‘In Transition’ is now available to view in full on YouTube (apart from Part 3, following soon)… don’t forget that you can also buy copies of the DVD which feature the film itself as well as hours of wonderful Transitioney extras; find out more here.  Anyway, sit back and enjoy.  We love it.

Read more here

[transitionculture.org]

I hosted a Permaculture course at a farm I lived on (along with everyone else who lived there) in Bellingham, Washington, almost twenty years ago, taught by the esteemed Larry Santoyo, and the amazing (and now deceased) Simon Henderson.  That course changed my life more than almost anything else.  Permaculture encompasses everything– the environment, social systems, economic systems, food production, spirituality…  just everything.  Check it out.  Then check it out more.  Permaculture is an invaluable contribution to a healthy life.

Here’s a picture of Bill Mollison, the guy behind the idea, and another amazing human being who was one of Bill’s inspirations, Masanobu Fukuoka.

Click the pic for a short intro video about Permaculture

I’m learning how to create a blog! I promise it will get more interesting …

I’m going to make two posts today. The first is about school and blueberries. Let’s get started.

School is drudgery. I love it, I really do, but I also think it’s pretty useless. Academia prepares you for academia. This isn’t about technical schools, or specialty schools, this is about straight-up college… the thing that everyone says you *HAVE* to do in order to be anything, ever.

Like I said, I love school. I am great at self-teaching but I respond well to feedback. There aren’t many settings where people will read your bright ideas and mark them according to a pre-defined, A-F grading system. Mainstream America understands A-F. It’s clear-cut, no ambiguity. It’s not like the rest of society, where our common language (American!) has 26 letters that can be combined in near-infinite words and phrases.

A-F is simple and kind of a one-size-fits-all system that makes education streamlined… kind of like a factory. Instead of saying “Great idea, but did you think about this?” the teacher can just respond with “B” and a smiley face and all is well. We understand “B.”

I am an A/B student, but I give off the impression that I am an A student. I gave off that impression when I was a C/D student. Everyone reminded me that I make such good grades as a way to get me to get my act together and make those grades.

You know what? I am no worse off because I spent a few years as a C/D student. In fact, I consider that part of my life, where I attempted to pry myself away from the system, to be one of the most pivotal experiences thus far (the other being now, of course.) I am proud of my C/D years. Those were the years that I only gave half a damn, and only because I wanted to scratch on through to the next round until I finally got out of the hell that was highschool.

Sometimes I want to know what the hell I am still doing involved with school. What am I doing? I said “I love school” but I think what I really mean is “I’ve been trained so well to do this, that it’s the only thing I’m really comfortable with even though I think it’s completely absurd and obnoxious most of the time.” I still haven’t pried myself away from this obnoxious system.

I learned some interesting things this semester and I have access to scores of academic literature that would otherwise cost hundreds of dollars a month to access. Maybe hundreds of dollars a month isn’t so bad… considering the cost of school.

I finished my last exams and my last papers and now I am somewhat dumbfounded… that’s it? I thought there was something else.

Well there is!

That something else is the fact that with all that artificial stress and all those ridiculous deadlines, there are blueberries. There are blueberries. Where did they come from? They were planted in the 70’s about 200 yards away from my house and they have since been shaded out by wisteria, oaks, privet and a mess of vines over there by the old house.

Our friend Chris stopped by on Sunday and while we were giving him a tour of the property, we felt compelled to check out the old fruit trees. Ronnie led us back through a little thicket, a place I had never before gone, and there we found the blueberries.

Chris took one bush home, and today I went out a got dozens of little root cuttings from 3 or 4 different varieties of bushes. I just finished planting them in the yard. I planted 8 sets, with 2-3 cuttings per set in case a few of them die. They’ve been mulched and watered and they’ve got good sunlight. In time, perhaps I will be sharing news of a nice blueberry harvest!

What I learned this semester didn’t help me at all with the blueberries. That’s not surprising. An expensive hobby, but some people buy cars and clothes and gadgets, and I think school is certainly a better investment than those things.

