Welcome to the New and Improved: Many Rivers Permaculture

Written Mar 31, 2013

The name change. Yeah. This group/movement/page has been transitioning with me for a while now. I have been working with some folks to undergo a rebranding and learning how to settle. But now, I welcome you to Many Rivers Permaculture.

I chose this name for many reasons:

– My home is Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Mississauga is the name given to this area by the First Nations that first gathered here. It represents the meeting place of many rivers. Symbolically, it represents the many ‘paths’ that we all take; the many ‘ actions’ that will get us there; the many ‘ways’ that we act. We are the many that make up the whole, much like many rivers make all the lakes and oceans of the world.

– It is more transferable for when I am practicing outside of Mississauga, but keeps that connection alive.

– It accepts and encourages the fact that it will take many of us to get where we would like to go. Changing behaviour, culture, mindsets, landscapes, etc. takes a lot of time, effort and energy. We need each other to do this, yah.

– It rings nicely, haha

– It comes at a time of action! Read on for more…

Right now I, Paul Wartman, am preparing for the beginning of my Masters in Plant Agriculture with a focus on Edible Forest Gardening principles – creating plant polycultures that provide the necessary functions of pollinator habitat, fertility, pest control, soil structure, and much more to support crop production, while also regenerating the environment. This scientific research will hopefully support the huge base of practitioners all over the world. I am hoping to engage the communities where the research is occurring, both in Guelph and Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. This engagement will be done through many pathways:

1)   Participation in Workbees on site, which will consist of theory-shares, skill-building, eating and chatting. I would like to see folks come, share ideas and techniques, and leave feeling confident in their abilities to do the same at their home.

2)   Participation in knowledge share and spread. Using the internet like a piece of toast and their social networks like the knife to spread that knowledge thick like peanut butter. Let’s let people know about this.

3)   Picnics and Potlucks. Let’s eat together and talk about what is going on. What’s going on in our markets, in our soils, in our fields, in our forests. Hm.

Together we will learn about all this good stuff! First step is coming up this weekend, Sunday April 7th!