My guest for this episode is Adam Brock, a permaculture teacher and practitioner from The Growhaus in Colorado, who is also developing an invisible structures pattern language. You can find out more about that latter project by going to peoplepattern.org. Adam sat down with me to talk about the IPC in Cuba and the Permaculture Voice conference, but we begin this interview with his pattern language before moving onto those other topics. The conversation represents his experiences at both of those events and also provides feedback on how we can use that to continue to improve our work as professionals to make our community more inclusive and productive for the people who want and need it. We also touch on how permaculture is continuing to expand at a rapid pace and how some of the movements to codify the PDC process and vet various professionals in the field. Not too long ago a few phone calls could help us get a personal understanding of a particular teacher or project, but that is getting harder as the sheer number of practitioners and people offering classes or workshops grows. After speaking with Adam I’m excited for where permaculture is and where it is going. Though I was initially hesitant about some of the organizing occurring, at the moment there is still room under this incredible umbrella of design that we can shake things up, experiment, try new things, and see what happens. Together we can see what the future holds. Adam's Past Interviews Urban Agriculture Invisible Structures People and Resources Global Exchange Movement Generation Andy Goldring Darren Doherty People & Pattern: A Pattern Language for Invisible Structures Permaculture Institute of North America (PINA) Permaculture Institute, U.S.A. The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil Robin Clayfield Robyn Francis Class Announcement Jen Mendez at Permie Kids has another Edge Alliance coming up on Sunday, August 3rd, 2014. Helen from One Hen presents on how to help children develop personal responsibility and connect with community by examining three questions:

• How can personal responsibility relate to social entrepreneurship?
• What can it look like for kids?
• What soft and hard skills that must be present for kids to self-empower and community-empower in this way?

Find out more at: www.permiekids.com/community-collaboration/ What are your thoughts on the state of permaculture? If you’d like to get in touch, here are the usual ways. E-mail: The Permaculture Podcast Facebook: Facebook.com/ThePermaculturePodcast Twitter: @permaculturecst The Permaculture Podcast with Scott Mann The Permaculture Podcast (Episode: AdamBrock3)

My guest for this episode is Rafter Sass Ferguson, a permaculture practitioner and PhD student who is researching self-identified permaculture farms. Our conversation today looks at the state of his work and of permaculture research in general, as well as some of the challenges we face in broadening the impact, accountability, and acceptance of permaculture. Find out more about Rafter and his research at: liberationecology.org What stands out to me from this interview is, again, our importance of doing research as practitioners. To be involved. To experiment. To try new things. To figure out what does and doesn’t work where we are and share that information with others. We have the tools in our hands and in the permaculture literature to create an abundant world that can tackle some really big problems, but much of that gets cast aside because of the barriers and hurdles we have to overcome to get there. It’s why I take a long view on spreading the word and getting permaculture out there. I’d rather offer a life changing impact on a few people, like the person who wrote in saying that they were no longer a bigot and more accepting of others because of the interviews with Rhamis Kent, than have this podcast be a fluff piece for ten times as many people who just listen and move on. I wake up every day wanting to make the world a better place for everyone. For me, my children, my friends, my family, and for you, and people I haven’t met yet, and people who aren’t born yet. We have the most amazing set of tools. Now all we have to do is use them. I’ll step down from my soap box now and leave you to your time. If you’d like to get in touch, here are the usual ways. E-mail: The Permaculture Podcast Facebook: Facebook.com/ThePermaculturePodcast Twitter: @permaculturecst The Permaculture Podcast with Scott Mann The Permaculture Podcast (Episode: rafter2)

My guest for this episode is Mark Krawczyk, a permaculture designer and teacher from Vermont. He is also the co-author, along with Dave Jacke, of forthcoming book Coppice Agroforestry – Perennial Silviculture for the 21st Century. Mark and I sat down and talked about keyline design and coppice work. Along the way we touch on three species he recommends experimenting with for a beginner to coppice, as well as his tool kit for this woods work. We also spoke about what species coppice well, including both deciduous hardwoods and some evergreens. This is an episode that contains a number of resources, which you’ll find links to below. If you find value in what you hear in this episode, or any of those in the archives, please make a contribution to the show. You can find out how at www.thepermaculturepodcast.com/support. There’s quite a lot in this episode for anyone looking to implement keyline design or work the woods. If you’re interested in getting started below you'll find links to the specialty stores Mark mentioned for Yeoman plow shanks, as well as places in the U.S. and abroad where you can find the various coppice species, as well as some of the specialty tools, including the Woodsman’s Pal. Also, one of my preferred vendors for hand tools, Lee Valley, happens to carry a billhook and froe. I have both on order and will review them when they arrive. You can reach Mark via email: coppiceagroforestry@gmail.com and learn more about his work at: Keyline Vermont Coppice Agroforestry Three Species for a Beginning Coppicer

