Upcoming events

Greetings All,
Below you will find info on upcoming Permaculture classes, a Root Cellar building workshop, John Jeavons coming to Virginia, Edible Landscaping events, a Relocalize Cville meeting, a Rain Barrel workshop, the next Green Matters workshop, and the awesome Bioneers conference and the upcoming DC Green Festival.
For more information about the upcoming permaculture courses, see our website: www.blueridgepermaculture.net. 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.
Blue Ridge Permaculture Network Courses
Introduction to Permaculture: Sustainability Strategies for the Blue Ridge
This 3 day Introduction to Permaculture workshop will focus on basic principles and strategies to live more sustainably in your home, neighborhood or community. The course will be held on October 31 - November 2 near Charlottesville Virginia. Workshop topics will include permaculture ethics and principles, observation and patterns in nature, and permaculture strategies to improve soil, grow food, harvest water, utilize renewable energy and regenerative building techniques, and build sustainable communities.
The course is offered through the Blue Ridge Permaculture Institute, and will be a hands-on, intensive weekend training workshop. The cost for the course is a sliding scale, $195-$250, and limited work-trade positions are available. For more information, contact Terry Lilley at tygerlilley@gmail.com or visit the website www.blueridgepermaculture.net.
------
2.
Spring Permaculture Design Course: Sustainability Strategies for the Blue Ridge
over 5 weekends in spring 2009
- Feb. 13-15, Feb. 28-Mar. 1, Mar. 14-15, Mar. 27-29, and April 4-5

This 72 hour certificate course is a rare opportunity to learn from some of the best teachers in the permaculture movement including Ted Butchart, Christine Gyovai, Dave Jacke, Dave O’Neil, and Joel Salatin.
Topics include permaculture ethics and principles, observation and patterns in nature, and permaculture strategies to improve soil, grow food, harvest water, utilize renewable energy and regenerative building techniques, and build sustainable communities.
For more information, contact Terry Lilley at tygerlilley@gmail.com or visit the website www.blueridgepermaculture.net.

3.
Green Matters Workshop
November 12, 2008
Social hour with refreshments: 5:00pm - 6:00pm
Workshop: 6:00pm-8:30pm
Passive/Active Solar and Other Alternative Energy Sources: Part 2 (EXPANDED WORKSHOP SESSION!)
A continued look at passive/active solar, then we'll move to a broader examination of other energy sources. Common filters will include value engineering, design consideration, technological and market trends, and homeowner motivations.
Speakers:Fred Oesch (Oesch Environmental Design) and Paul Risberg (Altenergy, Inc.)
http://www.greenmatters.info/

4.
Edible Landscaping Events
Persimmons For Everyone!
Saturday November 1, 2008, 10am to 5pm Big Sale All Persimmon Stock 20% off! Selected plants 50% to 60% off!
http://www.ediblelandscaping.com/2008PersimmonsForEveryone.php
AND:
6.
Pruning 101 at Edible Landscaping with Pierre Constans
November 22, 2008 1pm to 3pm
Pruning 101 to free people with pruning paralysis.
Hands on workshop! Bring gloves, pruners, loppers and warm clothing and hat. Pierre will explain the fundamentals of pruning: why, when, how and the lingo!
We will briefly expound on Fibonacci numbers, spirals and how it applies to pruning trees. We will cover fruit trees, berry bushes, grapes and kiwis.
Aspiring grafters will learn how to store their scion wood for grafting!
Attendance limited to 15.
Participation $25 (no one turned away for lack of funds, contact Janet)
Information: www.ediblelandscaping.com
email: info@ediblelandscaping.com

