Hey ya'll,

I am helping Zach Weiss (protege of Sepp Holzer) organize a small presentation tour through the southeast US.

Problem is, I don't really know what cities along the drive would be especially good for this. He will be driving from VT to TX, definitely stopping in Asheville, NC, and possibly Baton Rouge, LA, along the way. Here is a screenshot of the general route.




Any ideas of places directly on this route or even a bit off this route is fine too.

I just really don't know what cities would be worth going to, where there might be a big environmentally conscious community. Thoughts?

Atlanta? Birmingham? New Orleans?


A bit more about the presentation, just for context:

He gives a really inspiring talk about restoring the earth's water cycle by creating water retention landscapes. It provides both the context and theory for the larger ecological issues at hand, as well as real-world examples of the solutions and approaches. He highlights projects from a variety of different contexts, scales, and climates so participants are left equipped with a fundamental understanding of the key elements, and introduces the incredible possibilities for restoration and regeneration.

Let me know if anyone has any thoughts or ideas!

Is he doing an event in texas? Info on it would be great.

wayne fajkus wrote:Is he doing an event in texas? Info on it would be great.

Hi Wayne,

There is potential for one in Houston, if it ends up happening, I will definitely post about it. :)

Where are you at in Texas? Any ideas on good spots to have a presentation?

I am unsure what you are looking for. I have no affiliations with any local groups but can reach out with more info on what the goal is.

I'm in Fort Hood area. Close to Austin and Waco.. I know the Mother Earth News fair happens around February . People like Salitan are there giving presentations every hour.

Heritage farms may be a place to check. Waco. They have 2 big gatherings a year. They would be aligned with Zach and have the space and following to pull in a crowd. In the back of their compound is an insitute. Maybe for sustainable agriculture. I cant remember the name. They do old school stuff at the farm and give classes.  Wool to yarn, yarn to finished goods. Wood fired pottery. Forging. Making cheeses. Water powered flour mill. Sorgum pressing. They bring in big numbers of people.

wayne fajkus wrote:I am unsure what you are looking for. I have no affiliations with any local groups but can reach out with more info on what the goal is.

I'm in Fort Hood area. Close to Austin and Waco.. I know the Mother Earth News fair happens around February . People like Salitan are there giving presentations every hour.

Heritage farms may be a place to check. Waco. They have 2 big gatherings a year. They would be aligned with Zach and have the space and following to pull in a crowd. In the back of their compound is an insitute. Maybe for sustainable agriculture. I cant remember the name. They do old school stuff at the farm and give classes.  Wool to yarn, yarn to finished goods. Wood fired pottery. Forging. Making cheeses. Water powered flour mill. Sorgum pressing. They bring in big numbers of people.

The goal is to find places for Zach to give his Water Retention Landscapes presentation at, places that could get at least 20 people to come.

So what I'm looking for is just places (cities, towns, etc)  that would maybe have a fairly big environmentally conscious population. And then once I've narrowed that down, finding specific organizations or universities in those places that would be willing to host the presentation.

So, the place you mentioned in Waco is a great example. I'd Imagine Austin would have some great places too.

I found more info.its the ploughshare instute thats at heritage farms. Heres a link for a thing they did last year

https://holisticmanagement.org/uncategorized/keyline-practice-soil-health-drought-resilience-21st-century-farms-landscapes


I know of another similar place in Johnson city. The only 2 classes they do is about water retention from 2 different aspects(grasses being one).

Bramberger ranch in johnson city

https://bambergerranch.org/margaret-bamberger-research-and-education-center

In austin theres 2 spots.

LBJ wildflower research institute.

Vista brewery would be AWESOME. Heres a link. They are in dripping springs. Dripping Springs is THE rainwater collection hub of Texas. If you clink on link they are always doing tours/events.
https://vistabrewingtx.com/?v=7516fd43adaa

Around Austin, there are several Permaculture groups though I don't know any of them.

Marjory Wildcraft is in that area somewhere though her websites no longer says where:  https://thegrownetwork.com/

Near houston (navasota) is beeweaver bees. They have classes on beekeeping onsite. They have extensive email list to promote them.

https://www.beeweaver.com/beeweaver-bees

Reaching out to Central Texas Gardener would be worthwhile for exposure to zach. Its based in Austin.

Its a pbs show that has a good following. They start with an onsite segment, then have a separate in house interview. I doubt they would turn down an opportunity to interview him.

http://www.centraltexasgardener.org

Oh, not sure why this didnt come first. Zilker gardens in Austin. I bet dang near every group meets there (cactus gardeners, organic gardeners, beekeepers, herb gardeners). Besides wildflower institute, this is THE hub for Austin.

Thank you SO much for all of this Wayne!

While in the Asheville area will he be getting together with Justin Rhodes ? If you ask Justin he might have some good ideas based on the places where he did "meetups". He seemed to pull in quit a few folks everywhere he stopped.

Not sure if Zach wanted to do anything in Florida but Pete Kanaris of Green dreams might have some good info too.

This is probably too far out of the way, but Berea, Kentucky comes to mind.

Atlanta is a great stop for sure! Lots of great stuff going on up there! I sure wish he were coming to Savannah. The community is ripe for permaculture around these parts as well. And the populace would be gracious for the info as well. The great thing about both cities are the encouragement of new ideas. :) I hope the tour goes wonderfully.

Here are the dates for the tour! Will post here again when we confirm date and location for Houston Texas.

I'll be there at all of them, hope to see some of you!

Can you send me the info for austin?