When you specialize in being a generalist, you set yourself up for a whole lot of learning.
How I describe Ann’s skills: high level bookeeping; biologist; cheese maker; fermenter; dishwasher; goat teet squeezer; grower, harvester, and cooker of food; councillor; nursery person; farm manager; Gord manager; assumption checker/elephant observer (also known as an elephant pointer outer or general s**t disturber); critical thinker; chainsaw owner; lifestyle consulting, and soon to be book author.
How do I describe myself… I don’t dare. I’ll leave that up to Ann if she so wishes.
When asked what I do for a living I really don’t have a clue what to say. When I do try and respond it always starts with… “I follow my own interests and do whatever I want”. I often say that I clean the public washroom, collect the compost toilet materials, and distribute the s**t… and I am a councillor where I (like Ann) disturb it a little too.
One thing is certain, I feel uncomfortable stating my skills. I would rather speak to my interests. My interests are plants, rain water harvesting, grey water, provincial policy, electronics, sustainable building and designing and building integrated systems (heating/cooling), composting toilets, water filtration, carpentry/cabinetry, public speaking, teaching, and beer and wine making, digging holes.
Inevitably interests lend to energizing my learning, an appetite not easily satiated. The most recent two learning opportunities are the step towards earning my EOCP in Small Water Systems, and presenting on the topics of small scale agricultural pond pumping design and grey water re-use and other responsible water alternatives.
Small Water Systems Operation and Management – EOCP certification
SWS Operation and Management is a course that will enhance my abilities to effect change on the topic and issues surrounding water, a passion of mine. Hopefully in the next several months after exams are over I will have earned the qualifications to install, operate and maintain water systems for populations under 1000 people. The materials cover a wonderful broad range of skills from how to work a community through the process of creating an aquifer protection permit area, to pumps, wells, filtration and laboratory testing, and setting water rates. A nice addition to my work surounding Rainwater harvesting, grey water and composting toilets.
Farm Water Management Seminar – free
Thanks to Tayler Krawczyk of Hatchet & Seed for inflicting the second learning opportunity. A seminar on Small scale farm water management. Tayler will be presenting two sessions covering his research work on keyline water management and the installation of irrigation ponds. His ask of me… cover the topic on how to choose a pump for the small scale farm pond. Small scale means in this case 60-70 gpm pumping, much different than the 27gpm rainwater systems. I am happy to say the learning curve is looking much better than a pump curve.
The seminar is 4 sessions (noted below), is free and open to anyone. All costs are covered by the BC Agriculture & Food Climate Action Initiative and the CRD.
9:00am – 11:00am – Keyline Water Management
Tayler Krawczyk, Hatchet & Seed and Sara Duncan, p.Ag.
About “Keyline Water Management Project”
Introduction to ‘Keyline Geometry’
Using contour maps for farm water planning (CRD WebMap Demo)
Keyline plowing to reduce compaction & manage water
Monitoring results to date – Sara Duncan, p. Ag.
Alternative drainage techniques for bottom-lands
Q & A
11:15am – 12:30pm – Irrigation Pond Design
Tayler Krawczyk, Hatchet & Seed
Review of regulations: water licensing (Water Sustainable Act) & Dam Safety Board regulations; municipal soil movement
Sizing the pond (irrigation, evaporation %, seepage, environmental reserves)
Using topographic maps
Siting (usage & catchment analysis)
Spillways and other design features
What to do with excess fill material?
Construction & earthmoving
Q & A
1:30pm – 2:45pm – Pumping from Your Farm Pond
Gord Baird – Eco-Sense, Highlands Councillor, CRD Water Commission Board Member
Tools for assessing your needs and sizing your pump; Basic components of a pond pump system; Advantages and limitations of solar pumping
Case studies: pump systems for drip and micro-spray; Q & A
3:00pm – 4:30pm – Greywater Re-Use & Other Methods of Conservation for Small-Scale Agriculture
Gord Baird, Eco-Sense, CRD Water Commission Board Member
Regulation; Design considerations; In practice; Q & A
Nursery Update:
Sales are by appointment only through the winter. Special orders for the spring can be arranged. Specialty grafting can be pre booked. We’ll keep some of our postings up on Used Victoria as there are usually good gifts for that season coming up
Take care till next week… when Ann will have her rant on what gone wrong with the Environmental movement and the activists.
Gord (and Ann if she sneaks in and edits after the fact).
Mary Lake Park: A group in the Highlands is working their butts off to try and buy a piece of land to turn into a park here in the Highlands. This project is led by Bob McMinn, who at 92 seems unstoppable. He has assembled a team of dedicated volunteers working to make this a reality. This park land is simply amazing and would complete a 
Yup, you read the title correctly… and that’s NOT just Ann ranting about positive feedback loops. It has been a whirlwind of positive ripples over the past few months.
Eco-Sense 