7.
Baltimore Bioneers
This year, Baltimore again joins seventeen other cities across the country hosting a broadcast of the Bioneers Conference. The Baltimore event, “Baltimore Bioneers'08: Cultivating Change. Inspiring Solutions.” will take place from Friday, November 7 through Sunday, November 9, 2008 at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) and will feature screenings from the national conference along with live panel discussions, local speakers, workshops, and entertainment.
The annual Bioneers Conference presents leading scientists and social innovators who are creating practical solutions to help restore the Earth’s imperiled ecosystems and heal our human communities. Presenters at the 2008 Bioneers Conference will discuss some of the most important topics of the day including:
• How to dramatically reduce global warming pollutants from energy production;
• New, nontoxic technologies that emulate nature’s design genius;
• The best green business practices;
• How to build conservation-based, cooperative communities; an
• New strategies for safeguarding human rights and the environment.
The conference features a recording of the satellite downlink of the Bioneers Conference in San Rafael, CA to each of the participating regional Beaming Bioneer events. Please visit the Bioneers website at bioneers.org for more information about the Bioneers Conference and our partnership.
www.cultivatingchange.org

8.
John Jeavons is internationally known as the leading researcher, developer, teacher and consultant for small-scale food production techniques utilizing GROW BIOINTENSIVE culture. He is the author of the best-selling text “How to Grow More Vegetable: Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Grains, and Other Crops Than You Ever Thought Possible On Less Land Than You Can Imagine"
On Oct. 22 John Jeavons will be presenting a two hour public lecture at Lehman Auditorium at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. He will be hosting a three day workshop in Dayton, Virginia (just south of Harrisonburg), on Oct. 23-25. This is an excellent opportunity to hear someone who has made a difference as a catalyst for sustainable agriculture projects around the world.
"John Jeavons' Three-Day Workshop in GROW BIOINTENSIVE® Sustainable Mini-Farming provides an in-depth study of a successful food growing system that is appropriate to a more self-reliant lifestyle, and for use in developing countries.
The Program
The program will consist of lecture, discussion and demonstration sessions, and will include a full range of information on Sustainability and Efficient Resource Use, Arid Region Farming Principles, Crops and Diet, Fertilization, Compost and Compost Crops, Soil Preparation and Preservation, Seed Propagation, and Income, as well as the perspective to tie all these together."
Links to the websites are below. The lecture on Oct 22 is free, the workshop cost $350 plus $30 if you register early and the cost of reading materials if you don't already have them
http://www.johnjeavons.info/workshop-intro.html
http://www.johnjeavons.info/pdf/5-october_wednesday_evening_event.pdf

9.
Washington DC Green Festival
At the Washington DC Green Festival™, a joint project of Global Exchange and Co-op America, we’re celebrating what’s working in our communities—across the District, Maryland and Virginia—for people, for business and for the environment.You’ll enjoy more than 125 renowned speakers and 350 green businesses (start your holiday shopping now!), great how-to workshops, green films, a Fair Trade pavilion, yoga classes, organic beer, delicious organic cuisine and live music.Find out about DC environmental initiatives; and learn how neighbors, community nonprofits and city departments are working together to make their cities healthier places to live.
http://www.greenfestivals.org/washington-dc-2008/

10.
ROOT CELLAR BUILDING with native stone an inspirational experiential reskilling retreat in Wild, wonderful, West Virginia October 24th-November1stRoot cellar retreat: will be centered around the root cellar and low input food storage. The root cellar was, not long ago, a mainstay of the pre-fossil fuel subsistance homestead. I am rebuilding the old root cellar on my farm in Union, West Virginia and want to share this community building experience with people interested in reskilling for the changing times we are in. Also, being shared are the many permaculture projects that have been developing over the years from pond building and berm works, to fruit orchards. It is an abundant fruit year and apples hang heavy on the trees. We will be pressing cider which was a mainstay of the root cellar, and trying to fix and old cider barrel.What to expect: The rootcellar hole has been dug and the stones have been placed around the hole and are ready to be laid in place. Each person will commit to 5 hours a day of working on the rootcellar. This will involve physical labor of laying stones and mixing cement. There will also be opportunity for people who arent able to do this work to be on the support team. The 20.00 a day fee will cover all your room and board. Where in the world... is the West Virginia Permaculture Center? It is located in the mountains of southern West Virginia in a small farm town called Union. It is 40 minutes from Lewisburg, W.Va, 1 hour from Blacksburg, Virginia, 4.5 hours from Asheville, NC, and 5 hours from Washington, D.C. When do I come? This retreat will run from Friday, October 24th- November 1st. A person can come for any amount of time. One day drop-ins are welcome as well as 9 day stay overs.Who in the world? The West Virginia Permaculture Center's intention is to be an outpost for experimental ideas and alternatives for people who want to live a life that is not in deficit, or aggressive to the Earth.Fee: 20.00/day/person includes organic meals and accommodations (camping to old farm house bunk bed).To Register: make check out to:Bill Whipple70 Alabama Ave.Asheville, NC 28806For Registration, carpooling coordination, questions and more information contact: Bill Whipple @ 828-713 2424 or whipplebill@hotmail.com After October 15th @ 304-772-3625

