Toby Hemenway, author of the acclaimed "Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Homescale Permaculture" will be joining us at the southerly reaches of our membership area in an evening lecture co-sponsored by the newly formed Greater Seacoast Permaculture Group and by the Peace and Social Concerns Committee of Dover Friends Meeting.

This event is free and open to all but RSVP is strongly encouraged as space is limited. Donations will be happily accepted to cover the cost of making this event happen.

In his talk "How Permaculture Can Save Humanity and the Planet, but Not Civilization" Toby will examine the question of whether "Sustainable Agriculture" is an oxymoron. Feeding ourselves is not only central to our culture but central to our survival and this will be a rich look back as well as a look forward at the options and pathways before us. Attendees will gain a solid understanding of basic permaculture concepts as well as the context within which it is experiencing a renewed interest.

Books will be available for sale with proceeds supporting local permaculture education efforts.

This event will be happening in Dover NH, just outside of Portsmouth NH.

There will also be a half-day workshop in York County on Saturday morning on Permaculture & The Sustainability of Towns and Suburbs. Details to be published soon.

Potluck meal to start at 6:30 (bring a dish, snack or beverage to share) with the presentation starting around 7:00 to 7:15. We expect to go until 8:30 or 8:45 depending on the discussion time. Please bring your own potluck kit (plate/bowl/utensils/cup/napkin) to cut down on waste and labor!

More about Toby Hemenway

Toby Hemenway is the author of the first major North American book on permaculture, Gaia's Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture, and an adjunct professor at Portland State University. He is also Scholar in Residence at Pacific University.

After obtaining a degree in biology from Tufts University, Toby worked for many years as a researcher in genetics and immunology, first in academic laboratories including Harvard and the University of Washington in Seattle, and then at Immunex, a major medical biotech company. At about the time he was growing dissatisfied with the direction biotechnology was taking, he discovered permaculture, a design approach based on ecological principles that creates sustainable landscapes, homes, and workplaces. A career change followed, and Toby and his wife spent ten years creating a rural permaculture site in southern Oregon. He was associate editor of Permaculture Activist, a journal of ecological design and sustainable culture, from 1999 to 2004. His current project is developing urban sustainability resources in Portland, Oregon, where he now lives. He teaches permaculture and consults and lectures on ecological design throughout the country. His writing has appeared in magazines such as Whole Earth Review, Natural Home, and Kitchen Gardener. He is available for workshops, lectures, and consulting on a wide variety of topics related to permaculture, ecological design, Peak Oil, local food systems, and other subjects.