Tag Archives: Green Gulch

Mother’s Day at Green Gulch

Join us at our annual Mother’s Day celebration, showing our love for Mother Earth. Sukey Parmelee, site manager, writes:

The earth of this valley is now saturated with water from the heavens. Each rain drop brings a little bit of nourishment along with it – dissolved nitrogen, picked up via the electrical activity in the clouds. The resulting rich, vibrant greens of the leaves fill us with joy and well being.

It’s time to get down to the meander again, to our restoration site at the end of the farm. We will have a chance to look at the health of the trees and shrubs we planted in 2014-15 and see how the creek has changed.

Possible projects

It would be wonderful to pull the weeds at the bases of the alder trees we planted in 2014. The trees are doing so well.
Velvet grass is running amok in one section nearby. If we can slow it down, then the native potentilla will be stronger and grow better.
Cape Ivy detail: Come meet our favorite weed, with the beautiful magenta roots, and carefully remove every delicate rootlet to prevent its return.
There are always other tasks to do. Be sure to let Sukey know whether you want light or heavy work, or anything in between.

Schedule
12:00 Arrive at Visitors’ Parking Lot. (RSVP to carpool; the lot often fills)
12:15 Lunch in the dining hall. Come down the road and follow your nose and intuition, or just ask someone you meet.
1:00 Meet at the stop sign back up on the road above the dining hall. Introductions and delegation of duties.
1:15 Into the green for loving labor.
3:30 Tea and muffins up on the tool deck.
4:00 (Or so . . .) Green Sangha conversation and/or walk
5:00 To Zendo for meditation
5:45 End meditation, prepare for departure

RSVP to reserve your place: info@greensangha.org

If there are any heavens my mother will(all by herself)have
one.
— ee cummings

Gratitude for Mother Earth

Arbor Day comes early!
The Watershed Stewardship team at Green Gulch has chosen the Sunday after Thanksgiving for their annual Arbor Day event, in anticipation of next year’s growing season. Join us for a day of planting and restoration, and bring your friends and family!

Schedule
1:00 pm Gather on the lawn on south side of Zendo. Ceremony, followed by work party
4:00 pm Return to dining room for tea & cookies
4:30 pm Closing
5:00 pm Zazen

Late fall is the perfect time to plant and encourage the downward growth of roots, to make sure established plants are not covered in weeds, to mulch areas, and to make seed balls to scatter. Come show your gratitude for Mother Earth, and let the Earth renew your spirit!

seedlings What to bring
Hat and other sun protection
Sturdy close-toed shoes
Layers for changeable weather.
Work gloves if you have
Water bottle (reusable of course!)

Arbor Day 2016

Every season we go to Green Gulch Organic Farm and Zen Center to tend the land, breathe the fresh air, and show our love of life and earth — in action and in silence. This special Sunday in February is part of a nationwide celebration of the life-giving qualities of trees and their intimate place in our watershed.

Program begins at 10 am with a dharma talk by Wendy Johnson, an elder stateswoman for mindful living, followed by a complimentary lunch at 12:15. Food is organic, delicious, and largely farm-grown!

At 2 pm, we gather on the lawn for words of inspiration and often plant one tree ceremonially. Then we fan out with plants native to the valley and press them into the moist soil. We also clear trails, sheet-mulch areas, and create new planting areas while caring for established ones. At 4:30, we have a closing ceremony with tea and cookies. (We hope to go into the Zendo for meditation at 5 pm, too!)

RSVP required for lunch: info@greensangha.org

Wear layers for changeable weather, hat and other sun protection, and sturdy, close-toed shoes. Bring your reusable water bottle, garden gloves if you have, and your favorite garden tool if you wish.

Readings about the Watershed Stewardship program at Green Gulch:

A Creek Is Born (from the Renovation & Restoration blog).
Accelerating Restoration in Marin County to Bring Back Endangered Salmon (Sustainable Conservation blog).
Honoring the Tree: An Interview with Sukey Parmelee about Arbor Day at Green Gulch (Sangha News article, 2014).

