Upcoming Events  February 2019 Greetings all, Below are several awesome upcoming events in the central Virginia bioregion, including the first weekend of a Permaculture Design Course (PDC) this weekend in Richmond!  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. Third annual Spring Permaculture Design Course at the University of Richmond with the Shenandoah Permaculture Institute  This course will run for 4 non-consecutive weekends this Spring, beginning in mid-February.  The lead teaching team will consist of Emilie Tweardy of ShireFolk Farm, Ryan Blosser of Dancing Star Farm, and Trevor Piersol of Wild Rose Orchard.  We will be working with former SPI student, Permaculture enthusiast and local Richmond homesteader Tom Parfitt as our Teaching Apprentice for this course.  This will be Emilie, Ryan and Trevor's 6th time co-teaching this class as a team, and we're so excited to continue to hone our craft and offer ever-improving Permaculture education in Central Virginia. The course weekends are as follows: 2/15 - 2/17 (this is the only 3-day weekend, all others are just Fri - Sat) 3/2 - 3/3 3/23 - 3/24 4/6 - 4/ The course fee is $999 and includes lunches at the UofR cafeteria (they can pretty much cover all dietary needs!) for the days that we are on campus.  We've put together another really exciting itinerary full of hands-on sessions, field trips, guest speakers, tours, etc.  The PDC course culminates in a design project and presentation and you'll be amazed to see what professional caliber Permaculture designs can be produced in a relatively short window of time.  The quality of these designs is always the greatest accolade we can receive from our students.  Check out our Instagram or Facebook accounts to see examples of their work, as well as lots of pictures from the courses in general. As you may know, we have begun hosting Fall PDCs also, and you may be wondering what the difference is between the two.  This course varies from our Fall courses in hosting site and regional field trips only.  The content will be the same, but we will focus in the Richmond area for this course, since that is where we will be based.  Field trips and guest speakers will be focused on the Richmond region, whereas the Fall course will focus on the Shenandoah Valley again.  We cover the same range of topics, and the same range of scales in each course, learning about backyard and homestead scale techniques all the way up to farm scale and broadacre works.  If you have further questions, please reach out to us. For the full UofR course description, check out our website here. To jump straight to the U of R registration page, click here. Or contact Garrett Stern at 804-289-8937 2. Blacks Run Forest Farm is a riparian nursery and folk school rooted in love and living soil in Harrisonburg, VA. These roots grow out as agroforestry, watershed health, and restorative justice. We tend the silver waters of Blacks Run, the Shenandoah, and beyond by farming in the image of the forest and remediating the toxins that pollute our souls, society, and soil, from chemical leaching to white supremacy. In fact, we see all this as an expression of restorative justice, a way of transforming harm and injustice by tending to needs, holding ourselves accountable, and making relationships and conditions as right as possible so that all creatures can be fully themselves! In our nursery, we grow beautiful and useful trees (and other plants) that give us food, fuel, fodder, medicine, mulch, air conditioning, carbon converting, soil building, water restoring, and beauty! In our folk school, we educate our whole bodies through the healing work of our hands, heads, and hearts. We have lots of plants in our nursery, consulting services for land care and community, educational opportunities, and resources to share! Visit our website and visit us! Blacks Run Forest Farm 3. Allegheny Mountain School - Farm & Food Fellows Interested in joining our Farm and Food Fellowship? Visit www.alleghenymountaininstitute.org to learn more and apply! Applications are now due March 1st! Contact Jessa Fowler for more information. Email jessa@alleghenymountainschool.org or call (540) 886-0160. Produce Safety Alliance Grower Safety Course -  Allegheny Mountain Institute We're writing to you--farmers and the people who support them--to share an exciting opportunity from AMI and the Produce Safety Alliance. On February 20, AMI will be hosting a Produce Safety Alliance Grower Safety Course at our Fishersville, VA office on the campus of Augusta Health. This course is sponsored by Virginia Tech and Virginia Commonwealth Extension, and covers strategies for safer and more successful farming, as well as information about the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule, Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs), and co-management of natural resources and food safety. You can find more information about the training or reserve a ticket here.  Grayson Shelor Education Coordinator, Allegheny Mountain Institute Farm at Augusta Health Office (540) 886-0160 4. Living Earth School - Summer camps Numerous excellent camps for all ages: https://livingearthva.com/summer-camps-for-kids-in-virginia-nature-camps/ Living Earth School - Family Camps Specialty Family Summer Camps  w/ master craftsman Peter Yencken Family Archery: Making a wooden long bow or quiver and arrows Have you dreamed of making and shooting your own handmade bow and arrow, let alone making one with your child? What a gift to be able to do this together and to cultivate this shared skill as a family.  Both parent and child will make their own bow and arrow. DATE: July 26-28, 2019 AGES: 8+ with accompanying adult LOCATION: Sugar Hollow Camp COST:$380 (1 child + 1 adult) each additional family member: $220 INFO: Basic tent camping is included, with options to sleep in our tent cabins or to bring your own tent.  Participants will bring and cook their own food and are welcome to use our primitive camp kitchen with supplies. Family Knife Making -or- Leather Working Camp Come get your hands in gear making your own stainless steel knife with sheath, or leather bags.  