11 Sessions - July to October 2009

Presented by The Center for Bioregional Living and Andrew Faust

This course will cover the core 72 hour Permaculture Design curriculum, including additional hours of in class and out of class activities to adapt this course to our region and to contemporary ecological issues in the United States. You will learn how to apply Permaculture principles to a diversity of settings and issues with an emphasis on urban and temperate environments.

This Permaculture design course provides a positive and empowering vision for social and ecological transformation. Come be inspired by the possibilities of today and not by the fear of tomorrow!

Permaculture

• is an ecological design science that provides insights and practical techniques for living a fruitful and abundant life.
• is addressing the major issues of our day from a whole systems perspective.
• is a worldwide movement that is helping to regenerate local ecologies and economies.
• is a solution oriented ecological approach to retrofitting our societies.

This course is perfect for a diversity of individuals who wish to use Permaculture in Urban environments as well as a diversity of other environments.

Lectures, extensive and diverse handouts, field trips and hands-on activities will explore: Methods for regenerating local economies and regional self reliance, the economics of globalization, providing individuals with practical tools for creating positive social change, inner-city gardening techniques, indoor and apartment gardening, making fermented foods, whole foods, Living Machines and natural wastewater treatment, biogas generators, ecological niche market and value added business ideas, passive integrated water systems, rain gardens that alleviate flooding while addressing sewage treatment plant overflows and clean water, living roofs, rooftop gardens and regional energy systems.

Other topics include:

The evolution of agriculture, Biodynamics, natural history of Eastern woodlands, passive solar and natural building techniques, Biodynamic orchards, fruit and berry production, watershed health, the integration of animals into cultivated ecosystems, indoor mushroom cultivation and solar oven and portable rocket stove construction.

To receive a certificate students must attend all 11 classes and present a final Permaculture site design. Students will be given the option to present their final design individually which is a different approach than most PDCs. In our experience, and from what our growing number of students say, this contributes to a more practical, professional and intellectually stimulating learning experience. As a result a number of our students final presentations have gone from paper (or Powerpoint Presentations) to actualized, real-world designs.

View Syllabus

All classes are on either Saturday or Sunday, from 9am to 5pm, and will be held in two locations:

July 25th and August 8th sessions will be held at:

Curious Pictures
440 Lafayette St. 6th floor
Manhattan

The remaining days:

August 1st, 15th, 16th, 29th
October 3rd, 4th, 17th, 25th, 31st

Will be at:

Sixth Street Community Center
Lower East Side Manhattan
638 E. 6th Street between Ave B and C

Andrew Faust is one of the premier Permaculture teachers and designers in North America with 17 years of Permaculture experience, 10 years as a certified alternative school teacher (Upattinas-Glenmoore, PA) and 8 years living off-the–grid in rural West Virginia. Living in Brooklyn since August 2007 he has been applying his knowledge to urban needs and working on the development of The Center for Bioregional Living in Ellenville, NY, a pilot campus for his New York City students and clients. Andrew has taught the PDC course over 13 times at Yestermorrow Design/Build school in Warren,VT. This will be his fourth PDC course in New York City.

Guest speakers will include:

Keith Morris is an organic farmer, builder, and environmental educator. For the past five years, he has been designing and establishing an edible forest garden and ecological homestead in Johnson, Vermont along the Lamoille River. Prospect Rock Permaculture combines reforestation, wildlife refuge, and ecological restoration with food production and community building, while educating about and experimenting with sustainable techniques and ways of building.

Lisa DePiano is a certified Permaculture designer and co-founder of the Montview Neighborhood Farm, a human-powered farm and edible forest garden in the Connecticut River Valley. She has a Master’s degree in Regional Planning from the University of Massachusetts and likes to ride with the worker owned Pedal People in Northampton, MA.

Rafter Sass of Liberation Ecology has facilitated workshops on social project design, Permaculture design, the economics of globalization, mycology, and wild foods and medicines. In his own words, “I do this work because I want to be in conversation with people who are hungry for change, and the tools for making it.”

