Permaculture Design For Yard, Homestead, and Farm

Permaculture Design For Yard, Homestead, and Farm

This Saturday!   Join NOFA VT for a tour and workshop 9 am – 3pm

August 26  –   Jeffersonville and Johnson, VT

We’ll start the morning with a brief tour of the ‘urban homestead’ and apothecary downtown Jeffersonville, then head to the farm for a permaculture design workshop, wood fired pizza from the earth oven, and tree crop and natural building tour.

Are you interested in learning how to ‘read’ a landscape, map your future, and cooperate with nature to be more productive and resilient?

Join Keith Morris of Prospect Rock Permaculture for a hands-on exploration of whole-system ecological design. In this workshop, Keith will provide a design process that you can apply to your own site (regardless of size) that includes the importance of perennial tree crops and climate resilience. We’ll explore a variety of ‘new’, experimental, and lost, traditional plants; DIY and debt-free infrastructure improvements and potential ‘micro-enterprises’ for the garden or homestead. To see a variety of design scale, we’ll begin at Prospect Rock Permaculture’s downtown homestead and apothecary, and then travel down the street to Willow Crossing Farm- Vermont’s longest running permaculture research and education site. Lunch will be included and prepared in Keith’s onsite pizza oven.

For tickets:
http://www.sevendaystickets.com/events/45273520/permaculture-design-for-your-yard-homestead-amp-farm

Any questions can be directed to me or NOFA VT http://www.NofaVT.org

Best,
Keith and Family

 

Our WEEKEND FORMAT Permaculture Design Certification Course will be announced soon!  Please call or email if you’d like to get on the list or would like more information!

 

Open Design Presentations in Burlington! Fall Wrap Work Party in Johnson!

Hi All- Just a quick note to let you know that the group design presentations from this semester’s UVM Permaculture Design Certification course for Rock Point will be open to the public and interested parties. 4:30 pm in Jeffords Hall room 101 at the University of Vermont in Burlington, VT.  All are welcome.

Presentations:  Monday, Dec. 8  Wednesday December 10 and Thursday December 11!

Student Design for UVM Hort Farm and Catamount Farm

Rock Point is an historic and ecologic gem of Burlington’s waterfront.

Student Site Analysis for the University of Vermont Horticulture Research Center and Student run Organic Farm

There will also be an open work day every Friday at Willow Crossing Farm in Johnson, VT where folks can help prepare some diverse plants for the nursery and learn hands-on with year-round water supply and help us clean up for the year. Are you interested in applying for the nation’s most successful Permaculture Education Programs?   There will be two farm-based residential courses this year – June 20 – July 2 and July 19-31, 2015. And a wide variety of workshops, farm dining, and other events. Please enter your email to the right hand side of this page to be notified of events and get on the list for the Nursery Sale Pre-Order, which will be announced soon.   feel free to email with any questions or for more details!   Best, Keith

Darren Doherty FREE LECTURE Friday, Sept. 5. Burlington, VT

“Regrarianism:

Rebooting Agriculture

for the next 10,000 years”

A FREE EVENING LECTURE with

DARREN DOHERTY

6:30 pm     Jeffords Hall   University of Vermont     Burlington, VT

Supported by

Prospect Rock Permaculture

VT Edible Landscapes

University of Vermont Plant and Soil Science Department

Hi Friends-

We are very excited to announce a FREE evening lecture with one of the world’s most renown Regenerative Farm Designers- DARREN DOHERTY and family, this Friday, September 5, 2014 JEFFORDS HALL.

Australian land designer, developer, teacher and farmer Darren J. Doherty will be presenting on his Regrarian platform, and how agriculture can regenerate soils, watersheds and communities. Darren has been involved in the design and development of nearly 2000 mostly broadacre projects across 5 continents in close to 50 countries. In the toolbox of design and land use Darren is a man of diversity, integrating many different methodologies including: Keyline® Design, Holistic Management®, Permaculture and many others.

 

Regrarian, a portmanteau of ‘Regenerative Agrarian’, is a term first coined by HD’s Darren J. Doherty in 2013 to describe those who are actively undertaking the serious & timely process of regenerating, restoring, rehabilitating, rehabitating, rekindling (etc.!) & rebooting production landscapes across this planet.

Regrarianism as a philosophy and methodology per se is ultimately an expansionist and self-determined reflection ofHD’s Charter and is therefore not just about regeneration, but also rehabitation, rehabilitation, restoration, recolonisation (not neocolonialism!), recycling and so on. I purposely took out the ‘A’ in Agrarian, not just because ‘Reagrarian’ doesn’t roll off of the tongue and I wanted to take AG out of it, and for a reason: I believe that Agriculture has been an atrophic exercise and I didn’t want to have it in my word.

