Saturday, October 9, 2010

Burton Street Community Peace Gardens

10-10-10 Asheville: Burton Street Community Peace Gardens

10 October 2010 - 2:00pm - 7:00pm
We will be combining work and play at our expanding network of community gardens in the Burton Street Community of West Asheville.
Folks will have the opportunity to assist with sheet mulching, putting in fall vegetable starts, and planting ground cover.
After the work, folks are invited to gather around the outdoor earth oven and fire pit for music, pizzas and other goodies. Bring ingredients for the pizzas and something to drink!
Event Host: We are part of the vibrant heartbeat within the diverse Burton Street Community, reaching out with food, art, garden plots, economic opportunities, activities, education, and a place to meet your neighbor. http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Asheville-NC/Burton-Street-Community-Peace-Gardens/78635482114

Location Information
47 Bryant Street
AshevilleNC28806
United States
Event Organizer
Safi M

Friday, October 8, 2010

DRINKING WATER

Please bring drinking water with you to all of these events, especially to the Stephens-Lee and GW Carver Edible Park.  We will try to have some water available, but there is no running water on site.  Let's try and make this a trash free event.  Thanks.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

PARKING

We are planning on a lot of fun activities for the Stephens-Lee parking lot.   

If you are able, please park down below in any of the city employee lots and walk up.  They are available for public parking on Sunday.  And, yes, we double checked...
 
You can use the over-pass to cross Charlotte St and come safely to the Edible Park.



SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

IN THE DR.GEORGE W CARVER EDIBLE PARK AND 
                 STEPHENS LEE REC CENTER PARKING LOT

10-12 pm           Invasive Removal at Dr. George W Carver Edible Park 
                             led by Bountiful Cities Project  and ecologist Bob Gale from WNCA  

10-2 pm             Demonstrations in the Stephens Lee Recreation Center parking Lot
                                     Bio-gas generation with Eli Whipple
                                     DIY Bike repair clinic with Asheville ReCyclers
                                     Kids Activities- including the Sundance Solar Quest Station
                                     Kudzu Baskets
                                     Live music

12-4 pm             Crop Mob (weeding and mulching) of the Dr.George W Carver Edible Park 
                                     with Bountiful Cities Project

2 pm                   Plant Walk led by Marc Williams Botany Every Day      
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
OTHER LOCATIONS AROUND TOWN   (see blog posts for details/locations)

9:30am                       Reed Creek Clean-up                      Meet at the Reed Creek Greenway,
                                                                                                 next to the Eblen Short Stop on Broadway

10am-12:30pm           Healing salves workshop with Keri Evjy      khevjy@gmail.com 

10:10 am-2:10 pm      Water Infiltration workshop                  Linking Waters and RiverLink
                                                                                                                  themichellesmith@gmail.com
2-7pm                        Burton Street Community Peace Garden      work party followed by 
                                                                                                            pizza, music and a fire


2:20-5:30pm          Z-Link Sidewalk Repair for Asheville     Meet at Arby's on West Patton Avenue
                                                                                                                near intersection of Florida
                                                                                      
4:30-5:30pm              Tour of Ashevillage Institute              followed by tea and conversation

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Z-Link Sidewalk Repair

Maintaining passable sidewalks is key to getting people out using them! There are many places where perfectly good walks extend for blocks, only to be obstructed in one short section, rendering them impassable for wheel chairs, baby strollers or those with ambulatory disabilities. Do your part to help make sidewalks meet their intended use. This is an ongoing effort that you can participate in this weekend and beyond.

What: Z-Link Sidewalk Repair for Asheville

When: 10/10/10, 2:30 - 5:30pm

Where: Meet at Arby's on West Patton Avenue near intersection of Florida

What to Bring: Garbage bags, work gloves, square-bladed shovel or gardening spade, rake, broom, etc.

For for information about the Z-Link effort see the Asheville Z-Link Blog at...
http://ashevillezlink.wordpress.com/
Or call Tiffany Smith
828-275-3699

Monday, October 4, 2010

The Sundance Solar Quest Station 10-2pm

Erika Schneider, of Sundance Power Systems, will be hosting:

“The Sundance Solar Quest Station”  ~ An interactive energy education experience to empower kids with knowledge and inspire them to create clean energy systems for our future.  In this game, everyone is a winner! 


