Join us for one or all of these inspiring community events! You can register by clicking on each event. We host online events as well as in person events.
- October 17: Introduction to Fermentation and Lean to Make Wild Fizzy Sodas (Online)
- October 1: Tour Big River Chestnuts Farm (Sunderland)
- October 1: Attend a Talk with Amy Meltzer ~ Gardening with Native Plants, Why & How (at The Permaculture Place in Shelburne Falls)
- October 2: Tour Humble Abode Nursery (Ashfield)
- November 4 & 5: Natural Dye Workshop with Marjorie (at The Permaculture Place in Shelburne Falls)
For details and registration of each tour, talk, workshop, community event ~ Simply click on the left or right arrows here below:
Oct 17, 6:30pm ONLINE Talk: Intro to Fermentation & Wild Fizzy Sodas with Trevor Ring
Intro to Fermentation: Learn to Make Wild Fizzy Sodas
Learn the basics and health benefits of fermentation and make fermented sodas with wild microbes in this workshop. Trevor Ring, founder of Community Cultures and Pittsburgh's first Fermented Soda CSA, will help remind you why we should develop a strong relationship with wild microbes. He will illustrate how fermentation can be used for creativity, playfulness, and food waste reduction.
- Following your registration: You will receive a confirmation email from permacultureseries@gmail.com and link for the meeting invitation.
Sunday October 1st, Tour Big River Chestnuts Farm in Sunderland MA
Sunday June 11
Big River Chestnut Farm In Sunderland MA, 9:30-12:30. Bring a picnic lunch or buy lunch at nearby cafe.
- 9:30 Morning Tour of Big River Chestnuts in Sunderland MA ~ This is where Jono Neiger, co-foudner of Regenerative Design Group and author of the book 'The Permaculture Promise' is developing a commercial agroforestry system based on chestnuts, small fruit, and chickens. There are ample hands-on learning opportunities at this farm that you can also pursue!
~ Please contact us if you would like to register at a different sliding scale amount :)
Sunday Oct 1, Talk: Gardening w/ Native Plants, at The Permaculture Place
Talk: Gardening With Native Plants, Why and How: Providing habitat for pollinators, birds and other essential wildlife
Join Us Sunday October 1st 3:30-5:00, in person at The Permaculture Place, Inc, Center and Gift Shop at The Mill in Shelburne Falls (or online :)
Description:
In this talk, Amy will focus on the current biodiversity crisis; the evolutionary history among native plants, insects, birds and fungi, and how these interdependent relationships among diverse species are necessary for their survival. She will show how growing native plants and using ecological landscape practices can simultaneously reverse biodiversity loss, increase resilience in our landscapes, and slow climate change - all while creating a beautiful garden!
Amy Meltzer is an active member of Grow Native Massachusetts, and is on the steering committee of the MA Pollinator Network. She belongs to the Research Team and the Natural Solutions working group of Elders Climate Action. She has been researching and gardening with native plants for over ten years.
Suggested Donation $5 or $10 (Any Sliding Scale Available!)
Wednesday Sept 6th: Meet Chuck Collins Author of 'Altar to an Erupting Sun' and Sarah Pirtle Author of 'An Outbreak of Peace'
We are planning an author talk and book signing with two of our admired friends and brilliant local authors ~ Chuck Collins will discuss 'Altar to an Erupting Sun' and Sarah Pirtle will discuss 'An outbreak of Peace' ~This is sure to be a unique and memorable experience!!! Join us at The Permaculture Place in Shelburne Falls on September 6th at 6:30pm:
THE FLAME THAT CARRIES US:
CELEBRATING TWO BOOKS ABOUT LOCAL PEACEMAKERS
Wednesday September 6th at 6:30pm at The Permaculture Place at The Mill in Shelburne Falls, 49 Conway Street
Chuck Collins -- An Altar to an Erupting Sun
Sarah Pirtle -- An Outbreak of Peace
How do people persist in living in alignment with their values? How does one voice join with other voices to build a culture of peace?
These two works of fiction are grounded in the local area and spotlight real people dedicated to protecting the land and fostering peace and justice. Both include Juanita and Wally Nelson as characters in the story.
Chuck Collins, the author of nine books on inequality and social change including Born on Third Base, has created his first fictional book. Altar to an Erupting Sun is described: "Collins weaves a riveting near-future story about the power of organized people to build resilient communities and thrive in harmony with the earth." Events at Montague Farm in the 1970s and the Seabrook Occupation are part of telling the tale of a community's response to climate disruption.
Sarah Pirtle is the recipient of the Olive Branch Award in 1987 for outstanding book of the year on world peace, author of five books and songwriter of nine recordings, Director of The Discovery Center for Peacebuilding since 1992. Sarah has revised and expanded An Outbreak of Peace, highlighting her commitment to intergenerational community building. The story imagines young people in Franklin County asking their town to vote at a town meeting to declare an Outbreak of Peace.
~ Brought to you by Sowing Solutions Permaculture Education
Suggested Donation $10. Please contact Sowing Solutions at PermacultureSeries@gmail.com for any other sliding scale contribution amount, or make a donation at the door. Proceeds will support the BIPOC, or Front Line Worker, or Low Income Student Scholarship Fund for the Permaculture Design Certification Course
Saturday Sept 30th: Tour Humble Abode Permaculture Plant Nursery
Saturday September 30th, 2:00-3:30
in Ashfield, MA
Tour a new nursery and learn about plant propagation!
