Oil to Soil 2010

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2008, Living Mandala
creative services by: 360 Degrees

Including

APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY

ADVANCED PERMACULTURE DESIGN

BIOREMEDIATION

MYCOREMEDIATION

MICRO-ORGANISMS

CARBON FARMING

BIOCHAR

DESIGN PROCESS

HANDS-ON FIELD WORK

ECOSYSTEMS REGENERATION

AND MUCH MORE

In Association With

Virgin Islands Sustainable Farm Institute

Institute for Appropriate Technology

Earth Fortification Supplies

Soil Foodweb Oregon

Green Mountain Mycosystems

Gaia University

Facilitators & Instructors

Albert Bates

David Demerest

Matt Slaughter

Greg Landua

Course Inspiration

Modern science has found that everything in nature in interconnected and interdependent. The health and vitality of one ecosystem, species, or resource, or niche is directly related to the health and vitality of many other elements in the system and the system at large. Scientists, ecologists, and physicists are still just beginning to understand the complexity and depth of the interdependent relationships in natural systems. A great disturbance or contamination will have great effects on other parts of the system as well from the bottom of the food chain all the way to the top.

Oil is one of the

primary contaminants which continues to inflict great damage on ecosystems across the planet. The devastation from oil is visibly evident through disasters like the recent BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico - but the environmental consequences of such a disaster may be so tremendous and far reaching that it may take several decades to realize the full implications it will have on the plant and on ourselves. The manufacturing and use of oil is also a primary contributor to carbon emissions in the atmosphere. At a time of global climate change, depletion of resources, pollution of water, decline of the ocean’s fisheries, huge losses of top soil, and widespread destruction and contamination of vital ecosystems worldwide... there has never been a more important time to learn and implement cutting-edge technologies for bioremediation and ecosystem restoration.

Course Description

This course will concentrate on learning & applying whole systems design to remediate toxic spills combining three of the most promising techniques for remediating spills and building soil: bioremediation, mycoremediation, and carbon farming. During the course we will learn the processes, functions, and the application of these appropriate technologies in the context of permaculture design and hands-on experience, with a focus on designing integrative solutions and applying them to actual oil spill sites on St. Croix. This course is a part of a long term initiative to re-mediate spills; to push the oil industry, government, and private sectors towards more ecological practices, to educate & shift consumer relationships, and to create new jobs in bioremediation and ecosystems restoration. This course will be integrating with broader bioremediation and climate change mitigation campaigns with our partners WeForest, Re:Char, Gaia University, Virgin Islands Sustainable Farm Institute, and others.

Course Goals & Outcomes

•Deliver low-cost, cutting-edge, oil spill remediation techniques & technologies.
•Develop scalable, economically viable remediation models that can be implemented by consultant teams, clean-up teams, and the oil industry.
•Create fundable and scalable technologies that can be used for large scale environmental clean-up
•Create an open source, low cost toolkit for citizen lead bioremediation efforts.
•Catalyze new jobs in ecological restoration
•Generate profits and attract investments to continue to re-invest in the strategic implementation of these bioremediation technologies on larger and larger scales.

Micro-Organisms & the Soil Food Web

An incredible diversity of organisms make up the soil food web. Soil organisms decompose organic compounds, including manure, plant residue, and pesticides, preventing them from entering water and becoming pollutants. All food webs are fueled by the primary producers: the plants, lichens, moss, photosynthetic bacteria, and algae that use the sun’s energy to fix carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Many soil organisms get energy and carbon by consuming the organic compounds found in plants, other organisms, and waste by-products. As these organisms eat, grow, and move through the soil, they make it possible to have clean water, clean air, healthy plants, and moderated water flow. All plants – grass, trees, shrubs, agricultural crops – depend on the food web for their nutrition.

Text from the NRCS - U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Services by Dr. Elaine R. Ingham

“The nation that destroys its topsoil destroys itself.”

- Theodore Roosevelt, 1907

What is Biochar?

Biochar is a form of charcoal with enormous opportunities in enhancing crop growth, remediating contaminated soil and preventing climate change causing carbon emissions. Biochar is a 2,000 year-old practice that converts agricultural waste into a soil enhancer that can hold carbon, boost food security and discourage deforestation. Biochar is produced through pyrolysis or gasification — processes that heat biomass in the absence (or under reduction) of oxygen. The process creates a fine-grained, highly porous charcoal that helps soils retain nutrients and water. Biochar is found in soils around the world as a result of vegetation fires and historic soil management practices. Intensive study of biochar-rich dark earths in the Amazon (terra preta), has led to a wider appreciation of biochar’s unique properties as a soil enhancer. Biochar is also known by the names “agrichar” or the simple term, black carbon.