Arbor Day success!

Ten years ago, Sukey Parmelee initiated the Watershed Stewardship program at Green Gulch. Early projects focused on removing invasive plant species such as poison hemlock and cape ivy, planting native shrubs and grasses, trail improvement, and general upkeep. Green Sangha joined the project, working the earth, breathing the fresh air, and diving into silence in the Zendo at the end of the afternoon. Every February, we celebrated Arbor Day with tree planting and the other ongoing tasks of land stewardship.

By 2013, with grants and visions in hand, the Watershed Stewards began to chart out the largest project yet: restoring the meander to the stream flowing through the property to the sea. Here’s what Sukey’s wrote shortly before Arbor Day:

“Our new beautifully sculpted meander — complete with large woody debris, willow mattresses, gravels, rock work and inviting pools — is the centerpiece for this year’s Arbor Day/Restoration Day.

“We are so excited to be able to plant hundreds of perennials, shrubs, and trees along this 720-foot stretch of creek. These plantings will provide habitat for many creatures of water, air and land to come and settle into this jewel in our lower fields.”

Sixty volunteers attended Arbor Day. Twenty of them came through Green Sangha. We were honored to be acknowledged at the opening ceremony, and exhilarated to be part of this great day of planting.

As Sukey wrote after this radiant work party: “You made it happen! All of the work you put into the restoration site over the past year and a half helped make the space ready for the machines and heavy work of last summer. You came to work party days. You came to work week. You came and helped dig up alder trees last April, came and planted them in December and came back last Sunday for the big planting. What a blessing!

“A group of third graders came out yesterday and enjoyed racoon tracks, newts, crossing the creek in a variety of ways, and planting and weeding. Everyone is involved!”

Come to our next day of Inner & Outer Restoration at Green Gulch: Sunday, May 10, 12-6 pm. RSVP for lunch reservations and carpooling: info@greensangha.org or (510) 532-6574

Arbor Day at Green Gulch

Signs of climate change – melting ice caps, rising sea levels, the increasing number of severe weather events – only make our love of trees more intense. Across the country, tree-lovers celebrate Arbor Day according to the local climate. Nebraska, home of the National Arbor Day Foundation, celebrates on the last Friday of April. On the Pacific Coast, though, we are preparing beds for summer vegetables as early as February.

Join us at Green Gulch Zen Center and Organic Farm for a gathering of earth stewards to celebrate the growing forest and to plant native woody shrubs and grasses.

SCHEDULE
12:00 Lunch (organic, vegetarian, and delicious)
1:00   Green Sangha meeting
2:00   Ceremony and planting
4:30   Refreshments
5:00   Meditation in the Zendo
6:00   Homeward

Bring layers for changeable weather, hat and other sun protection, long pants and boots or other strong shoes, gardening gloves if you have (extras on hand), water bottle if you wish (no throw-away plastic bottles!). To reserve your spot, call (510) 532-6574 or write info@greensangha.org.

Inner & outer restoration

Arbor Day – Sun Feb 15, 2015

Trees give shade, give fruit, give beauty, give life. National Arbor Day is a traditional way to celebrate the many gifts of trees – shelter, beauty, clean air, soil conservation, habitat for wild animals, and the great cooling effects of shade and consumption of CO₂.

Join us at Green Gulch Zen Center and Organic Farm for a gathering of earth stewards to plant native woody shrubs and grasses on Sunday, February 15, 2015.

SCHEDULE
12:00 Lunch (organic, largely farm-grown, vegetarian, and delicious)
1:00   Green Sangha conversation
2:00   Ceremony and Tree planting
4:30   Refreshments
5:00   Meditation in the Zendo
6:00   Homeward

Bring layers for changeable weather, hat and other sun protection, long pants and boots or other strong shoes, gardening gloves if you have (extras on hand), water bottle if you wish (no throw-away plastic bottles!). To reserve your spot, call (510) 532-6574 or write info@greensangha.org

Special retreat: Green Gulch, Sun 10-13-13

Refresh yourself, inside and out!