From the Humble Abode Website: "Our nursery grows perennial food plants. We’re located in Ashfield, MA, zone 5a. We sell plants to home gardeners who want to grow their own food. Our plants will help you move your grocery store to right outside your kitchen door.We grow our plants without the use of poisons. We ship and offer local pick up of bare root plants twice per year, in the spring and the fall. We encourage you to propagate our plants. We want you to reap a bounty, so we share as much information about how to grow, propagate, and eat our plants as we can."
PLANTS WILL BE FOR SALE AFTER THE TOUR!
November 4th & 5th: Workshop! Create a Botanical Artist Book with Colors from Nature on Paper & Cloth
Nov 4 & 5 Workshop: Print, Dye & Stitch ~ A Natural Dye Workshop
* Create a Botanical Artist Book with Marjorie of Print and Dye Workshop
November 4th and 5th, 10:00-4:00 each day
at The Permaculture Place at The Mill in Shelburne Falls
Join Marjorie from Print & Dye Workshop in Shelburne Falls for an exploration of natural color on cloth and paper.
Day One: Marjorie will teach about Natural Dyeing
Day Two: Marjorie will teach us simple bookbinding and/or stitching, and we will assemble our work
In this two-day workshop we will use local leaves, flowers, and other natural dyes to create a collection of prints and textiles that can be transformed into a variety of paper and cloth works, including hand stitched books, cards, quilts, and more. No prior experience is required for this exploratory workshop; only enthusiasm and a love of nature. Leave your expectations at the door!
(There will be an additional $40 materials fee for this weekend) ~ The total for the 2 day workshop including materials is $245.
Attend The Weekend Series
Permaculture Design Certification Course
with Sowing Solutions ~ AUTUMN 2023!
Visit the Home Page of this website for more info
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The longest-standing intentional community, ecovillage, and retreat center in the northeastern USA is found in Shutesbury, where they employ ecologically conscious methods of living and a consensus-style governance process. Visit a 90 foot long four-season straw bale greenhouse, a hand built cob house, a masonry stove, and a no-till CSA with annual and perennial vegetable gardens.
Offsite Tour: Visit a Straw Bale House
Tour the home of a family of 5 in Shelburne Falls, where they constructed their natural home out of straw bales, and heat their home with a masonry stove. Learn about their design decisions to choose earthen materials and about their construction process. Witness the efficiency and beauty that they have created. This tour is followed by a slide show about natural building techniques and options.
Offsite Tour: Visit a Permaculture Homestead and Demonstration Forest Garden
Tour a home landscape created by Jono Neiger of Regenerative Design Group in Leverett. Witness his efficient energy systems, fruit production, water catchment, nutrient cycling systems, and hear about his permaculture design process over the last 15 years.
PREVIOUS EVENTS/ FUTURE EVENTS TBA:
Farming for Biodiversity
Designing Pollination Systems to Sustain Native Wildlife
A Presentation by Evan Abramson, Pollination Systems Designer at Landscape Interactions
Local Textiles, Bringing Regenerative, Non-Toxic, and Ethical Textile Production Back to New England
Nur Tiven, founding member of Western Mass Fibershed, tells the story of producing the first local and sustainable wool apparel fabric to come out of Massachusetts in decades, and discusses the need for and inspiring possibilities of rebuilding regional fiber systems and textile economies.
Sunday June 9th, 1pm-5pm: Mushroom Cultivation Demystified! Low Tech and No Waste Methods of Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Fungi
Spend the afternoon of July 9th learning various strategies to bring valuable mushrooms close to home. We will learn the mushroom life cycle, how they are produced, and how you can grow these delicious treats without waste or a big investment.
Friday June 21st, 7pm: Teaming Up with Soil Life, Intro to Soil Biology & Chemistry (in relation to the plants we want to grow!) + * 8:30pm Special Summer Solstice Community Celebration *
Kaat Vander Straeten is a certified permaculture designer and a graduate of Elaine Ingham's Life in the Soil classes. She can tell a good nematode from a bad one and will show you how you can tell too. Learn all about the soil food web, bacterial versus fungal soils, how to cook up some good compost and compost tea, what earthworms like to eat, and the real definition of a weed.
Movie Night! A Viewing of: ‘Inhabit, A Permaculture Perspective’ See the best film about the permaculture movement!
Created by our very own permaculture design course graduate!
Introduction to Healing with the Five Elements Join us for a guided movement meditation and an informative talk with Tom Matherly of Fox Tracks Healing.
Introduction to Plant Spirit Medicine Join us for a talk with Clare Pearson of Wilder Brook Botanicals, healer and educator, who will guide us in a meditation and share about the healing power of plants.
“Plants have Spirit. And Spirit is the strongest medicine.” ~Eliot Cowan
Mushroom Cultivation in Permaculture Systems with Ari Rockland-Miller of The Mushroom Forager!
Learn to create a landscape that produces a bounty of gourmet mushrooms while nourishing soil fertility and boosting vegetable yields.
An Introduction to Orcharding and Grafting Fruit Trees with a Biodynamic Practitioner Alan Surprenant of Brook Farm Orchard