Biochar can be an important tool to increase food security and cropland diversity in areas with severely depleted soils, scarce organic resources, and inadequate water and chemical fertilizer supplies. Biochar also improves water quality and quantity by increasing soil retention of nutrients and agrochemicals for plant and crop utilization. More nutrients stay in the soil instead of leaching into groundwater and causing pollution.

Benefits of Biochar

In addition to creating a soil enhancer, sustainable biochar practices can produce oil and gas byproducts that can be used as fuel, providing clean, renewable energy. When the biochar is buried in the ground as a soil enhancer, the system can become "carbon negative." Biochar and bioenergy co-production can help combat global climate change by displacing fossil fuel use and by sequestering carbon in stable soil carbon pools. It may also reduce emissions of nitrous oxide. We can use this simple, yet powerful, technology to store 2.2 gigatons of carbon annually by 2050. It’s one of the few technologies that is relatively inexpensive, widely applicable, and quickly scalable.

Biochar & Re:Char Explained

Please view the following video for a description of the re:char concept and how biochar and pyrolysis can change the world.

Oil to Soil: Bioremediation Technologies for Oil Spill Clean Up

Advanced Permaculture Design for Ecosystem Regeneration.

December 1-5, 2010

Creque Dam Farm, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands

Tuition & Registration Options

Standard Tuition - $999

Includes instruction, lodging, and meals at the beautiful location in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Early Bird (register before Nov 1) - $850

Permaculture Design Course Graduate Discount - $750

For those who have successfully completed a permaculture design course certification course.

Design & Management for Bioremediation - $675

Admission to the first three days of the course. Intensive focus on concepts, design, and project management of bioremediation.

Bioremediation Implementation - $499

Admission to the last 2 days of the course. Access to information for technicians and workers to implement bioremediation. Hands-on oriented.

Site Details - Sustainable Farm Institute

The course will be hosted by the Sustainable Farm institute, located in the Virgin Islands, U.S. The Virgin Islands Sustainable Farm Institute is over one hundred acres of rolling green hills and valleys nestled in the highlands of the northwest corner of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Work began in February 2003 on the orchards, gardens, and construction of the school infrastructure, and has slowly evolved from neglected farm and pasture land into a budding permaculture development. The gardens are now lush with perennial greens and vegetables, the orchards filling in and beginning to fruit, and the windbreaks and swales are responding to inclement weather. The bamboo groves seem bigger every day, and the pond ripples in the wind as cool evening drops its curtain.

VISFI promotes the development of agroecology: an innovative field of agriculture that enjoins productivity with resource conservation, using ecological and indigenous management models to create sustainable life systems. They believe local, organic agriculture and a practical educational experience are the first steps toward building vital communities and achieving long term sustainability within a healthy environment. These beliefs led to the establishment of their Four Pillars: Education, Sustainability, Community, and Environment. They use these focal points to guide decisions that will promote their farm’s vision. For more information om the Sustainable Farm Institute please visit: www.visfi.org

Course Schedule Details

Day One:
•Overview of topic: Oil and toxins vs. Soil and Living Systems: how and why to make the change.
•Overview of project and design context of this workshop.
•Mycoremediation presentation and application overview
•Soil Food web and Micro Organism presentation and application overview.
•Biochar presentation and application overview.
•Evening World Cafe for participants, instructors, industry representatives, and community members.
Day Two
•Review of Day one including review of ideas and topics discussed at World Cafe.
•Introduction to Integrative Design Process.
•Fishbowl discussion of strategic implications of this technology.
•Mycoremediation continues...
•Microorganism application continued...
•Biochar application continued...
Day Three
•Detailed briefing of design opportunity.
•Design problems and possible solutions overview.
•Content focus on Design process.
•Design group project choice.
•Field trip to remediation sites.
•Site assessment and analysis by students and instructors.
•Invention room session for design teams.
Day Four
•Implementation of bioremediation trials.
•Overview of monitoring systems.
Day Five
•Hands-On Implementation of Bioremediation Systems
•Presentation of different trial systems by each team with feedback from group and instructors
•Review of evaluation as a process of design.
* The schedule above is subject to change

Bioremediation & Oil

Biological agents increase the rate at which oil naturally biodegrades. During this process, known as bioremediation, chemical agents, fertilizers and microorganisms are applied to oil, which breaks it down into a simpler and more easily removed compound.

What is Mycoremediation?

Any process that uses fungi to return a damaged or contaminated environment to its original, natural condition should be considered mycoremediation. This term was originally used by Paul Stamets and specifically refers to the use of fungal mycelia in bio remediation. Usually it is used with contaminated soil and organic pollutants. The key is to determine the correct mushroom species for the job and match the strain to the problem. In an experiment a plot of soil was contaminated with diesel oil and then inoculated with the mycelia of oyster mushrooms. After four weeks, more than 95% of damaging hydrocarbons had been reduced to non-toxic components.

Can Mushrooms EAT Oil?