My official opinion on school? I think it’s a worthy experiment for those who have already been trained. It exposes you to things, but you can’t forget that it has hardly a thing to do with reality. School’s okay for me, but I wouldn’t want to subject my kids to that mess.

A quote from Mark Twain, shared with me by a dear friend:

“Don’t let schooling interfere with your education.”

And another post to come, this one on chickenry.

from some bay area permies.

Question:
Hello,

Anyone know the best way to get rid of Scotch broom? I was going to sheet mulch a hillside in Pacifica after slashing down broom, when I was told to eradicate the broom before putting anything down on the ground. Not sure what eradicating meant and why this wouldn’t at least help.
Also there are moles living in the hillside and the “mole expert” told my client that decaying cardboard will attract the moles to nest in the area. Anyone else heard of this and/ or have suggestions about getting rid of moles/gophers?

Thanks!
Nicole

Answer
It’s exactly what people don’t like about scotch broom that makes it so effective. You might reconsider your approach to this problem in order to take advantage of the broom.  The fact that there is so much broom there, indicates that the soil is under-fertile. Broom, despite it’s undeserved bad-reputation, is a permaculturalists friend for a few reasons. 1.) Top of the list is it’s ability to fix nitrogen out of the air and accumulate it in it’s body and seeds, and thus the soil (assuming you don’t burn it or remove it). This is why you find all types of broom all over California, because the soil is generally under-fertile, given the natural history of the land (logging, grazing, mining and building). 2.) Another reason why it’s valuable is because it’s an excellent mulch crop, producing a lot of biomass that cuts easily and breaks down quickly, yielding nitrogen to surrounding plants. 3.) The last reason (short list) it’s beneficial, particularly in this case, is because it’s extensive network of surface roots is slowing erosion on the slope.

Sounds like you’ve already cut it down. What I would do next, depends on what you’re goals are with this land. Let’s say, for example, you’re planting an orchard from bareroot soon, the young fruit trees will be small. In the first spring or summer, once the broom has grown all over and is crowding up against the young trees, come thru with a string trimmer and cut the broom back leaving all the slash as mulch in rings around your new trees. Do this a couple times a year and now your broom is literally growing your orchard. This will work whether you sheet mulch with cardboard or not. The broom is much preferable than the weeds that are likely to take it’s place, mainly grasses, as a mulch crop for whatever you plant.

As far as the moles go, also nothing to worry about. Moles are insectivores and make burrows near the surface of the soil, helping to increase tilth and the infiltration of air into the soil. Though some people consider the evidence of their activity unsightly, such people should probably look at pictures of gardens rather than actually gardening. My Dad used to tell this joke about “experts”, something like an ex is something that used to be, and a spurt is a drip under pressure…

Feel free to contact me with more specific questions.

