Workshops & Events - Permaculture and Sustainability Classes, Farm Feast Breakfast, Yoga, Reiki Share and more

D Acres of New Hampshire offers a variety of fun and exciting workshops, classes, and community events throughout the year, all of which are open to the public. Topics include permaculture, gardening, woodworking, cooking, food preservation, animal husbandry, sustainable forestry, and ecological construction methods.

Unless otherwise noted, all workshops are held on-site at D Acres: 218 Streeter Woods Road, Dorchester, NH. Directions are available here.

Please contact us if you have workshops or events that you would like presented at D Acres.

This course is especially useful for homeowners, planners, design professionals, community organizers, farmers, and gardeners. It is adapted to a wide variety of learning styles and is presented via lecture, images, video, group discussion, hands on experiences, exercises, and design projects. Throughout the course each student will be working on a design project for their own property. The course will meet on Saturday and Sunday of the identified weekends, and tuition includes 4 nourishing organic meals and simple accommodations for one night each weekend.

Course graduates will receive a Permaculture design certificate.

If you are working toward a sustainable future and want practical tools and applicable methodologies, then this course is for you!

The course will meet at D Acres Organic Farm & Educational Homestead in Dorchester, New Hampshire.

Tuition is $1200 which includes Saturday lunch & dinner, Sunday breakfast & lunch as well as overnite accommodations. Course starts in April and meets one weekend each month for 8 months with the July North Permaculture Convergence optional.

The weekends of the course are April 21-12, May 12-13, June 23-24, July Convergence, August 18-19, September 15-16, October 21-22, November 17-18.

The Instructors:

Steve Whitman has been teaching courses in sustainability and Permaculture in the northeast and internationally for seven years, and began practicing Permaculture years before.

Josh Trought, Regina Rinaldo & Beth Weick comprise the D Acres staff teaching cadre. We provide hands-on practical systems study & implementation of rural farm & community scale permaculture.

And guests!

Topics covered will include:

· Permaculture ethics and principles

· The Design Process

· Food and Energy Security

· Natural Systems and biodiversity

· Site Analysis and assessment

· Backyard Gardening and Sustainable Agriculture

· Natural Building and Appropriate Technology

· Sustainable Forestry and Creating Food Forests

· Animals in the Permaculture System

· Solar Greenhouse Design

· Village Design and local economics

· Preserving the Harvest

· A Design Project for your site!

For details contact D Acres or call Steve at 603-381-1798 or email steve@low-energy-future.com

2012 Permaculture Through the Seasons Registration Form

This year in conjunction with the Permaculture class we made a movie. The 40 minute video documents practical applications of Permaculture utilized at D Acres. We are showing the movie at regional theaters, co-ops and education centers. The video is available to be shown on your local public access channel. Please request it in your area! Here's a link to the video online and the schedule of public showings:

Mar 24: Pruning with Josh- Check out the orchards. Bring appropriate clothing for outdoor work. $8 1-3pm

Join your neighbors in a monthly celebration of community and great food around the time of the full moon. Bring a friend and a dish to share!

The first Sunday of each month from 10am to 1pm, D Acres hosts an All-You-Should-Eat breakfast featuring pancakes made with local flour, NH maple syrup (in season), local free-range eggs, D Acres meat, potatoes, and greens, and fair-trade coffee from Cafe Monte Alto (Plymouth, NH). $5-15 sliding scale suggested donation. Work off your indulgence with a tour of the working, organic farm.

Can’t make the Feast? Come by at 1pm for the Open House tour. Beginning in May, the tour includes a garden walk! Throughout the year, our miles of woodland trails are open for your enjoyment on the first Sunday of the month! Join us at 1pm for our Open Trails- snowshoe or cross-country ski in the winter, hike in the summer! *For the safety and preservation of farm and wilderness flora and fauna, Please Do Not Bring Your Pets*

First-Friday Pizza and a Movie Whole-wheat, wood-fired pizza is all-you-should eat for a sliding scale donation of $5-$15. Dinner begins at 6 pm. Films begin at 7pm, and are FREE to the public.

Films vary in content though are suitable for all ages, Lettuce know if you have suggestions for film nites.

Reiki Shares 1:30pm, the FIRST Sunday of each month, open to the public! Are you curious about Reiki energy healing, and want to give it a try? Are you a Reiki practitioner looking to share your gifts with others? Join our circle of Reiki practitioners and community members to welcome this relaxing, restorative energy into your life! No prior experience with or knowledge of Reiki is necessary. Donations accepted.

The last Sunday of each month is Volunteer Day at D Acres. Get your hands dirty working in the gardens, on the trails, or building with earthen materials with the D Acres crew. 10am to 4pm; hearty farm lunch included! Please contact D Acres to register.

Cooking with the Seasons with Regina 5:30pm $8 Join Regina Third Thursday of every month in the D Acres kitchen to create a delicious meal using seasonal ingredients grown on the farm. Great opportunity to think outside the grocery store box!

Writing Group with Ivy Page $15 10-Noon Our monthly writing group meets in the enchanting northern forest of New Hampshire! Regular participants work to discover or improve creative writing talents in a supportive, encouraging environment through the use of writing promts, skills-building, and group critique. All levels and styles are welcome; emphasis is currently on poetry and short-stories. Beginners are certainly welcome.

*Pre-registration is required for the writing group. Please contact D Acres: (603)786-2366 or info@dacres.org*

Potluck/ Open Mic Night FREE! Join us on the last Friday of every month. Potluck begins at 6ish with food served at 6:30. Open Mic Night from 8:00 to 10:30...all types of music, poetry, spoken word, etc. are welcome. Schedule your time slot when you arrive, or call ahead- or, join us as a listener in the audience! From 10:30 to 12:00, musicians of all kinds are welcome to join in an Open Jam session! Potluck drinks and snacks are welcome.

Open Trails Sundays 1-4pm- Snowshoe or cross-country ski in the winter, hike in the summer! Staff will be available to guide or point you in the right directions. *For the safety and preservation of farm and wilderness flora and fauna, Please Do Not Bring Your Pets*

To register for any of the above events, please email us at info@dacres.org with your name, the name and date of the event, and how many people will be attending. You may also call (603) 786-2366 to register. Please call in advance for confirmation and reservations. For those workshops or events that require payment, cash or checks are accepted at the door.

There is a 25% discount for residents of Grafton County and a further 25% discount for members of D Acres of New Hampshire. Members who live in Grafton County receive a total 50% discount!

No one will be denied access to D Acres workshops & events due to inability to pay.

Looking for a venue to host your sustainable, agriculture, art, community-oriented workshop, seminar, retreat or public speaking event? The facilities at D Acres of New Hampshire might be perfect for you. We have beautiful indoor and outdoor space to accommodate small-to-medium sized groups. Kitchen and bathroom facilities are available.

At D Acres, the environment and our local community come first. We strive to utilize only reusable plates, silverware, glasses, mugs, and napkins. Food is 90% organic and choices depend upon what can be harvested from the gardens, and what has been canned, pickled, frozen or stored in the root cellar from an earlier harvest.

E-mail us at info@dacres.org with information regarding the type of event you would like to host, the date, how many hours you will need the space, and whether you prefer indoors or outdoors. We will e-mail you back with prices and availability. You can also contact us by phone at (603) 786-2366.

NOFA provides an informative calendar of regional events related to sustainable agriculture. Please visit their web site at www.nofa.org