Participants will learn collaborative design through modeling and voicing crucial elements and principles involved in creating an intensive garden in minimal space.

Participatory learning around a basic common denominator of permaculture (the intensive front-door garden) with the power of collaborative design in real space

Presented By: Rick Valley

Learn how to promote the beneficial fungi called mycorrhizae to increase the health, quality, and yields of vegetables, fruits, and nuts.

Mycorrhizae can increase yields by as much as 1500%. They are an important part of the soil food web. There are ways to promote the growth of this beneficial fungi without having to buy costly inoculants. A vibrant, healthy soil food web is essential to a productive permaculture garden or farm.

There are amazing beneficial fungi that promote the healthiest roots of native and ornamental plants. Nearly all plants, especially trees, need this symbiotic relationship for superior growth. The seminar will explain what the relationship is (called mycorrhizal association), where in the roots it happens, how to promote it, how it increases yields and whether-or-not purchased inoculants are needed.

Friday Oct 6| 2pm| Yurt 

Presented By: Robert Kourik

Learn hands-on with Miguel “Sir Cobalot” Elliott during two workshops:

1) Miguel will be sharing the process of building a small hut built out of pallets, insulated with straw, covered in an earthen cob plaster, called a “Palletable Cobin”. This structure is very easy to build, affordable, super well insulated, non-toxic, and is a great solution for low cost housing.

2) For anyone who wants to learn cob and adobe building hands-on, Miguel will also be building a cob & adobe bench in the children’s play area between the oven and cob play structure. Covered in the Workshop will be building a sturdy foundation, earthen sculpting, setting Adobe bricks and plastering.

Presented By: Miguel “Sir Cobalot” Elliott

Caleb Gordon is the garden manager and intern coordinator at the Solar Living Institute. He has been living and working at the institute for three years where he is learning and practicing different techniques in sustainable living. His passions are teaching and learning new and innovative ways to live in harmony with the natural world. He is in charge of maintaining the large CCOF certified organic garden as well as assisting interns in site projects throughout the center. His dreams are to create strong resilient communities that provide abundance for all.

2016 Convergence Workshop: Earth Bench & Garden Tours of SLI gardens

Presented by: Brock Dohlman, Dr. Elizabeth Dougherty, Christina Bertea, Trethan Heckman

Thursday September 15th | 10 AM – 11 AM | Main Stage

This three hour workshop has been designed as an opportunity to dive deep and face off with our own need and longing for alliance with one another across the lines of privilege and power. Join us for the brave work of deconstructing the social obstacles that block our ability to work with one another, and re-creating a world where we all can live with dignity.  This  experiential workshop will include small and large group dialogues, somatic exercises for deepening our capacity to work with challenging material and stay centered, and the opportunity to explore embodied strategies for building strong and flexible bridges between us.

Presented by: Amikeayla Gaston, Rachel Kaplan, Wanda Stewart

Saturday September 17th | 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM | Mediterranean Garden

This talk is an invitation to take a deeper look at nature’s economy, also known as the gift economy. We will be using the tree as an analogy for understanding how humanity can embody a more natural way of life, one in where we are all here to give of our gifts in service to one another. By combining vision with real life experience, Blackhorse Shasta will be sharing his insights on how gifting culture is the key to building resilient and sustainable communities, and for reaching greater spiritual heights on an individual and collective level.
Blackhorse has been living on the gift economy for the past 8 years, and is a major advocate and spokesperson for it, primarily through his work with Circle of Children, a nonprofit he founded back in 2009. Circle of Children has operated on the values exemplified in nature’s economy since its origins, and as a result has met with much success. In 2014, this nonprofit was gifted a fully-developed conference and retreat center on 60 acres at Triangle Lake, Oregon, which is being developed as a demonstration site for sustainable living and holistic health.

Presented by: Blackhorse Shasta

Sunday September 18th | 2 PM – 3 PM | Solar Panel: La Luna

Jeremiah is a certified Permaculture Designer and is an accredited and certified Rainwater Catchment Professional through ARCSA (American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association). He has taught and consulted on several projects in the USA, Africa, Central America and Asia. Prior to establishing San Isidro Permaculture, Jeremiah was a partner at Living Structures, Inc., a permaculture-based design/installation green building firm in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Established in 2000, San Isidro Permaculture is a design and installation company focused on water catchment, grey water systems, native and edible plant landscapes, erosion control, and land restoration. San Isidro Permaculture has served Santa Fe and the surrounding area working for the private sector, federal and local governments, the film industry, and commercial projects.