You can read more about Darren, his family, The Heenan Doherty Design Firm, and the Regrarian Philospohy

HERE and a feature article about the family HERE

Darren and Family are in Vermont providing a Regrarians Open Consultancy for Shelburne Farms as arranged by Vermont Edible Landscapes.

Thanks to the University of Vermont Extension and Plant and Soil Science for their support of regenerative agriculture!

Prospect Rock Permaculture is one of the northeast’s oldest Permaculture Design and Education Organizations and runs accredited Permaculture and Ecological Design Education programs based on Willow Crossing Farm, with Sterling College, the University of Vermont, and elsewhere.

Add your email to the box on the upper right hand of the page to be notified of future workshops, lectures and free events, farms tours, dinners, and more.

Productive Riparian Buffers and Tree Crops Tour

The female flowers of a ‘Buartnut’, which have been hand pollinated by Butternut- giving us Vermont’s first ‘ButterBuarts’!

Hi Friends and Colleagues,

Here is a last minute invitation to any of you who may be interested in joining a small group of students, researchers, and folks with NOFA and UVM Extension for an informal tour of the ‘productive buffers’ and Tree Crops collection at Willow Crossing Farm in Johnson, VT.

As our rivers, riverside farms, and riverside towns are increasingly put to the test with erratic weather we look forward to contributing to the conversation about the health of our rivers and agricultural economy with over a decade of experience testing 100s of species of plants suitable for ‘productive buffers’ and productive floodplain reforestation.  This event is to prelude a larger event this fall, and a multi-day ‘Tree Crops Symposium’ scheduled for the late spring of 2013 with some of the world’s foremost experts in tree crops, nut production, agroforestry, and non-timber forest products.

Willow Crossing Farm (Prospect Rock Permaculture) has been dedicated to making floodplain reforestation profitable and ecologically regenerative since 2001.  Through combinations of native riparian plants with both native and rare nut, fruit, sugar, timber, and firewood producing trees, berries and medicinal herbs, we’ve worked to reforest our river’s corridors and flood prone sections of our farm aiming to prevent erosion; conserve soil and nutrients; shade waterways and improve water quality; create fish, wildlife, and pollinator habitat; and offset atmospheric carbon- all while adding to our long-term bottom line.

We grow many different varieties of plums, apples, cherries, pears, apricots, peaches, berries, paw paws, and over 17 species of nut trees.

Last summer, our systems were put to the test with two 500 year floods within 4 months and largely performed as designed- catching and diverting flotsam and protecting cultivated areas, greenhouses, and other farm infrastructure.  Now, we are inviting other farmers, and anyone interested in watershed health and the potential for ecologically regenerative and carbon-negative farming systems to take inspiration from our trials, and share in our mistakes, successes, and other information gained.

Please be in touch with Keith Morris (Keith@ProspectRock.org or (802) 734-1129) if you are interested in attending.

Please feel free to share with students or other potentially interested contacts or networks.

Best,
Keith

Stone Masonry for Farm and Garden Workshop June 15-16

The work of Anthony McCarthy

Stone Masonry for Farm and Garden

a residential workshop with

Anthony McCarthy and Dan Bermingham

at Willow Crossing Farm June 15-16

The art of stone and stone walls is the most timeless of all human building and earthworks. Join us for a residential weekend workshop learning how to safely and efficiently make beautiful and durable stone features for farms, gardens, and homes using Traditional New England Dry Stack Masonry and Large Boulders.

Artisan masons Anthony McCarthy and Dan Bermingham will share slides, instruction, and lead hands-on practice while sharing tips, tricks, and techniques to save time, prevent wear on our bodies, and ensure safety, durability, and a beautiful finished wall.

We’ll spend the majority of the weekend laying a curved retaining wall using a hybrid of traditional dry stack and large boulders to create optimal growing conditions with terraced garden beds around a sunken greenhouse/ bioshelter. In particular- we’ll be looking at different types of walls and techniques to prevent erosion, ensure good drainage, and build fertile soil for ecologically regenerative and productive plantings.

Willow Crossing Farm/ Prospect Rock Permaculture is one of the region’s longest established permaculture sites and most mature Edible Forest Gardens. We’ll be working under nut trees with nuts ripening and will get opportunity to tour and explore our most diverse collections of tree crops, medicinal herbs, and other unique plants.  We’re also along an incredible beautiful and clean section of the Lamoille River- take a break for a quick swim or paddle surf between laying stone while spending the weekend on our farm learning this timeless and invaluable skill.

$200 (sliding scale) includes camping accommodations and farm-sourced Sunday breakfast. lunch and dinner Saturday and Sunday available for additional cost.  No one will be refused for lack of funds, open to barter and other non-cash arrangements.

The work of Dan Bermingham (with Thea Alvin)

Email keith@prospectrock.org, or call (802) 734-1129 for more details and to register.

The work of Anthony McCarthy

Retaining Walls with Planting Beds

Curved Retaining Wall with Stairs