Back at it with Backyard Abundance

 I had a great time visiting Fred Meyer's garden in Iowa City last summer and am excited to see his organization, Backyard Abundance, is expanding its outreach. Backyard Abundance and its partners have organized a series of environmental education events called “Seeds of Sustainability” that begin at the end of this month and run through March.

    Here is more from Fred and the list of events below:

 Backyard Abundance Introduces “Seeds of Sustainability”

 Backyard Abundance and its partners have organized a series of environmental education events entitled “Seeds of Sustainability” that begin at the end of January and run through March. Screening environmental films, a seed swap, presentations on growing local food and a book discussion are scheduled in Iowa City and Coralville locations.

 The Johnson County organization Backyard Abundance was formed in 2006 by Fred Meyer, Ecological Landscape Designer and Master Gardener. “Our first events were yard tours where local residents showcased ways to they had helped the environment in their personal landscapes”, Meyer says. “Over 1500 people have attended tours and other educational events we have sponsored.”

 Meyer is pleased to report that Backyard Abundance is expanding its outreach and education in new and exciting ways. “Our Board of Directors, volunteers and supporters felt that it was time to respond to the increasing interest in making landscapes more earth friendly, cleaning our waterways and growing more local food. People want to live in harmony with our environment and are tired of just doing less harm.”

 As a response, a set of weekend classes were created that are entitled “Create Abundant Landscapes.” These experiential classes will teach people how to create beautiful, self-maintaining landscapes that model healthy ecosystems.

 The “Seeds of Sustainability” event series helps introduce the classes and culminates with presentations and workshops by Dave Jacke. Mr. Jacke is a nationally acclaimed ecological landscape designer and author of the award-winning book “Edible Forest Gardens.”

 All events in the series are listed below and on this web page:

http://www.backyardabundance.org/ClassesandEvents/SeedsofSustainability.aspx

 Find Abundance in Growing Food

Saturday, January 30

10:00 am - 11:00 am

Iowa City Landscaping, 520 Highway 1 West, Iowa City

$5 per person (participants will receive a $5 Iowa City Landscaping coupon)

 Fred Meyer, director of Backyard Abundance, will describe the many benefits of gardening and growing your own food. Covering topics from health and wellness to creating a sustainable community, he will provide ideas that will enrich your life and your soil with a low-maintenance garden.

 Book Reading: Gaia's Garden

Sunday, February 7

2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Coralville Public Library, 1401 5th Street, Coralville

Free

 The Taproot Nature Experience Book Club, in partnership with Backyard Abundance, hosts a book reading of the ecological gardening book “Gaia's Garden,” by Toby Hemenway.

 In the book, Mr. Hemenway describes how to design and implement beautiful, self-maintaining gardens that benefit both people and wildlife. Ecological designers from Backyard Abundance will be available to discuss the book, show examples of landscape designs that are based upon the book, and answer questions. Reading the book is not required to attend.

 Learn more about Taproot: http://www.TaprootNatureExperience.org

 Film Screening: Flow

Sunday, February 28

2:00 - 4:00 pm

Iowa City Public Library, 123 S. Linn Street, Iowa City

Free

 Transition Ecology, in partnership with Environmental Films Iowa City,  will screen the film "Flow."

 The film builds a case against the growing privatization of the world's dwindling fresh water supply with an unflinching focus on politics, pollution, human rights, and the emergence of a domineering world water cartel.

 Prairie Preview XXVII

Tuesday, March 9

6:30 pm - 8:30 pm

Parkview Evangelical Church, 15 Foster Road, Iowa City

Free

 Prepare to be enchanted at the Johnson County Heritage Trust's 27th annual Prairie Preview. Writer and photographer Bill Witt will present Enchantment by Prairie, weaving together visions of our natural prairies, both past and present, through his beautiful photographs and thoughtful prose.

