For B Street Hands-on Events go HERE.
To present at this year's event, please contact Charlotte Anthony at presenters[at]northwestpermaculture.org
Friday Night Panel:
Communities In Action
Jenny Pell, Jan Spencer, Eric McCool, Naga Nataka and more!
About Jenny: Former tree planter, helicopter pilot, carpenter, and yurt builder, Jenny stays busy managing her growing full-service design/build company Permaculture Now! . Based out of Seattle, WA, Jenny works around the Pacific NW, with fun projects in Maui and larger ventures overseas. Projects include everything from urban permaculture homesteads to farms transitioning from annuals to diversified perennial agriculture, with an increasing focus on policy work related to urban food security. Every project is designed with “social permaculture”, community, and resilient interdependent local economy at its heart.
About Jan: Jan moved to Oregon in 1992, a refugee from Texas. He has a BA in Geography and has traveled out of the country for over 5 years visiting over 35 countries on four continents. He completed a PDC in 1991. He has been transforming his 1/4 acre suburban property for 13 years using solar, rain water catchment, reclaimed automobile space, edible landscaping, food storage and more. Additional workshop with Jan "Greening Suburbia: An Emerging New Social and Economic Frontier"
About Eric: Eric took his PDC course in 2010 under Tom Ward. He has spent the last three yeas working at Gateway Gardens, a permaculture sanctuary in Glendale Oregon. Eric is a founding member of the Glendale Farming Cooperative and the Cow Creek chapter of the Cascadia Localization Network.
About Naga: Naga migrated to Portland four years ago, where he works with the management team at People's Food Cooperative and serves on the Board of Directors of Tryon Life Community Farm.
Saturday Afternoon Special Guest:
Carol Deppe
Best-selling author "The Resilient Gardener"
About Carol: Oregon freelance plant breeder Carol Deppe specializes in developing public-domain crops for organic growing conditions, sustainable agriculture, and human survival. Her writing includes "The Resilient Gardener: Food Production and Self-reliance in Uncertain Times," "Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties: The Gardener’s and Farmer’s Guide to Plant Breeding and Seed Saving", and "Tao Te Ching: A Window to the Tao through the Words of Lao Tzu." Carol has a Ph.D. in Biology from Harvard University, and has been experimenting with crops and gardening in Corvallis, Oregon since 1979.
Saturday Night Keynote Speakers:
Andrew Millison
Earth's Best Permaculture Sites in Maps
Take a satellite imagery tour of the most prominent and established Permaculture sites on Earth. Andrew Millison has done extensive research and used Google Earth to capture before and after pictures of the works of the most prolific practitioners in the field: P.A.Yeomans, Geoff Lawton, Sepp Holzer, Darren Doherty and many many more. Be inspired and find out just what's out there!
About Andrew: Andrew Millison has been studying, designing, building, and teaching about Permaculture systems since 1996. He is an instructor in the Department of Horticulture at Oregon State University, teaching the Permaculture Design Certificate Course and the Advanced Permaculture Design Practicum. He has taught through other organizations including Prescott College, the Ecosa Institute, and the Cascadia Permaculture Institute. He works with gardeners, developers, university students, and community organizers to promote Permaculture, which he believes is the medicine for Earth's ailments.
Don Tipping
Polyculture Rotations: What does natural farming look like in the Pacific Northwest?
Inspired by the Fukuoka's example of Natural Farming we have been developing a 7 year multi-species polycultural rotational approach to managing our fields that incorporates annual vegetable seed crops, grains, legume sod pasture, tree crops and grazing animals. More recently we have incorporated our woodlands as part of our livestock rotation, helping to circulate nutrients into the woods in the form of animal manures, but also from the woods with fodder crops and pine needle/oak leaf mulch for bedding in animal stables. The animals are also free to forage on native medicinal plants which diversifys their diet and benefits their and our health.
About Don: Don and his family have stewarded Seven Seeds Farm for the past fourteen years on the north slope of Grayback Mountain in Williams, Oregon. Seven Seeds helps to mentor new farmers through internships and workshops. Don helped to found the Siskiyou Sustainable Cooperative which manages a one hundred and fifty share CSA, commercial seed growing, an equipment co-op and internship curriculum among twelve cooperating farms. Don is currently serving as the president of the Family Farmers Seed Cooperative. He has been a regular contributor to the Permaculture Activist, the Biodynamics Journal, OSU Extension programs. Additional Workshop with Don "Seeding the Revolution."
