Free Introduction to Permaculture

Local permaculture expert David Khan will be presenting an introduction to permaculture on Saturday January 20th 2007 at 10:00 am at the Audubon Center at Debs Park: 4700 North Griffin Ave.Los Angeles, CA 90031 After the lecture author Shay Salomon and photographer Nigel Valdez will do a slide show and talk about their book Little House on a Small Planet. SurviveLA attended Khan’s introductory lecture last month and found it thought provok...

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Cat Poop Compost Installment #2

...g to move it along faster, I did what I’d do for any compost pile that was a little pokey: I turned it, and added nitrogen and water.* Shoveling 50 gallons of kitty litter is exactly what I want to be doing on any given Saturday! As I shoveled, I decided that if I didn’t already have Mad Kitty Disease, I’d have it by the end of the day. As if to confirm this, Trout sat in the bedroom window over the poo-bin, wearing a peculiar,...

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Los Angeles Fruit Tree Pruning Workshops

...mproper pruning or sheer neglect can mean weak, spindly limbs, a chaotic looking, ugly tree and puny fruits. But how do you know what to cut? I’ll be teaching two workshops this weekend for the locals. The first is this Saturday, January 15th at The Learning Garden in Venice. The workshop will run from 11 am-12:30 pm and there is a suggested donation of $25. The Learning Garden is at the southeast corner of Walgrove Avenue and Venice Blvd....

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Joshua Tree Earthen Oven Class With Kurt Gardella

...ializing in adobe construction. Location: The class will be conducted just outside Joshua Tree, California.  Coffee and nibbles will be provided at the beginning of the day; lunch is included. Registration: Three day and Saturday/Sunday registrations completed before February 8th will be discounted. Groups of three or more are eligible for a 25% discount – please contact us for group registrations. Registration ends March 1st. Click he...

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Feral House and Process Media Winter Soltice Party

Feral House and Process media, the publishers of our first book The Urban Homestead, will be holding their annual solstice party on Saturday December 8th from 7 to 10 pm at La Luz de Jesus Gallery, located within the Wacko gift store. Judging from the flyer, naked Shriners will frolic in the Griffith Park Fountain later on in the evening. Whatever happens, it’s a fun event not to be missed. Kelly and I will be there to hang out, chat and...

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Forager and Humanurist Nancy Klehm in Los Angeles

Nancy Klehm is coming to Los Angeles for two exciting events–one on foraging and the other on humanure: Edible Urbanforage Walk Saturday February 16 4 to 6 pm. February, is the ideal time to forage Los Angeles! Nance Klehm will be leading this urbanforage. On this walk, we will learn to identify edible and medicinal plants, hear their botanical histories and stories of their use and share tastes of what we find. The urbanforage will start...

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Urine as a Fertilizer

How do I spend my Saturday mornings you ask? Answer: scanning the peer reviewed literature for articles about using human urine as a nitrogen source in the garden, i.e. taking a leak in the watering can. As we’re currently hosting some excellent classes at our house taught by Darren Butler, a big proponent of what he calls “pee-pee-ponics,” I thought I’d take a look at the science of urine use. Urine offers a free and re...

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Greywater Workshops in Los Angeles

...flows, plant water requirements, and new greywater technologies.This is a hands-on workshop, please wear clothes and shoes for working. Please bring a notebook for taking notes. Hands-on greywater installation workshop When: Saturday October 15th, 11am-4pmWhere:Los Angeles (exact location will be emailed after registration is complete)Cost: Sliding scale $30-$100, limited worktrade positions availableRegister hereLearn how to divert greywater fr...

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Rainwater Harvesting with Joe Linton

With the driest spring on record here in Los Angeles, water and where to get it ought to be on all of our minds in this drought prone metropolis. Thankfully, artist, author, Los Angeles River expert and co-founder of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition Joe Linton will be teaching a workshop on rainwater harvesting at the Los Angeles Eco-Village on Saturday, June 14, 2008 from 9 am to 3 pm at L.A. Eco-Village (Directions) Here’s a desc...

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The World’s First Lamp

Erik’s link to the orange lamp on Saturday reminded me to post this. This is Project #1 in Making It, and we often open our lectures by building one of these, but I realize I’ve never talked about oil lamps here on the blog. Forgive the somewhat atmospheric photo. What you’re looking at is the simplest thing in the world: an oyster shell filled with olive oil and balanced in a small dish of sand. Three pieces of cotton stri...

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