“The time I spent in Pennsylvania for my Spring Break was simply amazing. I remember Kim asking us to think of one word to summarize this trip and I soon thought of the word, relationships. The community Kim and Joel showed us had so many relationships. All of which are positive. From knowing a man that was able to provide chairs for an event to someone who’s opening a farm-to-table restaurant. While at the film viewing at the restaurant, I saw how the people there had their own relationships with each other. It made me glad that I was able to somewhat build or start my own relationships with some of these wonderful people. Especially with our host, Kim and Joel and their wonderful farm.”

YERT (Your Environmental Road Trip) is a groundbreaking adventure and a celebration of the American spirit in the face of adversity – a thought-provoking, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious, documentary about the courageous and creative individuals, groups, businesses and leaders of this country who are tackling the greatest environmental threats in history. Called into action by the ever increasing threats of planetary catastrophe (from climate change to toxic pollution, from water scarcity to habitat destruction), the three of us – Mark Dixon, Ben Evans, and Julie Dingman Evans – upended our lives, pooled our collective life-savings, and set off on a first-of-its-kind, 50-state, year-long journey of discovery to personalize sustainability and to answer a critical question: ARE WE DOOMED?

Location:  Horn O’ Plenty Farm to Table Restaurant

220 Wolfsburg Road ¨ Bedford, PA 15522

 www.myhornoplenty.com

No Food or Beverages will be served at the event!

When: Friday, March 9, 2012 (7:30-9:30 PM)

Contact: Kim Walsh at kim@wildmeadowsfarm.com or 814-839-4962 for more details

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Schedule: Plan to arrive at Wild Meadows Farm on Friday August 19th by 6:00pm for a dinner, introductions, movie, and discussion. Saturday and Sunday we will do hands on activities which includes a guided forage walk, awareness exercises, primitive shelter construction, wild edible plants, fire by friction, cordage making, solar still, primitive cooking with a steam pit, use of throwing stick as a hunting tool, and more.

The cost of this workshop is $150, which includes nourishing wholesome vegetarian food, materials, and instruction.

Lodging is separate from the workshop fee:
camping $10
shared room $15
private $20

GUEST INSTRUCTOR
Kenneth Point is an organic vegetable gardener on a mission to get more families out and growing in their own back yards. His focus has been in the areas of ornamental edibles, heirloom vegetables, and edible weeds and wild plants. Kenny was introduced to a survival and nature awareness school in New Jersey run by Tom Brown Jr. In addition to attending classes at the Tracker School, Kenny has practiced wilderness skills at Earthwalk Northwest in Washington State and primitive skills at the Virgin Island Sustainable Farm Institute in St Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.

Today Kenny works as a Compliance Auditor at a medical center, but still manages to find time for hiking, camping, and raising organic vegetables, fruits, and herbs. Kenny also writes about his personal experiences in the garden over at the Veggie Gardening Tips website.

Join us after lunch on Sunday, August  21 to create a round basket using a variety of locally harvested leaves and vines. The 2 hour class will be given by award-winning basket maker Loretta Radeschi of Bedford, PA.  Loretta’s inspiration for her baskets comes from Native American cultures, especially the Cherokee and Choctaw, her love of nature and the beauty of Bedford County’s ridges and valleys. Wool, llama fleece, leaves, branches, feathers, vines and bark are among the materials Loretta uses in her one-of-a kind baskets.  Fee for the class is $20 including materials.

Registration deadline by August 16th
To sign up, contact Michelle @ 814 839 4962
or email  MLKJ21@gmail.com

Edible Ecosystems Emerging: Food Forestry for the 21st Century.

For more info or to register please check out the event webpage.

Permaculture Design Certificate Course at Phipps

Join us at the Phipps Garden Center for 6 weekends of intensive permaculture design and practice!

Primary Teachers: Darrell Frey, Three Sister’s Farm and Bioshelter

Elizabeth Lynch, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens

Juliette Jones, Pittsburgh Permaculture

Dates: January 29, 30, February 12, 13, 26, 27, March 12, 13, 26, 27, April 2

Time: 9am-4:30pm

Cost: $770 Phipps members, $850 Non-members

Location: Phipps Garden Center, 1059 Shady Ave., Pittsburgh, Pa 15232

Be your own landscape designer!  This intensive weekend course will teach you the secrets of ecological design; learn how to garden like nature!  Capture and store water on your site, reducing irrigation costs; build soil and use plants that mulch, reducing your need for artificial fertilizers; and design more sustainable garden systems, reducing your maintenance and maximizing the yield and aesthetics of your property.  Visit local examples of permaculture design, use mapping and site analysis tools and complete a guided design project.

This course will challenge both beginning designers and experienced gardeners alike.

