The Sierra Permaculture Guild

Building Resilient Communications: Keeping the lines open with Amateur Radio

Happy 2012! The Sierra Permaculture Guild is kicking the New Year off with our new  quarterly meeting schedule. Please make a note in your brand-new calendars that the guild will be meeting on the 3rd Sunday of February, May, August, and November at 2:30pm in the yo’Garage at Willow Springs unless otherwise noted.

For the February meeting of the Sierra Permaculture Guild, we are happy to announce that Charlie Kotan (K0TAN), president of the Nevada County Amateur Radio Club ( http://ncarc.org ), will be on hand to offer a presentation on radio-based communications. What is amateur radio, how does it work, and how can we use it to keep lines of communication open when the power, phones, and even the internet may be down? Find out how to use this 100 year-old technology in a modern context, both for emergencies and for fun!

Sunday, February 19, 2012
Doors open at 2:30pm for Q&A, informal discussion, networking & surplus/abundance sharing
The presentation will begin promptly at 3:00pm

Guild meetings are FREE and open to the public. Please bring a folding chair or cushion to sit on — seating is limited. Tell a friend!

In the yo’garage at Willow Springs
29085 State Highway 49
North San Juan, CA 95960
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/74Lo
Venue phone: (530) 292-3463
Venue website: http://WillowSpringsNSJ.org

For meeting & guild information, please call Paul @ (530) 362-8162

Visit the Sierra Permaculture Guild website at http://sierrapermaculture.org

Skills for Survival

Please join us for the next Sierra Permaculture Guild meeting, where local native skills and wilderness expert Zak Willard will describe how to survive in the wilderness for 72 hours using primitive and modern tools and methods. He will explain how to create a simple survival kit that will contain all the tools you’ll need for staying alive during the most crucial first three days of an emergency.

Saturday, November 12, 2011
2:30pm gathering
3:00pm presentation

Guild meetings are FREE and open to the public. Please bring a folding chair or cushion to sit on as seating is limited. Tell a friend!

at Willow Springs
29085 State Highway 49
North San Juan, CA 95960
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/74Lo
Venue phone: (530) 292-3463
Venue website: http://WillowSpringsNSJ.org

For meeting & guild information, please call Paul @ (530) 362-8162

Visit the Sierra Permaculture Guild website at http://sierrapermaculture.org

To get the latest updates on meetings and events via e-mail, please join the Sierra Permaculture Guild listserv at http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/sierrapermaculture

Join our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sierra-Permaculture-Guild/199464354385

Follow us on Diaspora* at #sierrapermacultureguild

  For September’s Sierra Permaculture Guild meeting, we’ll be taking a field trip to a local, established food forest to see how these sustainable food systems work up-close.

Alex Forrester of Ananda Village on the San Juan Ridge will be our host as we explore the intentional community’s developing forest garden which has been steadily evolving from what once a simple monocultural apple orchard. Alex will take us on a guided tour of the garden’s multiple layers and guests will be given an opportunity to savor the fruits of its abundance. We will also get to do some hands-on sheet mulching as well as explore the natural building methods that have been used for the construction of the barn. Please bring a water bottle, sun hat, and close-toed shoes.

Date: Saturday, September 10, 2011

Time: At 2:30pm, we will gather on the grassy lawn adjacent to the parking lot of Masters’ Market at Ananda Village and walk over to the forest garden at 3pm.

Place: Ananda Village, 14618 Tyler Foote Road, Nevada City, CA 95959 Please see the following Google Map link for specific site locations: http://g.co/maps/894c

View Ananda Village in a larger map

>> From Nevada City, take Hwy 49 twelve miles north to Tyler Foote Crossing Road and turn right, travel 4.4 miles and turn left on Ananda Way (you will see a large ‘Ananda Village’ sign here), then turn right on Brotherhood Way. Park in the lot on your left and look for the tables and umbrellas where will will meet before proceeding by foot to the forest garden.

To get the latest updates on meetings and events via e-mail, please join the Sierra Permaculture Guild listserv at http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/sierrapermaculture

Visit our website at sierrapermaculture.org

Like us on Facebook

Join us for the next Sierra Permaculture Guild meeting!