Bill Young of Young Environmental LLC is a recognized leader in the environmental field with more than 25 years of experience as a project manager, designer, and wetland specialist. His expertise includes habitat restoration on disturbed lands, wetlands monitoring and construction, botanical inventory, wildlife assessment, streambank restoration; and erosion and sediment control.

Lars Chellberg of CENYC and Water Resources Group builds and maintains low cost Rain Water Harvesting systems across the five boroughs and leads educational workshops on sustainable water practices. He will be leading a tour of one of the systems he designed for a community garden in the Lower East Side.

Paula Hewitt Amram is the founder of Open Road Park and will be talking to us about the transformation of a former bus depot/brownfield into the thriving community garden it is today.

Adriana Magaña a certified Permaculture Designer and Horticulturist will be leading the hands-on workshops. She is working with Andrew Faust to create The Center for Bioregional Living upstate on their 14 acres of property in Ellenville, NY.

Together this teaching team brings a wealth of wisdom and a diversity of experience ranging from city to country, from forests to deserts and beyond. Come and learn from the premier practitioners of ecological design in the Northeast and be a part of the growing community of cutting edge designers and community leaders!

Before July 10th $1000
After July 10th $1200
$100 paid in advance to reserve your spot
Register early for discount!

For more information go here or to register email andrew@homebiome.com
Andrew Faust
The Center For Bioregional Living
www.homebiome.com
Ellenville / Brookyn, NY

From our friends at the SRWA:

GREENING THE RIDGE 2009!
SUNDAY, JUNE 14th, 2009 at Veteran’s Memorial Pier at 69th Street in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn
10am- 6pm

Festival Schedule:
9am-10am: Exhibitor setup
10am: Festival Opening Ceremony
10am-Noon: Xavier High School Jazz Band “Bailout”
11am, 1pm, and 3pm: Dance Performance Installation, “What We Can See From Here,” by Cassie Mey and Jesse Phillips-Fein
Noon: Dance Performance Installation- Kids Workshop!

2:00pm: OLPH Twirlers!
2:30pm: SRWA Green Youth Award Ceremony
Noon to 6pm: Pill Hill Radio and Musical Guests
6pm: Festival end

The Sunset-Ridge Waterfront Alliance is pleased to announce our Second Annual Greening the Ridge Festival in 2009! This annual summer festival will bring vendors, agencies, programs, and individuals to the pier for an educational festival on how to green our community.

Building upon the success of our First Annual GTR Festival in 2008, this year’s event will bring even more people, and more inter-active booths to the Veteran’s Memorial Pier at 69th Street in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. In addition, we are unveiling our Green Youth Award Program at this year’s festival, click here for more information!

Special music entertainment provided by: Xavier High School Jazz Band, and Pill Hill Radio with Musical Guests!

Special dance performance:
What We Can See From Here
Performance Installation by Cassie Mey & Jesse Phillips-Fein

Meet our current sponsors & exhibitors:

Petri Plumbing
Kettle Black
Alley Cat Exterminating
Green Spa
Ben Bay Realty Co.
Ben Bay Realty Co. of Bay Ridge

Smart Car Manhattan

Gallery 364
Bay Ridge CSA
Bay Ridge Food Co-op
Greenmarket
Center for Urban Greenscaping (CuGreen)
EPA
Narrows Botanical Gardens
Ella Vickers Recycled Sailcloth Collection
Petit Oven

Circles International Natural Foods
Bettencourt Green Building Supplies
WowGreen
Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance
Farm Sanctuary
Natural Resources Defense Council
FDNY Smoke House
GreenBrooklyn
CleanAir NY

Garden Direct
Xaverian High School Environmental Club
Scandinavian East Coast Museum
Transportation Alternatives
Life Scout Troop 20, Edward Maddalena
Bay Ridge Historical Society

Plus many more to be added!

This all-day festival is FREE to the public.

More info at SRWAlliance.org.

If you are interested in obtaining more information, please contact Heather McCown: heather@srwalliance.org / (917) 971-0007.

The Sunset-Ridge Waterfront Alliance gratefully acknowledges support from Councilman Vincent Gentile, Assemblywoman Janele Hyer-Spencer, Congressman Michael McMahon, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, and State Senator Marty Golden.