11.
RAIN BARREL WORKSHOP
Join us Saturday November 8th
From 9am-12pm near Meade Park
to learn about rain water catchment. Brian Buckley of harvesting rain will demonstrate how to choose a site for your rain barrel, adapt gutters and downspouts, and construct a stand and direct overflow to drain properly. This workshop is designed as a starter for people who want to learn how to set up a rainwater catchment system for use at their home.
The course fee is $60, which includes a blue 55 gallon food grade rain barrel. Each additional barrel will be $45.
For more information email: brianbuckley4@yahoo.com or call 434.296.3963

12.
Greetings Transitioners!
The Charlottesville Relocalization Community will have our forth meeting on Monday, October 20th at 7PM. We'll be in the McIntire Room of the Central Library on Market Street.

If you are new to this group and would like more information, please refer to the websites below and catch up with the group by reading minutes from our last meeting, also posted below:

www.relocalizecville.org
www.transitiontowns.org
www.transitionus.ning.org
www.relocalize.net



Agenda for October 20th Meetup:

It is our intention to go through the Transition Town Primer and 12 Steps so that we can get more familiar with the "transition" concept and see what does -- and doesn't -- work for our community.

Ideally, everyone should bring their own copy of the these documents to the meeting (or share a copy with a friend). Additional copies may not be available at the meeting (unless someone is generously willing to make multiple copies), so if you want to be sure and have a copy, it is advised to go ahead and download one of your own. Or, to save paper (the Primer is just over 50 pages), download it to your laptop and bring it to the meeting.

To access the Primer and 12 Steps, go to:

www.transitiontowns.org

On the left side of the page, you will see buttons for the Primer and 12 Steps.

If there is something else that should be on our agenda for the evening, please let it be known. As with every meeting, we will take a few moments for announcements and introductions as well. Also, if anyone is interested in facilitating the meeting, please step up. We encourage the sharing of this role amongst the participants in this group.

Also, I have an exciting announcement to make. There is now an official U.S. Transition Town website!!! Access it here: http://transitionus.ning.com/

I encourage everyone to take a look at a site so that we can discuss our approach to networking with our brothers and sisters doing good work all over the country. Here is a sneak preview of what you’ll find:

TRANSITION UNITED STATES is a coordinating organization whose mission is to catalyze, inspire, encourage, network, support and train communities in the U.S. as they consider, adopt, adapt and implement Transition Initiatives.

The Transition approach empowers communities to squarely face the challenges of peak oil and climate change, and to unleash the collective genius of their own people to find the answers to this momentous question:

For all those aspects of life that this community needs in order to sustain itself and thrive, how are we going to:

-- drastically reduce carbon emissions (in response to climate change);
-- significantly rebuild resilience (in response to peak oil);
-- and greatly strengthen our local economy (in response to economic instability)?

Transition Initiatives make no claim to have all the answers, but by building on the wisdom of the past and accessing the pool of ingenuity, skills and determination in our communities, the solutions can readily emerge. Now is the time for us to take stock and start re-creating our future in ways that are not based on cheap, plentiful and polluting oil but on localized food, sustainable energy sources, resilient local economies and an enlivened sense of community well-being.




In case you were unable to be at the last meeting and want to catch up, here are the meeting notes (it is also recommended that you peruse the Forum section of the CRC website at www.relocalizecville.org to get up to snuff. Be sure to expand all threads, as replies are hidden. Also, please note there are two pages on the Forum to view):