March 16th Open House

That Spring Chicken Thing March Open House Features "Ethics: The Basics of Raising Chickens Workshop" It’s almost springtime, when chicks will arrive here and in many first-time chicken owner families throughout the country.  Join us for and discover why keeping chickens is becoming so popular.

In the morning, we will take a walking tour of Stelle and show you some of the neighborhood’s examples of sustainable living–our wind turbine, rain gardens, and more.  After lunch, CSC member and permaculturalist Ernest Rando (pictured above) will present strategies for raising chickens ethically in both urban and suburban environments.  We will spend time handling 50 broiler chicks and three hens that live in a sustainable backyard paddock system.  If you are considering keeping chickens for the first time, this workshop is for you!

Schedule:
10:00 am: INTRODUCTION TO STELLE & CSC
11:00 am: WALKING TOUR
12:30 pm: LUNCH
1:30 pm:  CHICKEN HANDS-ON WORKSHOP

We appreciate your contributions of $10 for the morning tour and lunch and $15 for the afternoon workshop.

Join us! For more information on how to sign up, please click here.

  April 13th Open House

“Applied Permaculture:  Scaling-Up From the Backyard to Your Community”
Take an in-depth look at how to build resiliency, one neighborhood at a time.  We will explore both cases of applying permaculture to the landscape–backyard examples as well as community endeavors here in Stelle.  We will demonstrate scaling-up:

• from individual rain gardens to linear food forests
• from backyard gardening plots to garden co-operatives
• from backyard hens to pastured chicken production
• and more!

In the morning, we will take a walking tour of Stelle and show you some of the neighborhood’s examples of sustainable living–our wind turbine, rain gardens, and more.  After lunch, we will tour CSC’s 8.7-acre property that adjoins Stelle, focusing on its current community use and future design aims, and will also touch upon how to design self-directed work enterprises and foster social permaculture.

This presentation will be a joint program by Rebecca Wilson, co-founder of Midwest Permaculture (shown right), and Ernest Rando, CSC member and permaculturist in Stelle.

Schedule:
10:00 am: INTRODUCTION TO STELLE & CSC
11:00 am: WALKING TOUR
12:30 pm: LUNCH1:30 pm:   APPLIED PERMACULTURE WORKSHOP
 We appreciate your contributions of $10 for the morning tour and lunch and $15 for the afternoon workshop. Join us! For more information on how to sign up, please click here.