Spring Review of Many Rivers Permaculture
Written May 9, 2014
Well, how’s that. It’s been one whole year since Many Rivers Permaculture began.
Let me say that time did not fly—it’s been a thick, fulfilling, memorable year. Although we were having a blast (ex. Petting bumblebees in the newly planted food forests) there were also many stressful and sad moments (ex. Mulch truck getting stuck in grass in thunderstorm and the deer eating the apple trees). Everything turned out, though! *Big releasing sigh with a chuckle at the end of that*. Want to see the adventures? Check out the year of memories here. FUUUuuun slideshow (aha)
I want to also say thank you. Thank you to all the friends, family, strangers-who-became-friends, and everyone in between who helped to make all those adventures so memorable. Thanks to those who committed their time to lend a hand with the activities and those that shared knowledge and support. I needed it!
My goals for the year were scattered. I was unsure of how my master’s research would unfold and I was jumping into every opportunity to share some skills, which at times spread this fella pretty thin. Saying that, many things were still accomplished:
Over 500 people were engaged in food forests in person, whether through hands-on worker bee sessions, workshops, presentations, and tours, and thousands of people online. That is success!
Three Food forests were planted by Many Rivers Permaculture. Two in Guelph and one in Mississauga. Ah hah!
With the skills of Garth Laidlaw, we’ve created a wonderful animated short film on Food Forests which has been shown around the world! Wat(ch)!
We got DNA from soil bacteria and fungi which we will play with in the lab. Yus!
I finished Statistics class and even wrote a couple of papers. Brr-r-r-up!
The next steps. Oh baby. Life has evolved for me here in Guelph. I am bringing new focus and strong commitment to the things that truly make me happy—this includes Many Rivers Permaculture activities—and transitioning out of some other half-commitments. This will be good for me and better for everyone, I believe. I am excited, I am jazzed, I am committed. Whew, I feel ready, and so the plants look ready too!
So, thank you for all that you’ve contributed and stay tuned, for come May, things will be ramping up again.