Lauren Pfaff

Lauren Pfaff wrote:Maybe a database made with spreadsheet or google sheets might be a good idea. Perhaps we could make one then make it a wiki page. I would be glad to start working on a google sheet for that. Think it might be a cool idea where everyone could add their favorite permaculture videos and then people trying to find media could filter by stuff like topic, channel, etc.

Link to a google sheet where I'm trying to make a demonstration of my idea:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13XUBEB5skwF_u7bXY-WkTzQ_NeOJXs3gFRK_Y49k77U/edit?gid=0#gid=0

Maybe a database made with spreadsheet or google sheets might be a good idea. Perhaps we could make one then make it a wiki page. I would be glad to start working on a google sheet for that. Think it might be a cool idea where everyone could add their favorite permaculture videos and then people trying to find media could filter by stuff like topic, channel, etc.

In terms of YouTube videos/channels, Crash Course has some pretty good introductory stuff in several fields. Might also be cool to find some reading related to what you're learning about. It could be a book or article (for example, NPR's climate solutions week) but, depending on age/level, you might also find scientific papers. New research tends to be ultra-specific and technical, but if you can find a review paper (which basically summarizes the existing body of knowledge on a given field), those can be a bit easier of a read. One note on the scientific papers/articles: I would recommend seeing what you have access to via your library. Some research databases are expensive for individuals but some organizations can give access (for example, the Arizona State Library has this (link: https://azlibrary.gov/dazl/online-reference_ online reference). Could try having a "journal club" where you all read/learn about something and come back together to discuss what you learned both as a means of learning and to gauge everyone's progress. In terms of note-taking, you probably want to make sure they are taking good notes. Note-taking is a skill and if you are learning through taking notes, you need to be taking good notes. Might also look at state standards for science or any other subject just to make sure they are getting enough instruction. They have specific learning goals for each age (ex: graduating kindergarteners should be able to count to 100).

The best one for me is figuring out which leaves of different root vegetables are edible. For example, I sometimes take the greens from onions and garlic and sauté that with some spices as a flavor base for some meals. In addition, beet greens are good as a substitute for spinach. Edible weeds are also cool as part of a salad. I wouldn't want to eat a giant bunch of dandelion greens, but a couple in a salad along with some other stuff (lettuce, arugula, purslane...) would be nice. One day, I want some chickens and other animals that I can feed some weeds/garden scraps as part of their feed and then return their (aged/composted) droppings as fertilizer.

This is an example of why you double check with AI. Find the google AI summary of "road trip snacks" where it recommends "alcoholic beverages" (last entry).

Would be cool to make a "moving in kit." Bring some toilet paper/paper towels, some snacks/food, or something else that they might need immediately but still need to unpack or shop for.

Potential Consideration: Depending on how many ducks/how small the pond is, you may get nitrogen buildup (algae blooms and bad if there are fish in the pond).
Potential Solution: Do you have somewhere else to put the ducks if that were to happen? For example, if you saw algae build up or the ammonia levels got too high, you could plan on having the ducks go to the orchard or on pasture for a while.
Idea: I think a cool system would be a pond with ducks, fish, and aquatic plants. I'd figure out some sort of system to keep the water aerated and a filter to keep it relatively clean. You'd have to worry about the ammonia levels, but a biofilter could turn the ammonia (byproduct of/toxin for the fish) into nitrite into nitrate (fertilizer for the plants in your system). Would also be cool to have some sort of low-tech aquaponics raft system.

