Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting System Installation Workshop

Part of our Fair Share is our volunteer time organizing the Chico Permaculture Guild. We facilitate monthly gatherings and seasonal workshops as well as participate in local events and other outreach efforts to help our community learn more about permaculture.

A timely workshop that Brian and I are teaching is coming up this month and it's focus is all about rooftop rainwater harvesting. We'll be teaching this workshop at our own property as part of our forest garden development. This workshop is FREE for the community to attend.

All the details are here:

6th Annual Spring Seed Swap

Sunday, March 1st from 2-6pm 

Chico Grange Hall, 2775 Nord Ave, Chico, CA

ALWAYS  A  FREE  COMMUNITY  EVENT

5th Annual Spring Seed Swap

ALWAYS A FREE COMMUNITY EVENT

Sunday, March 16th from 2-6pm

Chico Grange Hall, 2775 Nord Ave, Chico, CA

WHAT IS PROVIDED

• Over 8 tables of seed to exchange ‘Potluck’ Style
• Speaker Presentations
• Seed Saving Education
• Seeds & Plants for Sale
• Community Non-Profits
• Food & Drinks for sale by Chico Natural Foods
• Activities for all ages

SPEAKER PRESENTATION SCHEDULE  
2:15pm
Seed Saving 101: a focus on drought tolerant crops -with Kalan Redwood of Redwood Seeds: www.redwoodseeds.net  
3:30pm
Water Panel: rainwater harvesting earthworks, rain barrels and greywater systems -with Stephanie & Brian Ladwig-Cooper, Nani Teves and Stephanie & Tim Elliott  
4:45pm
Seed Stories: open forum on the beauty and importance of seed -lead by Joan Bosque

WHAT TO BRING ~ you do not need seeds to attend, please label your seed and plants ~

• Seeds, bulbs, plants, cuttings and more to exchange
• Used envelopes/containers and pens/pencils

FOR MORE INFORMATION

• Sherri Scott (GRUB Education Program) 342-3376 sherri@grubchico.org
• Stephanie Ladwig-Cooper (Chico Permaculture Guild) 828-6390 modcpg@gmail.com

More information can be found on the Chico Permaculture Guild website here. You can also join the Facebook event here.

Introduction to Permaculture Workshop June 23, 2012 in Chico, CA

Flier for Intro to Permaculture Workshop

Brian and I, via our business Gaia Creations, will be teaching an Introduction to Permaculture Workshop next month in Chico, CA. The focus of this workshop is to invite the community to learn more about permaculture in general and at the same time begin/continue networking with each other to gain experience in permaculture design strategies for effective local food production and resource efficiency.

EARN YOUR PERMACULTURE DESIGN CERTIFICATE!

Earth Care - People Care - Fair Share

PERMACULTURE OFFERS POSITIVE SOLUTIONS TO A PLANET IN CRISIS

PERMACULTURE DESIGN COURSE

with Cathe’ Fish & Neil Bertrando

March 12- March 20, 2011

BLUEBIRD FARM – SUSTAINABLE FARM IN NEVADA CITY, CA

Learn how to design for stability, resilience, and abundance at a farm that is dedicated to sustainability and community health. Gain hands-on skills in sustainable systems design and application.

Permaculture provides a framework for consciously designed landscapes that mimic the patterns and relationships found in nature. These systems yield an abundance of shelter, water, energy, and food for the provision of local needs that provide diversity, stability, and resilience for local populations.

DISCOVER SOLUTIONS FOR YOUR FARM, RURAL LAND OR SUBURBAN BACKYARD 

Moonflower

Ipomoea alba

A member of the morning glory family these sturdy vines' flowers appear like a full moon.   It is native to tropical and subtropical regions of the New World. 

The flowers of Ipomoea alba open quickly in the evening, last through the night and remain open until touched by the morning sun where they often never bloom again.  Moonflowers are what is called a ‘short day’ plant (based on photoperiod -see Eco Land Tips) and in the Northern hemisphere they won’t set buds until early Fall when the night length is near 12 hours.

Use: Ipomoea alba contains sulfur compounds which 3000 years ago was extracted in a liquid form and used to cure latex into a highly elastic rubber.  Mesoamericans used the rubber to craft large, resilient balls which they then used in a ritual game for religious ceremonies.  The ball game also involved gambling for land, slaves and other valuables. The whole plant can also be used externally to treat snakebite.

THREE SISTERS GUILD

This ancient system of growing corn, beans and squash illustrates how companion planting has been practiced with much success over the ages. Native American peoples planted them in different patterns depending on what region they lived in but overall the inspiration is based on Mother Nature. The method draws upon nature’s cycle of nutrients and flow of energy to create growing conditions that favor all three plants throughout their life cycle.

The corn provides vertical support the pole beans require to climb as well as a little shade for the squash. The squash shades the ground for the corn allowing moisture to remain in the soil longer. The pole beans provide nitrogen fertilizer by absorbing nitrogen from the air and converting to soluble nitrate in the soil. Microscopic nitrogen fixing bacteria live in small, often visible, nodules on the roots of legume plants (like beans and peas) enhancing the plants ability to absorb nitrogen.

How Native American peoples knew this I don’t know but they seemed to know a lot more about living sustainably than we do today. For more information about this planting Guild contact us today!