The PermaDesign Weblog, with Nate Downey and Melissa McDonald!
Archives from September 2017
Living on the Edge
Looking forward to being interviewed on another radio show. This time it’s Living on the Edge with Xubi Wilson and David Bacon today at 4:30pm. Please tune in! We’ll be discussing the upcoming Economics of Happiness conference in Santa Fe (October 12-14), my Journey Santa Fe talk at Collected Works Bookstore (October 8, 11am), and last night’s luscious rain.
09/28/2017 | (0) Comments
Local Eco-Powers—Activate
My September column touts a local conference (Oct 12-14) featuring Winona LaDuke, Judy Wicks, Charles Eisenstein, Vicki Pozzebon, Elaine Sullivan, Emigdio Ballon, R. Charlie Shultz, Paul Gibson, Don Bustos, Luke Spangenberg, Marian Naranjo, Nicholas Mang, and Alan Webber. I'm honored to be on the docket, too. BONUS! --> I'll be speaking about the conference at Collected Works Bookstore on Sunday, Oct 8, during a Journeys Santa Fe event starting at 11am. Please join me!
09/28/2017 | (0) Comments
Stormwater Brainstorm!
Tonight from 5-7 p.m. at the Santa Fe Convention Center (Upstairs in the Nambe/Ohkay Owinghe rooms)
Come have your voice heard during a joint session of the EPA and the City of Santa Fe. The discussion will focus on how to manage the valuable yet destructive resource of stormwater within the city. Tell your neighbors and friends!
09/26/2017 | (0) Comments
My Interview at 2pm Today with Richard Eeds
I'm looking forward to being interviewed at 2pm today by Richard Eeds. Please tune in to 1260AM, 101.5FM, or stream it live at http://www.santafe.com We.9;ll be discussing my Journey Santa Fe talk (10/8) with Ann Filemyr at Collected Works Bookstore, the upcoming Economics of Happiness conference (10/12 - 10/14) in Santa Fe (with Winona LaDuck, Judy Wicks, Charles Eisenstein, etc.), and more.
09/26/2017 | (0) Comments
SLIDE 66: Last of the Before Series
Looking up and south at the neighbor’s house. Fortunately, volunteer plants were already at work when we arrived to start the installation!
09/11/2017 | (0) Comments
SLIDE 65: Steep Slope Looking West
Here flags have been placed to indicate future tessellations. The yellow flags indicated one form of tessellated mini-swale made out of straw “books,” the 2” to 4” wide “flakes,” or sections, of a straw bale. The red flags indicated locations for a straw wattle.
09/08/2017 | (0) Comments
SLIDE 64: Looking East
Left of center in this picture, you can see black plastic covering a tree stump. These lovelies were left behind by the tree-cutting crew. In the foreground, you might see a metal four-foot level. This is a helpful tool for determining the tangent point of each fish-scale swale that we designed and later had Santa Fe Permaculture install.
09/06/2017 | (0) Comments
SLIDE 63: Before View to West
Here’s a good view—not of the steepest part, but of the challenging mix of rock and exposed soil. The soil was exposed because the clients had already done some much-needed fire-prevention work. Replacing the evergreens with smaller evergreens was not an option when it came to our plant pallet due to their combustibility at any size.
09/04/2017 | (0) Comments
SLIDE 62: Looking Down (Yikes!)
Prior to the design-and-installation processes, this camera angle revealed how steep the slope was. In a couple places, it was nearly 90 degrees, but varied. Much of it was so dangerous that I suggested fencing that might keep people from falling a great distance to serious injury or death, but the clients were not wanting a fence for a variety of excellent reasons. We decided early on that densely planted native and drought tolerant woody shrubs would be the way to go. Once established, such plants would help prevent threats from the laws of gravity, drunkenness, wanderlust, and ignorance.
09/01/2017 | (0) Comments
