Please join Wolfe's Neck Farm for the kick-off event in their Winter Forum Series entitled Sustainability: Transition to Resilience.

The Community Forum starts with Lisa Fernandes’ discussion entitled “Permaculture for Local Resilience.” Her talk will introduce permaculture and examine how Maine can design resilient communities that have sustainable sources of food, water, and energy.
“Practitioners of permaculture (permanent + culture) envision human societies that know themselves as co-creative participants in natural systems. Permaculture aims to regenerate healthy, productive landscapes and communities by consciously applying ecological principles to the design of human habitats,” says Fernandes, the founder of Portland Permaculture.
She will speak November 19, at 6:30pm at the Freeport Community Library. There is a suggested donation of $5. A short reception featuring food provided by local restaurants will follow Fernandes’s talk. Interested community members will be encouraged to participate in facilitated break-out discussions led by our speaker.

*Note that this presentation is an "evolved" version of one you may have seen earlier this year; This version includes more imagery and examples and will be followed by small group breakout sessions with targeted brainstorming.
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More About the Winter Forum Series:

“Community Forum Tackles New Ideas, Encourages Community Participation”
Freeport, ME (November 2009). You eat locally, turn the heat down, and carpool. You are an informed citizen, and you donate to local charities and volunteer your time. What more is a thoughtful Mainer to do?
One option is to take part in a new model for learning about and participating in social, environmental and economic change. The Wolfe’s Neck Farm Foundation will hold a Winter Community Forum focusing on the theme of “Sustainability: Transitions to Resilience.”
The Forum is noteworthy for two reasons, says Wolfe’s Neck Farm Interim Education Coordinator, Heather Foran.
“First, the Community Forum tackles important social issues by taking a holistic look at Maine and its communities, and how we can be resilient to crisis and genuinely sustainable. Second, it emphasizes community participation by giving community members a space to come together to face challenges and problem solve.”
Wolfe Neck Farm Foundation has held a Winter Lecture Series the past two years, bringing leaders in the fields of renewable energy and food systems to speak. This year’s Forum adds a participatory, community element: not only speakers and films, but also space for informal dialogue and facilitated break-out discussions.
The speakers and films will address different aspects of resiliency and sustainability, specifically food, energy, and water systems and economics. They will also examine hopeful and innovative models of sustainable and resilient communities, both past and present.
The community dialogue will build on these ideas and aim to create a vibrant and purposeful community dialogue about Maine’s future.

Please join us for the second film in our 2009|2010 Permaculture Movie Night Series. This month we will be viewing "One Man, One Cow, One Planet," a New Zealand film about the work of biodynamic practitioner and teacher Peter Proctor as he travels around India essentially helping to "undo" the work of the Green Revolution.

From the film's web site:
What does an environmentally friendly biodynamic food system capable of feeding everyone actually look like? This film is a blueprint for a post-industrial future. It takes you into the heart of the world's most important renaissance...Why YOU should see this film: Modern agriculture causes topsoil to be eroded at 3 million tons per hour. (that’s 26 billion tons a year). Human mass is replacing biomass and other species. The carrying capacity of the earth is almost spent. To maintain our comfort zone lifestyles we will soon need five earths to sustain us in the style to which we have become accustomed. The mantra of free trade has failed the world’s poor. There is a better way. Human created climate change is destroying the Planet. Ecosystems collapse is not some sci-fi fantasy. It is real and it is happening. Right now.

This is not a potluck event but feel free to bring a beverage or fruit or sweet treat to share during the film if you so desire!

Movie will start sometime between 7:00 and 7:10pm. Optional discussion to follow.

*Thank you to our friends at Zero Station for hosting the 2009|2010 Permaculture Movie Nights*

Please join us for our monthly potluck meal to catch up with one another in a casual way and get updates on our schedule of events coming up for the winter.

**Update ** Before our primary discussion begins, we'll be having a quick "public service announcement" from Orion Breen about Hour Exchange Portland!

The potluck will be followed by a discussion of an important topic that could influence the fabric of our local communities. Those of you who live in and around Portland might know that the city is in the process of rewriting its Charter (the city's version of its own "constitution."). Learn about the Charter process and why this historic opportunity to affect how we organize ourselves in future is of interest to permaculturists.

What if the charter not only affected governance and "process" but also acted as a guiding document toward resilience and true sustainability that could affect the entire greater Portland region?

Portland Location TBD

6:30 to 7:00ish Potluck Supper
7:00 or 7:15ish Announcements and Presentation/Discussion (Karl Rawstron + possibly a charter commission member)
8:30 Wrap-up

Potluck Breakdown
Last Name A-G: Bring a salad or side dish
Last Name H-M: Bring a snack or appetizer-type item
Last Name N-S: Bring bread or a beverage
Last Name T-Z: Bring a dessert

Please remember to bring your own potluck kit (plate/bowl/utensils/cup/napkin)! Please consider bringing your digital camera and posting up a few photos after the event!

Potluck food safety ideas here:
http://fycs.ifas.ufl.edu/news/2007/potluck.htm

Please join us for the first films in our 2009|2010 Permaculture Movie Night Series. This month we will be viewing three short films (about 30 min each) about the extensive permaculture work of Austrian Sepp Holzer. The films are "Farming with Nature," "Aquaculture," and "Terraces and Raised Beds." This is a great opportunity to see some extensive cold-climate permaculture in action.

Sepp has built one of the largest functioning permaculture farms in Europe and has done so by carefully observing and working with nature over the years. Known to some as the "agro-rebel," Sepp had been practicing permaculture long before he ever heard the word!

This is not a potluck event but feel free to bring a beverage or fruit or sweet treat to share during the film if you so desire!

Movie will start sometime between 7:00 and 7:10pm. Optional discussion to follow.

*Thank you to our friends at Zero Station for hosting the 2009|2010 Permaculture Movie Nights*

Please join our own local locavore Alison Page for an in-depth workshop, including hands-on, on preserving food using lacto-fermention. This ancient and effective method is a low-energy, low-tech way to create deliciously preserved foods.

This is a repeat of the AM session. Email the organizer if your desired workshop is full and we can add you to the waiting list.

Each attendee will gain a thorough understanding for how this process works, work as a group on the preparation of at least two different lacto-fermented recipes and have the opportunity to take home at least one jar of the finished product at cost (we will secure fresh organic ingredients at farmers market the week of the workshop). Based on the date we will most likely make a salsa and a carrot-ginger recipe but that may change based on availability of fresh ingredients.

Location: A Portland Public or Community Kitchen TBD (email me if you have suggestions)
1pm to 4pm

$25 Fee Per Person - includes our expert instructor, mid-session refreshments and handouts. You are encouraged to bring a notebook as well.

Please see our Meetup Event RSVP Guidelines:
http://permaculture.meetup.com/58/messages/boards/thread/5233158#20208623

The event fee is only refundable up to 14 days before the event (unless we have to cancel it for some reason). If you cannot attend you can certainly transfer your spot to someone else and we will provide a list of names on the waiting list, if there is one.

You can learn more about Alison LePage here and here.