Today I helped out at the berkeley farmers market. i got to the park at about 7.15- after i dropped clare off where she was meeting other students to ride up to redding together to take some soil samples downstream form a removed dam.
it was chilly- i sat on the bench and chatted with a 40 year old mexican male. the was walking with crutches and i asked what happened- he said that the cops pulled him over, ran his license- it was suspended- had him do a breathalyzer and field tests, then handcuffed him and then beat him- this was in june. we talked about stuff for a while. then i went to help set up the sound and chairs for the music on the park. kirt organized the music and it went well. ben and tammy managed the market which was getting under way by the time the music was coming together. they work for the berkeley ecology center who manages 3 markets in berkeley.
i helped at the table with some sales of stainless steel water bottles- great to get off plastic and drink clean water. plus i emptied the compost bins and trash a few times. this city, and sf also, collect compost in addition to trash and recycling. i also helped relieve some sellers working alone. it was fun.
next weekend i will be helping at the slow food nation conference in sf.
8/23/08
Cohousing meeting
Tonight I met Diana Leafe Christian at the parker st coop in berkeley. she was speaking about ecovillages- manythat she had visisted, in the us, and others outside that had researched and cooresponded with. it was quite interesting, both meeting and hearing her, and also meeting the locals in attendance.
she has written two books- one on building community and one on finding and moving to an ecovillage. very thoughtful observations about many ecovillages.
one observation that was of interest- when starting a community, have a clear membership policy, including a probation period, and that mentally ill or those 'who have a hard time dealing with society and people now' should not be included in the beginning. tyey will take too much time to dela with their particular issues and tkae away form the needs of the group at the critical early stages.
she is not at all opposed to bringing in a more diverse group later but feels that this should only be after the group is established and stronger. she says this not as an opinion but from observing many ecovillages, 90% of whom fail, and noting what they did that worked and didn;t work.
one local i met was laurence of berkeley, laurenceofberk@aol.com whose mission is to grow veggies right in the neighborhoods of berkeley.
my initial thoughts about growing in s berk are to continue what spiral gardens is doing on the the old train tracks as they head north from ward to parker.
she has written two books- one on building community and one on finding and moving to an ecovillage. very thoughtful observations about many ecovillages.
one observation that was of interest- when starting a community, have a clear membership policy, including a probation period, and that mentally ill or those 'who have a hard time dealing with society and people now' should not be included in the beginning. tyey will take too much time to dela with their particular issues and tkae away form the needs of the group at the critical early stages.
she is not at all opposed to bringing in a more diverse group later but feels that this should only be after the group is established and stronger. she says this not as an opinion but from observing many ecovillages, 90% of whom fail, and noting what they did that worked and didn;t work.
one local i met was laurence of berkeley, laurenceofberk@aol.com whose mission is to grow veggies right in the neighborhoods of berkeley.
my initial thoughts about growing in s berk are to continue what spiral gardens is doing on the the old train tracks as they head north from ward to parker.
8/21/08
Permaculture
Today starts my first permaculture design class, PDC, and Merritt College, which is not located near lake merritt but instead in the oakland hills- 54 bus from fruitville bart stop.
the class is full but hopefully they will find a spot for me. here is the info- http://www.merrittlandhort.com/
i am looking forward to it. the biggest issue i see here is that it does not rain in the summer- berkeley has not had any rain since july 1, perhaps even longer. rainwater collecting and storage will be important i imagine.
sunset from their lookout
the class working on the hill
a picture to show the grade of slope we worked on
the class is full but hopefully they will find a spot for me. here is the info- http://www.merrittlandhort.com/
i am looking forward to it. the biggest issue i see here is that it does not rain in the summer- berkeley has not had any rain since july 1, perhaps even longer. rainwater collecting and storage will be important i imagine.
sunset from their lookout
the class working on the hill
a picture to show the grade of slope we worked on
8/20/08
prop 215
things are different in cali- for one, weed is not a crime. to show how far this has gone i will show a few things i have found here.
first, there is a school in the 'oaksterdam' part of oakland where you can tkae classes in everything from horticulture, budtending, legal issues, dispensery management, and distribution. see http://www.oaksterdamuniversity.com/ for info.
npr did a story about oaksterdam- http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93697469#93693975
next is norcal- an organization in oakland whose "mission is to assist patients whose lives can be improved by the therapeutic use of medicinal marijuana, in conjunction with traditional medical care and/or alternative therapies including: acupressure, Chinese herbal therapy, acupuncture, massage, and yoga." nice- see http://www.norcalhealthcare.org/aboutus.html for info and to schedule an appointment so you can have the card that allows you to grow and possess herb legally.
this photo is from a dispensary store in marin.
varieties and prices are listed on the board.
first, there is a school in the 'oaksterdam' part of oakland where you can tkae classes in everything from horticulture, budtending, legal issues, dispensery management, and distribution. see http://www.oaksterdamuniversity.com/ for info.
npr did a story about oaksterdam- http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93697469#93693975
next is norcal- an organization in oakland whose "mission is to assist patients whose lives can be improved by the therapeutic use of medicinal marijuana, in conjunction with traditional medical care and/or alternative therapies including: acupressure, Chinese herbal therapy, acupuncture, massage, and yoga." nice- see http://www.norcalhealthcare.org/aboutus.html for info and to schedule an appointment so you can have the card that allows you to grow and possess herb legally.
this photo is from a dispensary store in marin.
varieties and prices are listed on the board.
nyc to cali
we took the train from penn station, ny to emeryville ca last week as our method to move to the west coast. clare is going to grad school for landscape design at uc berkeley and i am travelling with her. i spent 5 years in nyc- gaining a masters in education from city college and lots of expreience doing teaching, urban gardening, and wind power sales during my time there. clare was working for the long island south shore estuary reserve helping to protect the waterways of long island.
the train trip left nyc at 4pm on monday and got to cali at 6pm on thursday. we had seats to chicago and a room with meals from chicago to cali. cost was $880- that included everything including the 7- 50 pound packages we each brougth plus the bikes. to consider- drving a 30 mpg car 300 miles would use 100 gallons- figure the cost how you like- but add food, repairs, and hotels. and shipping rates through fed ex and ups are about $1.25/ lb. the train was by far the cheapest way to travel.
from the lounge car
the mississippi floods of june still flooding much of
illinois in august
colorado
our train in salt lake
donner lake
the train trip left nyc at 4pm on monday and got to cali at 6pm on thursday. we had seats to chicago and a room with meals from chicago to cali. cost was $880- that included everything including the 7- 50 pound packages we each brougth plus the bikes. to consider- drving a 30 mpg car 300 miles would use 100 gallons- figure the cost how you like- but add food, repairs, and hotels. and shipping rates through fed ex and ups are about $1.25/ lb. the train was by far the cheapest way to travel.
from the lounge car
the mississippi floods of june still flooding much of
illinois in august
coloradoour train in salt lake
donner lake
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