Kailash Wolf
http://www.homeduckproductions.com

-Alloway, David, Desert Survival Skills, University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas, 2000.
-Brown, Tom, Tom Brown’s Field Guide to Nature Observation and Tracking, BerkeleyBooks, NYC, 1983.
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-Budwoth, Geoffrey, The Book of Knots, Barnes and Noble Books, NYC, 2003.
-Cronon, William, Changes in the Land, Indians, Colonists, Ecology of New England, Hill and Wang, NYC, 1983.
-Densmore, Frances, How Indians Use Wild Plants for Food, Medicine and Crafts, Dover Publications Inc., NYC, 1974.
-Department of Army Field Manual: Survival, Washington, D.C., 1970.
-Elpel, Thomas J., Participation in Nature, Hops Press, Pony, Montana, 1992.
-Emergency Preparedness, Backwoods Home Magazine, Gold Beach. OR, 1998-2002.
-Hamm, Jim, Bows and Arrows of the Native Americans, Bois D’arc Press, Azle, Texas, 1989.
-Hart, Carol and Dan, Natural Basketry, Watson-Guptil Publ., NY, 1976.
-Hunt, Ben, The Complete How-to Book of Indian Craft, Collier, NY, 1973.
-Janowsky, Chris and Gretchen, Survival, Paladin Press, Boulder, Colorado, 1986.
-Kochanski, Mors, Northern Bushcraft, Lone Pine Publ., Canada, 1987.
-McPherson, John and Geri, Primitive Wilderness Living and Survival Skills, Prairie Wolf, Randolph, Kansas, 1993.
-Mann, Charles, 1491, Alfred A. Knopf, NYC, 2005.
-Metcalf, Harlan, Whittlin’, Whistles, and Thingamajigs, Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, PA, 1974.
-Miles, Charles, Indian and Eskimo Artifacts of N. America, Bonanza Books, NYC, 1963.
-Murphey, Edith, Indian Uses of Native Plants, Meyebooks Publisher, Glenwood, Illinois, 1958.
-Nabokov and Easton, Peter and Robert, Native American Architecture, Oxford University Press, NYC, 1989.
-Foster and Duke, Medicinal Plants: Peterson Field Guide, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1991.
-Peterson, R.T. and McKenney, Wildflowers: Peterson Field Guide, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1971.
-Peterson. L., Edible Wild Plants: Peterson Field Guide, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1973.
-Petrides, Eastern Trees: Peterson Field Guide, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1985.
-Petrides, Trees and Shrubs: Peterson Field Guide, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1987.
-Rezendes, Paul, Tracking and the Art of Seeing, Camden House Publishing Inc., Charlotte, Vermont, 1992.
-Richards, Mat, Deerskins into Buckskins, Backcountry Publ., Cave Junction, Oregon, 2004.
-Riggs, Jim, Blue Mountain Buckskin, MC Andrews Graphic Arts, Joseph, Oregon, 1979.
-Schaefer and Day, Atmosphere: Peterson Field Guide, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1980.
-Schneider, Richard, Crafts of the North American Indians, R. Schneider Publishers, Stevens Point, Wisconsin, 1972.
-Simpson, Layne, Shotguns and Shotgunning, Krause Publications, Iola, Wisconsin, 2003.
-Star, Blue Evening, Building Tipis and Yurts, Lark Books, NYC, 1995.
-Stewart, Hillary, Cedar, Tree of Life to the Northwest Coast Indians, Douglas and McIntyre, Vancouver, Canada, 1984.
-Strung, Norman, The Art of Hunting, Cy DeCosse Inc, Minnetonka, MN, 1984.
-Swan, James A., The Sacred Art of Hunting, Willow Creek Press, Minocqua, Wisconsin, 1999.
-Taurell, Paul, Camping and Wilderness Survival, Shelburne, VT, 1996.
-Underhill, Ruth, Pueblo Crafts, R. Schneider Publ., Stevens Point, Wisconsin, 1983.
-Wescott, David, Primitive Technology II, Ancestral Skills, Gibbs Smith Publisher, Salt Lake City, 2001.
-Wescott, David, Primitive Technology, A Book of Earth Skills, Gibbs Smith Publisher, Salt Lake City, 1999.

We’re pleased to announce that we’re partnering with the makers of the video above,WeForest, to help establish self-replicating permaculture reforestation demonstration sites in accordance with our Permaculture Master Plan, in several worldwide locations – starting in Zambia in the first instance. Our Geoff Lawton has just agreed to be on their advisory board, and we’ll be working to supply guidance, knowhow and staff to pioneer these projects.

please read original post here

[permaculture.org.au]

Climate Watch

ClimateWatch was developed in order to understand the effects that climate change is having on Australia’s plants and animals.

Climate change is affecting rainfall and temperature across Australia. As a consequence, flowering times, breeding cycles and migration movements are also changing. Scientists have very little data available to understand the impacts of this.

Your task is to observe and record what plants and animals are getting up to. Tell us when frogs are calling, birds are nesting and plants flower or leaves fall. The plants and animals have been selected by the Science Advisory Panel as easy to find and distribution. We can then unlock nature’s secrets to understand the changes caused by climate variations and scientists can find out what seasonal variations are occuring in Australia.

get involved

[climatewatch]

