Transition Westchester

is holding it's next quarterly General Meeting

April 23rd Monday

7pm-9pm 

@Emanuel  Lutheran Church

in Pleasantville on RT 117

To discuss Energy!

High Gas Prices and what you can do 

about them.

Everyone is welcome but please

RSVP here.   

Planning a Vegetable Garden for Beginners

Where: South Presbyterian Church, 343 Broadway, Dobbs Ferry, New York 10522

Date: Sunday, March 25th

Time: 1 - 3 PM

Have you always wanted to grow your own food? Come and learn how, it’s easier than you may think.  

Pauline Schneider, Bronx Botanical Gardens Certified Landscape Designer and life long gardener will go through the steps of planning a veggie garden, from tool selection, site prep, seed/plant selection, sketching out the site, dealing with pests and varmints, to what resources are available to budding new gardeners to help increase your chances of success!

There will be some hands on instruction on how to begin designing your own future garden site, so bring a photograph or sketch and measurements if you have them of the location that your garden may be in.  You will sketch the basic outline of the garden. No previous artistic talent or green thumbs necessary!

Please R.S.V.P. to this event here
 Presented in cooperation with Roots and Wings.

Transition Westchester

Transition Westchester is hosting a free tool care workshop on February 25th.
Go to the link to find out more and register for this reskilling event.


The following are several Permaculture Design Courses that are being offered in the Winter/Spring of 2012 not affiliated with Transition Westchester.

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Green Phoenix 2012 Permaculture Design Certification CourseJanuary through May ~ 5 Weekends
with Kay Cafasso, Connor Stedman, Mark Krawczyk, Ethan Roland and Guests!  - Tune your permaculture design skills and warm your spirit this winter within a permaculture learning community, one weekend a month, for 5 months.  at Green Phoenix Permaculture Demo Site in High Falls, NY Site of the 2011 Northeastern Permaculture Summer Convergence Permaculture demo site with a straw bale farmhouse, 3 forest gardens, scenic hiking trails, a ceremonial lodge, farm animals, water catchment systems, and many progressive people! 2 hours from NYC, 1.5 hours from Albany, 3 hours from Ithaca, 2 hours from Hartford; Near NYC train  Gain your internationally recognized Permaculture Design Certificate and be part of an actual design process from start to finish for the land surrounding a straw bale farmhouse. Learn permaculture design skills and the design process, master site assessment practices that you can bring back to your backyard; Visit numerous forest gardens; Learn about permaculture strategies for water systems; Practice nature awareness, observation skills and wildlife tracking; Explore perennial vegetables, herbal medicine, wildcrafting, food preservation and fermenting, seed saving natural building, appropriate technologies, carbon farming, coppicing, forest gardens designs, and so much more.  Guided Design Project Practice, Activities with Permaculture Design & Assessment Tools, Multi Media Presentations, Field Trips, Discussions about Topics that Matter, Interactive Activities, Hands-On Garden Experience, Tours, and Play!  Dates in 2012: January 14-16; February 25-26; March 31-April 1; April 21-22; May 18-20
Tuition: $900- $1500 (sliding scale), includes accommodation; $800 if you bring a friend! Potluck meals will be coordinated together
To register contact Joan: mamajoane@yahoo.com    

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Sowing Solutions 2012 Permaculture Design Certification Course at Sirius EcoVillage in Western Massachusetts with Kay Cafasso, Mark Krawczyk, Keith Zaltzberg, Llani Davidson, Ryan Harb and Special Guests  January-April 2012     ~   Four Inspiring Weekends Become certified in permaculture design and gather sustainable living skills during 4 weekends at Sirius EcoVillage in 2012! ·     Gain an internationally recognized permaculture design certificate ·     Gain 3 college credits for this course through UMass Amherst Course # PLSOILIN 398B (College credit is optional and fulfills a Core Requirement Ecosystem Course for the Sustainable Food and Farming Concentration at UMass Amherst; Credit can be transferred to other schools) Four weekends in 2012: ·     January 20-22 ·     February 18-20 (President's Day Weekend) ·     March 24-25   ·     April 14-16 (Patriot's Day Weekend) ·     Plus reading and design assignments Course Content:   Learn the tools for permaculture design; Practice site assessment & site planning with your own guided onsite design project for a parcel of land at the EcoVillage; Explore wildlife tracking, natural building, turning lawns to gardens, edible forest gardens, and the following list of permaculture topics and skills: Permaculture Topics: Vision and Principles of Permaculture; Global Case Studies of Permaculture Systems; Ecological Design Process; Natural System Observation; Agroforestry; Patterns in Nature; Water in the Landscape; Edible Forest Gardening; Perennial Vegetables & Perennial Agriculture; Carbon Farming; Coppicing & Green Woodworking; Soils; Urban Permaculture; EcoVillages; Financial Permaculture; Appropriate Technologies; Waste Treatment; Natural Buildings Permaculture Skills: Mapping Skills; Wildlife Tracking; Recognizing Patterns in Nature; Pruning; Elevation Tools; Solar Angle Tools; Compost; Garden Establishment; Sheet Mulching Permaculture Design Practice: Client Interview, Goals Articulation, Site Analysis & Assessment, Site Planning, Design Generation & Presentation Optional Evenings/ 'Life Skills Electives' include: Bread baking, cheese making, fermenting, growing sprouts, herbal medicine, seed saving, etc Location:   Sirius EcoVillage Retreat Center has the following~ permaculture design installations; wood fired sauna; trails for hiking, cross country and snowshoeing; a hand built cob house and straw bale art studio; ceremonial sweat lodge; standing stone circle; goats & chickens; root cellar and garden veggies; numerous gardens; 4 season greenhouses; intentional community Sirius EcoVillage is 10 minutes from Amherst, MA; 2 hours from Boston; 3 hours from NYC; 3 hours from Burlington; 2 hours from Albany; 2 hours from Providence Costs: ·     Tuition: $900- $1200 (sliding scale) ·     Accommodations and organic meals are available in the retreat center for additional fees For more info and to register contact Kay at Sowing Solutions,  www.sowingsolutions.net

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Permaculture Design Course at Colby Sawyer College in New London, NH.  The course meetings are mostly on Saturdays from January through April. http://www.colby-sawyer.edu/greenroutes/permaculture.html   Class meetings will generally be from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. and one overnight weekend with classes on Saturday and Sunday at D Acres in Dorchester, NH.  The teaching team includes Steve Whitman, Lauren Chase-Rowell and several guests. Registration & Tuition The tuition for this course is $900 and the registration deadline is 1/13/12. For details about registration call Tracey Perkins at (603) 526-3702 or e-mail: tperkins@colby-sawyer.edu