Salt represents the action of thought on matter, be it the One Mind acting on the One Thing of the universe or the alchemist meditating in his inner laboratory.

SYRACUSE, NY, JANUARY 16, 2017 – The Alchemical Nursery Project, Inc. and Partnering Hosts today announced the launch of a new e-mail list for people in Syracuse and Central New York who are interested in the topics of Sustainability, Agriculture, Landscaping, and/or Transition (toward greater resilience, reduced environmental impact, and stronger local economies).

Called SALT-CNY, this listserv is to will facilitate connections, information sharing and communications among groups and individuals dealing with these environmental topics.

Robbie Coville, a board member of Alchemical Nursery, who helped set the listserv up, said: “There are many ways we can improve our ways of life, reducing our negative environmental impacts, enhancing our positive impacts, and cultivating resilience in the face of economic and ecological changes and challenges.

“By connecting people around these topics in our region, SALT-CNY will germinate new ideas, and foster possible collaborations that will benefit the environment and the community.”

This mailing list is public; it is being set up and maintained by The Alchemical Nursery Project, Inc. and hosted by Lists.RiseUp.net, both non-profit organizations that run on mutual aid. SALT-CNY will be operating with the support of many volunteers and such partnering organizations as Mainstream Green, Inc.; Bread and Roses Collective House; Climate Change Awareness & Action; and the Whole Earth Club at Onondaga Community College.

To join SALT-CNY listserv. people need only to send an email to salt-cny-subscribe@lists.riseup.net. They will receive a confirmation email, then will be added to the list once approved by a moderator.

Says Mr. Coville: “We hope people will join us, subscribing to this listserv and participating in conversations, helping organize a movement transitioning to more widely prosperous ways that support the ecosystems which support us.”

Alchemical Nursery, a local permaculture non-profit and Syracuse’s Food-Not-Lawns chapter, works toward the mission of regenerative lifestyles & landscapes using the principles of permaculture. Learn more online at alchemicalnursery.org or facebook.com/alchemicalnursery.

RiseUp.net provides online communication tools for people and groups working on liberatory social change. RiseUp.net is a project to create democratic alternatives and practice self-determination by controlling our own secure means of communications.

“Be The Crowd vs Climate Change” is the slogan for Mainstream Green, Inc., the New York 501C -3 nonprofit corporation that uses media and grassroots outreach to popularize habits that cut waste and pollution while shrinking use of fossil fuels. Learn more online at mainstreamgreen.org or facebook.com/mainstream2green.

The Bread and Roses Collective House is a non-profit organization that provides a model of cooperative living, ecological sustainability, and affordable housing in the heart of the city. Learn more online at breadandrosescollective.org or facebook.com/breadandrosescollective.

Climate Change Awareness & Action is a group of CNY residents working toward ‘net zero’ in home energy use and other climate saving actions. Founder Pete Wirth comments “There will always be small numbers of us interested in [living with greater self-sufficiency, resilience, and reduced negative impact on the world]. The challenge is to get these ideas to the 1/2 million people who live in Onondaga County!”

For more information, contact: Robbie Coville rcoville@syr.edu 516-840-9692   or   The Alchemical Nursery Project, Inc. info@alchemicalnursery.org 315-308-1372

The Balkan Ecology Project is finding success with regenerative design, and is taking to sharing the fruits of their labor through literal fruits (available through their Bio-Nursery Project) and through open-source, empirical note keeping on the inputs, outputs, and observations of their permaculture projects.

At the end of their Market Garden Study – Year 2 post, they share more on what their research is about:

If you are reading this you’re most probably aware of the environmental damage caused by industrial agricultural practices We believe this damage is unnecessary, and aim to provide healthier models of agriculture that yield nutritious affordable food while at the same time promoting biodiversity and general ecosystem health.

Industrial methods are heavily researched and funded, and there is a general belief among many farmers and growers that this is the only practical way of operating. Following 12 years of cultivating polyculture gardens we are seeing that small scale biologically cultivated polyculture gardens are a realistic and practical way of providing food for humans whilst preserving biodiversity and general health in the environment. Furthermore we believe this type of agriculture can help create thriving local economies that strengthen community, provide dignified work and enhance the amenity value of an area.

Little data exists showing the productive capacity of polyculture systems and the economic viability of them. There is a big need to fill this gap and provide solid data and concise coherent models that can be replicated easily and provide real solutions to the environmental damage caused by industrial agriculture. This project intends to go some of the way in filling this gap.