Laura:

​Almost the first words from Jess Rubin, February 25 presenter, were that restoring the economy starts with restoring the ecology, an ongoing theme in her talk at the Jericho Community Center. About eighteen of us gathered to hear about all things fungal.

Jess, a resident of Essex Junction, founder of MycoEvolve & co-founder of VT Myconode, said while microbes showed up on earth four billion years ago, fungi two billion and plants one billion years later, working backwards to partner with plants, fungi, and microbes is one strategy to engage in earth healing efforts.

As a new field, mycoremediation arose in the 1970s, largely due to the work of mushroom guru Paul Stamets, author of Mycelium Running. Jess said that as a science, mycoremediation is still in its infancy.

In Vermont, manure management strategies, rotational & cover crop practices, and appropriate buffer strips seemed to be lacking on many farms, thus leading to tainted waterways. These observations led Jess to focus on E. coli in her research.

Much of her initial research focused on the somewhat familiar King Stropharia, or Wine-cap mushroom since it is easy to grow and releases enzymes that ultimately kill E. coli. Jess mentioned that often fungi used for healing sickness in humans such as many of the polypores have great potential to be used in remedial work. 

Future plans for Jess include developing a fungal hugelkultur installation to remediate E.coli and redirect phosphorus out of the water via mycorrhizal riparian plantings. With a strong team assembled, Jess intends to pursue this work through a Masters project in Ecological Landscape Design.

​After describing fungal research projects in Shelburne, Colchester and Poultney, Jess led our group in an exercise of first listing toxins in our own neighborhoods, then citing existing infrastructure, as initial steps toward understanding, envisioning, and transitioning into remediation practices on the local level.

Dave here:

On January 28th, 2019, Transition Town Jericho hosted a panel of local town Conservation Commission heads from Jericho, Bolton, Richmond, and Underhill.  The meeting was an opportunity for the various representatives to discuss recent initiatives and share their experiences as working teams. About 22 people showed up.

Discussions included:
·        The work to eliminate invasive species, such as japanese knotweed, abundant on Crane Brook and other areas
·        Over harvesting of fiddleheads, and how to ensure there are good supplies every year
·        Work with land owners providing ideas and resources to reduce erosion
·        Applying for a grant to build a wildflower pollinator garden on the Jericho Village Green

The Conservation Commission (CC) oversees management of properties owned by the towns.  In addition, they are available for conducting studies, applying for grants, and providing input for the various Boards in regard to the natural resources within the towns.

Tom Baribault of the Jericho CC, talked about the Backwoods program which is an online course targeted at teaching homeowners with 25 acres or less about their woods and how they can be caretakers of it. Whether you own 2 acres or 20 acres, this program will help you make the most out of the woods in your backyard! 

Underhill, represented by Karen McKnight, holds monthly meetings with both members and non-members attending.  Workshops on living with bears, bird friendly maples, connectivity of wildlife areas, and tree walks to identify/treat ash trees ravished by the ash borer.

Amy Ludwin, of the Bolton CC cited various projects including mapping the river basin and managing the town forest.  They work with land owners on erosion issues and partner with groups such as the Friends of the Winooski. They also have stewardship of the Preston Pond Conservation Area.

The Richmond CC, represented by Judy Rosovsky, sponsors studies on town natural resources such as Gillett Pond, assisted by students from UVM’s Department of Plant Biology.  They also contribute to revisions of the Town Plan including mapping the town’s natural resources.

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Laura, reporting:

​TTJ’s film event on Nov 26 provided inspiration for a lifetime. Dancing with the Cannibal Giant and its producer, Chris Wood is currently touring the state, inspiring and motivating community dialogue and interaction. Chris was accompanied by Suzanne Richman, who facilitated a soulful discussion among the nearly thirty people who attended (from Jericho, Essex, and Williston as well as a sizable chunk from Transition Town Charlotte).

​Chris introduced himself, saying he was motivated by the film Wisdom to Survive: Climate Change, Capitalism and Community from director Ann Macksoud of Old Dog Films. While that film presented the grave problems we’re facing, Chris was interested in solutions and asked Macksoud to direct Dancing.... Indeed, the first fifteen minutes are excerpts from Wisdom..., followed by Five New Stories for the Great Transition (subtitle of his film) describing inspirational communities/solutions.

Interspersed throughout the film are great quotes from young people “(Activism) is not a fight, but a more joyful existence” to local heroes like UVM’s Stephanie Kaza, “Hope is having a steady mind, and willingness to be present” to maven Joanna Macy ”If you want an adventure, what a time to be alive!” to the literary, “perhaps it’s beauty that will save the earth”-Dostoyevski.