A couple ideas:
* Reclaimed Materials - How can you build both with reclaimed materials, but also materials that future generations can reclaim for themselves? For example, a timber framed barn could use natural/local/reclaimed materials, but it would also be interesting to see how you could re-reclaim those materials (ex: in 2100, they can use the wood from your build, which you reclaimed from a barn built in the year 1900. 2x4's won't do that.
* Build Over Time - In addition, you could either build a giant house today or you could build what you need now, anticipating the need to add on over time for stuff like family expansions, home businesses, etc. I could design a 4,000 ft^2 house that would serve my needs and probably my future needs, but there would be a lot of wasted space. Or, I could design a 1,000 ft^2 house and have in mind where I could expand/retrofit over time if I chose to have kids, wanted a workshop/craft room, etc. Also good if you want to minimize your mortgage by spending money as you earn it rather than as someone is willing to lend you.
* Efficient Space Design - If you are paying for space, you want it to be useful. Especially if you want to save money or pay a premium for higher quality finishes, you want to consider what you really need/want.
You don't want to pay to heat or cool space that doesn't make your life any better. Hallways are not usable space. You could make it better by adding built-ins or some type of storage. In addition, my hot take is that walk-in closets are overrated. In my childhood home, my parents' closets could have been another decent-sized bedroom. I think it would be better to have built-ins that span the length of your bedroom and have a chest of drawers as a nightstand. If you can't fit all your clothes in a reasonably-sized wardrobe, it's time to make a goodwill pile.
* Proposed Rules of Thumb - "Does having this raise my quality of life enough to justify the expenses, both financial and environmental."

I'm a little biased because I love midcentury design, but I picture Frank Lloyd Wright's Usonian Architecture. The emphasis on larger outdoor/community space and smaller bedrooms. Architects should make a point to incorporate some natural materials and build a house that pays tribute to its site (ex: adobe, local stones, and desert colors in the Southwest).
3D Tour of Taliesin West: https://franklloydwright.org/3dlab/

The thing about AI is that you have to know how to ask it questions. Picture AI an AI chatbot as a stranger who doesn't know anything about you or the topic that you are asking about, but they will google whatever you ask and summarize/report the results. You want to make sure you have the right key words. You want to give it a "persona," your goal, your audience, any context, and some sort of boundaries.
For example, if I said "tell me about permaculture," it's gonna rephrase the wikipedia article and other sources. A cooler prompt would be "act as (a given permaculture designer/practitioner), you are trying to convince a commercial vegetable farmer to incorporate permaculture principles into their growing system. How might the conversation go? Tell me how the permaculture designer might convince the farmer to research and implement permaculture practices/systems." Definitely double check the stuff it says. AI isn't good at differentiating between trustworthy sources. If you are in doubt, google the PAARC credibility test. Whenever you read something online, ask yourself its purpose, accuracy (would a simple google search yield the opposite results?) , authority, relevance, and whether it is current. Media literacy is an important skill and one that AI hasn't developed. I always ask it to cite sources so I can tell what came from where and evaluate whether I trust those sources.

To reply to the replies:
Mark Reed: I agree that it's not really necessary to live there before building. Seems a bit excessive to camp year-round (including during snow, rain, etc.). I agree that as long as you are there to see the place at different times of the day/year and during different weather events, it shouldn't be necessary to be at a site year-round in a temporary structure. At the very least, the level of difficulty would probably outweigh the potential benefits. I was curious what everyone thought.

Jay Angler: Preserving food is definitely important. At this point, I'm not particularly good at canning, but I know some people who are good at canning, so I'll go annoy them and see if I can help them put up their harvest/get a lesson in the process. Should also look into other methods of food preservation if I want to eat from the site year round. My small engine/car skills are growing. When I lived with my parents, I made dad do all that (until he "killed" his project car) , but it's probably for the best that I learn at least the basics. Household skills are pretty easy for me. I am autistic so my parents/teachers always made a huge deal of "learn how to do this thing" in a learn a life skill sort of way. Part of that was the skill figuring out stuff like "my laundry machine broke, what do I do and how will I have clean clothes?".  Yeah, the PEP stuff is cool. I just use it as a way to share my progress for encouragement rather than entirely for the badge icon. I agree that the skills are important to be used in an ongoing way. I have a growing collection of tools. Haven't really browsed second-hand, but I probably should to save money. I can speak from experience that vice grips are everyone's best friend (I think dad literally has a wall of them in his workshop).