I found this blog to be informative about guilds, the question of which comes up several times in most Permaculture courses. We structure a guild the way a forest or an ecotone (the transition between ecosystems or habitats) or a disturbed sight recently colonized by plants, structures the groupings and layers of plants and animals in its domain. It behooves us to study natural plant communities in our particular bioregions. It is important to explore areas that have been set aside for conservation, backyards, alleys, agricultural edges, etc to discover what plants are functionally supporting one another. We can then mimic this structure in our forest gardens, annual crop beds, edible landscapes, what have you.
More on guilds later:
http://onestraw.wordpress.com/sub-acre-ag/permaculture-guilds-a-primer/

Also, this video about Plants for a Future is very informative for those that wish to explore the edible landscape in more detail. Plants for a Future is a unique resource for us plant freaks, an everything resource:

and

Approaching the last few months of living at this rented house, it highlights how something like gardening is about things that go on. Planting and cultivation for a harvest weeks or months into the future offers an understanding of time that seems to contradicts the logic of short-term leases and moving house. While we’ve planted gardens, we’ve selected varieties that we hope we can harvest before we leave. Sophie and I have wanted to plant fruit trees, but have contented ourselves with potted dwarf varieties, getting established until we find a patch of land to call our own.

I an effort to set up the garden as self-managing system, I plant and seed profusely and allow plants to self-seed once they reach the end of their reproductive cycle. Looking at our little herb patch after nine months, it seems now to be approaching this kind of self-managing equilibrium. The self-seeded second generation of some plants have germinated and are growing strongly. The change in season, combined with an occasional flourish of the secateurs, is keeping the more aggressively spreading plants, like mint and epazote, in check.

When we arrived at this house in March, there was one vegetable bed, with corrugated iron sides, and another in a stage of disassembly. The sides had been removed and it sat as an eroding mound in the middle of the lawn. Pete moved the mound into place parallel with the existing bed and made a pile of dirt for the herb garden on the foundations of an old rainwater tank. Our landlords, friends of ours, had two stipulations – don’t do anything that can’t be undone, and leave the lawn.

While the edges of the yard contained evidence of past plantings – a few dried twigs where fruit trees used to be, much of the yard was high grass. We set to building a chook house, complete with two yards. The chooks made short work of the first yard, and we then moved the expanded flock into the second yard to clear that. The first yard, now cleared of grass and manured over several months, has become a Columbian-exchange-themed summer garden, with multicoloured maize, rad fig tomatoes, beans, Jerusalem artichokes, and Pennsylvania Dutch Crookneck butternuts. Between the rows I’ve planted red clover as a green manure and nitrogen fixer, and the whole patch is sheltered from the summer sun by a pair of local Blackwoods, with a spreading patch of Warrigal Greens providing additional forage should the chooks get the chance to head back in before we leave.

The seven chickens don’t take long to clear an area, with the second yard now scratched down to dust. Happily however, there are other parts of the garden that are still high with grass and weeds, and we’ve set up a holiday yard for them so they can continue to forage greens during the days. In true permaculture style, I’ve tried to initiate closed loops for the chickens where possible. Grass and weeds harvested from around the yard (including some oats I grew) become feed for the chickens, or are dried for use as bedding in the nesting boxes. Used bedding is then composted, and used on the garden again for the growing of more food. Chook manure is collected too, and I’ve been making a compost tea, and then applying it, heavily diluted on the garden beds. If anyone has any hot tips for making an effective chook manure fertiliser, I’d love to hear from you.

For a while, I considered the driveway our very own “Centre for Weed Diversity”. Over the generous rains of the winter, the forgotten edges of the property (the driveway, under the trees, down the side of the house, the front-yard, grew deep beneath grasses, thistles, and prickly lettuce. Assisted by Pat Collins’ excellent book Useful Weeds at our Doorstep, I realised that these edges were a wealth of edible and medicinal wonders. Chickweed grew voraciously through the herb garden and chook yards, prickly lettuce and sow thistles, both edible, have a foothold, and luminous green dandelions grow along the narrow, sheltered eastern side of the house. Now with the warm weather, purslane has been pushing through in the dry, gravely soil of the garden bed I dug in the driveway – another succulent, wonder plant to be explored. I read somewhere about how in the Andes, the heartland of potato diversity, farmers leave weeds on the edges of their fields in order to encourage cross-pollination with their crops’ wild ancestors, imbuing new configurations of resilience and disease resistance onto the cultivated varieties. Weeds also reflect the principle of ecological succession. In degraded landscapes, pioneer plants – weeds – move in first, opening up the ground with their roots, adding organic matter to the soil through their decomposition, creating the conditions for other life to inhabit. (I remember seeing mallows growing in piles of gravel at a building site, and wondered how long it would be before it was forest).