2016 RED Talk Presentation: Community Drought Solutions – Building Resilience and Abundance Through a Wholistic Design Approach

Mario will introduce the Community Food Forestry Initiative (CFFI), a national initiative funded by USDA Forest Service Community & Urban Forestry grant. The initiative takes a unique and innovative approach to address the challenge of urban and community tree canopy loss due to re/development by providing planners, developers, policy-makers, designers and practitioners a comprehensive set of resources that integrate food-producing trees and plants into the urban landscape. In addition, it will help raise public and professional awareness around the issue of using urban places to grow food.

Presented By: Mario Yanez

Sunday, September 18th | 4:10 – 4:30 PM | Solar Panel: El Sol

Allies and Assets is about making use of existing social, community and built infrastructure for taking permaculture further to the mainstream. The presentation will describe a variety of city programs, community entities, built infrastructure found in almost any town or city, that can be used to advance the ideals of permaculture. The presenter will explain real life examples from the Pacific Northwest for building bridges – neighborhood associations, mapping your neighborhood, bike tours, front yard gardens, suburban permaculture convergence, faith communities, place making and more. Presenter Jan Spencer, has had extensive experience with this subject.

Presented By: Jan Spencer

Saturday, September 17th | 11:40 AM – 12:00 PM | Solar Panel: EL Sol

Jan Spencer lives in Eugene, Oregon and has been a strong advocate for creating a green and resilient economy and culture for years. He has a degree in Geography and has traveled to over 35 countries on four continents. Jan has been transforming his 1/4 acre suburban property for 16 years where he grows food, produces passive solar energy, collects rain water and has hosted close to 2000 visitors. He has presented on the East and West Coasts and at many universities and conferences along with numerous radio interviews. Jan designed and coordinated the 2015 Northwest Permaculture Convergence in Eugene which was held in a suburban neighborhood recreation center. Jan is vegetarian and seldom drives, preferring a 20 year old Linear recumbent bike.

2016 RED Talk Presentation: Taking Permaculture to The Mainstream – Allies and Assets

Permaculture Magazine, North America publisher Hannah Apricot will share ideas about how to take permaculture from the field and integrate it into everyday life. Insight will be given about how to apply the principles into home, school, work, relationships, and other aspects of daily living.

A gift for you:

50% off digital subscriptions to the new Permaculture Magazine, North America

at www.PermacultureMag.org

with discount code: NAPC2016

Presented By: Hannah Apricot

Saturday, September 17th | 11:20 – 11:40 AM | Solar Panel: El Sol

Hannah grew up on a rural, coastal ranch in Southern California where she developed a deep connection to nature and growing food. At the age of 19 she became President of Get Oil Out, recognized as America’s first grassroots environmental organization. During her time at UC Santa Barbara, she started an organization to educate about the environmental benefits of Industrial Hemp. She has done massage therapy, property management, event organizing,  media production, and environmental journalism. Since she was a teenager, Permaculture has been a huge influence in her life. She has traveled internationally with it, and is now helping publish the North American version of Permaculture Magazine.

A gift for you:

50% off digital subscriptions to the new Permaculture Magazine, North America

at www.PermacultureMag.org

with discount code: NAPC2016

2016 RED Talk Presentation: How To Intergrate Permaculture Into Every Day Life

Troy Horton of Town and City Permaculture. Is a grass-roots permaculture practitioner based in Oakland, CA. He has a strong focus on introducing “inner-city youth” and their communites to permaculture.
He has organized and held a previous permaculture diversity talk/event, along with being a constant student of permaculture and completed several PDC’s.

TBA

The Third Ethic: Practicing Fair Share Permaculture

Sasha Shankar is the president of Town and City Permaculture.

TBA

The Third Ethic: Practicing Fair Share Permaculture

Town and City Permaculture will put on an interactive workshop. About how diversity helps permaculture truly realize it’s expressed ethics. We will delve into, how can we design. For inclusivity within the permaculture movement.

Our workshop will be interactive. It is relevant to Building Resilient Communities and permaculture. In the way that we will be focusing. On how to bring POC, food workers, migrant workers, and other under represented folks. To the permaculture table for a much needed pow wow.