 Film Screening: Establishing a Food Forest the Permaculture Way

Saturday, March 6

1:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Iowa City Public Library, 123 S. Linn Street, Iowa City

Free

 In partnership with Environmental Films Iowa City and ECO Iowa City, Backyard Abundance will screen the film Establishing a Food Forest. In the film, world renown permaculture designer Geoff Lawton, demonstrates how to design and implement highly productive food systems that require very little maintenance and energy. Geoff walks us through a forest of food, giving us a rich example of a new way to sustainably cultivate food.

 Vegetable and Herb Seed Swap

Saturday, March 6

3:00 pm - 4:30 pm

Iowa City Public Library, 123 S. Linn Street, Iowa City

Free

 Backyard Abundance will help you stock up on your vegetable and herb seeds for the season at our annual seed swap. Seed donations are not necessary.

 Presentation: Regenerating Communities, Ecosystems and Landscapes by Design

Friday, March 12

6:30 pm – 8:30 pm (registration at 5:30 pm)

University of Iowa Pomerantz Center, 21 E. Market Street, Iowa City

$10 per person

Pay at the door or pre-register online at www.BackyardAbundance.org. Free to University of Iowa Students.

 The keynote presentation will be given by Dave Jacke, award winning author of Edible Forest Gardens.

 How can we regenerate healthy human communities and natural ecosystems while meeting our own needs? What is the future of food in an era of economic disruption, peak oil, and climate chaos? Healthy forests maintain, fertilize, and renew themselves naturally, while creating habitats of high productivity and deep beauty. These ecosystems can serve as models for garden and culture design and offer the same benefits. Edible forest gardens mimic the structure and function of natural forests and grow food, fuel, fiber, fodder, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, and fun!

 This presentation introduces the forest gardening vision and presents living examples of gardens as well as a sampling of perennial edibles you can grow. It shows how the underlying ecology of forest ecosystems can teach us ways to organize our own communities and cities to meet the challenges of the future right here, right now. We will also ask what role our species can and should assume in our local and global ecosystems and how that translates to concrete action where we live.

 The evening will end with a panel discussion about bringing sustainability to our community. Panelists include Liz Christiansen, University of Iowa Sustainability Coordinator, Jason Grimm, Iowa Valley RC&D Food Systems Planner, Dave Jacke, author and ecological designer, and Brenda Nations, Iowa City Environmental Coordinator.

 Workshop: Principles and Practices of Regenerative Design

Saturday-Sunday, March 13-14

9:00 am – 5:00 pm (registration at 8:30 am)

University of Iowa Pomerantz Center, 21 E. Market Street, Iowa City

$110 per person ($125 after March 1)

Pre-registration required at www.BackyardAbundance.org

 This weekend workshop will be led by Dave Jacke, award winning author of Edible Forest Gardens, Chris Jackson, ecological landscape designer and educator.

 Evidence of planet-wide damage caused by humans abounds: polluted rivers and waterways, toxins in our soil and food, climate change, loss of biodiversity, peak oil and more. We stand on the verge of threatening our own survival, as well as that of other species. We cannot maintain our economy if we deplete the natural resources that support our jobs and businesses. People are asking, “What kind of future are we creating for our children and grandchildren?”

 What can we do? As caring residents, now is the time to learn new ways to positively contribute to improving our community's environmental and social health. We must heed the words of Einstein: “We cannot solve the significant problems we face at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” We need to ask, “What new ways of thinking will get us out of this mess and help us restore our world to health?”

 We can look to nature for answers. Healthy ecosystems are based on interdependence and mutually beneficial connections. With nature's help, we can heal landscapes, our community, our planet, and ourselves.

 This workshop will give you the solid base of a holistic, ecological worldview, while simultaneously offering practical solutions that demonstrate how we can create a sustainable, abundant community. Ecological principles form the foundation of this way of seeing, and offer concrete directions for finding solutions to multiple problems with maximum effect for least effort. These principles apply at all scales, from your garden bed, to your neighborhood, to cities, to whole regions, and in every realm of human endeavor. We invite you to experience a new way of looking at our world, and through that lens, you will find empowerment and skills you never knew existed.

 For more information, visit the Backyard Abundance website at

www.BackyardAbundance.org