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Welcome to the latest edition of the TheDirt.org!

Just as before you can login to TheDirt.org, make blog posts and post events.  There is a new form and we can now display Google Calendar feeds to the calendar! We've already added  Google Calendars from Friends of Trees and a few other organizations to give folks a better idea of what the calendar will be like. 

See below for a quick view of events this week or click here for the full page, monthly view.

 

Calendar

VBC evening session - Saturday, May 25th

May 25, 2013 - 5:30pm to 10:00pm

VBC evening session - Sunday, May 26th

May 26, 2013 - 5:30pm to 9:30pm

VBC evening session - Monday, May 27th

May 27, 2013 - 5:30pm to 10:00pm

VBC evening session - Tuesday, May 28th - VBC Decentralized Night! Starts at 5:30

May 28, 2013 - 7:00pm to 10:00pm

VBC evening session - Wednesday, May 29th

May 29, 2013 - 5:30pm to 10:00pm

VBC evening session - Wednesday, May 29th

May 29, 2013 - 7:00pm to 10:00pm

VBC evening session - Thursday, May 30th - Two Locations at Last Thursday

May 30, 2013 - 6:00pm to 10:00pm

VBC evening session - Friday, May 31st

May 31, 2013 - 5:30pm to 10:00pm

VBC evening session - Saturday, June 1st

June 1, 2013 - 5:30pm to 10:00pm

The Cascadia Education Project Presents: A FUNgi Fun Grazer

May 18, 2013 - 5:30pm to 10:00pm

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Energy Descent is Cool! Even When It's Bloody Cold

Two Line Description: 

by Mark Watson, originally published by Transition Network  | DEC 22, 2012

Link: 
http://www.resilience.org/stories/2012-12-22/energy-descent-is-cool-even-when-it...

Creating an “Energy Descent Action Plan” (EDAP) is one of the key 12 steps in the original Transition Handbook and the first ingredient in the Buildingsection of the Transition Companion.

nergy descent plan cartoonTransition initiatives work within their communities on a vision for building local resilience, whilst becoming less fossil-fuel dependent, and reducing carbon consumption. Then they 'step up' with this plan in order that it informs the actual decisions and policies to be implemented in the local area.

During 2009 and 2010 a group of people in Transition Norwich set about preparing a version of the Energy Descent Action Plan, called the Resilience Plan. Although it remained incomplete, an example of the work required for preparing such a plan can be seen in this detailed outline of a Food Chapter for the Resilience Plan for Norwich by Tully Wakeman (see Charlotte's post on Monday). And this is just the food section.

Posted By Jeremy read more

VBC13 Urban Succession: Shift & Sprout

When: 
Friday, May 24, 2013 - 9:30am to Sunday, June 2, 2013 - 9:30pm
Web: 
Facebook Page
http://vbc.cityrepair.org/

Our mission is to facilitate an annual collaboration and cross pollination of neighbors, groups, and civic partnerships to transform our city through village life patterns, educational and placemaking projects. This culminates in a 10 day springtime celebration.

We will come together to create benches, community kiosks, gardens, street paintings, tile mosaics, and more! Come join your neighbors as they bring to life the natural building, permaculture, and public art projects that they’ve been planning. Learn valuable skills for urban sustainability and social regeneration while celebrating the creativity and diversity of our wonderful city! Read more about the VBC... 

During the day, you will have the opportunity to get involved with creative, community designed placemaking projects happening all over the city. There will be natural building, gardening, art, and many other fun things to do and great people doing them with you! This aspect of the event is always free.

During the evening everyone will gather at a central venue for a night of wholesome food, presentations by leaders in the forefront of positive change, and exhilirating musical performances from local bands. Prices here range from free to $30, with worktrade available most nights.

There are many ways to get involved:

  1. Volunteer NOW to help plan & coordinate the VBC event (see how our core planning team is organized here). See an overview of opportunities & contact our volunteer team here.
  2. Host a placemaking site next year (2013) in your neighborhood!
  3. Build, paint & learn at neighborhood placemaking sites during the VBC. Check out our official guide for 2012!
  4. Volunteer for a *worktrade* shift during VBC evening events to help us make this great event possible (and get free access to another evening event). Contact [email protected]
Posted By Jeremy read more

Growing Gardens volunteer garden mentor program

Growing Gardens is recruiting once again for our volunteer garden mentor program and we would love to share the volunteer opportunity with Portland Permaculture Guild.

Growing Gardens helps families with low incomes build, start, and maintain home vegetable gardens to increase food security. Home gardeners receive support in the form of a garden mentor.

Growing Gardens is currently recruiting for mentors for the 2013 growing season!

