Mitigating Climate Change through Regenerative Soil Works:
A Design-It-Forward Workshop in Caledon, ON. **Full**
Join Garden Jane and Whole Village to learn and practice using permaculture principles.
Special Focus
We’ll have a special focus on soils, with the aim of engaging in how to co-design practical and regenerative “solutions” to climate change in a tangible way for each participant. We’ll move from patterns to details, designing projects (or aspects of them) that move us and that motivate us all to take them forward. Note that this is personal and social work, as much as it is design work and earth work!
NEW! Special Guest
We’re excited to announce that Ruth Knight will be joining us as a special guest. Ruth is passionate about soil health and its potential to re-introduce us to our landscape connections and improve our resiliency to climate change. Ruth brings a well of knowledge about soil regeneration on farms and a unique citizen scientist approach for engaging and empowering communities to address climate change.
About Whole Village
Whole Village is an important Ontario permaculture case study farm, with 191 acres of land, an eco-village, and a CSA farm business.
The Details
The workshop will combine a mix of theory, information, hands-on soil remediation and soil building activities, and applied design activities. We’ll use the real design challenges to practice and develop design and holistic problem solving skills.
Topics
- Introduction (or a refresher) on definitions and principles of permaculture
- Permaculture design tools and ways we’ll practice permaculture by using them
- Our Design Challenge: Mitigating Climate Change
- A primer on soil mysteries: what we know, what we don’t, including a quick overview of soils in Southern Ontario
- Farm and Soils Tour, with hands-on skill development and activities
- Soil testing
- Soil biology and the soil food web
- Bio-char
- Carbon sequestering
- Composting (small & medium scales)
- Mulching (live and otherwise)
- Fertility cycling
- Working with livestock (small scale)
- Carbon Farming
- No and low till methods
- Urban applications
- Possible Design Projects:
- How to regenerate and restore soils in your backyard and / or community
- Bio-Char, how to make it for your site (kiln, in-ground, sourcing of fuels, use, etc)
- How to contribute to building, learning from and honouring an intergenerational soil building community of practice and stewardship (systems development, group dynamics, citizen science, connecting people, farmers, knowledge)
- Making a midden! Building soil corridors!
- Bring your own project idea – personal, social, ecological, farm based, home based, systems building, etc.
- BONUS: Learn about the eco-village model in practice.
Schedule
Fri Sept 14th – 7-9pm; Sat Sept 15th 9:30-5pm; Sun Sept 16th 9:30 am – 4 pm
Workshop fees – sliding scale
(breakfasts, lunches and snacks on Sat & Sun + Sat eve dinner)
$260 subsidized; $300 full cost; $340 contributing
Lodging (optional) and Carpooling Requests
Our online registration form is below. You can also use it to reserve and pay for your accommodation. Please send us an email if you have any questions, or if you have any carpooling needs. Please also let us know if you can provide a drive to others looking to carpool.