Non agriculture zones

Before I jump into this week’s topic, I want to tell you about an online course that I signed up for, An Introduction to the U.S. Food System: Perspectives from Public Health, offered by Coursera, www.coursera.org. This is a free course that lasts six weeks. It just started, so I think you can still get into it. Based on the first week’s lessons, it looks pretty comprehensive.

OK. Back to the regularly scheduled program.

Permaculture Zones

The basic concept of permaculture was agricultural zones.

Zone 0

The house, or home center. Here permaculture principles would be applied in terms of aiming to reduce energy and water needs, harnessing natural resources such as sunlight, and generally creating a harmonious, sustainable environment in which to live and work. Zone 0 is an informal designation, which is not specifically defined in Bill Mollison's book.

Zone 1

The zone nearest to the house, the location for those elements in the system that require frequent attention, or that need to be visited often, such as salad crops, herb plants, soft fruit like strawberries or raspberries, greenhouse and cold frames, propagation area, worm compost bin for kitchen waste, etc. Raised beds are often used in zone 1 in urban areas.

Zone 2

This area is used for siting perennial plants that require less frequent maintenance, such as occasional weed control or pruning, including currant bushes and orchards, pumpkins, sweet potato, etc. This would also be a good place for beehives, larger scale composting bins, and so on.

Zone 3

The area where main-crops are grown, both for domestic use and for trade purposes. After establishment, care and maintenance required are fairly minimal (provided mulches and similar things are used), such as watering or weed control maybe once a week.

Zone 4

A semi-wild area. This zone is mainly used for forage and collecting wild food as well as production of timber for construction or firewood.

Zone 5

A wilderness area. There is no human intervention in zone 5 apart from the observation of natural ecosystems and cycles.

Copied from Wikipedia

If we do an analogy with our social involvement (this includes politics, charity, etc.) it would be something like this.

Zone 1 – Immediate family

Zone 2 – Neighborhood

Zone 3 – Community (town, borough, township, city)

Zone 4 – County or Parish

Zone 5 – Regional area

Zone 6 – State or Province

Zone 7 – Country

Zone 8 – World

If you have limited resources, take care of things in the above order.

With respect to the environment:

• Plant your own garden, create your own reserves
• Trade surpluses with your neighbors, Help develop community gardens, support community programs and institutions, participate in Earth Day activities
• In Berks County, you can support Hawk Mountain, Nolde Forest, The Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Association
• Regionally, get involved with the Penn-Pemaculture group.
• Petition your state legislators to support the programs you think are important, join and participate in the state Sierra Club programs
• Write your Federal Congressman to voice your opinions about social, financial, and environmental programs
• Volunteer for international programs according to your beliefs and your resources.

 But it shouldn’t be limited to environmental issues only. Consider these activities

•  Be creative - paint, write, cook, brew, invent
• Join neighborhood watch
• Support your local library and museums
• Participate in county and state events
• Vote, Write your congressman about your views
• Learn about the world. Keep abreast of the news. Support global activities that you can afford and are consistent with your beliefs.