Edible Wild Plants of the Northeast
Tuesday May 14, 2013
7:00 PM until 8:30 PM
Jones Library, 43 Amity St. in Amherst
Free
Local naturalist, permaculture practitioner and landscaper John Root will
give a comprehensive introduction to the identification and uses of wild
plants for food and beverage. This 90-minute Power Point presentation
features distinguishing characteristics, seasons of availability, habitats,
methods of preparation, and nutritional value of our region’s most common
and appealing wild plants. Food samples will be offered to participants,
illustrated pamphlets will be distributed, and plants will be offered for
sale. Call John at (413) 961-9059 for information. This program is
supported by a grant from the Amherst Cultural Council.

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Edible Perennial Gardening and Landscaping
Tuesday June 4, 2013
6:30 PM until 8:00 PM
Wheeler Memorial Library, 49 E. Main St. in Orange
Free
Local naturalist, permaculture practitioner and landscaper John Root will
offer a 90-minute power point presentation about growing trees, shrubs,
vines, canes, and herbaceous plants for produce in New England.
Informational flyers will be available, and plants will be offered for
sale. Flyers will be distributed and plants will be offered for sale.
Call John at (413) 961-9059 for information. This program is supported by a
grant from the Orange Cultural Council.

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Edible Perennial Gardening and Landscaping
Tuesday June 19, 2013
6:30 PM until 8:30 PM (updated from 7:00 PM!)
Sunderland Public Library, 20 School St. in Sunderland
Free
Local naturalist, permaculture practitioner and landscaper John Root will
offer a 90-minute power point presentation about growing trees, shrubs,
vines, canes, and herbaceous plants for produce in New England.
Informational flyers will be available, and plants will be offered for
sale. Flyers will be distributed and plants will be offered for sale.
Call John at (413) 961-9059 for information. This program is supported by a
grant from the Sunderland Cultural Council.

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Edible Wild Plants Walk
with Naturalist and Landscaper John Root
Saturday June 15, 2013
10:30 AM to 12:00 PM
Brookfield Farm, 24 Hulst Rd. in Amherst
Informational flyers will be distributed and plants will be offered for
sale.
Free, all ages welcome.

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Edible Wild Plants Walk
with Naturalist and Landscaper John Root
Saturday June 8, 2013
10:00 AM to 11:30 AM
Simple Gifts Farm, 1089 N Pleasant St. in North Amherst
Informational flyers will be distributed and plants will be offered for
sale.
Free, all ages welcome.

The first inoculation went really well. A group of people drilled, hammered, and waxed enthusiastically from 3-5 pm last Saturday. Some people made pictures so luckily it is not only hearsay.

Several participants also took logs home and we will see 6 to 18 months from now if the mushrooms took (well we will likely see it sooner, but the road to the first harvest will take some time).

But there are more logs that are now getting properly aged, and more plugs, so we repeat May 18, Saturday, from 3 to 5 pm.

Location is the same, 44 Beston street. I have tools, but if you have an electric drill and a hammer, bring them. Do let me (Gabor) know if you plan on coming.

We will be inoculating fresh oak logs with spores of Shiitake and other mushrooms. The tree will be felled previous to the workshop, and the spores finally have arrived.*
Time: May 4, Saturday, 3 pm to 5 pm (and if we are not finished, also on May 11, Saturday, 3pm to 5pm)
Location: 44 Beston street (Gabor’s house)

The process:

• Cutting log to manageable lengths and clean it from branches,
• Drilling holes into logs,
• Applying spores via inoculated plugs into the logs by hammering the plugs into the holes,
• Protecting the filled holes by waxing the surface,
• Placing the logs to a moist location without direct sunlight.

The logs, treated this way, will produce the first batch of mushrooms in roughly a year, and for several times a year for several years thereafter.

Please let Gabor know you are planning on coming: we will be using power drills and other tools, so our numbers are important for the logistics of organization.

Workshop is free of charge. Logs for you can be arranged at cost.

* First I tried to order plugs from “Mushroom Patch”. They did charge me but didn’t deliver. Then ‘Everything Mushroom’ came through beautifully. In fact they have a workshop parallel to our first.

Conversations and Workshops with Dr. Komp

Dr. Richard Komp, PhD has 50 years of personal and professional experience with solar and other renewable energy technologies. Dr. Komp is the Director and Co-Founder of Skyheat Associates, a nonprofit organization which promotes public awareness and use of solar energy and conservation. His off-grid house, which he built on the coast of Maine, is being established as the Downeast Alternative Design Solar Center, a public charity. He is the author of Practical Photovoltaics: Electricity from Solar Cells, Revised 3rd Edition, which has been called “the easiest and most complete education on photovoltaics.”