Sherri Mitchell, of the Penobscot tribe, is an omnipresence in the film; there is footage of her talks where she describes the myth of the Cannibal Giant Gilyuk, who is asleep in the forest and awakened when Mother Earth is in distress. Gilyuk’s  role is to lull humanity into a false sense of security, consuming themselves to death so Mother Nature can recover. Sherri said that humanity is awakening now, traveling through the long dark birth canal. We can choose to either stay in the dark, or be the midwives to a new way of being.

The first New Story filmed was the Metta Earth Institute, founded by Gillian and Russell Comstock in Lincoln, Vermont. Providing immersions and workshops for groups of young people, they combine contemplative practice, regenerative work on the land and social activism. Russell said he’s trying to re-enact an ancient story, shifting the mindset from ‘me-ness’ to benefiting the whole.

After a fascinating interview with folks at the Center for Transformative Practice in White River Junction, the film takes you to Soul Fire Farm in Petersburg NY, a community trying to combat “food apartheid” by training groups of city dwellers in farming, food production and back to earth skills, then delivering to “food deserts”, populations of people who can’t afford nutritious food.

The film takes you on tour with the duo, Climbing Poetree, a performance art group of two women who provoke their audiences to simply wake up, saying humanity is in a battle of stories and we need to decide which will win. They bring to life the idea of creativity as an antidote for violence and destruction and have clocked thousands of miles with their message, touring on a bus that runs on recycled veggie oil.

Fable Farm is run by two brothers in Barnard Vermont. A working farm, winery and events venue, their Thursday community day has turned into a major event hosting up to 500 people at a time. They say their survival as a farm is based on the community that has built up over the last ten years. Their philosophy, they add, is to focus on the self; from there one can have greater effect on the larger community.

The film ended with the haunting quote from poet Drew Dellinger:

“my great great grandchildren
ask me in dreams
what did you do while the planet was plundered?
what did you do when the earth was unraveling?
...surely you did something”

After the film we shifted into a big circle, sharing both dreams and hard realities of building communities of response. Ideas included modeling homesteading through tours/skillshares, running Repair Cafes (ongoing in Charlotte), inner transition book groups, just to name a few. No doubt, many other ideas were generated in the lively breakout conversations before we all parted ways.

Wherever it takes you and your community, Chris and his film are well worth hosting in your town, library or home. He can be contacted at: chris@balevt.org

Yep, you heard right! An end of summer market, organized by us transitioners in Jericho. It will be held on Saturday, September 15 from 10am to 2pm on the Jericho Center Green, featuring locals displaying their own produce, crafts and music. That is, if we get at least 20 people signed up, so read on!

This will be a market with a twist...value tickets will be used instead of money, making it kid friendly. We’re encouraging people to creatively use their talents to market their garden produce, homemade food, arts and crafts and musical talents. Creativity will be the theme of the day...maybe you’ve never tried to market your stuff before, or perhaps you’re a seasoned marketer; regardless, we’d love your involvement!

You just need to bring your own card table to display items. And there will be a rain site, the Jericho Community Center.

​If you think you’d like to take part, go to the following link to find out more, and sign up!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409084faead28ab9-card

Dave, here:

Thanks to Jen Burton and Mark Woodward for coming to Jericho and sharing their story of organizing, planning and building a community oven in Johnson, VT. The oven has been up and running since last fall and has been a fun and tasty way to bring families and community together. Jen explained: “The oven is intended to provide a gathering place for community baking (bring your own items to bake), community pizza nights, private functions, and other public uses. This year, the oven was used to make 35 pizzas for the Town Meeting Day potluck.”

Jen continued, saying this was a yearlong project that she championed. She organized the effort to plan, found funding, worked with town officials and brought the project to the building point. Some of the fine details included: getting letters of support from town agencies, deriving the plans for the oven and roof structure, confirming there would be insurance coverage and writing several grants for funding.

Once the organization was completed, Mark took the lead to see that the construction of the oven was orchestrated. He worked with many local volunteers, including Jen, to erect the shelter, then assisted with the building of the stove with the hired stone mason. The rocks were sourced locally from a rock pit nearby. The construction project took most of the fall to complete. Lining up volunteers for multiple weekends and getting the stone mason on-site to work around his primary work hours made the timing a challenge.
​
Take a look at their Facebook page (Johnson Community Wood Fired Oven) that includes pictures of all the construction phases. Everyone is welcome to use the wood fired oven in Johnson: you have to fill out a facilities use form from the Johnson Town offices. Since the oven can get to hundreds of degrees, you will have to read the use policies that include how to be safe while using the oven.

Jen and Mark shared many stories about their project, and felt that all the sweat equity that they put into the project was worth it. They also pointed out there were no tax payer dollars used in the building of the oven, quite a big grassroots effort. The big test will be the first summer months, which are coming up, with the oven in operation. They are hopeful, since they built it, people will come and use it!

Mark and Jen will announce future “oven” events and let Transition Town Jericho know. TTJ will forward the notifications to folks on its email list so they can join in.