People often ask if mushrooms can "absorb" or "eat" oil. In fact, the root-like component of mushrooms (called mycelium) actually breaks down petroleum by excreting extracellular enzymes outside of its body. This is how fungus metabolizes petroleum. In a process called mycorenewal, mycologists acclimate the mycelium in a laboratory so that it is accustomed to recognize petroleum as a nutrient. Mycorenewal is a fairly new technique that has been proven successful in the lab, but limited studies have been done on its real-world applications.

Contact

For questions and more information regarding the course

contact: education@livingmandala.com

phone: 707-634-1461

For questions and more information regarding the hosting site

e-mail: info@visfi.org or

call: (706) 534-5033

To Register Click Here.

Facilitators & Instructors

Albert Bates

Albert Bates (born January 1, 1947) is an influential figure in the intentional community and ecovillage movements. A lawyer, author and teacher, he has been director of the Institute for Appropriate Technology since 1984 and of the Ecovillage Training Center at The Farm in Summertown, Tennessee since 1994. Bates has been a resident of The Farm since 1972. A former attorney, he argued environmental and civil rights cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and drafted a number of legislative Acts during a 26-year legal career. The holder of a number of design patents, Bates invented the concentrating photovoltaic arrays and solar-powered automobile displayed at the 1982 World's Fair. He served on the steering committee of Plenty International for 18 years, focussing on relief and development work with indigenous peoples, human rights and the environment. An emergency medical technician (EMT), he was a founding member of The Farm Ambulance Service. He was also a licensed Amateur Radio operator. Bates has played a major role in the ecovillage movement as one of the organizers of the Global Ecovillage Network (GEN), and served as GEN's chairman of the board (from 2002 to 2003) and president (from 2003 to 2004). He was also the principal organizer of the Ecovillage Network of the Americas and served as its president (from 1996 to 2003). In 1994 he founded the Ecovillage Training Center, a \"whole systems immersion experience of ecovillage living.\" He has taught courses in sustainable design, natural building, permaculture and technologies of the future to students from more than 50 nations. In 1980, Bates shared in the first Right Livelihood Award (also known as the Alternative Nobel Prize) as part of the executive board of Plenty International. His latest book is The Biochar Solution: Carbon Farming and Climate Change (link: http://thebiocharsolution.com) with foreword by Vandana Shiva.

Matt Slaughter

Matt Slaughter is the current President and General Manager of Earth Fortification Supplies Company. He is also the Director of Soil Foodweb Oregon LLC, a soil biology testing laboratory. In addition, Matt is a Soil Foodweb Advisor, receiving extensive training from Dr. Elaine Ingham. Previous to his current responsibilities he was the Vice President and Marketing Director of Soil Foodweb, Inc, responsible for coordinating the worldwide affiliates of Soil Foodweb Laboratories.

David Demerest

David Demarest is an environmental scientist specializing in the biotechnology of turning waste into resource. David began using his degree in environmental science at the South Burlington Living Machine working under the leadership of John Todd to develop an integrated agricultural system that used farm and food processor wastes as starting materials. The Advanced Farm Ecosystems team successfully produced gourmet oyster mushrooms, red wiggler worms, fresh tilapia, and edible greens which were sold locally on a pilot scale. Dr. Guy Roberts then joined Advanced Farm Ecosystems to research and design methane digesters applicable for use on small farms and AFE expanded into a program of The Intervale Foundation. After working at The Intervale Foundation to develop a scaled up mushroom production farm, David found current methods of indoor cultivation of oyster mushrooms to require more resources and energy, based on annual operations and construction of the required infrastructure, than he could personally justify from an environmental impact standpoint. As a result of this and the desire to fully utilize the 51 acres he built his straw-bale home on, he founded Green Mountain Mycosystems, LLC.

Greg Landua

Greg Landua has studied marine and terrestrial ecology and evolutionary biology in the Galapagos Islands, translated for Amazonian rainforest guides, fought wildfires in the wilderness of Alaska, and studied the nuances of ecology and ethics. Greg has B.S. in Environmental Science and Ethics from Oregon State University, and is receiving a graduate diploma in Organizing Learning for Ecosocial Regeneration from Gaia University. He was formerly the Program Coordinator for the Ecovillage Training Center on The Farm in Summertown, Tennessee. He is an active permaculture and ecovillage design educator, founding partner of the Nemawashi Partnership, and core member of the Living Mandala Design Collective. Along with teaching and practicing permaculture, Greg is an active bioregional organizer and NextGEN fellow helping to craft avenues and pathways for intergenerational dialog and collaboration in the shared enterprise of earth regeneration. Greg is also a member of the coordination team for the 10th Continental Bioregional Congress, and author of the blog Gaia Emerging which explores regenerative solutions for the well being of our planet.

Plus additional special guests & facilitators

Affiliated Organizations & Sponsors

Become a sponsor or affiliate of this course!

For details email: affiliates@livingmandala.com

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