green design events this weekend

ca boom 4: the west coast independent design show runs today, march 30th through sunday, april 1st. the event has a big focus around prefab architecture and green design. i'll be there on sunday so stay tuned for my review.


micro-organisms for dummies is a a free workshop in glendale this weekend that you not-dummies may find interesting. effective microorganism inventor and developer, dr. teruo higa will be presenting "micro-organisms for dummies" on sunday, april 1, 2007, from 2 - 5 pm at the glendale civic auditorium at 1401 n verdugo road (at mountain ave).

hollywood is burning!

on my way home from work today i noticed a huge cloud of smoke around downtown los angeles! in this dry desert climate, brush fires are a common part of the natural ecosystem and with such little rain this year (and i mean bone-dry) it doesn't surprise me that there is a huge brush fire in the hollywood hills. read about it on worldchanging.

ugp growing up

phew, march has been a whirlwind. the lovelies kristy and aaron spent the beginning of the month with me and it was lovely as ever. they left el lay to continue forward to the east coast where they will wwoof it for the spring and summer (wwoof= world-wide opportunities on organic farms). i'm so excited (and i'll admit a wee bit jealous) for their adventures ahead.

as far as the urban greening project goes, i have some big changes in store for you over the next months. i'm really excited to share them with you as they develop. so stay tuned for more info yo.

in the meantime, the blog will continue to focus on el lay's urban permaculture scene with other sustainable design and art topics sprinkled in for inspiration.

image is by nyc street artista 'swoon' who just had an amazing show at the new image art gallery.

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.