February 2010
Posted January 20th, 2010 by evhadden
Building a diverse and hopeful community.
| Inside this issue of the Circular :
- Our Permaculture Response to 2009 |
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Our Permaculture Response to 2009At PRI Cold Climate, we are committed to building and operating our organization in line with permaculture values and practices. Here is one example of how permaculture thinking has helped us respond creatively to simultaneous and disparate challenges. |
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| During 2009, the first year of our Backyard Harvest program, we came up against space constraints for designing gardens in small urban backyards. We knew there was an opportunity to use vertical space more effectively. Folks also had a list of foods they wanted us to grow… melons being one of the more difficult requests to fulfill at this northern latitude because of their long growing season, temperature requirements, and sprawling growth.
We also became a certified nonprofit in 2009. As we considered and then made this transition, many staff and committed supporters spent considerable effort clarifying our organization's goals, strengths, and challenges. Key questions: How to continue building our community of members while also reaching out to diverse residents of the Twin Cities and the surrounding region? How to better integrate our organization into the vast available networks of people, places, and other resources? When considering these various challenges, we realized it would be a good time to make one of our long-held dreams happen and hold a design competition! This activity involves our community in a synergistic response to multiple and diverse challenges, with benefits for all. The competition will broaden our reach to connect PRI Cold Climate with new partners (sponsors, entrants, venues); spur innovative solutions to urban farmers' problems; and invite new ideas and talents into our community. Sponsors get recognition for supporting more sustainable lifestyles. Entrants get recognition for contributing creative solutions, and a lucky grand prize winner gets a stipend toward publicly implementing their design. Visitors to the Science Museum's Big Backyard get to see a tested innovative tool for growing vines in small spaces in cold climates. |
"We're approaching farming in a different way. You don't have to have acres of land, your food production area can be very small.
We are also growing food in a way that recognizes the beauty of the food and its growth, and we are adding human artistry, which brings an extra element of fulfillment for people. Finally, we are becoming more connected to our community. Not only are we helping homeowners and urban farmers connect with each other, we're also inviting the community at large to join in a fun search for solutions."
- Karen Graham,
co-organizer of the Design Competition You are invited to view the top designs in our Trellis About It! Design Competition at an Exhibition and Reception on Friday evening, March 12, from 5-9pm in downtown Minneapolis. Please support this event by entering our raffle - you could win local wines, or an organic coffee or tea gift basket! |
Upcoming eventsOur Spring calendar includes many classes on different aspects of and strategies for urban farming. We are also making an effort to strengthen connections between people who want to explore healthier, saner ways to live in cold climate regions. |
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| February 6 6-9 PM Everyone is invited to our Perennial Gathering this Saturday at the Longfellow Community Center. Live music, kids' activity table, and various people presenting their personal stories and permaculture projects. more details __________
February 13 1-5 PM Here is your poem-prose invitation to the first PRI Collaborative Forum: Talk Take this opportunity to commune and engage with other aspiring permaculturists: share your gifts, make connections and learn, establish people guilds, become empowered to act, uncover directions for growth…build momentum for realizing our common dreams. |
February 17, 24 7-9:30 PM and March 3, 10, 17 7-9:30 PM Learn small-scale techniques for growing food in urban areas, for your own family’s use or for urban markets. Our Urban Farming series is back by popular demand, with two new classes this year. Learn about
… you can choose any or all! $15 per class ($20 at the door) or all 5 for $60. (Click a course topic for more details and registration.) __________
February 20 9 AM - 4 PM __________ See all our Upcoming Events on the front page of the PRI Cold Climate website, in the top lefthand column. |
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We have received notice of many exciting permaculture-related events coming up this Spring in our region. Please visit this page, where we have posted all these event listings for you. |
| Do you have a Permaculture Design Certification? This is your next step! |
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PRI Cold Climate will support emerging teachers who can help us meet the growing demand for permaculture knowledge and skills. If you are interested in using this course to develop your teaching skills but need some help funding your participation, please contact Evelyn. |
March 19-28, build on your PDC by learning to share your permaculture knowledge, experience, and enthusiasm with others. We are still accepting applications for the intensive, one-of-a-kind "Teaching Permaculture Creatively" course. Dave Jacke and four other experienced permaculture teachers will lead you through mental, physical, and emotional exercises designed to help you create fun, effective educational experiences for people.
Want to help others understand the possibilities of permaculture design? This course will prepare and launch you. |
Backyard Harvest Call for 2010 CustomersFeed your family the freshest foods from your own yard this summer! |
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PRI Cold Climate's Backyard Harvest program offers a variety of services within the Twin Cities including your choice of 3 full service garden designs, 3 optional specialty food gardens, and garden consulting at an hourly rate. Our full service package includes garden design, installation, watering system, personal urban farmer for the growing season, weekly harvest at your door, e-newsletter, garden journal, and more! |
Full week's harvest.
(photo by Lisa Mason) |
| Be a part of the food you eat... let us grow you and your family a beautiful, nourishing and abundant garden. Email Krista to set up a free consultation. | |
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The Growing Under Cover WorkgroupPRI Cold Climate has formed a working group of folks growing plants in hoop houses, greenhouses, high tunnels, cold frames and other growing structures in order to extend the season and increase local seed and plant production. Workgroup members plan to share information with each other using a public Google group which anyone is welcome to join. Visit our group. If you have questions about this Workgroup, please contact Molly. |
Our first meeting on Dec. 14th attracted 20 people. We introduced ourselves with what growing structures we are using or have used in the past and what issues we are looking to solve. It was exciting to hear about all the personal homescale production, hoophouses, greenhouses, U of MN projects, and small-scale farming production -- there is a lot going on right here in the Twin Cities! We talked about the importance of sharing these experiences, documenting them, and using a citizen science model following the scientific method. We are looking to organize a greenhouse tour in February. Meanwhile, we're compiling Project Profiles that show our members' current growing structures and general interests. Then we will identify a few select issues we'd like to work on as a collective research and demonstration group.
- Lindsay Rebhan, |
