Visionary Permaculture Part 2 Day 3 and the return home :)

Day 3 of our adventure was very special and helped to anchor our work in the deepest of ways.

We began our morning completing the lesson on trees while standing around the only willow on the property (that we know of). We talked about the importance of trees and their ecological functions, specifically and most pertinently with water.  Trees produce up to 80% of the precipitation in our atmosphere! Not only are they helping produce the water they are also helping to distribute it and regulate it.  WOW!  Trees also help to break up the soil, reflect light to understory species and house many creatures in our eco system.  After Weds experience connecting with the trees and spending this time talking about them, it really brings it home and allows me to understand why on an inherent level i have always loved trees and respected them so deeply. If you are considering removing or adding trees on your property, it might be a good idea to do some research on the species of tree you are working with and what effect it may have on the environment :)

We moved up to the pool garden and continued our discussion moving into water.  Of course we all know that water is important.  We didnt have tons of time to get through it all, but we briefly spoke about grey water, black water, water conservation and storage.  A couple of our class members spoke a bit about water systems.  I am still learning alot about some of the more technical systems like Aquaculture and treatment systems, but this gets me excited to move deeper into this topic and do some studying.  Our class also thinks that it would be a good idea to build an aquaculture system in the pool as it isnt being used and is right next to the garden.  I think it is an awesome idea, and would also be sweet to add some art and other aspects as the Grey's are thinking it would be good as place to contemplate the shadow.

After lunch we did a super fun design session where we put our main focus on considering trees and water. It is always so fun to engage with the class this way and see things come to form, even if it is just for a visioning session.  Once we completed our design session, we did a ritual class closing.  It warms my heart so much to be spending time with all of these awesome visionaries, sharing ideas, teaching each other and inspiring each other to the next level.  It is something special to be able to share space with such a dynamic and epic crew of people.  I love each and every one of my class mates so much!

Our Brainstorming session

Once we closed our circle we met up with the Greys to walk the land and hear more about their vision, priorities and thoughts on the mapping process.  It was a very full chat and walk about and we were given a ton of great information that will help us out with our project so much.  The best thing was to see how much the Grey's love the project and really want us there.  They fully understand the importance of our work.  At the end of our walk, we had a group meditation around the Grey's new prayer wheel and closed the session with a group hug.

The Cistern (Sun Temple)

Alex giving us the download on their visions for the sun temple (cistern)

We were inspecting a sad fruit tree. It appeared as though some deer were eating them!

The Shitake harvest! YAY!

After dinner many of our classmates left, and i spent a little time with Delvin and then one of my classmates Peter, starting to integrate the whirlwind of the week.

Friday, I met up with my good friend Matt in NYC and we walked and talked, pondering the importance of reaching our potentials, but in our own time, holding compassion for ourselves on our own journeys.  We also discussed the importance of Permaculture and how we can continue to integrate it in our lives during these crazy times.  It was great to see him and talk about some of these important things with a close friend!

me and Matt

I boarded the plane and flew home with full love in my heart ready for the next part of my journey.

Who knows what the future holds, but i move forward, one step at a time, loving this existence and with full faith in my path.

Infinite love and gratitude for the many gifts in my life (including you)!

kym chi

Visionary Permaculture Part Two, Day Two

Wow, when i think things can't get better here, I'm always proven wrong. Today was an epic day that was completely filled with awesome information and experiences.

We continued on with soil this morning by the compost bins and did some work to give the existing compost some love.  Then we talked about the biodynamic plants which was sooo awesome.  These plants are seriously amazing and they work completely and holistically with ALL being supplying food and medicine.  The main biodynamic plants are:

Chamomile (Matricaria Chamomila)
Dandelion (Leontodon Taraxacum)
Valerian (Valeriana Officinalis)
Yarrow (Achillea Millifollium)
Stinging Nettle (Urtica Dioica)
Comfrey (Symphytum Offininale)

According to the biodynamic planting practices, you must use these specific species of plants to ensure you are getting nutrients and medicines promised. I haven't listed the benefits of the plants here, but they are hyper dynamic and do work in building some of the most nutrient rich soil you can find and truly are able to provide us with some of the best all around healing.  It's ironic that we consider most of these plants invasives or weeds when i think they should be revered as natures gift and sacred medicine.