Mentors will work with one or more beginning gardeners enrolled in the Home Garden Program. They will assist Home Gardener(s) with:

  • Garden care
  • Planning for spring/summer/winter gardening
  • Planting, problem-solving, maintenance
  • Worm & compost bin construction
  • Garden winterization

Growing Gardens will provide training to mentors and mentees on garden planning, composting, soil health and winterization.

In addition to our traditional model of home gardener mentorship, this year we will also be piloting a program called Neighborhood Networks, wherein home gardeners meet with others in their neighborhood to receive hands-on garden education and workshops in small groups.

Both opportunities are currently posted on our website as well as CNRG.
http://cnrg-portland.org/content/be-garden-mentor-and-help-family-increase-their-food-security
http://cnrg-portland.org/content/garden-mentors-needed-grassroots-garden-education-pilot-program

Please follow up with Rodney Bender, [email protected] as I will be taking leave for a few months starting next week.

Posted By Jeremy read more

Home Orchard Society Gardener's Calendar

Two Line Description: 

Handy list of gardening tasks that should be done for each of the months of the year.

Link: 
Home Orchard Society (HOS) Gardeners Calendar

By Ted Swensen 

A collection of gardening tips for your home garden & orchard. Click on a month to view the calendar. If you would like to contribute, post your tip at the HOS forums!

Posted By Jeremy read more

The Peak Oil Crisis: Deep in the Heart of Texas

Two Line Description: 

Review of the recent Association for the Study of Peak Oil conference.

Link: 
The Peak Oil Crisis: Deep in the Heart of Texas

By Tom Whipple

The Association for the Study of Peak Oil recently held its annual conference down in Austin, Texas. The venue for the meeting was right across the street from the University of Texas football stadium which is as close to the heart of Texas as you can get. This year the conference focused on two main themes – the rapid growth of tight oil production in the U.S. and where it is going; and the economics of oil – or will prices continue to allow us to grow our economy.

 

The conference opened, however, with two presentations expressing concerns about the practice of lumping together various forms of liquid hydrocarbons and calling it oil in official statistics – when several of the liquids being lumped in do not have the same energy value nor the utility of oil as a transportation fuel. Ethanol, now ubiquitous in our gasoline, contains some 25 percent less energy than regular gasoline and gives much less mileage. Natural Gas Plant liquids are useful mainly as a feedstock for  petrochemicals and propane heating, but are of only marginal use in transportation fuels. Adding refinery processing gains as a source of energy is disingenuous as the refining simply breaks down the oil in smaller molecules which take up more volume and hence give the impression that we have more “oil” products after refining. The truth is the energy remains the same before and after refining and we have simply “inflated” the liquids so they take up more barrels.

 

Posted By Jeremy read more

Want to be a Farmer? Beginning Urban Farmer Apprenticeship (BUFA)

Two Line Description: 

Early-bird discount ends this Sunday, December 16! Submit your application this weekend to get a 10% early-bird discount on BUFA 2013 tuition.

Link: 
Original Newsletter
BUFA home site
Apply here for BUFA 2013

Join us beginning in April 2013 for an 8-month, season-long, beginning farmer training including:

  • Comprehensive curriculum in urban farming and sustainable farming methods through classes, field trips, farmers market experience and an online learning platform
  • Hands-on, in-the-field apprenticeship with experienced local farmers and educators
  • OSU's established Growing Farms: Successful Whole Farm Management Workshop Series, an established small farm business planning course

Application period open:  November 15, 2012 - January 13, 2013

Early-bird tuition discount for applications received before December 16, 2012  -  Classes begin: April 3, 2013 

Enrollment limited to 20 participants - Work-trade and Full Scholarships are available.

For more information and applications: www.multco.us/sustainability/BUFA

email: [email protected]        phone: 503-421-5708    Apply now!

The Beginning Urban Farming Apprenticeship (BUFA) provides in-depth and comprehensive training in urban farming and sustainable farming methods. This innovative educational program is designed to give new and aspiring urban farmers and community land stewards the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to grow and market fresh vegetables, fruits, grains, cut flowers, and other products in urban settings.  

Posted By Jeremy read more

Elderberry School - Herbalist Training Program

When: 
Saturday, February 16, 2013 - 10:00am
Web: 
Info
Register!

This course is designed for anyone who wishes to develop his or her skills as an herbalist in the Pacific Northwest bioregion. Our classes span the harvest season—from Poplar buds in the early spring to the roots of late fall. The program covers foundational herbal medicine topics while emphasizing the reawakening of a core way of knowing that encourages trust in our own senses and places authority in direct experience.

Posted By Jeremy read more

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