Saturday, July 9, 2011
2:30pm

For years, we’ve heard about local food, but have you given any thought to local clothes?  What will we wear when we can’t get cheap clothing from China?  Those who work in the fiber arts field have developed the skills to create new clothing, but often cannot source the materials they need locally.  Learn more about your local fibershed, what’s available and what is missing from it, at the July meeting of the Sierra Permaculture Guild.  Fiber artist and permaculture designer  Birdsong Sundstrom has has started a natural dye plant CSA this season to grow the color needed to dye clothing and art materials.  She will discuss dye plants and the colors they produce, wildcrafting dye materials here in the Sierra, growing dye and fiber materials, and how you we can begin rebuilding our own local fibershed.

Birdsong has worked with textiles since she was five, mastering knitting, crochet, sewing, weaving and spinning, and has tended both goats and sheep over the years.  She has studied permaculture since 1999, and received her certification at the Cooperative Permaculture Design Course held here last spring.  She lives in Camptonville, where she is busy planting more dye plants this season.

Also: Guild Veggie, Fruit & Herb Exchange. Please bring your surplus organic veggies, herbs, and fruits to exchange with guild members.

Guild meetings are FREE and open to the public. Please bring a folding chair or cushion to sit on as seating is limited. Tell a friend!

at Willow Springs
29085 State Highway 49
North San Juan, CA 95960
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/74Lo
Venue phone: (530) 292-3463
Venue website: WillowSpringsNSJ.org

For meeting & guild information, please call Paul @ (530) 362-8162

Visit the Sierra Permaculture Guild website at sierrapermaculture.org

To get the latest updates on meetings and events via e-mail, please join the Sierra Permaculture Guild listserv.

Join our Facebook page!

The Sierra Permaculture Guild
Saturday, June 11, 2011
2:30pm

Join us for the June Sierra Permaculture meeting as we help install an  array of permaculture elements for our hosts at Willow Springs. This will be a hands-on permaculture learning opportunity, so bring your water bottle, a pair of gloves, and prepare to roll up your sleeves. We’ll be working on the community garden, laying stone for a cob wall foundation, and digging a pond for the yo’garage courtyard.

Also: Guild Veggie, Herb and Flower Start Exchange – Please bring your surplus open-pollinated and heirloom vegetable, herb, and flower starts to exchange with guild members.

Admission is FREE and open to anyone interested in learning about permaculture. Tell a friend!

at Willow Springs
29085 State Highway 49
North San Juan, CA 95960
Map: http://goo.gl/maps/74Lo
Venue phone: (530) 292-3463
Venue website: WillowSpringsNSJ.org

For meeting & guild information, please call Paul @ (530) 362-8162

Visit the Sierra Permaculture Guild website at http://sierrapermaculture.org

To get the latest updates on meetings and events via e-mail, please join the Sierra Permaculture Guild listserv at http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/sierrapermaculture

Join us on Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Sierra-Permaculture-Guild/199464354385

Extreme Gardening: Growing Food In Challenging Situations

The Sierra Permaculture Guild
Saturday, May 14, 2011
2:30pm

Got food? With oil skyrocketing past $100 per barrel and commodities prices shooting thru the stratosphere, food is quickly becoming harder to afford on shrinking household budgets. Adding to our economic concerns, climate change is causing unpredictable weather patterns: above-normal rain & snowfall, unseasonal frosts & hail, summer droughts, and related conditions that make growing food all the more challenging. To top it off, what we do manage to grow often gets eaten by by creatures other than us! What is a conscientous home-grower to do!? Find out how to tackle all these garden challenges and more at the next Sierra Permaculture Guild meeting! Local permaculture designer Paul Racko will share his design for an efficient, economical, raised bed system using long-lasting materials. Learn how to extend your veggie growing season year ’round; get seedlings started early; exclude pests; save water; build & nuture your soil, and maximize abundance!

Also: Guild Veggie, Herb and Flower Start Exchange – Please bring your surplus open-pollinated and heirloom vegetable, herb, and flower starts to exchange with guild members.