2013 NWPCC Featured Presenters
(alphabetically by first name)
A-J
K-R
S-Z
Alexa Bernard
Social Permaculture Strategist
Alexa will briefly cover social permaculture in general terms, then her model for a back to the land strategy that brings together, the primary elements of the emergent culture including gift economy. She defines Social Permaculture as the collaborative design and utilization of social tools, strategies, venues and new cultural constructs to assist in the survival, restoration, health and evolution of humans, their culture ad environmental relationships.
About Alexa: Alexa attended Starhawk's earth Activist Training Permaculture Design Course in Northern California. She studied consciousness research at JFK University in California.
Chris Mare
Neurophenomenology of Settlement Morphology
Neurophenomenology exists for the purpose of sensitizing the nervous system, which may result for the designer in increased capacity for perceiving subtle dynamics. In this workshop, Neurophenomenology will be introduced as such a practice. Participants will experience a focused meditation intended to stimulate brain centers involved in perception before actively exploring a site. Recent site design work at Ananda University Laurelwood utilizing this concept, with the purpose of designing for consciousness, will be demonstrated.
About Chris: Chris Mare took his first PDC in 1993, and has been a full-time student ever since. Mare designed and completed the world’s first formal degree devoted to Ecovillage Design, and is currently working on a doctoral dissertation bringing forth the concept of a “neurophenomenology of design.” Mare founded the educational non-profit Village Design Institute, which will be the vehicle for establishing a Design Academy for Dwapara Yuga.
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David Burdick & James Knox
Vertical Gardens: Grow Up and Stay at Home
Vertical gardens are a compelling concept that facilitates the ability to greatly increase the growing capacity of the area. Growing conventional food requires between 10 and 100 calories input for every one calorie output, whereas local and home gardens are between 0.2 and 2 calories in for each calorie output. This session will present the various permaculture approaches to maximizing food production for a home garden and discuss advantages and disadvantages of two vertical garden designs; the soil and hydroponic approach. This session will be useful for landscape architects, permaculturists, and gardeners who want to explore how to grow the most food in the minimum amount of space.
About David: David has a PE, in Mechanical Engineering and a Master of Science in Environmental Decision Making. He designs and develops Earth Harmony Habitats that will harvest all of their own electricity and rainwater, capture and compost all of their own wastes and water, and grow all of their own vegetables on an annual basis.
About James: James has 13 years of experience in indoor or greenhouse production in soil, soiless, or hydroponic media. Owner operator of Mow Town Elite Landscape Maintenance, Tola Builders, Samurai Greenhouse Supply Inc., Savant PlantTechnologies LLC.
Deston Denniston
"Got Balls?"
For as long as 3 millennia, farmers and gardeners have made seedballs to protect seeds from rodents and birds, and to assure nutrients are where the seeds need them at germination. Made of clay and compost, seedballs were scattered with confidence that germination would be realized on the seasons first wetting rains. More recently, Masanobu Fukuoka, a farmer and naturalist from southern Japan, developed methods of mechanically creating seedballs, increasing production radically over early hand production methods. At Abundance Consulting we've moved this legacy forward by introducing a variety of modern organic nutrients to the seedball, and developing seedball packages for conservation, agriculture and forestry applications. Come find out how you can join us in re-greening the west.
About Deston: Deston earned his BA/BS in Ecological Science and Design from The Evergreen State College and his Masters Degree in Agriculture from Washington State University. He lived and worked on small family farms in Western Washington before and after serving in the US Army.
Don Tipping
Seeding the Revolution
Growing seeds has been crucial in developing a farm based livlihood without depleting the nutrient stores of the land by only exporting a product that is the distilled essence of the plant, helping us retain carbon on site. Letting the annual plants to complete their life cycle of flowering, fruiting and seeding has also fostered a thriving farm ecology, rich with pollinators and ushered in generations of the plants we grow for seed becoming the weeds that are naturalizing themselves. Further, through conscious selection for adaptation to disease, climate and pests we fine tune our food crops to evolve with our farm systems. Basing our marketing approach upon retail direct sales has enabled us to intensify production and utilize more land for developing multi-species polycultures with perennial fruit, nut and fodder crops, goats, sheep, poultry and hogs. Also having the seed company, Siskiyou Seeds as an economically viable, culturally significant mechanism not only funds the long range permaculture work on the land but legitimizes and advocates for doing this crucial work to establish resilant human ecologies on a broad scale.
About Don: Don Tipping and his family have stewarded Seven Seeds Farm for the past fourteen years on the north slope of Grayback Mountain in Williams, Oregon. Seven Seeds helps to mentor new farmers through internships and workshops. Don helped to found the Siskiyou Sustainable Cooperative which manages a one hundred and fifty share CSA, commercial seed growing, an equipment co-op and internship curriculum among twelve cooperating farms. Don is currently serving as the president of the Family Farmers Seed Cooperative. He has been a regular contributor to the Permaculture Activist, the Biodynamics Journal, OSU Extension programs.