Come to Green Gulch Farm on Sun, Oct 13, for an afternoon of fresh air, fellowship, and fun. This day will take the place of our regular East Bay & Marin County monthly retreats.

Schedule
12:15 Lunch in the dining hall – vegetarian, organic, delicious
1:10 Gather at the stop sign for orientation. To the fields!
3:30 Clean up. Muffins & tea.
4:00 Green Sangha meeting, led by Maeve Murphy.
5:00 Meditation in the Zendo.
5:45 Return home.

You can choose work that suits your interest and energy. Sample tasks:

Removing the fence next to the old farm road in the 6th field
Taking out cape ivy
Splitting wood

What to wear: layers for changeable weather; sturdy, close-toed shoes; hat and other sun protection
What to bring: bottle for your water; gloves if you have them; favorite gardening tool if you like.

Site manager Sukey says: “There is now a new farm road that swings out into the field in a slight meander . . . to allow the creek to swing out next summer in a more elaborate meander. Come see it!”

Reservations required for lunch. RSVP: info@greensangha.org or (510) 532-6574.

AWAKENED ACTION TEA!
Saturday, November 16, 4-6 pm
Lake Merritt United Methodist Church
1330 Lakeshore Avenue, Oakland 94606

Enjoy the company of mindful activists at our 6th Annual Fund-raiser, with meditation, music, vegan treats and tea, and a keynote address by Joanna Macy (photo credit: Adam Shemper).

For more information, go to Awakened Action Tea. Tickets are $20. Send your check to Green Sangha, PO Box 20261, Oakland, 94620, or buy online here.

POSITION OPENING: Board of Directors
Do you have a deep desire to restore the earth? Are you inspired by the mission of integrating mindful practice and awakened action? Do you enjoy cooperative planning, leading by listening, and the art of governance? Green Sangha is accepting applications for our board of directors, a close-knit team of dedicated, creative, collaborative professionals with a love of mother earth. Details here.

Working meditation

What better way to restore oneself and the earth than enhancing the beauty of the land that we love? Last Sunday, Sept 2, Green Sangha’s East Bay members took an afternoon for inner and outer restoration at Green Gulch Farm, and David Nelson took these photos.

Weed collecting

Wood splitting

Eating some muffins, too, made by our hostess and Site Manager, Sukey Parmelee.

Embraced by some sunshine, dirt, and dharma fog, we left in our natural state.

Next date at Green Gulch: Sunday, November 11. Watershed Stewardship in the land of sun and water.

Photos 1,2, & 4 by David Nelson: http://smilecalm.wordpress.com/

Photo of Sukey Parmelee: Stuart Moody

Arbor Day at Green Gulch – Sun, Feb 17, 2013

Of all the actions we can take to calm the climate, one of the most satisfying is to plant a tree. Arbor Day is a perfect time, and Green Gulch a perfect place to do it.

National Arbor Day is a traditional way to celebrate the many gifts of trees – shelter, beauty, clean air, soil conservation, habitat for wild animals, and the great cooling effect of shade and CO₂ consumption. Signs of climate change – melting ice caps, rising sea levels, the increasing number of severe weather events – only make our love of trees more intense.

Across the country, tree-lovers celebrate Arbor Day according to the local climate. Nebraska, home of the National Arbor Day Foundation, celebrates on the last Friday of April. On the Pacific Coast, though, we are preparing beds for summer vegetables as early as February.

So, join us at Green Gulch Zen Center and Organic Farm for a gathering of earth stewards to plant native trees on Sunday, February 17, 2013.

SCHEDULE
2:00   Ceremony and Tree planting
4:30   Refreshments
5:00   Meditation in the Zendo
6:00   Homeward

To reserve your spot, call (510) 532-6574 or write info@greensangha.org

Continue reading →