In recent decades, Dr. Komp has dedicated himself to working with low income communities around the world to help them to achieve economic and energy self-sufficiency. He has pioneered PV module production as a cottage industry in many countries, including Nicaragua, Mexico, South Africa, Costa Rica, Honduras, Chile, Greece, Columbia, Brazil, Cuba, San Andres, India, Ghana, Niger, France, Haiti, Peru, Mali, Rwanda, Pakistan and the USA.

1) Passive Solar Seminar

When: 6:00 P.M. Wednesday April 24, 2013
Where: 1st Floor Conference Room, Amherst Police Department – 111 Main Street

Dr. Komp will discuss the physics and practice of using passive solar energy for home and office, drawing examples from his work. Audience participation will be welcomed. Free and open to the public.

2) Solar Oven Workshop

When: 12:00 A.M. – 6:00 P.M. Thursday April 25, 2013
Where: Woodbury Room, Jones Library, 43 Amity Street

Dr. Komp will guide the construction and use of 4 solar ovens. Lunch and Q&A included. Assembled ovens will be available for purchase for the cost of materials.
FEE: Sliding scale $45-60.
Maximum: 16 participants. Registration required.
Contact: pveaa@comcast.net or call: 413 367 6479. (There will be demonstrations of the use of a solar oven during the Amherst Sustainability Fair on Saturday April 27, 2013.)

3) Thermalsiphon Solar Air Heater Workshop

When: 9:00 A.M. – 4:00 P.M. Friday April 26, 2013
Where: Gabor’s house, 44 Beston Street, near the center of Amherst

Dr. Komp will guide the construction of one solar air heater. Lunch and Q&A included.
FEE: Sliding scale $45-60.
Max: 16 participants. Registration required.
Contact: pveaa@comcast.net or call: 413 367 6479.

All fees and donations will help to finance Dr. Komp’s important work.

Gardening 101 – Getting Started Growing Vegetables and Herbs in Amherst

Offered in cooperation with the Master Gardeners of Western Massachusetts

Thursday April 18; 6:00pm-9:00pm
Amherst Town Hall
Everyone is Welcome – Free!

Learn how to get started selecting a site, preparing the soil, planting and basic garden care, including container gardens, raised beds and “lasagna” gardens. Also free soil tests!

Other topics include:

• How to start a garden cheaply and easily
• How to get the most out of your garden space
• Getting help deciding which vegetables to grow
• Deciding where and when and how to plant
• The “secret” of mulch!

See Grow Food Amherst for more information.

Self-defense is a basic human right. Learn how to harness your own strength to feel more secure and to protect your self and your loved ones. After a short warm up exercise we will practice with partners some simple and effective self-defense skills that can be used by any one of any age. Andy Morris-Friedman is a 3rd degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do and is weapons instructor for Amherst Martial Arts.

Location: Amherst Marshall Arts, 48 No. Pleasant St. Amherst

Time: Saturday, March 23 3-4:30 pm.

Bring loose-fitting clothes

Donations gratefully accepted and will all go to Transition Amherst.

Please e-mail for more information.

As the news gets crazier and the changes around us speed up, we may realize that we are facing something we have never had to deal with before. With this realization we are likely to feel anger, fear, sadness/depression, confusion, and all with a sense of urgency.

We can deal with these feelings and face the changing circumstances in our lives more effectively if we have time to prepare and readjust. So in this workshop we will explore our beliefs and assumptions about the society we live in, and based on the result we will create a list of actions we can take to prepare emotionally for the economic, societal, environmental, and lifestyle changes we expect. Emotional preparation will help us take those actions instead of staying stuck doing nothing. Moreover, we will learn that nothing needs to be done alone. We will learn not only about the power of community, but also about how to build it.

More about the workshop:
Date: January 26 (Saturday) from 3pm to 6pm.
Address: 44 Beston Street, Amherst, MA – at the very end of the dead-end street, very close to the center of Amherst, off McClellan St.

What we will focus on:

• How consciously making yourself different helps avoid competition, and strengthens community
• How not being attached to happiness and comfort actually makes it all easier to achieve them
• How building, living in and maintaining a support community makes it all possible
• How understanding all this can create a sense of personal security

Please bring: Paper and pen/pencil, so we don’t have to remember it all.

For more information about the workshop or Gabor, the facilitator, contact him at 413-253-9755 or gaborzol@gmail.com

Please walk, bike, take the bus or car-pool – it encourages human communication.