By taking our workshop Saturday, June 27th, you will not only learn the process how to build a green roof, you’ll actually build one too!

A green roof expert will explain the ins and outs of the process and installation techniques.

PLUS you’ll get info on NY State’s green roof tax abatement, a guide book, tour Eco-Brooklyn’s brownstone (22 2nd St; Brooklyn, NY), and more!

Visit our website to learn more and REGISTER ONLINE NOW: www.greenroofworkshop.com

Attention Residents of Greenpoint, East Williamsburg, and Maspeth:

Are you worried about health problems caused by the pollution in your neighborhood?
Would you like the opportunity to tell your story?

If yes, then you may want to be interviewed for a community health project that aims to document the public health concerns of individuals residing in communities along Newtown Creek in NYC. The study will be conducted by a collaborative team from the Urban Public Health Department of Hunter College/CUNY, HabitatMap, and the Newtown Creek Alliance.

Participation will provide you with an opportunity to have your story documented in your own words. With your permission, the information you disclose will be displayed in written and audio format on a website (www.habitatmap.org) and in a report that will be disseminated to community members, media outlets, elected officials, and other interested parties.

Community involvement is important, make your voice heard!

If you have any questions or are interested in participating, please attend the following info session:

Tuesday, June 16th at 7PM
Lutheran Church of the Messiah
129 Russell St. (b/w Driggs Ave. and Nassau Ave.)
Brooklyn, NY 11222

For more information, contact us at:
newtowncreekstudy@gmail.com or (718) 577-1359

Newtown Creek Community Health & Harm Narratives Project (CHHNP)

On Saturday, July 18th thousands from the Tri-State region will float, ferry, paddle, row, splash, canoe, and kayak their way to beautiful Governors Island for the 2nd Annual City of Water Day Festival, presented by the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance (MWA).

In addition to a breathtaking flotilla of hundreds of human-powered boaters converging on the island from launch points throughout the region the region, this unique and free festival celebrates all that our waterfront could be.  Festival highlights include delicious food from local vendors, exciting bands, harbor tours on a variety of historic and educational vessels, kayaking and fishing opportunities, car-free biking, water-themed children’s activities, a Waterfront Action Information Fair, and more!

Last year over seven thousand people took part in City of Water Day.  This year we expect even larger crowds.  To make the day a success, the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance needs close to 200 enthusiastic volunteers to help with everything from greeting attendees as they arrive on the island, to organizing our Waterfront Advocacy Teach-In, to helping wrangle in canoes and kayaks as they arrive.

On Thursday, June 11th at 7pm the Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance is hosting an Information Session for prospective City of Water Day volunteers.  Join us, bring your friends, and be a part of this one-of-a-kind celebration!

What: City of Water Day Festival Volunteer Information Meeting
When:  June 11, 7pm
Where:  457 Madison Ave. 4th Floor, NY, NY
Contact: cityofwater2009@gmail.com or lmiller@waterfrontalliance.org

SEE YOU THERE!!!

The City of Water Day Festival takes place on Saturday, July 18th, 2009 from 10am to 4pm, but some volunteer tasks begin as early as 8am and end as late at 7pm. Follow the City of Water Day Festival at: www.cityofwaterday.org

Sustaining Brooklyn will provide information, skills, and resources necessary to establish a sustainable Brooklyn. Sustainability is critical to the future of Brooklyn. The conference’s community-focused and community-driven agenda will explore energy and fiscal conservation as well as community sustainability and preparedness.

Sustainability is the long-term social, economic, and environmental health of our community. It is our goal to strengthen Brooklyn by creating thriving and viable partnerships that support innovating, allocating, sharing and conserving community resources.

There will be a panel of speakers in the first part followed by facilitated breakout sessions to connect community members and begin creating practical, viable solutions for building sustainable communities. The conference will include representative from:

• Con Edison
• Earth Day New York
• East New York Farms
• Independence Community Foundation
• Pratt Community Council
• Pratt Center for Community Development
• Sustainable Flatbush

RSVP to Dori Zofan at 212-983-4800 x140, waabrsvp@gmail.com, or visit www.waab.org.