• Basswood / Linden (Tilia americana)
• Willow (Salix L.)
• Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia)

Mark's Recommended Tools for Coppice Work

• Chainsaw
• Bowsaw
• Billhook
• Sledgehammer and Wedges
• Froe

Evergreens that Coppice

• Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)
• Monkey Puzzle (Araucaria araucana)
• Pitch Pine (Pinus rigida)
• Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum)
• Pinyon Pine (Spp. unknown)
• Juniper (Spp. unknown)

Resources: Keyline Design Plow Shanks A.H. Tuttle Market Farm Coppice Species Sources Willow

• Dunbar Gardens (USA)
• Bluestem Nursery (Canada)
• Willow Works (UK)

Basswood / Linden

• Cold Stream Farm (USA)
• Barcham (UK)

Black Locust

• Cold Stream Farm (USA)
• Buckingham Nurseries

Specialty Tools for Coppice Morris Tools (ToolNut.co.uk) Woodsman's Pal Lee Valley Bill hook Lee Valley Froe Are you practicing keyline design? Working the woods? Have questions after this episode? Let me know: E-mail: The Permaculture Podcast Facebook: Facebook.com/ThePermaculturePodcast Twitter: @permaculturecst The Permaculture Podcast with Scott Mann The Permaculture Podcast (Episode: MarkKrawczyk)

[caption width="200" align="alignleft"] Ben Law, Woodsman[/caption]My guest for this episode is Ben Law, woodsman, permaculture practitioner, and author of many books on developing, tending, and using the products that come from the woods. Some of those titles include The Woodland Way, and Roundwood Timber Framing. Mr. Law is a wealth of practical knowledge, and we touch on some of that in this conversation. As I seek out for this show, he is someone who practices what he teaches, continuously. Even as I spoke to him, he was out in the woods, running off of solar power. We begin the interview via landline and then switch to his mobile phone. I recommend listening to this episode in a relaxed and quieter environment because of those connection issues. This marks the first episode of July, 2014, and the start of my summer fundraising campaign. If you enjoy this podcast, help me keep it on the air by making a one time or on-going contribution. I can’t do this without your assistance. Visit the support page to find out how to donate. What I enjoyed about this episode is the encouragement to seek out the tools and knowledge to do what we feel called to do. To build a create a better world, we have to seek out what it is that matters to each of us, and be our own solution. Another take away is that we must take a long view. As Ben spoke about the shifting view of time, so do I see that if we’re going to think about tomorrow, and well beyond, then it requires a shift in our mindset to look further into the future and imagine what could be. For a good reminder of that long view listen to The Gift by Matt Winters. You can find out more about Mr. Law at: www.ben-law.co.uk How has your perspective of time, and place, changed since you started practicing permaculture? Let me know: E-mail: The Permaculture Podcast Facebook: Facebook.com/ThePermaculturePodcast Twitter: @permaculturecst The Permaculture Podcast with Scott Mann The Permaculture Podcast (Episode: Ben Law)