Permaculture design is rooted in agriculture and horticulture, yet is far reaching and interdisciplinary in nature, making connections to city planning, ecology, architecture, and appropriate technology.  This course covers the foundations of ecological design and addresses how these concepts can be applied to both urban and rural settings in order to create regenerative landscapes.

Course Topics

Permaculture Ethics & Principles

Observation & Ecological Design

Site Analysis & Assessment

Edible Forest Gardens

Water Harvesting

Natural Building

Greenhouse & Bioshelter Design

Compost & Soil Building

Mapping, Surveying, & Presentation

Group Design Projects & Design Charettes

Transition Town Movement

Contact:

For more information- Juliette Jones, jjones@phipps.conservatory.org, 412/441-4442 x 3902

To register- Sarah Bertovich, sbertovich@phipps.conservatory.org , 412/441-4442 x 3925

DESCRIPTION

Reconnecting with the natural world can give us meaning and guidance in an increasingly sterile and destructive culture. Foraging, fire making and other survival skills may seem unnecessary in today’s modern society but even in an urban environment they can come in handy. Hands on activities include guided forage walk, debris shelter construction, water collecting and location, solar still, and using a bow-drill for fire making.

GUEST INSTRUCTOR

Kenneth Point is an organic vegetable gardener on a mission to get more families out and growing in their own back yards. Introduced to the hobby of gardening when he was ten years old, Kenny quickly developed a knack and a passion for growing plants and gardens of all kinds.

After graduating from college with a degree in accounting, Kenny pursued his interests in organic gardening by spending several years managing the gardens and orchards on a forty acre organic farm just outside of York, PA. His focus has been in the areas of ornamental edibles, heirloom vegetables, and edible weeds and wild plants.

It was around this same time that Kenny was introduced a survival and nature awareness school in New Jersey run by Tom Brown Jr. In addition to attending classes at the Tracker School, Kenny has practiced wilderness skills at Earthwalk Northwest in Washington State and primitive skills at the Virgin Island Sustainable Farm Institute in St Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.

Today Kenny works as a Compliance Auditor at a medical center, but still manages to find time for hiking, camping, and raising organic vegetables, fruits, and herbs. Kenny also writes about his personal experiences in the garden over at the Veggie Gardening Tips website.

REGISTRATION

The cost for this workshop is a $150, which includes lodging in an 1850’s rustic farmhouse, vegan/vegetarian cuisine, and instruction. Discounted fees are available for Bedford, Fulton, and Blair County residents of PA and Garrett County residents of MD.

SCHEDULE

Plan to arrive by 7:00 PM on Friday evening for a meal and to share/hear stories. We will be starting at 9:00 AM on Saturday and ending the workshop on Sunday by 3:00 PM.

For further questions, email Kim Walsh at info(at)wildmeadowsfarm.com or call at 814-839-4962.

LOCATION

Wild Meadows Farm ¦ 456 Smith Road ¦ Schellsburg, PA 15559

FRIDAY FILM & DISCUSSION: 7:30 pm (FREE & OPEN to the Public)

GARBAGE WARRIOR (2007)

What do beer cans, car tires and water bottles have in common? Not much unless you’re renegade architect Michael Reynolds, in which case they are tools of choice for producing thermal mass and energy-independent housing. For 30 years New Mexico-based Reynolds and his green disciples have devoted their time to advancing the art of “Earthship Biotecture” by building self-sufficient, off-the-grid communities where design and function converge in eco-harmony. However, these experimental structures that defy state standards create conflict between Reynolds and the authorities, who are backed by big business. Frustrated by antiquated legislation, Reynolds lobbies for the right to create a sustainable living test site. While politicians hum and ha, Mother Nature strikes, leaving communities devastated by tsunamis and hurricanes. Reynolds and his crew seize the opportunity to lend their pioneering skills to those who need it most. Shot over three years and in four countries, Garbage Warrior is a timely portrait of a determined visionary, a hero of the 21st century.

Earthship n. 1. passive solar home made of natural and recycled materials 2. thermal mass construction for temperature stabilization. 3. renewable energy & integrated water systems make the Earthship an off-grid home with little to no utility bills.

Biotecture n. 1. the profession of designing buildings and environments with consideration for their sustainability. 2. A combination of biology and architecture.

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION

Building with natural materials locally sourced is the ideal. Designing dwellings that integrate food production, water capture and storage, healthy living space, passive solar, and energy efficiency is the essence of permaculture. These topics and more will be examined and discussed. Hands on activities include constructing an outdoor cob oven.

GOALS OF THE WORKSHOP

• Learn about natural building techniques
• Construct an outdoor cob oven
• Enjoy an age-old technique of community building & design

INSTRUCTORS

Andy Purke has been an artisan blacksmith for over 20 years and is an accomplished homesteader and “jack of all trades.”  He’s locally sourced all the materials to construct a cob oven and knows the phases and challenges of foundation digging & building, dry-stacking stones, and cob oven mixtures.

