Our last TMC Book discussion of the year will be on June 13th at the Peter White Public Library at 7pm.  We’ll be discussing Ishmael by Daniel Quinn (it’s a quick read that’s very thought provoking!).  The next book series will begin in September, and we need your help deciding which books from our list to choose.  So, we’ve put together a survey where you can vote on your top 10 choices.  You can read the descriptions of the books on our list here, and place your vote here!  Your feedback is much appreciated.

The TMC Reading Group will meet to discuss the Permaculture book of your choice – The Permaculture Handbook: Garden farming for town and country by Peter Bane, or Permaculture: Principles & pathways beyond sustainability by David Holmgren - on Thursday, May 9th at 7pm at the Peter White Public Library.

The Permaculture Handbook : Garden farming for town and country  is a step-by-step, beautifully illustrated guide to creating resilient and prosperous households and neighborhoods, complemented by extensive case studies of three successful farmsteads and market gardens. This comprehensive manual casts garden farming as both an economic opportunity and a strategy for living well with less money. It is the definitive practical North American guide to this revolutionary practice, and is a must-read for anyone concerned about creating food security, resilience, and a legacy of abundance rather than depletion.

Permaculture: Principles & pathways beyond sustainability by David Holmgren brings into sharper focus the powerful and still evolving Permaculture concept he pioneered with Bill Mollison in the 1970s. It draws together and integrates 25 years of thinking and teaching to reveal a whole new way of understanding and action behind a simple set of design principles. The 12 design principles are each represented by a positive action statement, an icon and a traditional proverb or two that captures the essence of each principle. It provides refreshing perspectives on a range of environmental issues and shows how permaculture is much more than just a system of gardening. For anyone seriously interested in understanding the foundations of sustainable design and culture, this book is essential reading. Although a book of ideas, the big picture is repeatedly grounded by reference to Holmgren’s own place, Melliodora, and other practical examples.

Everyone is welcome to join the conversation. It would be helpful to have at least started to read the book. For more information, please contact Charlie at 226-3314 or mqtchaz@earthlink.net.

Tuesday, April 9th, from 7 – 9 pm, TMC will host a series of timely skill shares:

It should be a fun evening with lots to learn!  We hope you can make it!

On Tuesday, March 26th (one week from today) at 6pm the Marquette Food Co-op is hosting a Seed Saving workshop.  It is an introduction to the concepts of seed saving, including what you need to know when planning your garden this spring.  You’ll also get to take home some blue hubbard seeds from a blue hubbard (winter squash) that was hand-pollinated last summer in Marquette.  This workshop is free for MFC owners, and just $5 for all others.

TMC will be there with seed shares available for purchase for $20 each.

The workshop will be at NMU’s Jacobetti building.  Come in the south entrance and there will be signs directing you to the classroom.

For more information, and to RSVP, call Abbey at 225-0671 x25

We hope you can attend, learn about this very important skill, and try seed saving yourself this summer!

The TMC Reading Group will meet to discuss The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood on Thursday, April 11th at 7pm at the Peter White Public Library.

Set in the visionary future of Atwood’s acclaimed Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood is at once a moving tale of lasting friendship and a landmark work of speculative fiction. In this second book of the MaddAddam trilogy, the long-feared waterless flood has occurred, altering Earth as we know it and obliterating most human life. Among the survivors are Ren, a young trapeze dancer locked inside the high-end sex club Scales and Tails, and Toby, who is barricaded inside a luxurious spa. Amid shadowy, corrupt ruling powers and new, gene-spliced life forms, Ren and Toby will have to decide on their next move, but they can’t stay locked away.

Everyone is welcome to join the conversation. It would be helpful to have at least started to read the book. For more information, please contact Charlie at 226-3314 or mqtchaz@earthlink.net.

Check out our friend’s website: Home ‘n Stead. They’re an incredible family living in the western U.P.  The TMC steering committee  visited their homestead  in June, and we were quite impressed with what they have done to live sustainably in the U.P.  For example, they built their cord-wood home which allowed them to be mortgage free, and they heat their home with a rocket stove mass heater that they built themselves.  They documented much of this on their website, so check it out… I’m sure you’ll be impressed, too!  Here’s how they describe themselves and what their website is about:

“We’re simply a family living our truth to the best of our abilities, not wanting to retreat from the world, but rather to join with the world in its transformation from a dying planet to a living, thriving planet. Since we know that we’re not the only ones who are ready enough for change to be the change, we thought we’d put up this website and forum to provide a place for folks to gather, share ideas, encourage each other and make friends.”

