Northwest Permaculture Design Course

February 16 - March 2, 2008
Sahale Retreat Center, near Belfair, WA (in the south Puget Sound area)
A two-week, immersion course:
"Creating sustainable food systems for the Pacific Northwest at the individual, neighborhood and city level".
Instructors are Michael Pilarski, Laura Sweany
and many guest presenters.
The course fee is $1,095.

Looking for farming partners

Okanogan Biodiversity Farm.
I am starting a new farm and farming co-operative in the Okanogan Valley in north-central Washington on 75 acres (30 acres acres irrigated and 45 acres of wild mountainside). My plan is to start planting this April. I looking for partners in this venture. The Biodiversity Farming Co-operative (or whatever name is chosen) is worker-owned and managed. Co-op members work together to grow a wide diversity of edible, medicinal and useful trees, shrubs, vines, perennials and annuals. A Noah's ark of plants. The co-op produces and markets food, medicinal plants, nursery stock, seeds and other crops. The farming methods utilize permaculture design and ecologically-sustainable methods. A goal is to help feed people in the Okanogan and provide expertise and plant material to diversify and strengthen Okanogan agriculture. The co-op will work towards establishing an Okanogan Biodiversity Farm (or whatever name is chosen). The farm is an educational center to inspire and a place for co-operative members to live. More details are on on my website. Contact me if this sounds exciting and you're able to move.

2008 Farming Internships - Four Opportunites

FARMING & WILDCRAFTING with MICHAEL PILARSKI
Okanogan Valley, North-central Washington.
The intern(s) would work with Michael Pilarski and others to establish the Okanogan Biodiversity Farm. The internship also includes wildcrafting medicinal plants, shipping fresh herbs, herb processing and drying. Prior farming experience required.
Contact Michael Pilarski: friendsofthetrees@yahoo.com

HOOD RIVER MEDICINAL FARM
Hood River, Oregon, Columbia Gorge.
The intern(s) would work with Aera Sprecht and others to maintain the Riversong Farm medicinal herb garden. Michael Pilarski is around occasionally to help manage the planting. The intern would live and participate in gardening at Rahane, a permaculture community overlooking Mt. Hood, near Riversong Farm.
Contact Michael at friendsofthetrees@yahoo.com


CLOUD VIEW ECOFARM
Frenchman Hills, Columbia Basin, Central Washington.
The intern(s) would work with Jim Baird and others to develop the ecofarm. Major work in 2008 includes building a straw-bale, community center, planting trees and farming. Cloud View Ecofarm has a large land base to work with - irrigated farmland and sagebrush wild land. Michael Pilarski is involved as a permaculture consultant. The Ecofarm is seeking long-term members as well as interns.
Applicants contact Jim Baird: jimmbaird@aol.com

RIVERSONG FARM
Hood River, Oregon, Columbia Gorge.
The intern(s) would work with residents of Riversong Farm, a small intentional community and retreat center. Interns camp out in a beautiful, oak forest on the banks of Hood River. Communal kitchen. The main work is helping on their vegetable farm, community projects and in the medicinal herb garden. Applicants contact Iniyat at oneness@gorge.net

Michael Pilarski's 2008 teaching schedule

February 16- March 2
Northwest Permaculture Design Course, Sahale Retreat Center (northwest of Olympia, WA)

March 29-30
Workshop. Plant Propagation and Medicinal Root Harvest. Hood River, OR

April 5-6
Workshop: Edible forest gardens, windbreaks and hedgerows: Design and establishment. Cloud View Ecofarm, near Ephrata, WA

July 5-6
Wildcrafting workshop, near Tonasket, WA

July 19-21
3-day Herbal Medicine Field Trip in the Methow Valley for Bastyr University

July 26-27
3-day Herbal Medicine Field Trip at Riversong Farm, Hood River, for the National College of Naturopathic Medicine

August 1-3
Montana Herb Gathering, Bozeman. www.montanaherbgathering.org

August 9-11
3-day Herbal Medicine Field Trip in the Methow Valley for Bastyr University

