On New Ground

Here is an excellent article about the connections between regenerative, organic agriculture and carbon sequestration. In the words of my grandma, who read this just two weeks before she passed away at age 85: "I have just read the the whole piece, including the responses. How about that? I know I don't understand it all, but I know enough to worry a lot about what we're doing to the ocean." She was sharp as a tack until the day she passed, and I'm sure she understood much more than she let on. However, I figure if she could read this and be concerned about the fate of a world that she would not spend that much more time in, so surely should the rest of us.

Sacred Ecology recently visited and ranked the top 10 ecology centers and permaculture programs in California. Happily, the Regenerative Design Institute was picked #1! Here is a link to beautiful photos and information about these inspiring programs around the state.

In honor of our recent class on water, I'm sharing this excellent blog post on what the U.S. would look like if our state boundaries were defined by our watersheds. It's a fascinating idea that changes the way you think about how we define where we live, our sense of place. Writer John Lavey states, "...at this stage in our national historic narrative, we are in no position to adjust state boundaries this radically – and while it’s intriguing to write about, it’s not an idea I’m boosting. But perhaps there is the chance that if John Wesley Powell had had his way, communities would have grown up with a different water ethic, one that considered longer term into the future than the next cycle of the plow." Click on the image for the entire blog post, or just to see a larger version of this map.

I'm excited to say that after an extended search for a permaculture program that works with my schedule, last October I joined a year-long course offered by the Regenerative Design Institute out in Bolinas. This means that for one Saturday a month, I get to travel to lovely Bolinas and gather with a group of people who are also wading slowly into the vast waters of sustainable, integrated ecology and design. Stinson and Bolinas Beaches Greenhouse at the gardens It is dense. So far, we've covered the ethics and principles of permaculture , soil, and water, but by the end of each day, it is clear how deep a person can go with these topics. Technically, you could get an entire master's degree in soil science and water management alone, so I'm taking each nugget of wisdom and skill as an invitation to explore. We've also had a lot of time for hands-on work, like digging swales to "teach water how to walk" or move it away from unwanted areas