The Permaculture Podcast

My guests for this episode are Violet Brill and her father “Wildman” Steve Brill. Violet and Steve are foragers from New York. Violet assists her father on his plant tours, leading groups of people and teaching them about wild edibles. You can find out more about Violet and Steve at wildmanstevebrill.com.

Chef and writer Sara Bir joins me to share her work as a foodie and author of The Fruit Forager’s Companion, from Chelsea Green Publishing.Using her book and those experiences as a place to start, we explore her interest in wild fruit and foods, including first falling in love with the paw paw, and about how shared experiences, in the forest or around the table, bring us together. You can find Sara on her website sausagetarian and her book at Chelsea Green. I also recommend following her on Instagram, if you’re on there, as she posts some really great pictures about food. Just as with her website, you’ll find her there as sausagetarian.ResourcesSara Bir (sausagetarian.com)Sara on InstagramThe Fruit Foragers Companion (Chelsea Green)

This episode is the first in a series of guest permabytes from Shane Sater. Shane, a naturalist and writer based in Montana, USA, has a deep passion for nature and community which he explores through his writing where he brings together his training in environmental science, botany, and field biology with his lived experiences in his community, speaking to wonder and the embodied relationship with nature that all of us can have. Throughout his journeys, Shane feels a special affinity for silk moths, stinging nettles, cottonwoods, and meadowlarks - among many other of Earth’s creatures. Read more of Shane's nature writing at: https://whatsgoingonblog.org/ 

Katrina Blair shares her work as a forager and the 13 plants she sees as essential for human survival.

Stephen Barstow, author of Around the World in 80 Plants, shares how he grows over 2,000 edible plants, in a small garden space in Norway.

Nathan Carlos Rupley shares his thoughts on how plants, and our interactions with them, represent an act of people care within permaculture practices.

My guest for this episode is Tradd Cotter, a microbiologist, and mycologist who, along with his wife Olga, owns and operates Mushroom Mountain near Greenville, South Carolina. He is also the author of the book Organic Mushroom Farming and Mycoremediation from Chelsea Green Publishing. In this interview, we talk about his book, the science of microbiology and mycology, entrepreneurship, and also touch on the power of mushrooms for remediation.

My guest for this episode is Ben Goldfarb who joins me to talk about his book, Eager: the surprising, secret life of beavers and why they matter. Drawing from his work and our experiences in resource management, conservation, and environmental education we talk about the role beavers had in creating and shaping the landscape, history, and people of the United States, and the importance of reintroducing and protecting beavers to return the world to the wetter, boggier place it once was. Resources Ben Goldfarb Eager The Methow Beaver Project Thinking Like a Mountain - Aldo Leopold The Beaver Institute Worth a Dam

My guest for this episode is Sandor Katz, author of Wild Fermentation, The Art of Fermentation, and The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved. If you’ve practiced any kind of fermentation and went looking for a recipe, a reference, or just read about the wee yeasties and bacteria that transform our foods with their microbial magic, then you’ve probably read something by Sandor, and I recommend reading even more. Resources:Wild Fermentation (Sandor's Website)Wild Fermentation (The Book)The Art of FermentationThe Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved

The second half of my conversation with Shaun Chamberlin, editor of Lean Logic and Surviving the Future, on the work of David Fleming.

Shaun Chamberlin, the editor of Lean Logic: A Dictionary for the Future and How to Survive It and Surviving the Future, joins me to discuss the life, work, and importance of the late David Fleming (1940 - 2010). Resources Lean Logic (Chelsea Green) Surviving the Future (Chelsea Green) David Fleming (Wiki) Shaun Chamberlin The Transition Timeline Rob Hopkins and The Transition Town Movement (Interview) Transition Network Transition US Richard Heinberg Michael Meacher (Former UK Environment Minister) Ron Oxburgh LeanLogic.net (First publication of David’s manuscript) The Dark Mountain Project Jonathon Porritt

Giulianna Maria Lamanna, of The Fifth World, drops a huge two-part question in this episode: Are there people in the permaculture community talking about climate change and the impact of global warming on invasive species? Is it our responsibility as permaculture practitioners to create new ecosystems for the changing climate? This leads to a conversation where we discuss: Preserving native ecosystems The creation of novel ecosystems The role of exotic species The influence of human disturbance The impacts of erosion. We’re also asked to examine our role in tending the wild, and what responsibility, if any, we have to domesticated species such as chickens. In doing so, can we take back the stewardship of our own habitat? (A remastered episode. Original Release: 25 May 2017)

Today's guest, in an interview recorded by co-host David Bilbrey, is the microbiologist and soil researcher Dr. Elaine Ingham. In this episode they look at: The microbiology of soil The impact of this life on the health of our plants and agricultural system How we can be citizen scientists The power of a microscope to bring all these ideas together, right in front of our eyes. All wrapped in a framework so we can understand the importance of healthy, living soil for human well-being, as individuals, participants in a community, and citizens of the world. Find out more about Dr. Ingham's work on soil microbiology at soilfoodweb.com. Her classes and other work with Environment Celebration Institute at environmentcelebration.com.Related InterviewsDan Kittredge - Nutrient Dense FoodsStephen Harrod Buhner - The Citizen ScientistElizabeth Farnsworth - GoBotany! and Citizen ScienceResourcesDr. Ingham’s CVSoil Food WebEnvironment Celebration InstituteDr. Ingham's Online ClassesEcological Monograph (1985 - PDF)EcoThinkIt

