Ste. Anne de Bellevue Permaculture Group

2nd Meeting, Oct 1st, 2013, 1:30pm, Coop du Grand Orme

MINUTES

Permaculture definition by Bill Mollison: The conscious design of agriculturally productive ecosystems which have the diversity needed to match the resilience of natural ecosystems.

Resilience flows from Diversity
Functions of each plant, animal or other element in a system must serve multiple roles to enhance system productivity and efficiency. Each role in a system must be filled by multiple elements so if any one element should fail, others take up the role, hence resilience of the system as a whole.

Integrity of Permaculture Education
The term "Permaculture" is copyrighted and therefore cannot be taught in universities in detail, only in bonifide institutes, to protect the purity of the vision and understanding.

Earth Care IS People Care
In the 3 Ethics of Permaculture (Earth care, People care and the Return of Surplus to the First Two) a corollary exists that is important to understand: Earth care IS People Care.

Scope of Permaculture:

Industrial applications (plastics, chemical, fuel, animal fodder etc.) that employ perennial polycultures including trees, shrubs and perennial plants (instead of annual monocultures which are dysfunctional for ecosystems) as their model

Community applications (town planning, edible landscaping, alternative currencies, bartering systems, tool lending, communal transport, legal structures for land sharing and management etc.)

Individual applications (suburban gardens, exurban properties, rooftop gardening, homesteading, subsistence farming)

Personal applications (conflict resolution, non-violent communication, community building, support resources tailored to individual needs)

Aid work (re-establishment of water harvesting and food production systems in devastated regions worldwide through ecosystem restoration)

AND MORE!

Definition of sustainability: System that produces more energy than it consumes over the span of its lifetime, including set-up and maintenance.

The Importantce of Fungal Networks
     Fungi use people /animals /insects to move around by spores. They enhance plants and tree growth through an network of underground filliaments of unimaginable density and complexity.
     Fungi have been found to have more similarities to animals than plants, and a meta kingdom has been created in taxonomy (the science of biological classification) to account for these new findings.
     Soil de-contamination (nuclear, petrochemical), sewage treatment, curing cancer and pest control are but a few exciting and revolutionary applications of advanced mycology (the study of mushrooms)
    For more information on these inspiring developments, please take the time to watch this engrossing lecture on the subject by leading visionary scientist Paul Stamets.

http://permaculturenews.org/2013/09/27/paul-stamets-solutions-from-the-underground-video/

Bill Mollison Quote
"We need to be desperately aware of what is happening around us and respond to it."

Other Permaculturists In Our Area
Hudson: Graham Calder (local teacher unfortunately for us, now in Nova Scotia starting up a new Permaculture Institute, Canarie Farm)
Hudson: Robin Rees (Sustainable community building through food production and environmental stewardship: Transitioning a suburban lawn into a permaculture system.)

Group Focus Project
LETS  (local exchange trading system). Meeting in the new Coop with invited guest to speak on how to get started with wider invitations and maybe publicity (posters etc) to gather numbers and create critical mass.

Other Project Possibilities
Improving our Transition Town status
Lowering our energy consumption
Aligning our efforts with Sainte Anne's city plans
Harpel Garden Project for next year?

"Plan du dévélopment durable"
Important document available for in-house review at the library.

Meeting Ethos Statement
Let's see the change coming and be ahead of the curve!

Knowledge Sharing Exercise
Consecutive circulation in the group of Permaculture Video Series by Geoff Lawton. 6 DVDs.

Thanks to everyone who attended!