My guest for this episode is Rob Scott, a permaculture practitioner who started and directed the Urbana Permaculture Project. He now teaches Education Policy, Organization, and Leadership at the University of Illinois. We spend our time in this interview discussing his 2010 article, “A Critical Review of Permaculture in the United States,” and offer a critique of permaculture, and permaculture education in the U.S., as they exist now, as well as what we can do to improve our permaculture practices in the landscape and education. If you enjoy this interview with Rob, please support the Permaculture Podcast so that I can keep things going. Become a one time or ongoing contributor by going to: thepermaculturepodcast.com/support to find out how. I consider this conversation as a start on what we can do to make permaculture more accessible and acceptable. What I would like is to begin a new project where we start documenting our permaculture successes and failures. I’d like you to write down what you’ve done, what’s worked, what hasn’t, and share it with me. Once some of these come in, with your permission, I’ll setup a section of the website where we can share and discuss the results and work on building our understanding of permaculture in the current era. Another piece of this is that I recently interviewed Elizabeth Farnsworth who works at the New England Wild Flower Society, who I mentioned in my coverage of the Native Plants Conference I attended a few weeks ago. She and I talked about the role of citizen scientists. In that discussion she reminded me that by being curious and asking “Why?” we are, each and everyone of us, scientists. So let’s collect data, and sometime in the not too distant future I’ll release that interview with Elizabeth to serve as further inspiration on that project. Finally, on the idea of education, it can occur whether we are formally trained in teaching, or not. Just as I set out “The Plan” a few months ago detailing my ideas for teaching young adults and adult in a holistic way, Jen Mendez at Permie Kids is actively working on developing ideas for childhood education and permaculture through a series of topical webinars she’s calling the “Edge Alliance.” I’d like you to take a look and get involved if you are a parent of school age children, or an educator of the same. Resources Rob Scott A Critical Review of Permaculture in the United States A Review of Suitable Companion Crops for Black Walnut (PDF) Edge Alliance Do you Have a Critique of Permaculture? Let me know: E-mail: The Permaculture Podcast Facebook: Facebook.com/ThePermaculturePodcast Twitter: @permaculturecst The Permaculture Podcast with Scott Mann The Permaculture Podcast (Episode: RobScott)

The round table panelists. From the left: Jon Darby, Rafiyqa Muhammad, Shannon Sylte, and Ben Weiss.

Begin with part one if you are new to the show or would like a refresher. Recorded in front of a live audience, the panelists were:

• Jon Darby, of the Horn Farm Center.
• Rafiyqa Muhammad, of Ngozi, Inc.
• Shannon Sylte.
• Ben Weiss, of The Rewilding School.

The questions for this first round included:

• What is the best way to use chickens in a permaculture design?
• How do we combine disciplines within permaculture?
• How do we include non-native species, and discuss natives vs. non-natives with customers?
• Should permaculture be taken mainstream?
• Should we use the word permaculture when discussing these practices with others?
• How do societal institutions impact the opportunity to raise capital and enact change in modern agriculture?
• How can we make permaculture more inclusive, particularly of women and people of color?

When you've finished listening if you would like to learn more from Rafiyqa's many years as a civic leader in Harrisburg, actively engaging communities and local politics, so that you can do the same here is her information available.

If you haven’t listened to the first two, you’ll want to begin there before hearing this show, or if you heard them originally and want a refresher. You’ll find those past episodes here: Islam, Ethics, and Earth Care with Rhamis Kent (Part 1) Faith and Earthcare: Islam with Rhamis Kent (Part 2) Much of the conversation in this episode is about being responsible for our own lives, and for having dignity and respect for others. I appreciate this discussion for the openness that Rhamis brought to the interview, and the space we created in which to hold the conversation. The topics aren’t easy, but they need to be talked about. Thankfully, Rhamis is a gifted speaker who brought patience and understanding to the interview, even as we spoke for many, many, hours. When putting the other episodes for this series together, I thought I would end with a long commentary to close out this three part interview with Rhamis. I don't, however, have a long commentary to end with, rather, this series stands on it's own. My final thoughts are this: to take care of one another, we must know each another. Sometimes that is easy, when we are with people like ourselves. Sometimes that is hard, when we don’t have the means to understand a person and their background, but through a dialogue, a conversation, we can begin down the road of knowing them. Until the next time, reach out and get to know someone better than you do already so that we can truly create the world we want to see. If there’s any way I can help you, let me know. Email: The Permaculture Podcast (Episode: RhamisKentThree)

Dr. Mobus was brought to my attention by a listener around the time of the release of the episode with Nicole Foss and I found his work to be a nice compliment to that. If you’re not familiar with Ms. Foss, I recommend you listen to that interview in addition to this one, but you don’t have to listen to her first. In this interview, I reference an article on child poverty.

There is not a lot of commentary from me on this episode, as Dr. Mobus covered the spread of what we talked about fairly well, and his understanding of permaculture connects his ideas to how we, as permaculture practitioners, can provide a way forward through what the future holds. The picture is bleaker than I personally see ahead of us, but the hope in all of this is that by taking action we can make a difference. We have a model, a way to do that, now all we need to do is apply it, and create the world we want to live in.