Admission is FREE. Please bring a folding chair or cushion to sit on.

at Willow Springs in the Yo’garage
29085 State Highway 49
North San Juan, CA 95960
Venue phone: (530) 292-3463
Venue website: WillowSpringsNSJ.org

For meeting & guild information, please call Paul @ (530) 362-8162

Visit the Sierra Permaculture Guild website at http://sierrapermaculture.org

To get the latest updates on meetings and events via e-mail, please join the Sierra Permaculture Guild listserv at http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/sierrapermaculture

Join us on Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Sierra-Permaculture-Guild/199464354385

Sierra Permaculture Guild: Forest Garden Design
Saturday, April 9, 2011
2:30pm

Permaculture designer and teacher Mike Kluk will explore the place of a forest garden within an overall permaculture design. Mike will cover the challenges presented in a foothills-influenced Mediterranean climate, overview forest garden design basics,  explain site preparation, planting and maintenance procedures, and list the varieties of trees, vines, shrubs and annuals that will survive in our local climate.  This presentation will be more of a discussion than a lecture since Mike’s own forest garden is only three years old and he still has more questions than answers about what works.

Also: Guild Veggie, Herb and Flower Start Exchange – Please bring your surplus open-pollinated and heirloom vegetable, herb, and flower starts to exchange with guild members!

Admission is free. Please bring a cushion to sit on.

at Willow Springs in the Yo’garage
29085 State Highway 49
North San Juan, CA 95960
Venue phone: (530) 292-3463
Venue website: WillowSpringsNSJ.org

For meeting & guild information, please call Paul @ (530) 362-8162

Visit the Sierra Permaculture Guild website at http://sierrapermaculture.org

To get the latest updates on meetings and events via e-mail, please join the Sierra Permaculture Guild listserv at http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/sierrapermaculture

Sierra Permaculture Guild: Local Responses to Peak Oil

Saturday, March 12, 2011
2:30pm

As the economic ramifications of Peak Oil begin to manifest at the local level, communities here in the foothills are beginning to make assessments of how to cope.

The Nevada City Energy Solutions Task Force (NCESTF) recently finished its report to the city, spelling out a few of Nevada City’s expected vulnerabilities to Peak Oil, and some of the steps that Nevada City could take to prepare. Tom Grundy, lead author of the Task Force report, will summarize some of the findings and recommendations that are specific to Nevada City and to our region. Joining the discussion, Nevada City councilwoman Reinette Senum will explain the Alpha Building project and her vision for creating a vibrant and diverse local economy.

Also: Guild Seed Exchange – Please bring your surplus open-pollinated and heirloom vegetable, herb, and flower seeds to exchange with meeting attendees.

Admission is free. Please bring a cushion to sit on.

at Willow Springs in the Yo’garage
29085 State Highway 49
North San Juan, CA 95960
Venue phone: (530) 292-3463
Venue website: WillowSpringsNSJ.org

For meeting & guild information, please call Paul @ (530)613-4181

Visit the Sierra Permaculture Guild website at sierrapermaculture.org

To get the latest updates on meetings and events via e-mail, please join the Sierra Permaculture Guild listserv at http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/sierrapermaculture

Secrets of Successful Chicken Coop Design

with Mark Hall of Creative Coops

Saturday, February 12, 2011
2:30pm

Local handyman and carpenter Mark Hall will talk about the secrets of successful chicken coop design. Hall is the owner of Creative Coops, a local fabrication company which designs and builds safe and healthy living environments for poultry. His website can be found at creativecoops.com

Also: Also: Guild Seed Exchange – Please bring your surplus open-pollinated and heirloom vegetable, herb, and flower seeds to swap with meeting attendees.

Admission is free. Please bring a cushion to sit on.

at Willow Springs in the yo’garage
29085 State Highway 49
North San Juan, CA 95960
Venue phone: (530) 292-3463
Venue website: WillowSpringsNSJ.org

For meeting & guild information, please call Paul @ (530) 613-4181

Visit the Sierra Permaculture Guild website at http://sierrapermaculture.org

To get the latest updates on meetings and events via e-mail, please join the Sierra Permaculture Guild listserv at http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/sierrapermaculture