Their blogs are excellent (including their recent blog about mushrooms, which caused me to re-think how I make my kombucha), and they recently added a new forum with many topics related to sustainability.  They also have an Etsy shop where they sell their handmade gifts.  Check it out!  You won’t be disappointed!

Our meeting next week is going to be really fun!  Transition Marquette County will present “Marquette’s 3-D Past, Present, and Future”, an evening featuring a 3-D slide show by Jack Deo of Superior View Photography.  Jack will be showing Marquette’s past and we’ll talk about implications for Marquette’s future. His pictures are from some of Marquette’s earliest days, when it was more self-sustaining, including what it looked like after the fire (practically deforested!) as it was being rebuilt.  It gives great insight to what a realistic low-carbon footprint future might look like.

We’ll be meeting in Magnuson Hall at Messiah Lutheran Church (305 W Magnetic, Marquette) on Tuesday, Feb 12, at 7pm. The public is welcome and invited to bring a non-perishable food item for the church’s Food Pantry. A donation of $3-5 to help cover the cost of the program would also be appreciated.

We hope to see you there!

Happy New Year!!

Here are the happenings for next week:

Tuesday, January 8th, 2013 is our public TMC meeting and IT’S OUR BIRTHDAY… we’re 2 years old!  Please join us for birthday cake while we talk about what we’ve accomplished and what we hope for our future. We’ll be meeting at the Universalist Unitarian Meeting House (1510 M-28 E, Marquette) from 7pm-9pm.  Gifts are not necessary, but be sure to bring your ideas of what you’d like to see accomplished for our community in 2013… there’s a lot of good work to be done!

Wednesday, January 9th, 2013 is Green Drinks at the Vierling from 7pm-?  There’s no agenda.  It’s just an opportunity to gather and network with environmentally like-minded folks over drinks.

Thursday, January 10th, 2013 is the TMC book reading group from 7pm-9pm at the Peter White Public Library.  We’ll be discussing the book World on the Edge by Lester Brown.  The next book to be discussed (on February 14th) is “My Green Manifesto” by David Gressner.

As always, everyone is welcome.  We hope to see you soon!

Seasons Greetings!!

For those who have not heard the great news, Shady Grove Farm U.P., LLC. in Gwinn won their court case against Forsyth Township.  This means that the Buchlers are protected by the MI Right-to-Farm Act, and, therefore, are able to continue their farm operation despite their local zoning laws that prohibit agriculture practices on lake residential areas.  You can find their products at the Marquette Food Co-op (Grateful Eggs laid by Hippy Chicks) and zero degrees art gallery (i.e., wool products made by Woolymama). They are also part of the local food buying club called The Link UP (see below).

In other news, the Bakers, who were in Marquette for the MI DNR vs MI hog farmers court trial in October, have appealed their case.  They won’t be able to go to trail again until summer 2013.  In the mean time, they are not allowed to sell any of their hogs, and they’ve basically been blacklisted so that no MI processing facility will take their hogs (and their hogs can’t leave the state).  Therefore, their farm is not doing well financially, so they’re trying to raise enough money for feed to keep the farm going until they can go to trial.  Mark Baker recently put out a video explaining this, which you can watch here.  If you are willing and able, we’d like to encourage you to help support the Baker’s with a monetary donation via their website: http://bakersgreenacres.com/.

We don’t often send out movie recommendations, but I definitely recommend watching Farmageddon (available on Netflix). This excellent film documents small family farms that have been targeted and/or shut down by the government, and it greatly relates to what the Buchlers and Bakers have been up against.  Most laws pertaining to agriculture and food safety are in place to protect large-scale industrial agriculture, which (perhaps purposely) makes it very difficult for small farms.  We need to take back our food system for a more healthy, independent, resilient, localized way of life.  We need Food Freedom!  That said, please continue to support our local farmers and do what you can for your own personal food security.  One way you can support our local farmers is to participate in our local food buying club called The Link UP, which was recently formed by some of our farmers.  Be sure to visit their website to find more information.

We hope you are enjoying this holiday season!  Have a safe and peaceful 2013!