Grow the Campus Permaculture Movement – #PYCC2013 Conference!

Dear Friends,

I’ve been witnessing an incredible surge of permaculture interest, classes, demonstration gardens, and research at colleges and universities over the past few years. It is very exciting to see this happening, all across the world!

A team of us from UMass Permaculture is creating a venue for all of the campus permaculture groups and individuals to come together, in one place. We’re calling it the Permaculture Your Campus Conference (2nd annual!) and it is happening this June 23-26 at UMass Amherst.

• Watch the 2-minute conference informational video here!
  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZ4mqB0udK0
• Register today (by April 22) and save $100!
  • http://bit.ly/RegisterPermacultureConference
• Need a scholarship? We have money! More info. here:
  • http://www.umasspermacultureconference.com/financial-aid.html

Keynote speakers include urban revitalization strategist Majora Carter and award-winning author, Eric Toensmeier, plus many other presentations from campus permaculture designers, students and faculty.

We hope that you’ll consider attending and/or passing this e-mail along to students, faculty, staff and permaculture designers who are working to make their local institutions or campuses more sustainable, using permaculture strategies, tools and techniques. Or anyone you think who might benefit from this conference!

More info. below, and see attachments. Thanks everyone, and onwards!

-Ryan Harb

• Sample Facebook/Twitter post (to copy/paste!): Check out Campus Permaculture Conference @UMassAmherst June 23-26! http://youtu.be/jZ4mqB0udK0 Keynote speakers Majora Carter and Eric Toensmeier

About the Permaculture Your Campus Conference

The Permaculture Your Campus Conference is not your typical sustainability conference. We began two years ago because we saw an opportunity for campuses to play a unique and integral role in transitioning our culture into one that is truly sustainable. Globally we face some significant challenges, including climate change, peak oil, and social and economic instability, to name a few. It’s critical that we find solutions fast.

But we believe that we already have many of the solutions, and campuses can pioneer the global sustainability movement by using permaculture as their guiding framework. Over two million freshman students enter colleges every single year in the United States alone. What if those students learned the “basics of sustainability” during their college experience, and brought that new paradigm out into the world with them, into hundreds of different fields?

The mission of the 2013 Permaculture Your Campus Conference is to bring together students, faculty and staff from international colleges, universities, and businesses to learn why and how permaculture design is being used as the guiding framework for some of the most cutting-edge sustainability programs around the world.

At this conference, attendees will examine diverse models of institutional sustainability that were designed using the campus permaculture toolset. Participants are also able to gain hands-on permaculture experience and explore transformative strategies for creating a culture of sustainability at college campuses and other organizations.

Whether you’re a student or faculty or staff participating in campus sustainability, a dining services manager or in the physical plant, this conference will provide you with a new set of tools that will help you in your job, and will help your institution become a leader in the international sustainability and permaculture movements.

Full UMass Amherst Permaculture Webpage

For more information on the current UMass Permaculture Initiative please visit UMassPermaculture.com

Joins us at Siruis EcoVillage!

Come hear the story of how an ecological initiative in a small village in the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe grew into a community model of sustainable living. Along the way they have become masters of conflict resolution. The project has been about health, conflict resolution, and social improvement—as well as food.

Julious Piti has more than 20 years experience in Permaculture, he is the co-founder of one of the most interesting Permaculture Projects in Zimbabwe (CELUCT in Chikukwa – Zimbabwe).

Mr Piti will speak about his Permaculture projects and how they have helped transform his local area. He will explain the “Three Circles of Knowledge”—how he works within the area where indigenous, spiritual and analytical knowledge overlap.

View Video Here: http://vimeo.com/36582870

About Chikukwa:
Chikukwa is a community nestled high up in the Chimanimani mountains. Because of its location—right on the border with Mozambique, in the gap between two stretches of mountains—Chikukwa was a route for Zimbabwean guerrillas based in Mozambique during the liberation struggle, and Rhodesian soldiers used to come and burn down people’s houses. After Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980, the same paths were used by Mozambicans in their bitter civil war. Up until 1990, Chikukwans often slept in the bush to avoid attack by Renamo guerrillas. War—together with Chikukwa’s remote situation— limited development in this area.

With the support of the Chikukwa Ecological Land Trust (CELUCT), not only have they managed to stay food secure and peaceful during the last conflict ridden years in Zimbabwe, but they have also managed to retain strong and joyful community relations with plenty of heart-warming laughter, singing, dancing and celebration. At the heart of this lies a powerful commitment amongst community members to cooperate to create a strong and sustainable community through the use of permaculture, conflict resolution and the practice of mindfulness.

Contacts
Initiative email: info@envirochangemakers.org
Primary point of contact: Joanne Poyourow

For More Information Please Visit Sirius Community WordPress

Harvesting Everyday at UMass!

We harvest veggies and herbs from the permaculture gardens at UMass everyday!

Below are some enormous radishes from the Franklin Permaculture Garden on campus.