Stephens Lee Rec Center

Plant Walk with Marc Williams 2pm

Marc will be assisting people in deepening their relationship with some of the plants growing around the George W Carver edible park.

Marc Williams is an ethnobotanist. He has studied plants intensively while learning to use them for food, medicine, and beauty. His training includes a bachelor's degree in Environmental Studies concentrating in Sustainable Agriculture from Warren Wilson College, over a decade working at a multitude of restaurants, various farms, and travels throughout 22 countries in North/Central America and Europe. Marc has taught hundreds of people about the marvelous world of plants and their respective uses. Soon he will receive a master’s degree in Appalachian Studies concentrating in Sustainable Development with a minor in Geography and Planning from Appalachian State University. He also completed the Training for Transition course in May 2010.

Saturday, October 2, 2010

Reed Creek Cleanup

Help us clean up Reed Creek. Join our group of friends, neighbors, and volunteers in an effort to remove litter and junk from the creek banks and surrounding area.

Time: 9:30-2pm

Location: Meet at the Reed Creek Greenway, next to the Eblen Short Stop on Broadway. Look for people and garbage!

Bring: Gloves, grubby clothes, garbage bags, water, and snacks.

For more details or to RSVP (not required) contact: Justin Holt: justinveazeyholt@gmail.com

Tour the Ashevillage Institute - An Urban Permaculture Demonstration Site!

The Ashevillage Institute creates sustainable living solutions through education, demonstration and action.
The Ashevillage Institute promotes urban sustainability through:

Hands-on sustainability workshops for local leaders & citizens

An eco-demonstration center that serves local needs

Community outreach, organization & advocacy

Educational documentation & presentation

When: The tour will begin at 4:30 (just after the workparty at the edible park) There will be tea, Q and A, and an open discussion afterward

Location: 80 Buchanan Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801 (next to the MCcormick Baseball Stadium)

Make your own locally grown medicine!

In this indispensable class we'll learn how to make healing salves from plants that are easy to recognize and grow. We’ll discuss herbal action terms and ID some common medicinal plants that thrive in our area. Each salve-maker will take home a salve made from locally gleaned plants. Beginners welcome. Please RSVP to khevjy@gmail.com.
Keri Evjy is a teacher, herbalist, and ecological designer. Her business, Healing Roots Design, creates, installs, and maintains edible and medicinal landscapes built for resilience and harvest.

Time: 10-12:30pm

Location: 42 Highland St. Asheville, NC 28801

What to Bring: 2 oz jar to fill with salve and $3-5 to cover the cost of materials

Questions? Call Keri at (828) 450-1836

Friday, October 1, 2010

Linking Waters: Free Training from 10:10 to 2:10pm

Linking Waters reclaiming urban water for jobs, environment and food.

Learn how to install simple earthworks solutions on your property
Join us for free training on October 10, 2010
beginning at 10:10 am to 2:10 pm.


For more information contact Michelle Smith
themichellesmith@gmail.com
www.facebook.com/themichellesmith


Working together with RiverLink, Waterlinks, LLC and Urban Paradise Gardening, Linking Waters will demonstrate grassroots solutions for reclaiming urban water that people can implement on their own property, in many cases using tools no more complex than a shovel.

Please bring: your lunch, some gloves and any tools you may have that are good for digging and raking. We'll have some tools as well.


Participants will receive training in the following rain-water infiltration methods:
  • Using an A-frame level
  • Curb restoration and berm building
  • Building diversion swales w/ gabions
  • Building an infiltration berm and swale
  • Building french drains and soaker works
  • Sheet mulching



    The goals of the LinkingWaters are :
    • Demonstrate safe, effective, easily accessible methods and materials that a large portion of a community can use to increase the amount of water stored in the soil and replenish the ground water.


    • Measure the reduction in storm water runoff and contaminating sediment, the increase in groundwater infiltration and the cost savings to property owners.


