Home-Scale Ecological Food Production Talk

PUBLIC EVENING TALK:
HOME-SCALE ECOLOGICAL FOOD PRODUCTION WITH DAVE JACKE presented by the Ohio Ecological Food & Farm Association
Monday, August 9, 2010-7:30-9:00 p.m.
Glen Helen Building
405 Corry St., Yellow Springs, Ohio

Healthy forests maintain, fertilize, and renew themselves, naturally. Wouldn’t you like to grow an abundant food-producing ecosystem like this in your back yard? You can! Edible forest gardens mimic the structure and function of natural forests through all their stages of development and grow food, fuel, fiber, fodder, fertilizers, farmaceuticals, and fun. We can meet our own needs and regenerate healthy ecosystems at the same time! This talk introduces the vision of forest gardening with some scientific background, a few living examples, and a sampling of some useful perennial edibles you can use in your own garden.
Cost: Free, $10 donation appreciated for those who can afford it. No preregistration necessary.

PUBLIC EVENING TALK: SOIL ECOLOGY AND SELF-RENEWING FERTILITY WITH DAVE JACKE presented by the Ohio Ecological Food & Farm Association
Wednesday, August 11, 2010-7:30-9:00 p.m.
Glen Helen Building
405 Corry St., Yellow Springs, Ohio

Soil ecosystems evolve from interactions between physical, chemical, geological, biological, and ecological forces. How does the soil work as a whole system? In a world of specialists, this question rarely, if ever, shows up on the radar screen. As fossil fuels become more expensive, so will conventional fertility sources. We need to use our time, energy, resources, and knowledge to build long-term nutrient cycling and conservation systems, rather than constantly importing nutrients from far away. This talk examines the soil ecosystem with an eye toward creating intergenerational soil health and self-renewing fertility, the way natural forest ecosystems do. This systems perspective offers practical solution-directions useful to farmers, gardeners, landscapers, and restorationists for site assessment, site preparation, plant selection, planting techniques, and ecosystem management.
Cost: Free, $10 donation appreciated for those who can afford it. No preregistration necessary.

MORE FOREST GARDENING -- We still have a few spaces left in our weeklong Ohio intensive course. If you know anyone who would like us to save a spot for them have them contact us soon!

SEVEN DAY FOREST GARDEN DESIGN INTENSIVE WITH DAVE JACKE presented by the Ohio Ecological Food & Farm Association
A Weeklong Design Immersion Course with Dave Jacke, presented by the Ohio Ecological Food & Farm Association
Monday, August 9-Sunday, August 15, 2010
Yellow Springs, Ohio

Dive deeply into the vision, theory, design, and practice of creating edible ecosystems using temperate deciduous forest ecosystems as models. Dave Jacke and his Ohio-based teaching team will offer lectures, site walks, and experiential exercises to help you understand the architecture, social structure, underground economics, and successional processes of natural forests. You'll also learn a variety of ecological design processes while designing a range of food-producing ecologies. We'll engage with issues of garden management, economics, and the deep paradigmatic shifts required to succeed at cocreating humanatural landscapes and cultures. Cost: $700-$1000 (sliding scale) base fee includes space for onsite camping, lunches, dinners and breakfast items. For low cost offsite accommodations please contact us. Pre-registration required. Register by sending a check (along with your name, address, phone number and email) to OEFFA Forest Garden, 41 Croswell Rd. Columbus, OH 43214. For more information, contact Laura Wies at (614) 421-2022 or laura@oeffa.org. Space is limited. Worktrade scholarships may be available for those in financial need.

For information on our other workshops with Dave Jacke across Ohio, visit us at www.oeffa.org/forest.php

Lead instructor Dave Jacke is primary author of the award winning two-volume book Edible Forest Gardens. He has studied ecology and design since the 1970s, and has run his own design firm—Dynamics Ecological Design—since 1984. He has designed, built, and planted landscapes, homes, farms, and communities in the many parts of the United States, as well as overseas. He earned a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Simon's Rock College and a M.A. in Landscape Design from the Conway School of Landscape Design.

Assistant Instructors Jessica Bilecki, Kurt Belser, and Sam Dunlap pour permaculture passion into their respective corners of Ohio through practice and teaching. Drawing upon diverse educational backgrounds and farming experiences, they collaborate to nurture the permaculture movement throughout the state... and beyond!

-- Laura Wies
Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association
41 Croswell Rd
Columbus, OH 43214
614-421-2022
laura@oeffa.org