated from the core of life, moving faster than feels healthy, wondering if we are connected to what is truly important. Yet it has not always been this way. Even in this modern world there is a surefire way to return to ourselves with clarity and strength: nature connection. Living Earth Adult Foundations—LEAF—is an invitation to remember the most vibrant parts of yourself. For one weekend a month, you have a chance to disconnect from phones and to-do lists, and reconnect to the peace of staring into a fire, the rejuvenation of sleeping under the stars, the inspiration of learning the plants you can eat on the landscape, the joy of laughing and learning with a community of like-minded people.
Our mission is to bring nature connection into your life in a powerful way. We explore skills that build competence and confidence, expand awareness, and create a thriving community of passionate students of life and the natural world. Graduates say that LEAF has made them more resilient in the face of life’s struggles and sorrows. They say it gave them the courage to make big life changes. They say they laughed more than they expected, and felt quickly comfortable with the group. They say it helped them feel more at home in their own backyards and more comfortable exploring wild places. Nature connection practices can empower us to feel more grounded and potent in our lives, or as Ryan Eliason says “to become an unstoppable force for good.” REGISTER NOW | 
For a sneak peek, we are very excited to share that Dr. Elaine Ingham will be our featured keynote speaker on Saturday! If you don’t know Elaine, she is the pioneer and expert in soil biology. Her soil food web insight and research is known worldwide and she has worked with some of the most prestigious organizations in the horticultural and agriculture industries. 