    • Demonstrate the potential for creating green jobs and building positive relationships in the community.



    Though the first demonstration will be at Michelle Smith's home, the goal is to replicate this at 10 or more residences in the neighborhood watershed. Our hope for the LinkingWaters project is that the solutions we demonstrate and learn from will be adopted in other neighborhoods in Asheville and throughout the US. We believe real solutions for urban jobs, environment and food are possible at the local neighborhood level. As a matter of fact, we strongly suspect that real solutions will be impossible otherwise.

    Directions to the site:
  • From West:
    240 East to Patton Avenue Exit.
    Right on Asheland Avenue
    3rd light - Right on Choctaw
    4th house on Right.
  • From South
    25 North (McDowell Street)
    pass Asheville High and go under the small tunnel
    Left at next light onto Choctaw
    4th house on the Right.
  • From North:
    26 E to dowtown exit then left onto Patton.
    Right on Asheland Avenue
    3rd light - Right on Choctaw
    4th house on Right.
  • From East:
    240 W to Charlotte Street
    Continue across College then across Biltmore Ave
    Charlotte Street becomes Southside.
    2nd light - Left on McDowell
    Next light -- Right on Choctaw
    4th house on the Right.

Personal Energy Descent Action Plan

Transition Asheville www.transitionasheville.org
Family/Personal Energy Descent Plan:
How to Change Your Habits & Save the Earth

Sample Energy Descent Guidelines:
·         Fix or don’t replace; or if needed, buy smart (quality, longevity, ease of repair, efficiency); if possible, plan how to phase out.
·         Use less, buy less; develop sharing & barter strategies
·         Move to low maintenance & wherever possible, to no maintenance.

Stages of Energy Descent:
·         Immediate (first steps)
·         Intermediate (projects or changes that require some learning)
·         Energy Descent (commitments to change designs & behaviors)

Some Areas to Rethink:
·         Food (growing, finding/gathering, preserving, cooking, sharing)
·         Energy Management (increasing efficiency, preventing waste, developing new strategies for usage)
·         Water (multiple use strategies, preventing waste, collecting rain water)
·         Transportation (changing driving habits, planning for ride-sharing, alternatives to the auto)
·         Property Maintenance (redesign yards according to permaculture principles, develop cooperative arrangements with neighbors such as tool-sharing)
·         Acquisitions/Consumer behaviors (reduce-reuse-recycle, buy from/support local suppliers & businesses, develop ways to share items when possible)
·         Investing (investigate the ideas of the Slow Money movement, learn about socially responsible investing, explore agencies that primarily support local &/or regional enterprises)

An Example of Energy Descent Planning:
AREA                    IMMEDIATE          INTERMEDIATE          LONG TERM
Water for Garden   Use drip irrigation    build rainwater       use non-motorized
                                                             collectors                pump(s)    
     
Food-growing      Create garden beds   learn about growing       grow 50% 
                                                       winter vegetables           of food

Food preserving    learn how to can      build a solar dryer        preserve 40%  
                              & dry foods                                             of food

Lawn mowing      leave some areas     electric or hand mower     all areas in 
                            unmowed             study permaculture     garden or natural        
                                                                 
Home heating    install programmable  increase insulation,           replace 
                              thermostat                seal                    heating system                                                    
                                                                                     with solar system
                                                

(Print out and Fill-in below to create your own individual energy descent plan.)


Area
Immediate
Intermediate
Long-term goal



















































Monday, September 27, 2010

Volunteers needed.

We could use 5 people to help our demonstators get set-up at 9:45 in the Stephens Lee Recreational Center parking lot.
Also help throughout the day greeting folk as they arrive. 1 hour shifts beginning at 11am.
Free coffee for volunteers being provided by Firestorm Cafe and Books.

Sign up for a shift by adding a comment below.
Directions to the park: South Charlotte St. to the light at Max St. (east side, Beaumont St. is on the west). Travel up the hill, left on Carver St. and drive straight into the recreation center parking lot and park at the dumpster to your right.