SANTA BARBARA PERMACULTURE NETWORK
Presents:
Keyline Design & Sustainable
Agriculture
With Darren Doherty
Thur, Nov 8, 7pm, donation $5
Join Santa Barbara Permaculture Network on Thursday Nov 8, at 7pm
as we explore the concept of Keyline Design, a unique design
system that restores and regenerates landscapes, with Darren Doherty (
www.permaculture.biz) from Australia.
Keyline
Design is a complete design system for landscapes. It is applicable
to both rural and urban areas. It is a unique combination of water
conservation and soil building, with great appeal to both farmers and
ranchers, as it has the ability to build and regenerate degraded soils
rapidly, and sees the use of grazing animals as beneficial to this
process.
Keyline
systems were developed in Australia during the 1950’s by P.A Yeomans
(
www.yeomansplow.com.au ) as a
response to increasing desertification and erosion he observed on the
Australian landscape as it related to agriculture. His book
Water For Every Farm, A Keyline Plan is an important work
describing a set of principles and techniques based on a holistic
approach that works with natural patterns to restore and increase the
depth and fertility of the soil, while increasing its water holding
capabilities. Yeomans realized that conventional agriculture
totally ignored the biological aspects of the soil. He created a
“sustainable agriculture” system before the term was coined, and for the
first time in human history, methods were developed that could produce
rich fertile soils in relatively short periods. A permanent and
lasting agriculture Yeomans believed, must materially and financially
benefit the farmer, and benefit the land and soil.
Keyline
Design integrates terraces, ponds, tree plantings on contour, and a
special cultivation technique using the Keyline plow, to infiltrate
water into the soil efficiently and hold it on the land as long as
possible. Water harvesting strategies employed by Keyline Design
provide drought-proofing for farms with very low maintenance using
gravity fed irrigation systems, with a huge reduction in water lost
to evaporation. In contrast, up to 80% of water is lost to evaporation
using conventional overhead sprinklers. Farms using Keyline Design
have amazing records of deepening the topsoil by 3-6” in 3 years, in
contrast to nature’s process, which can take hundreds or thousands of
years.
The term
Keyline comes from the reference to a “keypoint” on the watershed,
which is the interface between collection and distribution of
water on the landscape, where ridge meets the valley.
Keyline is a philosophy and technique that doesn’t pit the needs of
farmers against environmentalists trying to protect wildlife and fish
habitat, and with carbon sequestering techniques used, helps to address
aspects of global warming and climate change.
Darren
Doherty is an Australian Keyline Designer, Developer & Manager and
Australian Approved Keyline Design™ Farm Planning Consultant, and
recipient of Whole Farm Planning Certificate ~ Train the
Trainer(University of Melbourne 1995). He has designed and
developed over 1100 properties across four continents working most
recently in Vietnam, on land projects for Mars Inc, owners of Seeds of
Change. His remaining time is spent managing a working research &
demonstration farm in Southern Victoria, Australia.
The event
takes place on Thurs Nov 8, 7pm, at the Santa Barbara Public
Library, Faulkner Gallery, 40 E. Anapamu Street. Donation $5, no
reservations required. For more information, visit
www.sbpermaculture.org (Upcoming
Events), or email
margie@sbpermaculture.org , (805)
962-2571.
- Other Keyline Design Events & Workshops in California:
Nov 9 & Nov 10
KDC Orella Ranch, Goleta, California, USA
2 day KDC Orella Ranch - $250 -
Contact, Guner Tautrim: gunerandheidi@yahoo.com
<<<
Sustainable World Radio Interviews with Darren Doherty on
www.radio4all.net
Keyline Plow - Implement Description
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8411281412763349676
Keyline Plow - The Process
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5415701832677827929
Keyline Plow - Soil Building etc.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4813875551644885291
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Santa Barbara Permaculture Network
(805) 962-2571
P.O. Box 92156, Santa Barbara, CA 93190
margie@sbpermaculture.org
www.sbpermaculture.org
"We are like trees,
we must create new leaves, in new directions, in order to grow." -
Anonymous