Farm Fest 2014  of Slow Money Northern California at Full Circle Farm
Saturday, June 7, 2014, 11am-6pm, 1055 Dunford Way, Sunnyvale, CA 9408

Farm Fest is a fabulous opportunity to see local businesses present their contributions to our food system and the plans for growth.

Plus, hear Carol Peppe Hewitt speak on “”Financing Our Foodshed: Growing Local Food With Slow Money, and enjoy farm tours (with special tour for children), community potluck, marketplace with networking and tastings, and music.

These local entrepreneurs will share what they’re doing and how they’re looking to grow:

• Blossom’s Farm–biodynamic farm and value-added herbal products
• Community Grains–true whole grain flours and pastas
• f.e.e.d. Sonoma–distribution and financing for small NorCal farms
• Full Circle Farm–our host and non-profit farm
• Peeve’s Market–market for cottage food producers
• Philosopher’s Stoneground–sprouted nut and seed butters
• RedBay Coffee–socially and environmentally conscious coffee
• Sōw Juice–local, organic artisanal juices
• Tess’s Community Farm Kitchen–farm, commercial kitchen, market
• Wild Sage Foods–local food casual restaurant

 Click here to register and for more info.

Our quarterly sharing expo kicks off summer on June 15 from 1-3pm at Common Ground. Come share goods, skills, and stories with us and your neighbors.

As usual, we will be sharing books, toys, garden produce, craft supplies, and clothing. Anna Ravenscroft is bringing sun tea to drink, Hannah from Fabmo will have fabric and other samples to share, plus these new demonstrations:

– Marianne Mueller will host a Master Gardener table to talk about starting brassicas from seed and organic pest management

– Annette Puskarich will host a Master Composter table

– Roy Kornbluch will demonstrate the biochar oven he made

– Debbie Mytels from Acterra will show us different kinds of lighting and how they use energy

– Victoria Armigo will do a workshop on making self-watering planters, open to all. 5 planters will be offered at cost.

– Herb Moore will play live music

– Diane and Dave Ruddle will demonstrate various solar ovens (with food) and kids can learn how to make their own.

– William Mutch will host a Permaculture Cafe to discuss permaculture and our local agricultural ecosystem

It:s sure to be fun for all ages! Join us. More details here at http://www.transitionpaloalto.org/sharing-expos

It’s a simple and ingenious idea – a planter that delivers just the right amount of water, always at the right time. At the Self-Watering Planter Workshop May 17, attendees learned how it works, got to build their own planters, and went home with planters and plants – the whole works.

For the inside scoop on how it all works, check out Louella Pizzuti’s blog post.

Many thanks to Lindsey Holland for the workshop idea and for making it all so easy, and to Full Circle Farm in Sunnyvale for providing the beautiful venue and seedlings.

If you’d like to get up close and personal with a self-watering planter, come to the Summer Sharing Expo, June 14 1-3pm at Common Ground in Palo Alto.

May Fourth Friday/Films of Vision and Hope – Arise

Don’t miss this inspirational film, narrated by Darryl Hannah, about how women around the globe are leading the way to a sustainable future by rebuilding their families, their neighborhoods and their communities. The film shows how they are replanting trees in Kenya, conserving biodiversity in India, preserving sacred Native lands, protecting the rainforest in Ecuador, building more sustainable local communities, transforming food through urban agriculture, creating safe outdoor places to play, training women to build and install solar lights, and organizing to combat climate change. Click for more info about the film.

May 23, come at 7:15 for social time, film starts at 7:30, discussion to follow

Where: Fireside Room

Palo Alto Unitarian Universalist Church (UUCPA)

505 E. Charleston Avenue, Palo Alto

Directions

You’ve never seen architecture like this!

Winner of the People’s Choice Award at the Vancouver International Film Festival, Garbage Warrior portrays the inspiring work of radical eco-architect Mike Reynolds. Inventor of what he calls “biotecture”, Reynolds designs passive solar homes made of natural and recycled materials: Earthships. Compelling and inspiring, this film will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about home-building – and inspire you to join the revolution.

With discussion to follow. Maybe even popcorn!
Recommended donation: $5-10.
Everyone welcome!

April 25, come at 7:15 for social time, film starts at 7:30
Where: Fireside Room
Palo Alto Unitarian Universalist Church (UUCPA)
505 E. Charleston Avenue, Palo Alto

With the recent IPCC report, and the upcoming TV series, “Years of Living Dangerously,” climate has been in the news as well as on people’s mind. At the 4/11 Transition Cafe, folks talked about the importance keeping a sense of spirit and focus, and making whatever difference we can in our daily lives. And it being a Transition Cafe, the conversation touched on lots of other things as well.

If you’re interested in thoughtful conversation about things that matter, stop by the cafe. And if you’re on the transitionpaloalto@yahoogroups.com list, you’ll get William Mutch’s weekly cafe notices.

Great stuff at the Spring Sharing Expo March 16! Homemade butter and creme fraiche, cookie decorating, chalk making, spinning and knitting with dog hair – and more!

Film and discussion

Is it possible to live completely waste free? In this multi-award winning film, partners Jen and Grant go head to head in a competition to see who can swear off consumerism and produce the least garbage, Described as An Inconvenient Truth meets Super Size Me, the Clean Bin Project  is an entertaining and inspiring call to individual action.

Mar 28, come at 7:15 for social time, film starts at 7:30
Where: Fireside Room
Palo Alto Unitarian Universalist Church (UUCPA)
505 E. Charleston Avenue, Palo Alto
Directions
Recommended donation: $5-$10 (to cover film and venue costs)

How can we “step things up” locally, finding more creative ways to work together for a sustainable and resilient future? To explore how,  the Transition Palo Alto steering committee invited community leaders from around the South Bay to Re-Imagining the Future, a day-long conference on March 15 at the Adobe House in Mountain View.

More that 45 local community leaders came to meet each other, share their interests and passions and explore how we can do more together.  Following introductions, groups took turns looking ahead to what a resilient and sustainable community might look like 20 years from now and “backcasting” to think about how we might get there.  In a Mission Impossible exercise, small groups of leaders brainstormed about how to tackle “impossible” tasks, including:

• How could we convert 5000 South Bay lawns to drought-tolerant landscapes in one month?
• How could we provide low-cost housing to 50 urban farming workers in the South Bay with no government or foundation funding?
• How could we get solar panels on 50% of South Bay buildings owned by businesses in one year?
• How could we set up a disaster communication system that doesn’t rely on phone or Internet?
• How could we set up a transit system that allows commuters to go from Redwood City to Santa Clara without their own cars in the same commute time it would take if they used their own cars?

Finally, people with common interests (including transportation, water, banking and the economy, housing, local community action, health and well-being, youth leadership, and more) made connections for possible follow-on activity.

Click here to see the wonderful photos that Rick Row took.

And here are the flip charts from the Mission Impossible exercise: