Broomfield Permaculture Garden looking for volunteers

There's a work day this Sunday (June 14) and it looks like they'll be doing a lot. See the announcement for more info, or to donate various items.

Rainwater harvesting pilot program signed into Colorado law

Governer Ritter signed a law which "establishes a pilot program for the collection of precipitation from rooftops for non-potable uses." CBS has a nice writeup.

This is a great step, but only the first one. You cannot start harvesting rainwater now; you have to participate in the pilot program, which will last for ten years. There will be only ten projects selected, and the program is only open to "RESIDENTIAL OR MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENTS THAT WILL CONDUCT INDIVIDUAL PILOT PROJECTS TO COLLECT PRECIPITATION FROM ROOFTOPS AND IMPERMEABLE SURFACES FOR NONPOTABLE USES". Here's a PDF of the bill, HB 1129. Us normal folks should check out the FAQ and links from the Colorado Division of Water Resources: "Am I allowed to construct a graywater or rainwater harvesting system in Colorado?"

But hey, it's a start!

Meetup in Denver: Permaculture at the Home Scale

I recently joined a meetup group called the Greater Denver Urban Homesteading Group (if you haven't checked out Meetup.com, it's a great way to find local common interest groups meeting regularly). I have not yet been to a meetup, but they've already sent out some interesting classes (how to make saurkraut, intro to pressure canning). On the 28th of June, they're having an introduction to permaculture class, focused on household designs. Looks really cool:

Permaculture is an effective and rapidly-growing framework for applying patterns found in nature to human structures. Join certified permaculture teachers Adam Brock and Kenzie Davison as we explore how the ethics, principles and design process of permaculture can be applied to our own homes to create an integrated, regenerative system.

In case you're keeping score, that's the same Kenzie and Adam working on the Park Hill demonstration site.

Community garden "takes root" in Golden

A community garden is happening in Golden, CO, and part of the purpose is to teach permaculture. From an article in the Denver Political Issues Examiner:

Matt Burde, Garden Leader ... said, "We’re growing a place for conversation. Golden’s First Ever Community Garden Breaks Ground and Celebrates Grand Opening Sunday, June 21st."

...

"In addition to offering plots to community members, the concept behind the garden is also to provide education opportunities to the public," said Burde. "Classes will be offered monthly or more on various topics including composting, square foot gardening, permaculture, low water use, and beyond. Open dawn till dusk, the garden will provide meeting spaces for community gatherings, a children’s gardening area, and a learning center with a library full of books."

More information on the garden, including, unfortunately, that all the 2009 plots are full, can be found at the Golden Community Garden website.