I hope this email finds you well as we go into the 2016 growing season.
I am the midst of putting on one of the most complex gatherings of my career so far. The Medicinal Herb Growing & Marketing Conference is the first big conference for herb farmers and the herb trade in the US (that I am aware of). The outcome of the conference will reverberate around the US. Most of the participants will be from the Pacific Northwest but people are flying in from around the country as well.
Herbalism and the herb trade have been growing steadily for decades. This conference is designed to serve both the big players and the small players in the herb movement. We have representatives from some of the biggest herb farms and herb companies in the US as well as lots of the grassroots and everything in between. We have a Radical Herbology Track to give voice to the grassroots.
If you are farming herbs, have an herb company or aspire to such, then you should strongly consider attending this event. This will be an historic event with over 70 presenters, 16 Tracks, an Herb Trade Show, keynote speakers, Action Planning Sessions an Herbal Beverage Tasting Session at the Saturday evening Buyer/Grower Meet-up and and more.
And for you permaculturists: I am excited to be part of the teams putting on the 2nd North American Permaculture Convergence, the 9th Northwest Permaculture Convergence and the 6th Inland Northwest Permaculture Convergence. I have been involved with all three of these convergences since they started.
I hope to see many of you at one or more of these events.
Towards a greener, happier world,
Michael
Friends of the Trees Society Newsletter - February, 2016
The Medicinal
Herb Growing & Marketing Conference is looking more & more exciting as new
participants sign up daily.
This will be the first major conference of its
kind in the United States!
Some of the most recent additions to our presenter list include:
Ann Armbrecht of the Sustainable Herb Project (a national project based in Vermont) is coming to the conference in person to deliver her keynote address.
Erin Leary of Gaia Herbs in Brevard, North Carolina is bringing her expertise from working with one of the largest tincture companies and herb farms in the country.
Peter McCoy of Radical Mycology is coming to help us elaborate on what Radical Herbology looks like.
Mary Katchi Cassinelli, owner of Dandelion Botanicals in Seattle will contribute her perspective on retail herb stores buying directly from farmers and wildcrafters.
Orion Lekos will bring a font of knowledge on distilling essential oils and hydrosols for Wildroot Botanicals.
Maude Richards of Sunwise Seeds is bringing her home-grown herb seeds to share.
Dawne Vrabel of Dynamic Roots in Carbondale, Colorado will share her experience running an herbal CSA.
Stephanie Syson, permaculturist of Dynamic Roots in Carbondale, Colorado will join the Track on Medicinal Plants in Polycultures, Agroforestry and Permaculture.
Daphne Singingtree and interns will bring many products to show. They grow the herbs to make over 120 products.
A Children’s program is coming together for parents who wish to bring children.
REGISTER SOON! The early early bird price of $170 ends on March 5 (we
extended the deadline just for you!) and the
price goes up to $190.
Student price is currently only
$127.50.
Couple price is currently $150 each. ($300 couple). Register
HERE.
Our worktrade positions are almost
filled. Only half worktrade positions are left. $85 and 10 hours work
before the conference or 7 hours at the conference. Anyone thinking of
worktrade should apply soon. All the detailes on the
conference website.
Fort Worden, Port Townsend, WA
Other News
Download this poster. Put it up around your town.
2016 Inland Northwest Permaculture Guild
Cooperative Tree and
Plant Distribution
Once again, Inland Northwest Permaculture Guild members are organizing a tree sale to bulk-buy hardy, useful permaculture species and keep costs down for area permaculturists.
Now is the time to order.
At this point we are aiming for the end of March/beginning of April for distributions. Kettle Falls and Spokane are pick-up sites so far. Folks wishing to put in orders, make sure you communicate with the pick-up site coordinators who are: Ryan Louise in Spokane (ryan.louise.w@gmail.com) and Gabe Gaul in Kettle Falls (509-680-8499).
Here is the final list of varieties that are being offered for this year:
American Chestnut (Castanea dentata) | Amur cork tree (Phellodendron amurense) | Arctic Beauty Hardy Kiwi (Actinidia kolomikta) | Aronia (Aronia melanocarpa 'Boundary County') | Barberry, Japanese barberry,Thunberg's barberry, or Red barberry (Berberis thunbergii) | Black Hawthorn (Crataegus douglasii 'Boundary County') | Blue Elderberry (Sambucus caerulea) | Caragana Siberian Pea-shrub (Caragana arborescens) | Carpathian English Walnut (Juglans regia carpathian) | Chinese witch hazel (Hamamelis mollis) | Common Chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) | Cornelian cherry, Redstone (Cornus mas) | Currant Black, Titania (Ribes nigrum) | Currant Red (Ribes rubrum) | Currant White (Ribes rubrum) | Empress Tree (Paulownia tomentosa) | Forsythia 'Northern Gold' (Forsythia) | Ginkgo (ginkgo biloba) | Mulberry, Illinois ever-bearing (Morus spp.) | Mulberry, Kokuso (Morus spp.) | Mulberry, Oscar's (Morus spp.) | Mulberry, Wellington (Morus spp.) | Nanking Cherry (Prunus tomentosa) | Nootka Rose (Rosa nutkana 'Kootenai') | Serviceberry (Amelanchier alnifolia 'Northline') | Silver Buffaloberry (Shepherdia argentea) | Turkish tree hazel (Corylus colurna) | Wild Mock Orange (Philadelphus lewisii) | Yellowhorn (Xanthocerus sorbifolia)
Details and Ordering on the INPG website.
NAPC II
The 2nd North American
Permaculture Convergence
is scheduled for September 14-18, 2016 at the
Solar Living Institute in Hopland, California.
NAPC II will be held in conjunction with the Northern California
Permaculture Convergence (NCPC) which will be held concurrently on
September 16-18 on the same site. Many of you may know that Michael
Pilarski was one of the main organizers for NAPC I held August 2014 in
southern Minnesota. I am happy to be on the team for NAPC II as well.
For details keep an eye on:
http://northamericanpermaculture.org/
The 9TH NORTHWEST PERMACULTURE CONVERGENCE
will be held October 7-9 at Fort Flagler on the northeast tip of the
Olympic Peninsula. The 5th NWPCC was also held at Fort Flagler. Michael
Pilarski will help coordinate local logistics for the convergence. Anyone
like to join this team?
For details keep an eye on: http://northwestpermaculture.org/
The 6th INLAND NORTHWEST PERMACULTURE CONVERGENCE
is tentatively
scheduled for September 9-11 at Heartsong,
in Tumtum Washington, just north of Spokane. This will
be 3rd year in a row that INPC has been held at Heartsong.
For details
keep an eye on:
http://www.inlandnorthwestpermaculture.com/
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Contact
Info:
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Michael Pilarski
Friends of the Trees Society PO Box 1133 Port Hadlock, WA 98339 360-643-9178 friendsofthetrees@yahoo.com www.friendsofthetrees.net www.facebook.com/michael. Use an explanatory subject line. For quicker results - write “Respond quickly” as part of the subject line. |