Permaculture Mentioned in Summit Daily

Nice article about permaculture in the Summit Daily. From the article:

So here it is: Permaculture strives to apply the intelligence and long-term self sustained productivity of nature to human systems, creating abundance, zero waste and fundamental sustainability.

More on the DU Gardens

Last fall I posted about the DU permaculture gardens. Now, here's a blog post about the installation with more pictures, and a link to a website all about the DU "Garden Scene".

Permaculture priniciples for business

Just read an interesting post about how you can apply Holmgren's 12 design principles to create a sustainable business.

This is an interesting exercise, but the issue I have with it is that while these are great guiding principles, actual application is harder. Just for instance, he says "Internalize your costs". What does that mean? Does it mean that you should provide a living wage for all employees? Health insurance? Buy carbon offsets? Realize what effect your business has on the greater world?

It's a bit unclear. Still, a good starting point, because permaculture really needs to grow beyond landscape design and teaching--the two careers to which a PC certificate really seems to lead folks.

Panel: The Winter Harvest

Time: January 13, 2010 from 7pm to 9pm
Type Group: Boulder Meadows Community Room
Organized By: Transition Colorado

Event Description:
FREE EVENT with Sandy Cruz, Barbara Mueser, Jason Gerhardt, Jeff Graef, and Natalie Shrewsbury.

Please join us in considering how we can eat locally at this time of year. Bring your questions!

Meet some of the local permaculture teachers who are sponsoring courses and workshops this year.

More, including RSVP form.

CU Professor Talks About Limits

Permaculture is, in my mind, truly about acknowledging limits. Limits of energy, limits of ecosystems, and limits of technology. We can use design to increase food production, decrease work and energy, but fundamentally, we're accepting that we need to use less than what the sun provides and work around that.

The Permaculture Research Institute of Australia has a nice post on 'The Mathematics that Contemporary Economics Ignores' which is worth reading.

I'm posting it on this blog because it also features 8 10 minute embedded videos featuring CU Professor Dr. Albert Bartlett on the limits of growth in a finite system. Well worth the watch.

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.

Colorado College has a garden

Colorado College, located in Colorado Springs, has a garden. Apparently, they are envisioning a permaculture garden, as well, and are making progress towards it.

We envision a one-acre permaculture garden on the Colorado College Campus that will be used as an interactive resource for students, faculty, and classes, as well as a venue for market gardening, local events, and community outreach. Students of all academic interests will benefit greatly from the establishment of the CC Farm through access to fresh produce and farm work, as well as through active involvement in research, youth education, and experiential learning.

Here's the proposed garden plan. They also have a blog (that isn't updated all that much). I contacted the outreach chair for the garden and she had this to say about their progress:

We were a functioning market garden as of last year selling to three venues: Colorado Farm and Art Market, our school's food service Bon Appetit, and a small stand outside of our campus center for students. We got our garden moved on campus last spring, so this summer is our second fully functioning summer in President Celeste's back yard (our new on campus plot. Before that we were gardening a plot at Vennetucci farms). We receive free land and water from the school, but besides that it is a completely student run and self sufficient project. We raise all the money to maintain and work the farm ourselvles (meaning students writing grants all year long). Our greatest expense is paying the three full time interns each summer to work the farm.

...

[W]e have nine chickens too! ([T]hey started as my independent project last summer when I was a garden intern and I hear they are actually starting to pay themselves off! They are all layers and apparently are producing enough so that we are selling them on a weekly basis).

Permaculture videos galore

Via Jim, from Colorado Local Sustainability, Youtube has a large number of videos about sustainability and permaculture, but someone has taken the time to pull many of these videos onto one page. Beware! Visiting this page can leave you lost in thought for the rest of your afternoon.

Agriburbia: Suburbia with agriculture

Via Sprouts in the Sidewalk, a blog about urban agriculture, I found this site: Agriburbia.com. While it mentions permaculture by name:

An example of the Agriburbia land planning design is this 640-acre parcel in Southern Weld County, Colorado. It includes for 980 homes, including multi-family town homes to two (2) acre permaculture home sites.
...
Each Agriburbia mixed-use campus is centered on an agrarian concept where traditional suburban landscaping and open space is replaced with orchards, vineyards, and other perennial crops for the benefit of the neighborhood and surrounding communities. A limited amount of active recreation area is provided. The balance of the open space is designed as productive organic agricultural landscape.

The folks behind Agriburbia are based in Golden, Colorado. Here's an article about the concept from the Northern Colorado Business Review, for more information.

New Permaculture Forum

Via Pikes Peak Permaculture, I discovered the Permaculture Forum. Not much action on there right now, but hopefully it will serve as another online resource.

Permaculture Garden in Broomfield

Boulder has a permaculture garden that I have yet to visit. And it looks like Broomfield is getting into the act.

This past Monday, April 13th, a group of 10 folks from Transition broke ground on a 1 acre permaculture community garden in Broomfield. The garden is located at the Broomfield Presbyterian Church in Broomfield at 350 Main Street.

...

If you live in the Broomfield area and would like to come and help create this permaculture garden, or would like to contribute your expertise in permaculture, or learn how to do it hands-on, we invite you to stop by any time between 9 am and 2 pm on Sunday, April 19 at the south parking lot of the Broomfield Presbyterian Church located at 350 Main Street in Broomfield. Please contact me if you have any questions about this venture or would like to contribute time, money or materials.