Over more than a decade, The Permaculture Podcast has explored the landscape-based practices which lead to permanent agriculture, as well as the invisible structures necessary, as individuals and in our community, to create permanent culture.Today’s episode examines our ability to create culture and continues the 12th-anniversary celebration of The Permaculture Podcast, as Alasdair Stuart joins me to share his insights on how media and culture influence the community and countries we live in, and how those stories shape who we are and our experiences. Through those lenses, Alasdair and I look at representation in media, the importance of inclusion and diversity as creators and consumers of fictional works, the importance of cultivating kindness, and changing outlooks on mental health.We also share how we find hope through storytelling, on the page or through the screen, as we face an uncertain future, and invite you to join us on that journey.If you’re not familiar with Alasdair, he is the co-owner of Escape Artists Incorporated, which produces the wonderful short-fiction podcasts Cast of Wonders, EscapePod, PodCastle, and PseudoPod. Alasdair is also the regular host of the horror podcast PseudoPod, where he not only introduces the author, narrator, and fright to follow but also shares his commentary and critique on the story for each episode and how that unique tale fits into our lives and world.As you might imagine when a pair of media-loving folks who grew up immersed in comic books, TV shows, movies, and games of all kinds come together to talk about how those works create our society and a vision for the future, it leads to nearly continuous references to the personal and pop culture that shaped us and that we see as continuing to mold current generations. If you love anything like Dr. Who, video games, Terry Pratchett, Tik Tok, Henry Rollins, Heavy Metal, or George Carlin, there is each of those and so much more somewhere in today’s interview.You can find Alasdair's at alasdairstuart.com. While you are there, be sure to sign up for his newsletter, The Full Lid. He is also on Twitter @alasdairstuartEscape Artists Incorporated and their amazing slate of podcasts are at EscapeArtists.Net.I’d also like to give a big thank you to the artist SerHawke for allowing me to the drawing of Alasdair in a She-Hulk T-shirt as the cover image for this episode. Their commissions are open and you can find them on Twitter @serhawke.I enjoyed this conversation with Alasdair because of how he points to the ways media, in whatever form it might take from TV shows to spoken word albums to podcasts, can have an impact on us as individuals and help us develop or change our worldviews. How media as a shared experience can create a culture or subculture we feel at home in and want to be an active participant in. Media can create a cultural zeitgeist that changes a country or the world.As we permaculture practitioners share our vision of the future through fiction, such as Utopia by Geoff Christou 470 by Linda Woodrow, it shows others what is possible. As we share the stories of our lives and experiences through podcasts or memoirs, we link the past to the present and share them with others. This work, of telling our stories with voice, body, and bones, is vital to what permaculture has to hold now and for future generations.If you have a story inside of you, find a way to tell it. Your voice matters.Before closing this episode, I’d like to give a hearty thanks to Alasdair for joining me, as this conversation was a special one for me, as it’s been a dream of mine to interview Alasdair after hearing his voice—both his literal, spoken voice and voice as an expression for his point of view and talent as a writer—all those years ago when I downloaded my first episode of PseudoPod. It was a pleasure to have this experience and chat like old friends.I continue to tune in to PseudoPod and remain a dedicated listener because I am inspired by Al

For nearly 40 years, Rosemary’s work as a teacher has brought permaculture directly into the lives of her thousands of students. As an author, she has touched innumerably more. As her students became teachers and other teachers used her works in their classrooms, her ideas and methods continue to ripple through the world and reach even more.With this reach, her work touched has touched my own, first as a student, through her book Earth User’s Guide to Permaculture, and later as an instructor, when I used that book as one of the student texts for the course paired with the companion book to that, Earth User’s Guide to Teaching Permaculture.Now, we celebrate Rowe’s newest book, from Melliodora Publishing, Earth Restorer’s Guide to Permaculture, with a series of conversations covering her thoughts on the breadth of permaculture as a practice, interwoven with stories from throughout her journey.To start things off, I knew a lot about Rowe’s writings, but not about her early life, how she came to permaculture or her career as a teacher and author. So, we begin where so many interviews do on The Permaculture Podcast, with a conversation about her biography and background, which includes some insights into the development and growth of permaculture over the years, the kinds of character and teacher Bill Mollison was, and how Rowe reframes permaculture education into a local, lived experience, whether she’s teaching in Australia, Vietnam, or Cambodia.Support the PodcastDonate Online: Via PayPal -or- Venmo @permaculturepodcastYou can find Rosemary's books, including Earth Restorer’s Guide to Permaculture, at the PermaculturePrinciples.com store.As we close this conversation and prepare for the others which will follow, I’d like to re-extend the invitation for you to answer Rowe’s questions:  What is your country?  Do you speak a language from there?  Do you know how the indigenous peoples lived on that land? Visit Our Series PartnersPermaculture PrinciplesMelliodora PublishingAbundant Earth Foundation