Below is some enormous kale from the Berkshire Permaculture Garden on Campus.

Worcester Herb Garden at UMass

Have you ever walk back and forth in the Worcester Dining Commons between the main building and the Worcester Oak Room?  Have you ever had to look for a seat in additional seating?  Do you remember passing a small garden behind a glass wall and glass door?  You’ve probably seen the Worcester Herb Garden many times without knowing what’s growing there.  There are sage, cilantro, dill, fennel, tarragon, oregano and mints growing there to name a few. 

Chef Don Sabola from Worcester DC tells us how the garden started:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2iNkMRKGww&feature=youtu.be

Warning, committee member Emily showcases the wonderful creepy crawly organisms in the herb garden at the end of the video!

UMass Permaculture goes to New England Small Farms Institute (Compost).

At the end of April UMass Permaculture took a field trip to NESFI, New England Small Farms Institute. NESFI is located in Belchertown, MA on 275 Jackson Street, supporting prospective budding farmers and small- scale agriculture. Susanne Hale gave us a tour and also brought us to the site of Farmers Friend Compost, where they process local yard waste and more relevantly to us, UMass dining commons food into agricultural compost. Susanne Hale also currently operates an experimental permaculture fruit and nut CSA out of NESFI. The following video documents the conversation about the importance of responsible waste management. If you ever wondered where or how the dining commons’ food becomes composted, check it out:

Due to the increasing number of plastic and non-biodegradable wastes entering the compost bins of UMass, Farmers Friend Compost is in danger of losing their composts’ organic certification. Organic certification is regulated by the National Organics Program, overseen by the United States Department of Agriculture. It is strictly enforced by certifying agents who review information on the compost production process and make sure that the compost product meets a series of minimum criteria. Organic certification is very expensive and time consuming, requiring a lot of effort.

It’s really important for UMass students to become more aware of what can and cannot be thrown away, or more specifically into which bins they should throw away what. Be on the lookout for the signs that tell you!

Frances Moore Lappé Kicks off Permaculture Conference

For more information on this event click the photo above!

UMass Permaculture Your Campus Conference This June 2012!

Information Board: A Personal Narrative

At the beginning of this past semester, we tweaked the way our committee was run. These changes had been made to accommodate an overwhelming desire to achieve more as a committee, create a flexible work space, and encourage creativity. As a result, we have created and completed many successful permaculture projects ranging from a permaculture “zine,” to dorm presentations, and radio spots.

Currently, I, along with several other students on the committee, have been working to create and implement an Information Board for the Franklin Garden in order to satisfy a need for a more accessible form of learning.

The info board will be established in one corner of the garden this summer and will contain short sections about permaculture, UMass Permaculture, and other pertinent information. Thousands of students walk by the Franklin permaculture site every day, and I hope this info board will allow students to interact with and learn about the garden in their day-to-day lives.

To the many people who pass by the garden, the information board may seem to be just another method of promoting permaculture on campus. However, for me it has meant much more. As a student, I have often felt very disempowered and frustrated at the lack of impact I can make on educational institutions. I have often felt as though my actions make limited differences on the world around me. This semester has started to make me aware of my own potential. When I suggested the idea for the information board at a meeting, I noticed a spark of interest from my fellow committee members. One week later, a committee had been created to work on the project. We have spent many, many hours meticulously editing and rewording the content for the board, and it will soon be ready to go.

I feel an immense sense of accomplishment and pride in the work that I did for this project. Even though the information board is a small endeavor in the grand scheme of things, I started to notice a glimmer of hope for student agency and decision-making. Every time I walk by it, I will be reminded of my own abilities and my own potential to create or to change. I am aware that it’s only a small change; but a lot of small changes can start a revolution.

-Varshini

Moving Forward

It seems crazy to me that my first year of college is almost over! It has been an action-packed, intense couple semesters, and I could not be happier with the friends of made, the communities I have involved myself in, and the opportunities I have pursued. Being an active member of the permaculture committee has of course been one of the highlights of this year. But now as I look forward to the next three years here at UMass Amherst, I cannot help but be a little overwhelmed at all the decisions to be made. Even though people keep telling me I’m “just a freshman,” the looming threat of picking the correct classes, making wise decisions regarding internships and jobs etc. seems to be ever-present. Permaculture too is prevalent in this vast array of to-be-made decisions.

In this upcoming semester, permaculture will be exploding on this campus. There will be many new classes for students to take, and a whole new community of avid environmentalists and designers to be created. I am extremely excited about this expansion of permaculture into our classrooms. However, as an individual, I often worry about my own place in such an expanding community. Within the committee, I have created for myself a safe space. I have forged enduring friendships and a lasting sense of community. In a university with over 20,000 undergraduates, it is the place I feel comfortable and the people I know.

My greatest struggle for this upcoming year will be finding a niche once again for myself in an inevitably expanding world. In my opinion, permaculture must grow within our UMass community for it to succeed. I simply have to find a way to grow with it.

-Varshini