I talked with the pastor of the church, and he pointed me to the NICE site for more information. Apparently NICE is the non profit behind these gardens. If you don't want to join Transition Colorado, that site has contact info.

Permaculture businesses around the metro area

The ReDirect Guide, an online and offline directory of businesses and information forcues on healthy and sustainable lifestyles, has a section on permaculture businesses. If you're looking for permaculture consulting or just want to ask a question about it, feel free to consult one of these companies.

Permaculture Herb Garden Design Course

This summer, there's a Herb Garden Design Intensive going on, taught by Claire Zimmerman.

Come join us for a group design intensive, exploring the most effective designs for herbal medicine gardens for Colorado’s unique climate. Using advanced permaculture design process, we will explore plant profiles, guilds, garden shapes, microclimates and more to create the most effective and useful medicine gardens for home-scale use. This class is designed for people with a strong permaculture background. Permaculture Design Certification or approval from instructor required. This will be a collaborative group design process, come ready to stretch your mind to create the optimum medicine gardens.

Find specifics for this course, as well as the instructor bio, at the Living Earth Center website.

Durango half day permaculture class announced

There's a class going on this weekend that is an introduction to permaculture:

In this unique half-day course on March 28, we will explore permaculture principles and methods of design using the Nature Center as a classroom. Located at the mouth of the Florida River Valley near Bondad, the Center winds along 140 acres on the Florida River. Trails wander through a wide variety of habitats - riparian, meadows, oak woodlands, piñon-juniper forests, and desert arroyos. Culture Brothers will present information to help attendees succeed in their daily endeavors and prepare for extremes of weather, food and culture. We will also have time for one or two hands-on activities, which may include a survivalist plant walk, sheet mulching, or constructing simple wind and sun breaks.

View this page for more, including cost and registration information.

Boulder Permaculture Garden announced

According to this page on the Transition Colorado website, Boulder has approved a 1.3 acre permaculture garden. The garden will be located next to the Boulder homeless shelter, and is aimed at adult education as well as food production.

I was unable to find official verification of this announcement, but there is apparently a meeting on Tuesday, Mar 24, 2009 to finalize the layout and do more sheet mulching.

Much more on the event announcement page.

Two new Permaculture events in Boulder, and one in Denver

There's a two day introduction to permaculture, Permaculture at the Human Scale: An Introduction, at the end of March.

This course is appropriate for students new to permaculture as well as certified designers interested in applying permaculture at the social level or strengthening their analysis of invisible structures.

And there is a one day workshop/potluck/film, Permaculture Early Gardening & Potluck/ Free Film, during the ides of March (plus a gardening workshop before if you want--it's unclear if there is a charge for the workshop).

FREE FILM SHOWING: Bill Mollison's Global Gardener Part II, Dry lands application. Discussion on what Drylands Permaculture means here in Boulder Valley. Seed sources, water-saving strategies.

Lastly, there is a two hour workshop at the Denver Botanic Gardens, Urban Sustainable Living, in early April.

Learn about the ethics and principles of permaculture with particular attention to small lots, condos and apartments. Even without a “real” garden, you can live more sustainably in the city! Discuss espaliered fruit trees (one foot wide instead of 20!), the many uses of windowsills, using vertical space efficiently for living and storage, indoor worm bins, gray water, rooftop gardens and more.

Article in Colorado Magazine: What is Permaculture

Sandy Cruz has an article in Viz Magazine: "Permaculture: What Exactly is It?" It's a great introduction to permaculture, covering the key concepts.

• Creating Ecosystems
• Relative Placement
• Energy and Nutrient Recycling
• Using Biological Resources
• Permaculture is Unique
• Culture and Agriculture

Want an executive summary?

Permaculture is a method of observing and understanding natural systems, and then imitating what we see in Nature to provide ourselves with food, shelter and clothing. Once basic human needs are satisfied, we can leave the rest of the planet in a wild state.

Read the entire article.

Numerous Permaculture Workshops in the Boulder area

The High Altitude Permaculture Institute has a number of workshops scheduled this spring.

These workshops cover a variety of topics, but tend to be a day or two in length. Topics covered include workshops on garden design and planning, high altitude gardening and secrets of building soil.

Sandy knows her stuff, and I'd encourage anyone interested to take a look.

PDF flyer for these permaculture workshops.

More information on permaculture workshops and events.

Living Earth Center

The Living Earth Center is a Colorado based organization that is a

non-profit committed to bringing people into deeper relationships with nature through Permaculture education and programs that foster earth-centered values.

They have a calender with upcoming permaculture events on every page--well worth checking out.

Victory Permaculture

Stumbled on a new Boulder Permaculture website:

Victory gardens were used in the US during the 1940's to conserve resources and support the war effort during WWII. Today we face challenges as a nation and planet that rival those of fascist imperialism and every effort will need to be made if we are to overcome them.

Victory Permaculture is an avenue for creating change in the places we live. To claim victory over the distance and separation we have with our food, medicine, and the land we live on.

In the future we will be offering sustainability consultations and Permaculture designs for your homes and businesses. As well as classes and workshops for further education and skill building. Services will be offered both locally in Boulder County, Colorado and remotely for those interested.

Michael was a classmate of mine at the recent PDC I took--feel free to contact him for information on his services.