Sporulate Learning Farm

Here in Jackson County, Oregon, we have a beautiful network of sustainable farmers, including many seed producers. To protect our organic seed supply from GMO contamination, I urge locals to vote YES on 15-119 to ban GMO seeds from Jackson County. Friends, the opposition (Monsanto, Syngenta, big agribusiness) has poured over $500,000 into a campaign to confuse voters and distort the facts. Our Family Farms Coalition is a network of local farmers and supporters who want to ban the kind of seeds that could threaten our livelihood and our local food supply. Vote Yes on 15-119 if you live in Jackson County, and help us spread the word if you're passionate about food sovereignty and local food justice!

YES on Family Farms Measure 15-119 Our Family Farms Coalition (OFFC) was formed by Rogue Valley farmers whose ability to farm and sell their crops is threatened by genetically engineered crops.

At the Permaculture Voices Conference , I hosted a session featuring five basic Dialogue & Deliberation tools and a World Cafe dialogue session. Around 50 participants wrote and drew on tablecloths throughout the conversation series.

Our session questions were : How are permaculturalists currently engaging with other permaculturalists? What is the work being done WITHIN the permaculture community? How are permaculturalists currently engaging with the general public or public policy? What is the work being done BEYOND the permaculture community? How can permaculturalists bring this work to the public in a bigger way? What is the work that CAN or SHOULD be done BEYOND the permaculture community?

To follow up, I created a google doc with full written tablecloth text and a word cloud (see photo), photos of the tablecloths, my playshop description and powerpoint slides, and my open feedback for the conference : https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0BwISdpI2fOcDMmx2aHIwRTl6U0E&usp=drive_web . A word cloud enlarges frequently used words, so you can visualize basic patterns that emerge from a written text. ( free word cloud site worditout.com )

Blog post with session photos and deeper reflections coming soon :)

Interesting NPR report (with great audio) about mycology and climate change research. One PhD student at Ecology Evolution and Behavior at UT Austin is asking how mycorrhizal fungi populations affect (and are affected by) the Carbon cycle at a global scale.

How a Common Fungus Is Protecting the Earth from a Climate Change Nightmare There is more carbon dioxide stored in the ground than in the air around us. If those all that greenhouse gas escapes, it could be catastrophic for the earth. Now, a researcher at the University of Texas at Austin thinks he’s found the key that keeps much of it locked away. It's research that could…

I'm getting excited to head south to the Permaculture Voices Conference next week! I'll be facilitating "Five Dialogue and Deliberation Design Tools for Permaculturalists, and One Live Demo" Saturday afternoon. Melissa of Winslow Food Forest will be joining me, hooray! Check out the PCV schedule, and let me know if you have any recommendations about what sessions I should attend : http://www.permaculturevoices.com/speakers-2/schedule/

Mitra Sticklen » Mitra Sticklen | Geoff Lawton, Joel Salatin, Allan Savory, Michael Pollan & more.

Check out this article about new mushroom farmers in Portland, Maine! The people are hungry for mushrooms from coast to coast

Mushroom farms are cropping up all over Maine | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram Several indoor fungi farms have sprouted to meet a growing year-round demand for locally grown specialty varieties.

This is a fascinating piece about the symbiosis between ectomycorrhizal fungi and earthworms! They exhibit a synergy, "causing a higher increase in the levels of calcium carbonate and pH among roots of trees. The final effect of this mechanism of environmental engineering is an increase in mycorrhization of trees and the development of forests."

Besides being interesting, why is this research so vital? "Soils and forests hide keys that will increase the comprehension of carbon cycle and its global fixation." YES.

Mushrooms and earthworms work as 'silviculture' A model, developed by a research group of the School of Forestry at the Technical University of Madrid (UPM), has shown how some types of mushrooms (such as truffles, boletus or chanterelles) associated with earthworms can develop a mechanism of environmental engineering. The use of this model can i...

As a young farmer who has other jobs beyond Sporulate Learning Farm, this list really resonates with me!

10 Practical Tips for the New, Aspiring Farmer! This year’s Nevada County Sustainable Food & Farm Conference brought together the tried and true of sustainable agriculture, alongside the newest wave of young agrarians, ready to get their han...

Today at Michigan State University, President Obama is signing the $956 billion farm bill. MSU is the nation's original land grant university, and my alma matter (shoutout MSU Student Organic Farm !) . Everyone who eats food should care about the farm bill. Check out MLive coverage at goo.gl/Z3qj6Q and NYT political commentary at goo.gl/urMcek

Dry Days, Winter Planning, Spring Dreaming : latest post all about the severe drought we're experiencing, plus joyful happenings including cottonwood buds and a local seed swap ! www.sporulate.org/blog

Blog | Sporulate | Learning Farm, Sporecast, Permaculture Playshops from Ashland, OR

Have you ever wondered what fungi sound like hooked up to electromagnetic sensors? Check out this rad art/science project "mycophone" !

The mistletoe-heavy white oak by the front entrance, a few deer friends, and a stack of white oak logs ready for the plugging. www.sporulate.org/blog/

Latest scinews from the journal Science : Carbon sequestration in Northern Boreal Forests is mostly due to the ectomycorrhizal fungi, not so much the trees and other plants

Study finds fungi, not plant matter, responsible for most carbon sequestration in northern forests (Phys.org) —A new study undertaken by a diverse group of scientists in Sweden has found that contrary to popular belief, most of the carbon that is sequestered in northern boreal forests comes about due to fungi that live on and in tree roots, rather than via dead needles, moss and leaf matter. In ....