Projects

[ Current and Upcoming Projects and Events | Past Projects and Events ]

Current and Upcoming Projects and Events

Introduction to Permaculture 2011 - July 15-17 2011: In partnership with Rising Earth Permaculture, ACIL will be hosting a weekend intensive Introduction to Permaculture on its demonstration site 15 minutes North of Stony Plain, Alberta. For more information, contact 780.667.3630 or e-mail info(at)risingearth.ca

2011 Nature Hikes and Canoe Trips: As an arising tradition, we will be keeping with our sporadic wanderings on land and water throughout 2011. It will be super cool.

Past Projects and Events

2011 Watershed Cleanup - ACIL hosted a watershed cleanup on the Atim Creek headwaters in late April. The impact of our efforts is visible and though much still needs to be done in the area (this Fall, a follow-up effort!) we hope that our efforts have prevented a few fish and frogs from getting cancer.

2011 Annual Tree Planting - This year, our annual tree planting focused upon the demonstration site's permaculture Zones 2-4. 225 trees composed of 7 species were planted for wildlife, shelterbelt, woodlot, and food purposes. It was a blustery day on the wind-swept steppe but a good day was had by all and the little photosynthesizers are doing great after the recent rains.

Slingshot Paintball Battle -
Our first annual Slingshot Paintball battle went ahead famously. The warrior within was made manifest within a mature spruce forest along the Sturgeon watershed. The art of war is a most interesting thing to contemplate and practice, especially when mortal suffering is not an inevitable direct outcome.

2011 Bird House Build: This year we engaged in creating comfortable, resilient shelters for accomodating our flying relatives that visit our niche. Many have moved in.

Tree Planting 2010: We planted over 250 specimens comprised of over 20 species on our demonstration site. It was epic and we are getting better.

2010 Nature hikes: Over the course of the Spring-Fall 2010, ACIL members organized and participated in an assorted array of nature hikes throughout the parkland region. Species identification, survival skills, and ecological awareness were actively engaged in and explored.

2009 February July Film and Discussions, St. Albert
As part of our committment to affect positive, integrative change in the region, the Aspen Centre for Integral Living will be screening a diversity of films and documentaries throughout 2009. Each shall address thematic concerns relevant to our Vision and be used to create context for post-film discussion and application.

All films will be screened at The Coffee Cup (50-25 Perron Street) Downtown, St. Albert, AB.

Saturday, February 21, 7:30 PM - “The 11th Hour”
Saturday, March 21, 7:30 PM - “Peaceful Warrior”
Saturday, April 18, 7:30 PM – “Tar Sands: The Selling of Alberta”
Saturday, May 16, 7:30 PM – “Religulous”
Saturday, June 20, 7:30 PM - “The Corporation”
Saturday, July 18, 7:30 PM, “Baraka”

For more information contact us at: 780.485.7322 or info(at)aspenintegral.ca

Permaculture Experimentation Site
Entering into 2009, Members of ACIL are developing a unified Permaculture Site Strategy inclusive of Nutrient, Energy, Water and Shelter concerns here in the Aspen Parkland Bioregion. On-going construction and perma-forming will be the case for all of 2009. Feel like getting your hands dirty - give us a call.

Tree Planting 2009

Due to our giving priority to the Permaculture Site, we shall be focusing our re-afforestation efforts on the aforementioned landbase. As more details emerge, Members and interested citizens shall be invited to join in.

Film and Discussion - ACIL hosted film screenings and discussions during late 2008:

The first film shown was "HEAT", as part of the Onoway Environmental Priority Project. The event was on December 13, 2008 in the Meeting Room of the Onoway Museum, admission by Donation.

The second film, to coincide with the Holiday Season, was, "What Would Jesus Buy?" The film which was followed by discussion was at The Coffee Cup, 50-24 Perron Street, Downtown, St. Albert

Permaculture Workbee - The Aspen Centre for Integral Living will be hosting a permaculture workbee on its permaculture experimentation site, Sunday, July 20th, from 10AM until around 2PM. The Site is located 15 minutes North of Stony Plain. To get there turn West on Township Road 545 and go over the top of a big hill with a semi-truck parked on the right and an elk fence on the left. It is the first driveway on your left at the bottom of the hill. Any questions, call 780.485.7322.

Summer 2008 Permaculture Workshop Series - Throughout the Summer of 2008, ACIL shall be co-sponsoring a series of permaculture workshops in the Edmonton area in coordination with the Urban Farmer (www.theurbanfarmer.ca). A variety of topics shall be covered; everything from Forest Gardening to Natural Building. For more info, contact theurbanfarmer@shaw.ca

Onoway Community Tree Planting - On Saturday, May 24, at 6:00 PM ACIL Members began tree-planting efforts in Ruth Cust Park as part of the Centre's Onoway Environmental Priority Project. We extended an open invitation to all citizens and residents of Onoway to come out to help us expand the biodiversity of the area.