Eric McCool
Transition to Tribe
The process of localization relates to the underlying ethic of permaculture: care of Earth, care of people. In order to build resilient self-reliance in our valley, we focus first on people, developing trust and common purpose amongst neighbors, pooling our resources and helping each other out. We’ve found that the best way to get to know each other is to work together, and we’ve combined the labor of localizing with potlucks, parties, and seasonal gatherings. Together we build fences, plant gardens, chop firewood, preserve food, make music, and go on adventures. In three years we’ve created a farming cooperative, a community garden, a seed bank, and a regional network that’s beginning to feel like tribe.
About Eric: Eric took his PDC course in 2010 under Tom Ward. He has spent the last three yeas working at Gateway Gardens, a permaculture sanctuary in Glendale Oregon. Eric is a founding member of the Glendale Farming Cooperative and the Cow Creek chapter of the Cascadia Localization Network.
Jan Spencer
Greening Suburbia
Suburbia, home to half of all Americans, provides jobs, directly or indirectly, for tens of millions of people. The social, environmental and economic costs of suburbia are immense. The fact that entrenched political and economic self interest continue to force investment amounting to many billions in suburbia and its related infrastructure makes it clear that the economic system as we know it is not an ally for a healthy and peaceful world. Remarkably, suburbia presents itself as an unlikely but ideal location to become a new social and economic frontier for addressing many of the most urgent challenges of our times. This new frontier is coming into focus in the River Road Neighborhood in Eugene.
About Jan: Jan moved to Oregon in 1992, a refugee from Texas. He has a BA in Geography and has traveled out of the country for over 5 years visiting over 35 countries on four continents. He completed a PDC in 1991. He has been transforming his 1/4 acre suburban property for 13 years using solar, rain water catchment, reclaimed automobile space, edible landscaping, food storage and more.
Jenny Pell
Forty People, Forty Days
Join Jenny Pell as she shares her experiment in implementing urban permaculture on a grander scale! We will explore what happens when we move beyond the mind, heart, and soul opening inspiration of the theory and philosophy of permaculture and into the realm of skills, policy, up-cycling, art, creating economy, and building resilient community. Jenny and her team of five paid interns are in the middle of their 9-month Urban PDC, with 3/4 of the class dedicated to hands-on projects. Come learn what forty people can accomplish in forty days!
About Jenny: Former tree planter, helicopter pilot, carpenter, and yurt builder, Jenny stays busy managing her growing full-service design/build company Permaculture Now! . Based out of Seattle, WA, Jenny works around the Pacific NW, with fun projects in Maui and larger ventures overseas. Projects include everything from urban permaculture homesteads to farms transitioning from annuals to diversified perennial agriculture, with an increasing focus on policy work related to urban food security. Every project is designed with “social permaculture”, community, and resilient interdependent local economy at its heart.
Kelda Miller
Installation of Permaculture Gardens
Ever wonder what the very first steps are in creating an abundant, edible landscape around you? As a positive side to itinerant renting and land-sharing, Kelda Miller has installed numerous kinds. Come learn about different types of mulching, pros/cons of bringing in offsite materials, and even(!) just digging up sod with a shovel, tiller, or sod-cutter. We'll also talk about establishing the famous self-seeding, low-water-needing, shared-nutrient profiles that make our permaculture gardens so easy to love and hard to leave.
About Kelda: Kelda is based in Pierce County, WA and acknowledges that she has started more gardens than she can ever maintain or harvest from. She currently teaches at Bastyr University, Evergreen State College, and at numerous local events in her area, as well as constantly working for a few design clients who are establishing their own gardens.
Larry Korn
Sowing Seeds in the Desert: Fukuoka related to Permaculture
Mr. Fukuoka's recently released book, Sowing Seeds in the Desert. Larry will discuss farming methods and philosophy of Mr. Fukuoka and how they compare to the practices and principles of permaculture as well as Mr. Fukuoka's plan to regreen the human-created deserts of the world using natural farming.
About Larry: Larry is a soil scientist who spent four years in Japan, two of them at the farm of Masanobu Fukuoka. He is the editor of Fukuoka's books, "Sowing Seeds in the Desert" and "The One-Straw Revolution". Larry worked for the California State Department of Forestry for several years, then in wholesale and retail nurseries before doing residential landscaping in the San Francisco Bay Area for more than 20 years. He currently lives in Ashland, Oregon.
Melanie Vorass
The Front Yard Forager: Stop compulsive weeding!
