Events at Wheaton Labs: what do YOU want to do at WL?

Hey all, I'm joining the team at Wheaton Labs in February to help plan and organize scheduled events, improve on past gatherings, as well as break ground on plenty of new activities!

So I'm starting here by appealing to this large collection of excellent people, who are passionate about learning and doing, and may want to visit Wheaton Labs at some point in the future:

What sort of events, classes, workshops, activities, holidays, gatherings, etc. would you love to join in on?

When would you like to come? For how long? There are already lots of great events coming up in the next year and beyond at Wheaton Labs (head over to the Events page to check them out) but there can and shall be so much more. Let us know some of your ideas in this thread.... and we may just make them happen!

Personally, I'm interested in learning more about foraging, crafting, and natural medicine. So thinking about having more workshops dedicated to those activities in the future lights my fire. I'm also passionate about community building, especially with all of the special people that make it out to WL, so I'd like to see more of that. I invite you to get creative and share your imaginings!

Welcome Lara!  I suspect people want to do a host of different things at WL.  

I think short workshops (weekend or 1 week) would be a good way to build the site into an ongoing training/event site.  Focusing on some of the PEP stuff (Rocket week, Roundwood week, Greywater weekend, Foraging week, etc) might be a way to focus interest in an area that one instructor could support.

Managing a few bunks/beds/wofatis/cabins as B&Bs could be a way to keep coin coming in year-round.  Some optimization might be needed to make that seamless.

I love the idea of short workshops for people who only have a chance to get away for the weekend or a few days at a time.

The PEP stuff really can be taken as an outline for possible events. Having a weekend or four days-ish dedicated to an aspect and some BBs (like mini SKIP sessions) would give people the opportunity & the resources to come out and earn their badges.

The B&B optimization is high on my list, I think you're right about the year-round opportunity for coin... I have a few friends elsewhere who have been very successful at gaining momentum for their bnb operations so I'll have to pick their brains and steal replicate their best practices. :)

Someday ....  if we are good ...   when we grow up ...   we could host a bodgers ball.

I like the idea of a four week wofati building workshop.   And while most of the time is spent on one build from beginning to end, a piece of each week is dedicated to:

  - log prep
  - doing some finish work on allerton abbey
  - doing some mid to finish on cooper cabin

So if somebody can come for only a week, they can get some skills built with all the different stages.

I would think that this would be a particularly good workshop for august.

I wish for a mega water event.  Maybe it would overlap the PTJ and the SKIP event.

We would build:

   - a spring terrace
   - a humus well
   - at least four different types of air well
   - a natural swimming pool
   - dig a well manually
   - ram pump
   - solar pump
   - several types of ponds
   - stealth pond
   - holzer's tricks for filling ponds
   - build a cistern from clay bricks and mortar surrounded by clay
   - restore a stream

I like the idea that we have a big thanksgiving.   And maybe a big christmas too.  Lots of people here for some sort of holiday treat.  

AHH! All Of The Things!

Ahem* I mean I second Paul's ideas. The water event at the top of the list.

I'd be interested in a mycology weekend, have different stages of various techniques prepared so you cut out the waiting.

Log inoculation
Growing spawn
Identifying
Etc.

Click on the thumbs up for this post if you would travel a thousand miles or more for a weekend event here.

Click on the thumbs up for this post if you would NOT travel a thousand miles or more for a weekend event here.

Click on the thumbs up for this post if you would travel a thousand miles or more for a 5 day or longer event here.

I kinda think that most weekend events are fine for folks within a couple hundred miles - but not for folks that are far away.

paul wheaton wrote:I kinda think that most weekend events are fine for folks within a couple hundred miles - but not for folks that are far away.

I have to agree with that. Not very small-footprint-friendly either. But maybe somebody who only has three or four days available to them feels differently. And once they see how awesome it is out there they quit their "real jobs" and join us forever! Thank goodness we hosted that weekend-long event.
ok just kidding

I do love the sound of the water event. in August.

And I think the mycology event would be a really popular one actually. Especially if we had it prepared in stages like you say. Maybe part of a Woodland Care pep mini-event.

paul wheaton wrote:I kinda think that most weekend events are fine for folks within a couple hundred miles - but not for folks that are far away.

It's true that if I came for a weekend event I would hope to stay a couple extra days to recover from the drive and just wander around absorbing anything I could, taking pictures, helping where needed, etc.

For me, the sweet spot would be 4-6 days because it would balance the vacation spend with the recovery time.

I'd love a fall activity so my car could handle the weather and I wasn't miserable with the heat.  I am especially interested in RMH. I can't have one inside in my county but I just love the whole concept and think building one outside for the buns warming factor for family reunions and get togethers would be perfect. It feels intimidating for me to do solo, unlike a lot of the other things I want to try.

But I'm interested in all the things too.

Sonja Draven wrote:It's true that if I came for a weekend event I would hope to stay a couple extra days to recover from the drive and just wander around absorbing anything I could, taking pictures, helping where needed, etc.

So we could set up a weekend event, and we could then offer an extension package with it:   a few days on either end of the event, where folks can "ride along" with the bootcamp if they want, or watch the clouds pass, or try their hand at some BBs.  

I think that is a rather excellent idea!