urban permaculture in la

Sure, with miles upon miles of sprawling single family homes, congested freeways, paved rivers and architecture meant to be viewed from the seat of a moving vehicle, I can attest that Los Angeles does a good job of living up to its reputation of a city filled with un-inspired design. However, if you take a deeper look into this complex urban fabric, you will discover some green gems that are making big impacts here and opening the eyes of city dwellers around the globe.

Pasadena-based Path to Freedom (PTF) was featured in the LA times twice this week (here and here) for what founder Jules Dervaes calls his "homegrown revolution," created by using "hands as weapons of mass creation."

PTF is an example of urban permaculture, a design philosophy rooted in careful observations of natural patterns and a harmonious integration of ourselves and our communities into the landscape. Using the principles of permaculture, Dervaes and his family have transformed their 1/5 acre city lot into an urban homestead to decrease their energy dependency and to exemplify self-reliant urban living.

Home to over 350 different edible and useful plants and a variety of insects and animals, PTF produces an impressive 3 tons of organic fruits and vegetables annually on their small lot. This produce is supplied to local restaurants and caterers through PTF's home business Dervaes Gardens.

In a permaculture model, all waste, if left an unused resource, becomes pollution. So all food waste at PTF is recycled to its next highest use, through composting to build healthy soil. The use of energy-efficient and human-powered appliances, solar and cob ovens, and solar panels has reduced their electricity dependence by two-thirds. The Dervaes also home-brew their own biodiesel, and are working on water harvesting and re-use projects. They do all of this while maintaining their highly informational website and blog...

continue on at worldchanging los angeles

[Photo by Al Seib for the Los Angeles Times]

[edited by greenlagirl, siel)

garden paradise in pasadena

my favorite mustached magic maker, shrine, is at it again. you may remember him from an earlier post about his making love out of trash art show in which he and his daughter jesse transformed 19 truck-loads of trash into beautiful art.

shrine was recently featured on the front page of the house and garden section of the los angeles times for the inspiring garden world that he has created around his pasadena home.




shrine's gardens tell stories of found treasures, intricate mosaics, and fascinating succulants and cactus plants that are artwork in themselves. because of his focus on drought-tolerant species, shrine's garden is a xeriscape which does not require supplemental irrigation. shrine gets a big green thumbs up for his urban greening project. he's not only conserving resources of water but also reusing other people's trash to create beautiful green space.

read more about shrine and his funky gardens from the la times.

and i just couldn't resist adding a photo of zee artist and myself from burning man this past year :)

worms for the world

tonight! friday, january 19th from 8pm to midnight, echo curio is hosting their first themed exhibition:

"Worms Save the Planet: From Vermiculture to the Culture of Worms"


vermiculture is a form of composting using earthworms. vermicompost is very different from compost produced in compost piles by bacterial decay, and is much richer in many nutrients making it perfect as a top layer of soil. you can find more information behind the concept for this exhibit as well as juicy vermiculture info here.

Now is your chance to learn how worms can save the planet!
That's right, the wiggly, dirt-dwellers will reduce green house
gas emissions, limit the amount of harmful chemicals used in
the world, lower the impact of trash on the environment and
even save you money! With LIVE WORMS you can actually FEED!

+ Opening Reception for our Wormy Art show featuring wormy works.


+ ECHO CURIO's first CDR release party. 21 Musicians creating Wormy
songs to satisfy those wormy cravings.

+ Squirm out to the narcotic sounds of Fantastic Sleep as they perform
their wormy music while wiggling around in sleeping bags.

+ Extraspecial artist designed wormy buttons and t-shirts

All of this is brought to you FREE. ECHO CURIO is here for YOU!
Please support us by buying art, buying our diy products, or donating
to our rent fund.

In addition to all our art and musical events, ECHO CURIO is open
Wednesday - Sunday, Noon - 6. Worms Save the Planet runs from January
19th - March 4th.

--
ECHO CURIO
The Echo Park Curiosity Shop and Art Gallery
1519 Sunset Blvd.
Echo Park, CA 90026

sustainable cinema

mark your calendars, the santa monica public library is hosting a free showings of four films that examine the relationship between humans and planet earth. the films will be shown monthly in the martin luther king jr. auditorium of the main library from february through may, 2007.

the series begins with a screening of who killed the electric car? on wednesday, february 7 at 7:00 p.m.; a panel discussion with environmental experts will follow.





the film super size me is featured at 7:00 p.m. on tuesday, march 6.





al gore's film an inconvenient truth will be shown on wednesday, april 4 at 7:00 p.m.







and fast food nation, will screen on wednesday, may 16 at 7:00 p.m.







this program series is cosponsored by the environmental programs division of the city of santa monica.

the library is located at 601 santa monica boulevard.

green machines

the machine project is a local non-profit dedicated to providing educational resources to artists working with technology. saturday the 20th they are hosting the fourth of eight monthly installments, in which ing reveals the origins the rainbow through an original creation myth. each of the performances explore a specific color and this saturday's color is G R E E N !!! it sounds like a fun event, and all viewers are asked to wear the specific color of the month. there is more information below and here on the machine project website.

Prescribed and improvised music, storytelling, movement, sculpture, and other media will be at hand as ing utilizes a different space within the gallery at a different time of day for each performance. Visitors wearing the color associated with the show they are attending will receive a free gift and are encouraged to attend multiple performances, as each show will reveal a new surprise in this epoch story of science, magic, and color.

machine project
1200 d north alvarado street
los angeles, ca 90026
213-483-8761