Happily, permaculture already recognizes many of the benefits of these 'interlopers.' However, when it comes to serving them up in the kitchen, few of us have learned to take full advantage of these labor-free gifts. Participate in this 'weed walk' and learn how to identify and gather some of the most common edible weeds and wild foods available in your garden and in other disturbed areas. This hands-on workshop includes discussion on gathering ethics, local rules and regulations, safety, and general information about how to cook with weeds. Attendees receive a handy take-home flier with field identification information and cooking tips.
About Melanie: Melanie has a degree in ethnobotany, a permaculture design certificate from Oregon State University and a lifetime of foraging experience. She teaches foraging at Seattle Tilth, University of Washington, Seattle University, high schools, girl scout troops, and homeless shelters. Her foraging recipes have been featured in KCTS -9 Cooks and she has been featured in The Seattle Times, Seattle PI, MyNorthwest, and on KING-5 TV. Melanie is author of The Front Yard Forager,and is currently working on a second book, The Invasivore Speaks.
Naga Nataka
Fostering Urban Village: How a thriving community formed by gathering a dozen people together on three city lots
Over the course of ten years, Foster Village has been created out of a simple desire to live more sustainably and communally in the city. This presentation will show how the land has been cared for, what kind of agreements & practices have been formed to sustain the community, and what plans lie ahead for this little urban village in Southeast Portland.
About Naga: Naga migrated to Portland four years ago, where he works with the management team at People's Food Cooperative and serves on the Board of Directors of Tryon Life Community Farm.
Peter Hayes
Beyond "Fast Wood:" How Permaculture is Helping to Restore Oregon Forests
Across the region, forest owners are striving to develop new models of forest stewardship and grower-consumer partnership that restore forests while also providing a reasonable economic return. As with the emergence of new farming techniques and new markets for food, this transition requires a blend of persistence, patience, creativity, partnerships and long, hard work,. The Hayes Family and their Coast Range based forest business, Hyla Woods, are active players in these efforts. As fifth generation family foresters they use permaculture-inspired approaches as they restore and research their three working forests.
About Peter: In addition to working as a conservation forester and sawmill operator, Peter spent 25 years in schools as a teacher, administrator, and ecological studies coordinator. More information on his family’s forest work may be found at www.hylawoods.com
Peter McCoy
Radical Mycology
An overview and discussion on the numerous ways fungi (mushrooms) play a role in our lives and how we can strengthen these relationships thru intentional interactions with them. As potent medicines and powerful remediators, fungi play crucial roles in these changing times. By understanding the roles fungi play in nature, we can learn to lead more balanced and mutualistic lives. Join us in this exploration of the incredible fungal kingdom.
About Peter: Peter McCoy is a mushroom cultivator, educator and project coordinator with the Radical Mycology project and the Olympia Mycelial Network.
Tao Orion
Thinking like an Ecosystem: Reconsidering the Ecological Role of Invasive Species
Invasive species have become much-maligned in recent years as they are considered to be threats to ecological health. However, in these times of massive ecological change, it is important to consider how these plants and animals may in fact be useful to ecosystem health in the long run, and how they can be used by us and other species to encourage diversity and abundance in our home ecosystems. This discussion will highlight the importance of changing our perspective on how to effectively understand and incorporate these species into a solid and productive management plan for home and regional landscapes.
About Tao: Tao lives in Cottage Grove, OR. She is the Permacultre Program Director at Aprovecho, lives and grows lots of food and fodder with her husband Abel and son Sylvan on 6.5 acres, and runs Resilience Permaculture Design, LLC. She graduated from UC Santa Cruz with a degree in Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture, received her Permaculture Certification in 2002, Permaculture teaching certification in 2006. She is writing a book on a whole systems approach to understanding invasive species.
Willi Paul
Myth Lab
The Myth Lab workshop is envisioned for neighborhood activists and media savory collaborators where a group of 4 – 12 participants spend 60 minutes to analyzing a pre-selected Artifact to produce a new myth. Please see New Myth # 38 and New Myth #39 as examples of new myths. A process model is included that illustrates mythic imprinting with more depth. The goal is to integrate permaculture, transition, Nature and sustainability with the values and struggles of the Chaos Era. The Myth Lab is designed as an interactive, open source and iterative experience. One goal is clear: we need to build our own messages and new myths to support our new food and governance systems.
About Willi: Willi launched PlanetShifter.com Magazine on Earth Day 2009 to build a database on innovation, sustainability, and mythology. He launched www.openmythsource.com in 2011 to share new myths related to permaculture and the Transition Movement. Please see his article at the Joseph Campbell Foundation. Willi earned his Permaculture Design Certification in 2011 at the Urban Permaculture Institute, in San Francisco. One of 11 eBooks is entitled Regenerator: Transition Tools for Mapping New Symbols, Songs & Mythology.