Subject: [permaculture] Introduction - Stephen Figgins
Date: Thu, 28 Aug 2003 14:06:58 -0500
I joined the list a week ago or so. I have been aware of permaculture
for about 10 years or so, and have occasionally read the archives of
this group.. I haven't taken a Permaculture design course yet, but have
read Mollison's books on the subject. As a renter in town, I feel
somewhat limited in applying what I learn, but I am experimenting some.
My wife is an avid gardener, and we have a small garden outside our
current apartment and another one in the community garden. We gave up
on them some in this summer heat however, and both are fairly well dried
up.
We live in Eastern Kansas, not far from Kansas City, in Lawrence,
between the Kaw and Wakarusa rivers in the lower Kansas watershed. We
had a bad drought last year, and this recent spell of heat hasn't helped
much this year, with temperatures for the last few weeks exceeding 100
degrees. We have had a little drizzle, but not much. I worry that it
might be part of an overall shift in climate, and that the trend could
continue in future years. That has me thinking about how best to
capture and retain water. I have been examining natural swales to see
what happens in them.
While my wife's passion is gardening, mine lies more in the outer
zones. I am an amateur naturalist and I am learning tracking and
wilderness survival skills. I am especially interested in wild foods
and medicines. I am following a naturalist training program produced by
the Wilderness Awareness School in Duvall, Washington. This is giving
me more insights into how things work together forests and prairies and
even waste places and yards.
I am also interested in bioregionalism, and got to attend the
bioregional congress last year in Kansas. It was nice to gather together
with people that seemed to share my passion for the land. I long for a
tribe, for closer community. Though as a parent I don't get out as much
as I would like. I spend much of my spare time with my kids. My wife
and I are unschooling the kids. While that lacks the structure of
school, it still takes plenty of time helping them get the experiences
they want to learn and grow.
I make my living as a writer on technical topics, and as a computer
consultant. I would like to shift to more general science writing and
nature writing. I haven't figured out how to make the same amount of
money doing that though.
There is much more I am interested in. I am what you might call a
glorious generalist. I know a little about a lot of things.
Think I'll leave it at that. Hi, y'all!
-Stephen
[permaculture] Introduction - Stephen Figgins,
Stephen Figgins, 08/28/2003