Resources:
Dr. George Mobus (University of Washington, Tacoma)
Question Everything
David Pimentel (Click on "Publications" to read some of his work)
Charles Hall
'Crack baby' study finds poverty is worse for development than exposure to drug in the womb (NyDailyNews.com)

Do you have questions or comments related to this episode? Leave a comment below to start the conversation.

There’s a little bit of everything in this episode, which I recorded in February of this year. Evan and I talk about his background, the work of the Ecology Center, and practicing our work professionally, including the power of collaboration. Just as we support various functions in the landscape, so should we in our communities as well. Part of The Ecology Center’s success stems from partnerships with other individuals and organizations, as well as from the mission-driven, hands-on focus. Evan and his team work together with the public and private groups to deliver education that is experiential and benefits everyone interested in sustainability. This is taken a step further by offering continuing education in partnership with the local school district to offer continuing education to teachers, which in turn benefits students.

Find out more about Evan and The Ecology Center: theecologycenter.org

Find out more about that work at his farm website, Wellspring Forest Farm. This conversation is an introduction to the idea of cultivating mushrooms on woody material. As this is Steve's second time on the show we jump right into the topic at hand. If you would like to learn more about his biography and background, check out our first conversation,  Agroforestry with Steve Gabriel. The four types of mushrooms discussed:

• Shiitake (Lentinula edodes)
• Lions Mane (Hericium erinaceus)
• Oyster (Pleurotus spp.)
• Winecap Stropharia (Stropharia rugosoannulata)

We end a bit abruptly, but covered everything that I wanted to in this introduction to farming mushrooms in the woods. You can find out more about the work at Cornell and Steve’s research in a document titled, “Best Management Practices for Log-Based Shiitake Cultivation in the Northeastern United States.” (PDF) I want to have Steve back on to answer listener questions, so if you have anything regarding these mushrooms species, or others, you’d like to have him discuss, please let me know. If you enjoyed this conversation and would like to learn more from Steve, the Finger Lakes Permaculture Institute is running an in-person 15-day intensive Permaculture Design Course in New York from July 25 – August 10, 2014. Go to fingerlakespermaculture.org to find out more information and register if you’re able to attend. Because of this conversation I was encouraged to take the plunge into growing my own mushrooms. I’ll join you after the interview with Steve to talk about that experience. I’m going to be inoculating with Stropharia around my home design in the next few days, and will post pictures of that process. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] Mushroom spawn, tools, and supplies.[/caption] My own mushroom inoculating experience so far involved having my photographer John join me for a day of plugging logs, along with assistance from my son, over a one day period. What I learned from that experience is that, as Steve indicated, it is a labor intensive process. Using a starter kit from Field and Forest Products, paired with a hand-drill meant that it took 45 minutes to inoculate each log, once we got started. Combined with the video and photograph production time, we ran until we were running out of comfortable daylight and my wife was calling us to dinner. Drilling 50 holes, [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Lining up and marking holes before drilling.[/caption] plugging, and sealing them for each log was rather intense, but satisfying. That day John, my son and I we were able to plug 5 logs with shiitake spawn that day: three red maple and two red oak. I’m now picking my way as time allows through some relatively fresh logs to plug more shiitake, and some reishi. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="1280"] The logs at rest.[/caption] What I learned from this experience is that an ideal team for plugging logs is a 4 or 5 person team per station: 1 person to drill, 2 to plug, 1 to wax. That potential fifth would be there to turn the log for the driller and keep production moving. The Stropheria looks to be much easier, and I’ll know in a day or two of this episode coming out as I’ll be inoculating with 5lbs of sawdust spawn. More on that in the near future. Even though I have some time before I’ll be able to harvest the mushrooms, I’ve enjoyed experimenting with them and hope that you’ll take my step forward with this as encouragement to try your own hand at these species of mushroom as well. Download the document (PDF) from the team at Cornell for more ideas on how to grow your own mushrooms, as well as information on the cost and potential yields. Then check out the Field and Forest Products, Inc. website, fieldforest.net, and see what is appropriate to grow where you are. If you have any questions, let me know and I’ll have Steve back on to clarify what he can, or direct us to appropriate resources. What are your experiences farming mushrooms and fungi? What would you like to learn more about? I'd love to hear from you. Get in touch: E-mail: The Permaculture Podcast Facebook: Facebook.com/ThePermaculturePodcast Twitter: @permaculturecst The Permaculture Podcast with Scott Mann The Permaculture Podcast (Episode: SG-Mushrooms)