Systems Thinking for Sustainability Beyond Organic Gardening

Day and Date: Sunday, August 22, 2010

Times: 9A sharp – 6P

Location and Address: Coming to a neighborhood near you (various locations through the day)

Additional info: Early registration deadline is August 8th. Late registration deadline is August 15th.

What’s a Site Analysis workshop about?

If you’re planning a garden, installing a solar water heater or any other amenity that requires that you have nature’s help and cooperation, site analysis is very important. Site analysis is about “reading” nature’s patterns so that you can plan and design in harmony with those patterns. Why design any other way? That only gets you into trouble and often you costs more money out of pocket to fix the problem(s) that were inadvertently created.

A Site Analysis workshop is strongly recommended for anyone who wishes to attend Right Plants in the Right Places: Create Your Own Garden Design with Edibles, CA Natives, and Medicinal Plants or From Stumped to Pumped: Great Garden Results Guaranteed. This one-day workshop allows participants the opportunity to practice guided hands-on landscape reading skills and problem solving within a context of applied ecological design. Site Analysis participants develop and hone observational, site assessment, and problem solving skills through exposure to a range of site conditions and locations.

If you’re a Permaculture newbie or someone who wants to improve your ability to apply Permaculture principles to landscaping, natural building, a solar water heating system, or a photovoltaic system, etc., site analysis skills are an absolute must-have. You can’t learn to work with nature as a partner if you don’t know her rules. (You might be surprised to hear how often this basic tenet of ecologically wise design is ignored or overlooked!) It’s one thing to “read” nature’s patterns and to collect information. It’s quite another to interpret that information so that you can use it effectively. Interpretation is the other key skill that will be taught in this workshop. Participants will develop and hone site analysis, observational, site assessment, and problem solving skills through exposure to a wide range of site conditions and locations.

Workshop Format

The Site Analysis workshop will not be held at a single site. Rather, the workshop will be held at several locations throughout the day in order to visit the prospective or existing garden sites of those who are attending the Site Analysis workshop and/or other selected locations, depending on whether access permission is granted.

The workshop’s instructors will be asking workshop attendees to offer access to their properties for site analysis practice; site-to-site travel is necessary. A maximum of four sites will be chosen so that workshop participants will have up to 1.25 hours at each site for observation and discussion. The homeowner/workshop participants who volunteer their sites benefit from having many perspectives from fellow workshop attendees that contribute to a fuller understanding of their own site conditions while everyone has the opportunity to develop the ability to ‘read’ natural patterns, to refine deductive and inductive reasoning capabilities, and to practice systems thinking skills.

Because systems thinking is emphasized in this workshop, an Urban/Suburban Ecoliteracy workshop is very strongly recommended.

Each workshop attendee will receive one worksheet per site visit so that site details may be sketched in and site observations can be systematically recorded. The goal is to visit four (4) sites during the 8-hour workshop. There will be a 1-hour break for a brown bag lunch at midday.

Points to bear in mind:

1. A Site Analysis workshop is not a garden design brainstorm session. To create sustainable garden and landscape designs effectively, keen observational skills, deductive and inductive reasoning capabilities, pattern reading, and site analysis skills are must-haves and both precede design sequentially.
2. A Site Analysis workshop is not a gardening workday. If attendees want to contribute to a fellow workshop attendee’s garden or landscaping project by rolling up his or her sleeves and working in order to learn new gardening skills, that will be left to those individuals to coordinate their efforts and schedules directly outside of the workshop.
3. A Site Analysis workshop is not to be used as an opportunity to pick the instructors’ brains for garden design ideas or for recommendations on how to solve garden problems. Ms. Talaro and Mr. Hernandez will not be providing consultation services during workshop time.

What You Need for This Workshop

1. a few pencils for quick sketching
2. a clipboard or similar firm, portable surface for writing on the go
3. a bag lunch
4. drinking water
5. closed-toe shoes
6. hat and sunglasses
7. 25′ or longer tape measure (optional)

Important Registration Information

1. Urban/Suburban Ecoliteracy is strongly recommended as a prerequisite for this workshop because we are teaching you a comprehensive system for garden and landscape success and sustainability. Urban/Suburban Ecoliteracy offers information you need as a foundation in order to derive the maximum value from the material in this workshop.
2. Enrollment is strictly limited on a first-come, first-served basis to 8 individuals because the workshop is structured to provide personalized attention.
3. If you have taken Urban/Suburban Ecoliteracy, the cost for early registration is $65. Late registration costs $95.
4. If you have NOT taken Urban/Suburban Ecoliteracy, the cost for early registration is $105. Late registration cost $135.
5. This workshop is a lot of fun and you will meet some fantastic people. Trust that the day will go by very quickly.
6. To register online, please use the appropriate PayPal button below.
7. Alternately USPS money orders and checks can be sent to the attention of Wendy Talaro c/o 10849 Ralston Avenue; Pacoima, CA 91331.
8. Transfer policy: If you have paid for but cannot attend a workshop for whatever reason, you will receive a credit for the next Ecologically Literate Site Analysis workshop and must use this credit within 6 months.
9. Please bring a brown bag lunch since we will be on the go.
10. Cancellation Policy: No refunds unless the instructors initiate class cancellation.

If you have previously taken an Urban/Suburban Ecoliteracy I workshop, register here: (Early registration deadline 8/8/2010)

If you have NOT taken an Urban/suburban Ecoliteracy I workshop, register here: (Early registration deadline 8/8/2010)

If you have previously taken an Urban/Suburban Ecoliteracy I workshop, register here: (Early registration deadline 8/15/2010)

If you have NOT taken an Urban/suburban Ecoliteracy I workshop, register here: (Early registration deadline 8/15/2010)

If you have further questions, please send an e-mail to wendy (at) urban-suburban-ecoliteracy (dot) com or to Steve at steve (at) urban-suburban-ecoliteracy (dot) com.

Other workshops offered by Urban/Suburban Ecoliteracy:

‘Compost Your Lawn & Smother the Weeds’ Hands-On Workshop in Torrance, CA

Right Plants in the Right Places

From Stumped to Pumped: Great Garden Results Guaranteed

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