I can bring some purple potatoes from last seasons garden. Im looking forward to this event.

I have about 6 persons to come help with various projects. Arthur for bee keeping and two for plantswap. and Two floaters, plus Dave who may help with materials and set up.

Are we supposed to bring raw veg or a cooked dish?

Hi Heather, We were asking folks to just bring a raw veggie to make it easier for attendees, and then we would have volunteers cook up a soup that day, but some are bringing pre-made dishes anyway, so it's up to you, either way, or both :>)

Working on the bird nest string kits with instructions on how to use when you take them home. I did this a couple times for seniors outside their window where they could sit and watch the birds fly down and take off with the string. Also will have a cople of Rescue nests started and yarn for participants to make, and they can donate them to the bird and wildlife rescue, or take home.

Testing the paint I have on the wind spinners, paint brushes and and precut some of the cans into petals so the kids can do the finishing of the craft. Urban bird watch kits are on their way here, but not arrived just yet. So will send a follow up inquiry.

I wish I could come friday to help with cleanup but too many oblagations..Will be there 9am Saturday.

I won't be able to attend but would like everyone to know about an upcoming Sustainability Fair at SUNY Oswego. For more information please see:
http://www.oswego.edu/about/leadership/sustainability/sus...

Pretty big disappointment overall, but maybe I was expecting way too much. I think skill building workshops and community service projects would be a much more productive approach to the next "gathering". The theoretical arguments made by the presenters were full of holes, unbridled idealism, illogical conclusions , glossing over the real issues, and lack of concrete ideas or case studies of what works and what does not work within the permaculture model within the current and future society.

My very gracious thank you to everyone who gave so much to help this event happen. We achieved the goals we set forth for this event in its mission statement to expose Syracusans to permaculture, initiate a network across upstate NY, and bring positive energy to our movement. This was a 100% volunteer driven and created experience using all our knowledge, skills, food, energy for children, organization, art/design, sweat and muscle, conversation, words of support, and more. Gratitude.

I would say this event was a great way for people to network and organizations to gain exposure. I do agree with Justin, that there were some holes in the basic science. But these people are actually making real change in the world. The financial presenter may have lacked some knowledge, but his money is in the co-op and credit union, he is working to help his neighbors and reinvest in his community. These are what is really important. examples of success stories would made things more credible

Starting the conversation and networking is the important thing. It's the first one of it's kind in Syracuse. I am new to the concept of permaculture, so for me it was great to be included and involved. Now more people are thinking and sharing information than before. My interest level is greatly heightened. If I am not the only one, then this meet-up increased the potential of people to call on for the next community action. Let's get some simple ideas out there and help people start growing!

Plain... simple... fundamental. If it was possible we would not need Permaculture because there would always be plenty of food, energy, and technology to solve environmental problems. The growth culture would be permanent. Science and common sense tells us it is not. This is the starting point and motivation for looking for alternatives like Permaculture, at least for me.

Cheap oil fueled macro-economic growth and the 6.7 billion people it has spawned is the cause of all this destruction and chaos we see around us. Continuation of this growth is dependent on a continuous stream of low entropic energy and environmental resources and is therefore NOT possible on a planet with finite resources and finite throughput of solar radiation...

It just completely blew my mind and really kind of scared me to hear a presenter at an event like this say there was no limits to growth, and have nobody in the audience even challenge that statement. Everyone has the right to their opinion but lets be honest.... the world is in overshoot and living way beyond its ecological foot print already as we pass 350 ppm and peak oil and a number of other tipping points....

Excuse me, but I chose the Social Justice and Permaculture presentation instead of the finance presentation. Someone I spoke with later in the afternoon commented that Jason's talk made her believe that she herself, and everyone, can make the simple choice to invest their money in all types of local businesses, thereby making a difference to the local economy. I hope that you brought up your objections during the event (rather than just ranting on the Meetup site.)

Of course I spoke up at the talk and I'm glad people got something useful out it. I am simply pointing out what I considered to be a major piece of misinformation served up at the event and offering a more truthful, SYSTEMS oriented perspective. If you consider this type of honest and open discourse "ranting" please feel free to disregard it. There was a lot of positives at this event and celebrating those aspects is great but no need to stick our heads in the sand in regards to the missteps.

Justin, I think all will agree that constructive criticism is very helpful! I would not consider it ranting at all. I will be the first to acknowledge that some of this is over my head, however, and while there is always a lot of misinformation out there, we need to count on those who have special education on the subject to keep us better informed.

Hi folks, thanks for your comments. I appreciate the open-ended discourse that the Gathering has started. I'm gonna suggest at this time that if we want to discuss any topics, such as "limits to growth" in a more detailed way, and in a more appropriate format, that we move this over to the discussion forums. Go to "Discussions" at the Main Menu top of the page, and click
on "Message Board", then click on start a new discussion. Cheers ~Frank

They sky is falling ......?

Or, should we be wise and just move out from under the falling acorns .....?

I wanted to thank everyone who made this event possible. I appreciated the opportunity to network with people in the community. However the event was a little more abstract than I was hoping. I was hoping for more concrete skills-based workshops which would have taught me a new approach to then take and directly apply to my farming/gardening work. I already understood the 'concept' of permaculture. Maybe a technique-based or homesteading skills workshop is something to work on in the future.

Thanks Sadrah, that is definitely the direction we want to take things with this guild group. A large part of the mission for the Gathering was to expose new people, and Syracuse, to Permaculture for the first time, which we succeeded in doing. From here on out hopefully we will be able to balance the philosophy and theory with the practicality. If you have an idea for a skill share please post it in the ideas section on the front page. Cheers ~Frank