FTS/GERF Newsletter May 12 2020
12 May 2020 19:11:51
Friends of the Trees Society

This Months Announcements...

  • Ecosystem Restoration Design On-line course
  • Ecosystem Restoration Camps Webinar
  • "Coronation" by Charles Eisenstein
  • Weekly Wednesday Webinars with Michael Pilarski
  • Local Earth Repair Forum Update
  • Earth Day Report
  • Port Townsend Food Forest Project!
  • The Biggest Permaculture Project on Earth
 

The deadline for signing up is May 15

The Ecosystem Restoration Camps in conjunction with Gaia Education is offering a 6 month on-line course on Ecosystem Restoration Design.  16 top-notch instructors. Very much an international course covering urban, rural and agricultural systems.  The cost is $1,000. 30% discount for ERC members. 
More info here
 
 

"The Great Work of Our Time"

Ecosystem Restoration Camps Webinar

Over 1,000 people sat in on this epic 5-hour webinar that was hosted by John D. Liu and live-streamed on April 18. A great picture of the ecosystem restoration camps movement at this time. Dozens of people were introduced and talked about their projects. There were lots of short videos and musical interludes. Reading all the chats is also informative. Earth repair folks should check it out. This is the first large webinar that ERC has put on and there were technical difficulties at times, but bear with it, most of it worked fine. Keep your eyes open for future webinars. 

https://ecosystemrestorationcamps.org/
 
 

Coronation. 
A thought-provoking article by Charles Eisenstein on the affects of coronavirus on humanity & culture.

I have been reading and viewing lots of content about Covid-19 and the lock-down. At some point in the future I will publish some of my thoughts and a list of references.  Eisenstein’s Coronation article is my favorite article on the topic so far.  Well worth reading even though it is on the longish side. 

https://charleseisenstein.org/essays/the-coronation/
 

Hosted by Finnriver InCider Space Zoom!

Finnriver is hosting a virtual gathering space, called InCider, through an online portal called zoom. To participate in Incider Space events, folks can make a sliding scale monthly membership contribution. 

Join us live on Zoom for the following webinars-

"Medicinal Plants in Permaculture Systems" 
May 13, Wednesday 1:00pm - 2:00pm PDT.

"Ecosystem Restoration Camps" 
May 20, Wednesday 1:00pm - 2:00pm PDT.
 

Link to access tickets for these events and check out the InCider Space Event Calendar here:   https://www.finnriver.com/farm-music-event-calendar
Here are recordings of the last 3 webinars-

"Growing Anti-Viral Herbs Webinar"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DbuDujT3io&t=164s

"Medicinal Weeds Webinar"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVaBG-e_Cww

"Medicinal Trees & Shrubs Webinar"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GL-IxRu8Ocs
 

Local Earth Repair Forum  - Update

The Local Earth Repair Forum  (LERF) was scheduled for May 9 but had to be postponed due to the coronavirus.  LERF is a local project of the Global Earth Repair Foundation for Jefferson, Clallam and Kitsap counties. We are talking to the Finnriver Cidery in Chimacum about a summer date once the 50-person limit on events is lifted.  TBA.  Anyone who would like to participate in the LERF please contact Michael Pilarski.
 

2020 Earth Day Free Tree Give-away Was A Success!

A joint project of Friends of the Trees Botanicals and Global Earth Repair Foundation.  We gave away 500 native trees and shrubs this year in Jefferson and Clallam County.  A free tree per child or adult.  Big thanks to the Chimacum Corner Farmstand for helping distribute.  We also sold 800 trees and shrubs during our 2020 Plant Sale. This brings Friends of the Trees total count distributed since 1978 to 183,000 trees and shrubs!
 
 
 

Kah Tai Overlook Food Forest

Planting has recently begun on the Kah Tai Overlook Food Forest.  Located adjacent to the Kearney Street Apartments, three blocks from the Port Townsend Food Coop.  KTO will be a public food forest which people can visit, learn from, taste fruits and enjoy. The food forest will be a beautiful place with a wide diversity of fruiting trees, shrubs, vines, herbs and flowers. Picnic tables, benches and signage are planned. KTO is currently largely occupied by a wild food thicket of rose, blackberry, Oregon-grape, hawthorn, plums, dewberry, and other fruits. The wild and the KTO cultivated food forests will co-exist side by side.  Trees, shrubs, chips, sawdust, and biochar are currently available as a service to other food forest projects, contact Daniel to make arrangements.  The KTO team includes Daniel Greholver and Michael Pilarski both on the Board of Directors of the Global Earth Repair Foundation. We will send out more Food Forest information and resources soon.

Interested in volunteering with KTO?

Planting, watering, sheet mulching, gardening, carpentry help is needed. 

Donations of fencing, benches, plants, and bird baths are appreciated.

Contact Daniel Greholver: 
kestrelspotter@gmail.com
 

India's Water Revolution #2: The Biggest Permaculture Project on Earth!

Permaculture instructor Andrew Millison journeys to India to film the epic work of the Paani Foundation’s Water Cup Competition. We tour the village of Velu, in Maharashtra, who won the 2016 competition to install the most amount of water harvesting structures in a 45 day period. Guided by Paani Foundation’s chief advisor, Dr. Avinash Pol, we take a ride through the village watershed and see a massive water diversion and groundwater recharge project that has dramatically improved the lives, economy, ecology and stability of this village. Although the Paani Foundation doesn't use the word Permaculture to describe what they do, we examine why their work has turned into the biggest Permaculture project on Earth!