Yes, you can do it all and you can use bags that you’ve made your self, or a beautiful hand crafted knife. This is for real and this is your chance to do it! DATE: August 2-4, 2019 AGES: 8+ with accompanying adult LOCATION: Sugar Hollow Camp COST: $345(1 child+1adult) each additional family member $175 INFO: Basic tent camping is included, with options to sleep in our tent cabins or to bring your own tent.  Participants will bring and cook their own food and are welcome to use our primitive camp kitchen with supplies.  REGISTER FOR FAMILY CAMPS NOW! 5. One Forest Summer Camps An all outdoor drop-off summer camp that allows children to build a relationship with nature, other kids, and themselves.  Snack will be provided, children will be required to bring a packed lunch. Ages 3-6  Visit HERE for more information.  OR email heidi@one-forest.com to reserve a space for your child today. Forest Playgroup-FREE! We strongly believe in access to the outdoors for ALL. Our Forest Playgroups are now donation based. We hope by breaking down this one (financial) barrier we will be able to see some new and old faces in the woods in 2019.  For more information or to book your spot CLICK HERE! Forest Buds  An outdoor program that allows children to build a relationship with nature, other kids, and themselves.  We will be continuing our 8 week drop-off Forest Buds sessions throughout 2019.  More information HERE. Don't have a kid, but believe what we are doing in the woods is important?  We accept donations on venmo @oneforest, paypal info@one-forest.com, or checks via snail mail.  You can make a special note as to which program you would like your money to go towards, or we will automatically put it towards our Forest Buds Scholarship Fund.  The FBSF will subsidize the Forest Buds program tuition. 6. VNPS Chapter Meeting: Pat Calvert: Promoting Natives and Managing Invasives March 13th, 2019,7:30 pm, Ivy Creek Natural Area, 1780 Earlysville Rd, Charlottesville. Pat Calvert  is the Land and Water Policy & Campaigns Manager for the Virginia Conservation Network. Before joining VCN, Pat worked for many years as the Upper James River Waterkeeper. The Virginia Conservation Network just facilitated finalization of a policy paper on prospective legislation for the 2019 General Assembly focused on promoting native & controlling/managing invasive vegetation. Pat will update us on how this work has fared through the legislative session, which ought to be very busy in January and February. All are welcome. -- Virginia Native Plant Society, Jefferson Chapter Facebook page 7. From our friends at VABF: Additional Practical Organic Production Guides available through OFRF The Organic Farming Research Foundation has recently published several new Guidebooks for organic producers. They include: ·         Introduction to Crop Insurance for Organic and Transitioning Producers ·         Reducing Risk through Best Soil Health Management Practices in Organic Production ·         Soil Health and Organic Farming:  Organic Practices for Climate Mitigation, Adaptation, and Carbon Sequestration. Available at https://ofrf.org/. Funding Available to support Soil Health Practices in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed The Virginia office of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service is partnering with Sustainable Chesapeake in a Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) project funded at $1,363,240 to provide cost share for producers in the Chesapeake Watershed within Virginia to implement cover crop, conservation tillage, and/or nutrient management practices to protect and improve water quality in the Bay and its tributary rivers and streams. To participate, farmers can apply at their local NRCS district office – the initial cutoff date is this Friday Jan 18 – but if funds remain uncommitted, additional applications will be accepted through Feb 15.  For more information, see the VABF website announcement at https://vabf.org/new-conservation-funding-now-available-through-nrcs-partnership-with-sustainable-chesapeake/, or contact Kristin Hughes Evans at Sustainable Chesapeake,  kristen@sustainablechesapeake.org, or or Blaine Delaney at VA NRCS, blaine.delaney@va.usda.gov. Whole Farm Planning: an introductory training program for socially disadvantaged, US military veteran, new, and beginning farmers and ranchers Greensville Cooperative Extension office, 105 Oak Street, Emporia, VA February 18, 9 am – 12 noon The Carver Center, 9432 James Madison Hwy, Rapidan, VA February 20, 3:00 – 6:00 pm This educational workshop is free and open to the public, and will feature Beginning Farmer mentors Thomas and Anita Roberson. Registration is limited – register ASAP at www.ext.vsu.edu.  For information, call the Small Farm Outreach Program Office at 804-524-3292, or contact Susan Cheek at 804-720-5539, scheek@vsu.edu. 12- week Saturday Sustainable Urban Agriculture Certificate Course Virginia State University, Randolph Farm Pavilion, 4415 River Road, Petersburg, VA 23803 Saturdays March 2 (orientation) through May 25, 9 am – 3 pm. Topics include general principles of urban agriculture, basic plant science, crop, pest, and disease management, permaculture, brownfields and safe gardening practices, greenhouse and aquaponics, plant propagation, and backyard rearing. For information, cotact Dr. Leonard Githinji, lgithinji@vsu.edu, 804-524-5962 or Cynthia Martin cmartin@vsu.edu, 804-524-5232. Fourth Virginia Urban Agriculture Summit Virginia Beach, VA April 23-25, 2019 Three days of networking for urban farmers, policy makers, government leaders, and activists.  Registration opening soon at www.ext.vsu.edu. 8. The 26th Annual Southeastern Permaculture Gathering August 2-4, 2019 Join us in the Southern Appalachian Mountains near Celo, NC ​ for our Landmark 26th Annual Gathering! The Southeastern Permaculture Gathering is a convergence of permaculture enthusiasts ​to learn new skills, serve the earth, create community & celebrate life. http://www.southeasternpermaculture.org/