Tucked behind the shed, and outside the doorway of the ex-outback dunny are a couple of plum trees, a peach and an orange tree. Drawing inspiration from desert genius Brad Lancaster’s book Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond, I sculpted the ground beneath the trees to gather rain into their root zones. The plum outside Sophie and my bedroom window is heavy with fruit, protected from the lorikeets with empty onion bags.

As the heat hits, we gather the seeds from wild and cultivated rocket, calendula, daikon and French Breakfast radishes, parsley, coriander, calendula and nasturtiums. As our time at this house finishes, hopefully we’ll leave the land a little healthier than when we can, the soil thick with the seed of meals to come.

- Joel

Here is a quote from the text of an article in the Mother Earth News about forest gardening. This is a mainstay of the Permaculture system. The use of perennials in the landscape is essential: “I’m convinced that imitating natural systems is fundamental to any successful effort to raise food. The idea behind forest gardening is that natural forests produce an abundance of food. People the world over have harvested food from the forest, reaping where they did not sow. Forest gardeners imitate the forest’s natural structure to take advantage of this abundance, but they increase yields even further through careful planning and management. The result is a productive fusion of garden, orchard and woodland.”

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/2007-08-01/Plant-Edible-Forest-Garden-Permaculture.aspx

One planet living

We’re consuming resources and polluting the planet at a level the Earth cannot sustain.

One planet living is a vision of a sustainable world, in which people everywhere can enjoy a high quality of life within the productive capacity of the planet.

Ecological footprinting shows that if everyone in the world consumed as many natural resources as the average person in the UK, we’d need three planets to support us. If everyone consumed as much as the average North American, we would need five planets.

The concept of one planet living uses ten principles of sustainability as a framework to help us enjoy a high quality of life within a fair share of the earth’s resources.

THE TEN PRINCIPLES

The ten principles of one planet living are a framework to help us enjoy a high quality of life within a fair share of the earth’s resources:

Making buildings more energy efficient and delivering all energy with renewable technologies.

Reducing waste arisings, reusing where possible, and ultimately sending zero waste to landfill.

Encouraging low carbon modes of transport to reduce emissions, reducing the need to travel.

Using sustainable products that have a low embodied energy.

Choosing low impact, local, seasonal and organic diets and reducing food waste.

Using water more efficiently in buildings and in the products we buy; tackling local flooding and water course pollution.

Protecting and expanding old habitats and creating new space for wildlife.

Reviving local identity and wisdom; support for, and participation in, the arts.

Inclusive, empowering workplaces with equitable pay; support for local communities and fair trade.

Encouraging active, sociable, meaningful lives to promote good health and well being.

BioRegional’s One Planet initiative consists of a range of practical projects and partnerships across the world that demonstrate how we can live within our fair share of the Earth’s resources.

The One Planet initiative covers a wide range of activity including:

• communities
• construction
• regions
• companies
• lifestyles

BioRegional is an entrepreneurial charity, which initiates practical sustainability solutions, and then delivers them by setting up new enterprises and partnerships around the world. We assist and encourage others to achieve sustainability through consultancy, education and informing policy.

http://www.bioregional.com/

We are coming to the end of the hunter-gatherer segment of the Three Epochs outline. Tomorrow I will post a bibliography for this section. After this we move into the realm of pastoralism and the tending of animals.