Register online here.

The We Are All Brooklyn Fellowship empowers diverse young leaders to become agents of change to strengthen Brooklyn. The conference was organized by WAAB Fellowship’s Leading By Organizing Committee.

If neighborhoods and city residents want to have any say in the development of their own neighborhoods, they need to have community boards.

See this flyer being distributed by Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and other BPs:

Community boards are currently slated to have their
budgets cut by $35,000
which would lessen your community’s voice in
neighborhood planning matters.

Community Boards are the voice of the community - the way for everyone to participate in decisions
for their community and to make the City work for them.
Join Borough Presidents Stringer, Diaz, Markowitz, Marshall and Molinaro
the City’s 59 community boards and community advocates
to urge the City Council to fully restore community board funding for the coming fiscal year.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009
11am
City Hall Steps

On Saturday, June 13th, we’d love for you to join us at our farm reopening party!  We’ll have live music, children’s nature activities, free local cheese tastings, and a photography show.  You’re also welcome to explore our farm, a 250+ acre property with an orchard, garden, chickens, and sheep, all transitioning to organic, in addition to some more rustic hiking spots.  The farm is easily accessible by taking the Metro North Hudson line to Beacon.

Please visit our website for more information visit the Fishkill Farms website (www.fishkillfarms.com).  You can also reach us at info@fishkillfarms.com or at (845) 897-4377.

Bus Rapid Transit. Citywide Network. Powerful stuff in the mass transit world. The DOT asks the people of NYC about BRT, the Pratt Center delivers:

This week, the New York City Department of Transportation and MTA begin a series of community workshops to obtain public input on plans for bus rapid transit in New York City. The Pratt Center and COMMUTE, a coalition working for transportation equity, have released a proposal for a citywide BRT network designed to maximize service to New Yorkers who need it most.

Download the Pratt Center Issue Brief “Bus Rapid Transit: A Transit Revolution at a Bargain Price” (pdf)

We encourage you and your neighbors, colleagues, and constituents to attend the community workshops and speak up for bus rapid transit in New York City - visit http://www.nyc.gov/brt for details.

To develop the proposed route network, the Pratt Center analyzed commuting patterns, the location of large employment centers, and existing bus routes, as well as concentrations of commuters with rides of more than one hour each way who make less than $35,000 a year. The Pratt Center’s research and analysis already informed the DOT and MTA’s current plans for rolling out bus rapid transit.

More route proposals at the Pratt Center Bus Rapid Transit page.

Bus Rapid Transit Facts (pdf).

To sign up your child for a Kid’s Corner, please email kids@ecoeatery.com and specify which dates you’d like to participate.  Kid’s Corner runs from 12-4 pm on weekends at Habana Outpost in Ft. Greene, Brooklyn.  Here’s the schedule:

May 23 & 24 - Bird Feeders
Making a bird feeder out of recycled scraps is half the fun, then kids can take them home & watch the birds it attracts all summer long!

May 30 & 31 - Composting w/ Elsa
Everybody knows kids & dirt go together like peas & carrots … and this week’s Kid’s Corner is an excuse to mix them all together!  Kids will learn about composting & take home their very own starter composting kits.

June 6 & 7 - Father’s Day Cards
Show Dad who’s #1 with hand-made Father’s Day Cards from their favorite little munchkins!

June 13 & 14 - Puerto Rican Flag Pasta
Show some multi-cultural pride by constructing Puerto Rican flags out of pasta & waving them in the parade!

 June 20 & 21 - T-Shirt Bags
Learn the art of turning something old into something new!  Kids can use their t-shirt bags to help mom and dad carry groceries!

 June 27 & 28 - Ladybug Release
Interactive session where kids will learn about ladybugs & their important role in the environment.

July 4 & 5 - Flags
Independence Day just isn’t complete without homemade American flags!

July 11 & 12 - Mobiles
Take advantage of the slow summer breezes by making beautiful mobiles out of recycled paper and wood. 

Check back for more activities later in the summer!

More here: www.ecoeatery.com