After learning about the biodynamic plants we came inside and chatted more about soil and watched a few videos from Geoff Lawton.  Soil is an extrememly important element in our eco system. Healthy soil contains more micro organisms than beings on the entire planet! lust like many other important natural elements, without healthy soil we cannot exist.

After lunch we got to hang out with Dina again.  She is a great teacher of plants, herbs and medicine. We did a walk of the land and identified a few more plants using the awesome sensory and intuitive method that we learnt last time and discovered:
Dandelion
Spice Bush
Lady's Thumb
Indian Tobacco
Field Garlic

Dina and the class

Spice bush

I was super loving the roots of this tree (Beech tree)

Then we got super deep with trees and identified them blindfolded while hugging them, feeling their bark, touching and smelling their leaves and also licking the bark and tasting the leaf.  We must have looked so funny, but it was so cool!  Ive never tongued a tree before and it took me to a whole new level of "hippy", but the connections made with the trees were deep and beautiful. On our journey we discovered:

Gingko
Hemlock  I enjoyed this tree, although it was a bit stiff and rigid and rough.  The leaves tasted strong and bitter.
White Ash
Black Walnut
Black Locust- I really loved this one and it made my heart feel warm.  The bark was soft and fluffy feeling and had deep crevices for me to put my hands into
Beech
Linden - This tree was my favorite. I had a deep connection with it and received that message that it had cosmic energy flowing through it and that it was galactically influenced.  Funnily enough, afterward we were told that this was one of ALex and Allyson's favorite trees that they think is really special... Awesome!

After trees we went back to the compost for a quick download and some worm revamping.
In the evening we watched Transition 2.0 and City repair videos.  Really inspiring and motivational to see that we can really change our systems in major ways through building resilient community. YAY!

Then Del and i talked about the rest of my diploma stuff.  He has given me some amazing advice and support and I feel crazy awesome about where I am at and where I am headed.  There is so much to learn, but I am doing a great job so far and it will only keep getting better as I get more practice and knowledge!

Ending off the evening feelling more and more gratitude for the epic journey i am on.  Tomorrow is our last full day, and it is definitely going to be jam packed. Finishing Trees, water and design visioning and a few hours with the Greys! Awesome!!

love allways,
kym

Visionary Permaculture Part 2 - Day One

Well needless to say it has already been quite the adventure here at COSM for the second part of the Visionary Permaculture Design Course!

Today was the first official day of the class, but I chose to arrive early (on Friday) to connect with the land a bit more and attend the Equinox event happening on Saturday.

I arrived late friday evening and was able to spend a bit of time upgrading the Galactik trading card display and then settle in.  It was great to ground in here and get ready for what so far has been a super epic journey!

Some newer art that has been added since last time (more to come!)

Saturday I spent the morning doing some volunteer duties and it was a great way to connect with the staff and volunteers of COSM.  It is awesome to see the love that everyone puts in to create beautiful events. There are a small number of staff here that work super hard to allow this place to exist and a number of dedicated volunteers who are super passionate about the work being done here.

In the afternoon I was able to have a few hours with Delvin and his good friend Keala from Portland. Delvin and Keala are both key members of Gaiacraft (www.gaiacraft.com). I have recently been invited to join  which was a big honour so being able to spend some key time with the two of them and was a great way of starting to understand some goals of Gaiacraft and how I could contribute.  The best part though, was walking the land again, grounding into the beauty of COSM and the importance of the work we are doing here.   On the walk we were able to identify the Turkey Tail mushroom and almost got a squirrel, but couldn't quite tell for sure as we didn't see the markings on the face which are the distinguishable characteristic on the squirrels.