Presented By: Troy Horton and Sasha Shankar

Ryan Rising of the Permaculture Action Network gives a how-to on getting involved with the organization’s movement of mobilizing concert-goers and festival-audiences to Permaculture Action Days – one day events where people build the viable alternatives of the just & regenerative paradigm in their own communities. In 2014, the group carried out the first “Permaculture Action Tour,” mobilizing hundreds of concert-goers at a time in 32 cities throughout the United States to come take action the next day – building urban farms, planting community food forests, installing rainwater catchment systems, natural buildings, and more. Hear a short report back on this past year of developing a network to continue partnering with artists and events like The Polish Ambassador, Rising Appalachia, and most recently, Burning Man, to drive attention towards permaculture and mobilize people to get in the ground. Get the download on how the organization is developing a network of bioregional crews who can connect local organizers and projects with high-visibility artists and cultural events throughout North America, and how you can get involved and start a bioregional crew in your community.

This workshop will include a short report back on what we have done so far starting with the Permaculture Action Tour in 2014 and developing the Permaculture Action Network over the last 2 years, during which time we’ve mobilized thousands of people to more than 50 Permaculture Action Days throughout the country. People can borrow from this inspiration to do their own thing and continue movement building in similar capacities. We’ll also be letting people know the organization structure we’ve developed and how people can join the Permaculture Action Network. As we’re creating a network of BioRegional Crews throughout North America who can utilize the organizing base of the Permaculture Action Network to parter with artists, bands, musicians, and festivals, this is especially relevant for the North American Permaculture Convergence. We’ll let people know how to directly join the network to continue driving concert-audiences and festival-goers to Permaculture Action Days, and to getting involved with the movement for the long haul. This workshop will be equal parts inspiration towards capacity building for the movement in general as it is directly a download on how we as an organization can grow and move forward together.

Presented By: Ryan Rising

Ruthie King grew up in Southern California before heading east to attend Columbia University, where she studied planning and design with a focus on ways to integrate sustainability into the built environment. After graduating with a degree in Architecture and Sustainable Development, she moved to Washington State to live and work on farms practicing alternative construction and natural building techniques. This included cob and earth structures, converted shipping containers, living roof structures and more. After working on sustainable building and barn restoration at several farms in the area, she landed at a beautiful historic dairy barn with a family hoping to bring dairy cows back to their land. She worked with the family to develop the framework for maintaining and milking a small herd of cows while selling the raw milk and cheese on site. Concurrently working for a veterinarian in town and substitute teaching at the public school gave her confidence working with animals and children. In 2013, she moved to the James Ranch in Colorado, a produce, eggs, pork, and grass-fed beef and dairy farm. There she studied integrated and diverse farming structures, and engaged in the daily milking routine and CSA operations. Finally, she joined the Grange School in early 2014 to help launch the program. Her diverse skillset has prepared her for the enormous, rewarding task of leading the operations for The Grange School of Adaptive Agriculture.

2016 Convergence Workshop: What is Adaptive Agriculture?

With so many categories, ideologies, philosophies, styles of growing food sustainably, it is challenging for beginning farmers to enter the local food system with their own identity. Adaptive Agriculture is the concept that the science, art, and business of growing food is going to be entirely unique to the individual or group managing the system, and it MUST be flexible enough to change. Defining your context requires: identification of your values and intentions, placing yourself consciously in your surrounding ecology, and understanding the markets and communities of which you are a participant. Our contexts are constantly in flux, and adaptive agriculture necessitates an awareness and openness to change.

This is relevant to a community that loves labels and recipes, and it helps encourage questioning, skepticism, and constant observation. The idea that our world is constantly changing, that boundaries are constantly blurring, is central to the theme of adaptive agriculture and also central to the idea of building bridges! We encourage adaptive agriculturalists to look at all the ideologies and strategies and pick and choose to create their own unique form of agriculture based on their context and perspective.

Presented By: Ruthie King

Carolyne Stayton is the Executive Director of Transition US (the national hub of the international Transition Towns Movement). She has an advanced degree in nonprofit management and her background includes serving as Director of New College’s North Bay Campus of Culture, Ecology and Sustainable Community, an innovative educational institution that promoted advanced studies in leadership and community-building. Carolyne resides in Graton, California where she participates with others in building a future to live into.

2016 Convergence Workshop: Building Resilient Neighborhoods with Transition Streets