September 27-28
Workshop: Seed collecting & processing and medicinal root harvest
Hood River, OR

Spring Plant Sale

April 12, 2008 - Tonasket, WA
April 19, 2008 - Twisp, WA

My first tree sale was in 1978. My last tree sale was in 2006. Over the years we have distributed 175,000 trees and shrubs. I will be having a small plant sale in 2008. I am buying about 2,000 bareroot trees and shrubs this year; mainly wild fruits, hedgerow and windbreak species and will want to sell some of them. About half will go into my own planting. I will also be digging up lots of herb and berry starts from my Hood River planting including about 2,000 Autumn Britt raspberry plants. The plant sale catalog will be posted online soon.

Center for Outdoor Herbal Education

The Center for Outdoor Herbal Education (COHE) is a new program which Michael Pilarski is establishing in cooperation with Riversong Farm, Rahane community and herbalists: Glen Nagel, Joy Olson, Camilla Bishop and Krista Thie. My Hood River herb farm will be a campus for COHE. The herb planting at Riversong Farm was planted in 2006 and expanded in 2007. The Okanogan Biodiversity Farm will eventually be a northern campus. COHE'S 2008 workshop schedule will eventually be posted on the website.

Friends of the Trees Botanicals

Our revenues from sale of fresh and dry herbs, tinctures and seeds was slightly down in 2007 but is still Friends of the Trees Society's largest source of income. From our Hood River farm and wildcrafting, we shipped 1,150 pounds of fresh botanicals (leaves, aerial plants, roots, rhizomes, rootbark, buds, berries and flowers; in addition, we sold 575 pounds of dried botanicals; and collected 23.5 pounds of seeds from 30 species of medicinal plants - many millions of seeds. As of 1/1/2008 we have 540 pounds of dried botanicals (from 43 species) in stock. All this work was done by Michael Pilarski with the able assistance of Aera Sprecht, Angela Levan and Ashley Kehl.
Check online for the following catalogs:
* Dried Medicinals in Stock: as of 1/1/2008.
* Seeds in Stock: as of 1/1/2008.
* 2008 Fresh and Dried Botanicals Pricelist.
* Spring 2008 Plant Sale: Species and Prices.
These should all be posted during early January.

Fairy News!

The 8th Fairy & Human Relations Congress will be held June 27-29 at the Skalitude Retreat Center in the Methow Valley, WA

Sometime in 2008, Volume I of "The Collected Fairy Manuscripts of Daphne Charters" will be published by RJ Stewart Books. Forty Years With the Fairies by Daphne Charters. This is a major accomplishment for me since I have been working on this since 1992. There will be two more volumes.

P.S. If you are interested in esoteric channelings on upcoming world changes then email me and request my article: Ascension: What are they talking about?

Montana Barter Fair

September 19-21, 2008
The Montana barter fair which I helped start in 2007 was successful. The gathering's final title was the "Big Sky Country Harvest Festival". 500 people attended on September 28-30 near Hot Springs, Montana in spite of inclement weather. The 2008 Festival will be held September 19-21 at the same site and we expect it to grow substantially. You're all invited!

Information will be posted on the website soon

Help with Web Site Needed!

Friends of the Trees Society could use your help. We have more information to add to our website, but we need help.

Friends of the Trees
PO Box 253
Twisp, WA 98856
509-997-3809

friendsofthetrees@yahoo.com
www.friendsofthetrees.net

Forward this email to friends, associates or list-serves who you feel would be
interested.

Thank you!

In This Issue:

ARTICLE: "Feeding People in Hard Times - What Permaculture has to Offer"

I just finished a major article which I am especially trying to get out to people working on local food security and hunger issues.
Part I discusses some of the food crises facing the general public and food at-risk populations in the US.
Part II lists some of the popular movements arising out of the public to address the food crisis. There is contact info for 77 resources and examples.
Part III briefly introduces permaculture and lists 18 practical techniques. Includes links to 40 resources.

Articles