Friends of Wisdom Film and Discussion Series – During the Winter of 2007 the Aspen Centre for Integral Living will begin to host film screenings in and around the Capital region at various community venues. The artistic pieces shall be in conformity with the mission statement and mandate of ACIL regarding the enrichment and broadening of discourse in the public sphere about ecological, social, and philosophical topics. We will keep you posted on the emergent details.

Compact Fluorescent Efforts

The Aspen Centre for Integral Living partnered with Project Porchlight in February and March of 2008 to distribute compact fluorescent light-bulbs to the resident citizenry of Onoway and St. Albert, Alberta. This effort is aimed at educating homeowners on the easy changes that can they can make to address the energy and environmental crisis by providing them with a free bulb and information.

Volunteers were much appreciated as we hiked through the streets and did some good groove in a fun way.

For more information visit: www.projectporchlight.com

The Integral Yoga Program - In consecutive, progressive sessions, practitioners was led in interdisciplinary explorations of yogic perspective and method from a synthesis of the major branches of yoga. Primarily, this program was intended as an inquiry into how the intentional development of consciousness shall act and establish itself in Earthly life.

The Aspen Centre for Integral Living hosted the second event of its Friends of Wisdom Film and Discussion Series at the TransAlta Tri-Leisure Centre The documentary shown was, "What a Way To Go: Life at the End of Empire".

Waste Reduction Week Garbage Pickup and Sort – As part of Canada's Waste Reduction Week, October 15th to 21st, ACIL has organized an event in the rural community of Onoway. We met on Sunday in Elk's Park, split up, picked up trash, and then sorted it into all possible recyclables. Besides being great fun this event functioned to:

recycled 13 bags of various paper, plastic, metal, and cardboard; sent two bags of non-recycleables to a landfill; picked up a broken chair; recycled a tire
create a more livable environment for the local domesticated primates
preventing persistent pollutants from entering into the local ecosystems by picking up petro-chemical-based refuse prior to its decomposition
demonstrate our commitment to all facets, however small, of the move toward regenerative Earthian existence

First Annual Tree Planting - In Spring of 2007 and entering into the Fall we have planted over 1100 trees composed of 8 indigenous varieties and 2 non-invasive introduced species. The lands in concern, pieces deforested, subject to ill-managed cattle grazing since colonization, have been opened free of liens and legal encumbrances for usage in experimental remediation and reforestation for 2007 and into the Spring of 2008. We have utilized various techniques such as perimeter expansion, shelterbelt layering, and wetland defensive canopying thus far. This fall, following the first week of frost, we introduced in selected spots, various fruiting wild cultivars so as to provide a nutrition source for increased waterfowl activity and ruminant mammalians the following season. Immediate and long-term effects of our tree-planting initiatives have and shall continue to result in:

preventing soil erosion and augmenting multi-levelled nutrient cycles
filtering noxious gases and offsetting air pollution
acting as habitat and providing accommodation for animal species
aiding in the sequestration of greenhouse gases
increasing biological diversity and bioregional resiliency
the re-establishment of micro-climate ecologies that have been largely lost due to anthropocentric impediments

Community Supported Agriculture - This year, A.C.I.L. engaged in the establishment and tending of a permaculturally designed vegetable garden on a small plot of land donated for usage. As an initial project, all seed variety, sowing times, weather conditions and soil amendments have been documented so that maximum learning and adaptation may occur through successive seasons. Some of the priorities for this project and other similar future undertakings have and will continue to include:

minimizing fossil fuel consumption by utilizing high efficiency planting methods (French Intensive, double digging, companion planting) and pursuing local supply and trade
creating a base of community support (many hands make light work!) to reinforce social network and increase sustainable production while sharing work
depend upon natural zoning to allow for a high degree of productivity with minimal environmental impact and maximum diversity in the crops that can be grown
utilizing, to the highest degree possible all locally available resources so as to create a 'closed-loop'. Examples of this include:
- watering the garden with water from the rain catchment systems from nearby buildings instead of draining the aquifer
- recycling on-site foodstuffs, manure from the free range chickens, as well as nutrient rich algae from the farm's trout pond to provide the organic fertilization materials necessary for optimal plant growth
- sheet-mulching so as to prevent moisture loss, soil erosion, and pest problems
in exchange for labour and land space A.C.I.L. will exchange produce from the garden and will be hosting a harvest feast where the entirety of the meal shall be derived from the work of the members and the local land