Joel Cahalan is a certified permaculture teacher and aspiring biointensive gardener whose mentors include Dave Jacke and John Jeavons .  He manages the production aspects of Wild Meadows Farm and in a former life co-founded and helped manage a  successful worker cooperative (thehubbikecoop.org).  He dreams of a future in which all species are respected and valued and humans live in harmony with their home planet.  Other interests include all things related to bicycles, anarchism and nature.

REGISTRATION

To register, click HERE. Please register by June 9, 2010 so that we can plan accordingly.

The cost for this workshop is a sliding scale fee of $150-$200 which includes lodging in an 1850’s rustic farmhouse, vegan/vegetarian cuisine, and instruction. Work trade is available and negotiable. Discounted fees are available for Bedford, Fulton, and Blair County residents of PA and Garrett County residents of MD.

SCHEDULE

Plan to arrive by 7:00 PM on Friday evening to attend the film showing followed by a community discussion. We will be starting at 9:00 AM on Saturday and ending the workshop on Sunday by 3:00 PM.

For further questions, email Kim at (info(at)wildmeadowsfarm.com) or call at 814-839-4962.

LOCATION

Wild Meadows Farm ¦ 456 Smith Road ¦ Schellsburg, PA 15559

This workshop is a collaboration of Chesapeake, Education, Arts, and Research Society (CHEARS) and Wild Meadows Farm.

DESCRIPTION

Imagine a forest that provides an abundance of food, fiber, fuel and pharmacy while requiring a minimum of human intervention. The system works together in a multi-layered and resilient ecosystem. Learn how to design and create such a system for your own permanent or temporary dwellings. Hands on activities will include planting a forest garden, site visit to an established food forest, and sharing ideas in conviviality.  To start off our weekend, a public film showing with the community of Bedford County, PA will take place in the barn on Friday evening at dusk.

GOALS OF THE WORKSHOP

• To understand basic concepts of edible forest gardens.
• To provide installation techniques & skills through hands-on practice.
• To inspire through existing designs & examples.

FRIDAY FILM: A Farm for the Future 7:30 pm (FREE & OPEN to the Public)

Wildlife film maker Rebecca Hosking investigates how to transform her family’s farm in Devon into a low energy farm for the future, and discovers that nature holds the key.

With her father close to retirement, Rebecca returns to her family’s wildlife-friendly farm in Devon, to become the next generation to farm the land. But last year’s high fuel prices were a wake-up call for Rebecca. Realising that all food production in the UK is completely dependent on abundant cheap fossil fuel, particularly oil, she sets out to discover just how secure this oil supply is.

Alarmed by the answers, she explores ways of farming without using fossil fuel. With the help of pioneering farmers and growers, Rebecca learns that it is actually nature that holds the key to farming in a low-energy future.

GUEST INSTRUCTOR

Darrell E. Frey of Three Sisters Permaculture Design, is a sustainable design consultant with a focus on sustainable community development. He is also co-owner and manager of Three Sisters Farm, a certified organic market garden farm with a large bioshelter (ecologically managed solar greenhouse). Mr. Frey’s background includes 22 years of commercial market gardening, 25 years teaching of sustainable design and consultation on sustainable systems application. Work experience and research includes ecological landscaping, organic farm design and management, sustainable energy systems, community food systems with an emphasis on diet and health, natural and green building, environmental education, GIS mapping and business planning.

Other work experience includes 18 years as an MR direct care worker, teaching gardening and landscaping to at-risk youth, managing farm interns and lecturing to groups of all ages. Mr. Frey has completed a BA in Sustainable Community Development at Prescott College April 3,  2006.

REGISTRATION

To register, click HERE. Please register by April 12, 2010 so that we can plan accordingly.

The cost for this workshop is a sliding scale fee of $150-$200 which includes lodging in an 1850’s rustic farmhouse, vegan/vegetarian cuisine, and instruction. Work trade is available and negotiable. Discounted fees are available for Bedford, Fulton, and Blair County residents of PA and Garrett County residents of MD.

SCHEDULE

Plan to arrive by 5:00 PM on Friday evening to share a meal with the other participants and to attend the film showing. We will be starting at 9:00 AM on Saturday and ending the workshop on Sunday by 3:00 PM.

For further questions, email us info(at)wildmeadowsfarm.com or call us at 814-839-4962.

LOCATION

Wild Meadows Farm ¦ 456 Smith Road ¦ Schellsburg, PA 15559

RELATED RESOURCES

Edible Forest Gardens, Agroforestry Research Trust,

This workshop is a collaboration of Chesapeake, Education, Arts, and Research Society (CHEARS), Threes Sisters Permaculture Design, and Wild Meadows Farm.