The Equinox party was in the evening and we were all graced with the presence of the world famous mycologist,  Paul Stamets.  His talk was inspiring and it was such a pleasure to hear of his stories and experiences with the sacred mushrooms. If you want to know more about Paul and his work please visit his website: www.fungi.com.  After Pauls amazing session, it turned into music and art mode. There were some rad artists here doing live painting including Alex and Allyson Grey, Amanda Sage, Mars 1,
Damon Soule and Randall Roberts.  There is a beautiful community here and I felt so blessed to be a part of it all!  The highlight of the event was seeing great friends James and Christy who happened to be in NY at the same time as me and were able to come to event!  I have been stoked about COSM and it was super special to be able to spend time with chosen family here.

I didn't have a camera during the party, but thankfully Christy sent me a few pics. Thanks Christy!

 I should have some Paul Stamets ones soon!

Yay James!!!

Sunday was mellow here on site as everyone was tired from the night before and it was pretty much all tear down.  I did my volunteer duties, did some research and spent a little time with Delvin talking about the class prep etc...

Monday was set aside for mapping etc, but in the morning Delvin and I got to touch base on my diploma.  We didnt make it all the way through, but it feels good so far. I was feeling a bit nervous, but it seems I am on track with a few great pieces of advice from Del so I am super excited! The diploma process so far (although I am just getting started) has been super rewarding and a great way for me to track all of the work I am doing and get credit for it!

The mapping in the afternoon was sweet.  Starting to see all the faces from the class warmed my heart and grounded me in even more for the class.  During the mapping we were able to identify a grey squirrel, a jesus bug, wild onion, and a wood thrush. It is awesome to see the mapping happening, even if in a micro way.  There are thousands of species to discover and identify and it is important to be careful in identification.  I also started the sun study for the pool area where there is a small existing garden. The long term goal for COSM is that it will be a world heritage site not only for art, but for plants and animals as well.  Our planning and visioning is a 1000 year plan, which is super epic and super deep and makes it sooo very imperative that we take consideration in what we implement or modify.

A crazy mushroom we were unable to identify

Our epic mapping books (some of them anyway)

In the evening we watched "Transition 1".  What a great film, I highly recommend it. It is really positive and helps to showcase great solutions and tools to changing our system!  Afterward we watched "End of Suburbia" which was also good.

Today was the official start as I mentioned earlier and we began in the altered states where we did a meditation to bring us into the now.  I kept hearing the strong message:
Be here now.  Live in your heart ALLways.

Moving into the nest we reviewed our last session, the permaculture ethos and principles.  Then we reviewed names and started to share a bit about our last 4 months.  Patterns emerged and the sacred mirrors in all of us were revealed.  The most common was this feeling of Chaos, yet order.  So much happening, and nothing that we could have planned, yet this strong feeling that everything is going to be ok and realizing we all got alot done, despite feeling a bit scattered.  We are reminded that being here grounds us in the important permaculture work and we can all work together to support the work we are all doing.

This afternoon we were blessed with a visit from mycologist Martin Bridge to relate mushrooms to soil ecology but also share with us some cultivation techniques and do a mushroom walk.  I have been noticing a mushroom theme in my life as of late, so it was so auspicious to have Martin here right after seeing Paul and really start to understand mushrooms more.

The beginnings of our class alter ;)

A slide from Martins presentation

Martin with us on the land at the mushroom sculptures

In class with martin :)

Turkey tails (sorry they are super hard to see ;) )

A mushroom we were unable to identify. Any ideas?

This evening we watched a super deep film called Anima Mundi.  Please please please watch this film. It is evolutionary!  I am finishing off the evening with a little research on the mushrooms we identified today for the mapping book and working on a little art as the creative juices are flowing freely again.

The greatest gift I have received by being here at COSM is the ability to immerse myself in my work, recognize how deeply I still feel about Permaculture and reconnect with my heart in the deepest of ways. What do the next 3 days have in store???  Oh and photos to come very soon!

All my love,
Kym Chi