XV. Rawhide and Tanning
A. Properly skin an animal so as to leave as little flesh on the hide as possible
B. Prepare and use a set of tanning tools
a. Flesher/ scraper
b. Stretcher paddle
c. Dehairing tool
d. Stretching frame: lacing
C. Obtain the brains and other useful organs for and prepare the tanning solution
D. Apply solution and work until hide is soft and dry
E. Build a smudge fire and smoke the hide on both sides
F. Produce an item of utility from a tanned hide
a. Pack straps
b. Moccasins
c. Possible bags
d. Braided tie
e. Rabbit rope
f. Pouches
g. Babiche
h. Parafleche
i. Canteen
j. Clothing
k. Blanket
l. Quivers
m. Drum
n. Box

XVI. Ropes and Knots (demonstrate and practice knot tying for specific applications)

XVII. Environmental Skills: Ecosystems and Science, Earth and Biological Sciences (Bioregions, habitats, deep ecology, immersing ourselves in the land and the natural world; How can we apply all of these subject areas in our practice?)
A. Geologic cycle
B. Weather, wind (speed and direction), cloud forms, barometer, folk signs, animal signs
C. Hydrologic cycle
D. Stargazing: astronomy and astrology
E. Birds: ornithology
F. Insects: entomology
G. Reptiles and amphibians
H. Conservation and ecology
I. Life zones
J. Mathematics: Fibonacci ratios and spirals
K. Sociology, geography, demographics
L. Microclimates
M. Botany
N. Zoology
O. Gardening and farming (see transition to Epoch I and Epoch II)

XVIII. Survival Skills of the Homeless
A. Observe the homeless in suburban, urban and rural areas
B. What kinds of skills do they utilize for their survival and how are they different, and the same, in each environment?

It’s all over!  (Sob! Where’s the tissues?)

Yes…….today was the last day of our 13-week Permaculture Design Course and we are each the proud possessors of an Official Certificate from the Permaculture Institute to say we’ve been there, done that.

The first couple of hours were spent putting the finishing touches to our designs and then it was on to the presentations—4 in all; 2 for the 5-acre hobby farm and 2 for the community garden. Each design of the pair different and yet each similar in incorporating the permaculture principles we’d spent 13 weeks learning. Comments, questions and helpful criticisms followed—all part of the ongoing learning process. I consider it was a lucky day when I followed a link to Forest Edge Permaculture and found Cam and his PDC. Particularly lucky, as there will be no more such courses, at least in my part of the world, for Cam, Jessie and little Yarrow will be moving to Canberra soon to start a new permaculture life.

So, where to, for me, from here.

Next year I plan to re-open my backyard hobby nursery, selling, not indigenous plants this time, but permaculture plants. Edible trees & shrubs, herbs, vegie seedlings, dynamic accumulators (you may well ask, so see the next post), etc, etc. And I plant to promote this way of doing things from now until I become a pile of worm castings, because I think it is the only way we will save ourselves from the uncertain future of energy decline and climate change which is ahead of us.

I also plan to do a couple of designs; one for neighbours and one for a friend, to keep my hand in. I have lots of retrofitting to do to my garden to incorporate the principles I’ve learned. Later on (much later) I hope to teach permaculture. If I can be as good and as successful a teacher as Cam, I will be content.

So, to Cam, Jess and Yarrow, good luck with your new venture in Canberra. To Andrew, Bianca, Carly, Cheryl, Dani, Daryl, John, Paul, Sabine,  Sandy, Sarah and Vicky, I wish you all well in following the permaculture path to a better future. It was a great 13 weeks!

Aboriginal Seasons

Australia’s climate is diverse. Monsoon tropics, desert, savanna, alpine and temperate regions can all be found in various locations. The sheer diversity of ecological zones negates the concept of a rigid European seasonal calendar for the entire continent. The Aboriginal people of Australia inhabited distinct regions that were usually concordant with geographical and ecological regions. An intimate knowledge of the environment was paramount for survival and the resulting meteorological view of the Aboriginal people is one of great diversity, where the nomenclature of the seasons is often dependant on localised events or resources.

The ability to link events in the natural world to a cycle that permitted the prediction of seasonal events was a key factor in their success. These natural barometers were not uniform across the land but instead used the reaction of plants and animals to gauge what was happening in the environment.

The presences of march flies, for example, was an indication to the Gadgerong people that crocodile eggs could be found, to look for native honey, and it was approaching the late dry season.

As a result of all this, seasonal cycles as described by the various Aboriginal peoples differ substantially according to location.

This produces a far more intricate and subtle overview of Australia’s climate than the 4-season European climate description of Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring, applied as it is across most areas of the continent.

source

[Bureau of Meteorology]

source

[Kakadu National Park]

Another pertinent article on the local food movement: http://www.lagunabeachindependent.com/news/2009-12-04/Front_Page/Growing_Your_Own_Is_Taking_Root.html

I would like to quote in full this small reflection on some things that Wendell Berry recently said at a lecture. His point is always clear and concise. Here goes:

Green Scene
by Erika Howsare
Wendell Berry behind the bully pulpit
by Erika Howsare, December 4th 09:24am

It’s possible that some of you may have tried and failed to get into the Wendell Berry event yesterday—it certainly was very well-attended. At 5:30, when the man himself took the podium, he very graciously invited all those standing around in the back to come forward and sit on the stage. Apparently Charlottesville is eager to hear his message.

It sure is a strong one. The man is a poet, but he is not given to subtlety when he talks about certain issues. (On biofuels: “That supposedly simple solution is wrong in every possible way.”)

The talk was essentially an argument for local agrarian economies, and against large-scale industrial economies. “We cannot have health or wealth apart from the health of the earth,” Berry said early on, before listing some of the consequences of industrialized land use: soil erosion, pollution of streams, toxic food, destruction of forests, surface mining, and destruction of rural communities.

He drew a very interesting contrast between farming systems that are based on the use of draft animals, and those based on the use of machines. And he made a very novel point, to me at least, about the local food movement. A true local farm economy, he said, also needs to include a local foresty economy, where instead of shipping raw logs away to be processed, a community would make and market its own wood products.

The logic is exactly the same as it is for food, but obviously the “local foresty” movement is embryonic or nonexistent compared to the flourishing “local food” movement.

I loved his unflinching answer to an anticipated charge that, in proposing an agrarian way of life, Berry is a Luddite. “I am indeed a Luddite if by that I mean I would not willingly see my community destroyed by a technological innovation.” Vintage Berry!

This video is a speech given by Wendell Berry. I find that is forthright and true in the deepest sense.

I am currently writing a thesis on the positive uses of so-called weed species. I am investigating three species in particular: Prosopis pallida (Kiawe) Hypophthalmichthys molitrix, (Silver carp), and Miconia calvescens (referred to in Hawaii simply as Miconia.)

There are many uses and functions for both carp and kiawe in a permaculture system. They are, of course, invasive in many areas outside of their native range. But once established they are not easily removed or controlled. So why not use them productively, and hopefully control them in some positive way, instead of branding them a nuisance or a problem?

I think a good example of this approach is how many permaculturists use and regard dandelions (T. officinale and T. erythrospermum). Every part of the plant is used in a positive way, even if many people view it as a weed or pest. In using the plant, permaculturists improve the land, earn a living, enrich their lives, and produce valuable products. In addition, dandelions are valued for many positive ecological functions. Dynamic accumulators, pioneer plants, apiaries, and food sources for wild animals.

Miconia, in Hawaii and many other tropical places, is viewed as an irredeemably bad plant. Academic literature generally discusses it in a negative light, primarily chronicling the removal or eradication of it. Large groups of botanical volunteers go out to destroy stands of the plant which, to be fair, is a terrible burden on any forest ecosystem outside of __________. It makes the place unenjoyable and tends to crowd out a lot of other, more desirable plants.

I cannot find a single positive use for Miconia on any website or in any electronic resource. Governmental policy is rather unkind to the plant; predictably, so is the research coming out of land grant colleges. One source describes effort toward producing pharmaceuticals from extracts of the plant.

The thesis discusses the positive benefits of inhabitory environmentalism. I.e., if a person lives and depends on a given piece of land for his or her survival and prosperity, they will generally treat it far better than otherwise, and will often improve degraded landscapes as well. One way to describe it as regenerative design

http://www.amazon.com/Design-Human-Ecosystems-Landscape-Resources/dp/155963720X#sipbody

http://www.oasisdesign.net/index.htm

Have you heard or know of any positive uses of miconia plants in productive, human-designed ecosystems?