Ten Years In and Rising to the Challenge

   PINA marks its 10th anniversary from Aug. 12. While the challenges of regeneration are many and mounting, we have much to be thankful for at this important time.

Fire Restoration film debut

Last summer PINA received a substantial donation to bolster its internal capacity and to launch the Fire Ecology Restoration Project (FERP) in Oregon. The first year of that wildfire mitigation effort concluded successfully in May, and the story of our work and learning is well told in the documentary produced for PINA by Mitchel Davidovitz, “Restoring Forests with Fire,” viewable at PINA.in, and on YouTube. We trained 10 forest restoration/biochar technicians, treated four acres at four sites and sequestered 5.5 tons of carbon into forest soils. Most of our crew and all of our land partners are eager to do more of this valuable work. Most importantly, we came to understand how our protocol functions on a variety of landscapes, and we gained confidence, both as an organization and as a network of practitioners, on how to expand its beneficial impact. We urge you to view, like, and share the film as widely as possible. It shows what permaculture design can do when applied to major social and ecological challenges, and it demonstrates PINA’s commitment to putting permaculture ethics and values into action.

Building PINA’s organizational capacity

An important component of our growth initiative is to enhance PINA’s fundraising and communications capacities. In October, we hired Gloria Flora, CEO of Sustainable-Obtainable-Solutions in eastern Washington, and a notable speaker, author, and expert on biochar, forestry, permaculture, and natural ecosystem management, to be our Philanthropy Coordinator. Gloria has taken the lead in writing and submitting proposals to government agencies and foundations over the last eight months.

Last month the board formed a transitional Operations Team tasked with revising the website to increase its functionality, establishing new financial reporting, and identifying leverage points for PINA growth and expanded membership services. They will also review staff functions and make recommendations for ways to streamline and optimize internal operations.

Mission clarified at board retreat

In June PINA’s board gathered in Colorado for its biennial planning retreat. We clarified our mission – “PINA provides integrated support for Permaculture designers to address critical challenges in climate, land, and communities” and are preparing a campaign with the theme, “We are all designers…”. With expanded member services and new permaculture tools we hope to welcome more people into the PINA fold.

I encourage you to visit PINA.in, not only to view the Fire Restoration video, but to keep up with changes we expect to make over the next few weeks and months. We think you will like what you find there.

We are grateful to all our members, donors, and supporters everywhere who have made PINA’s first decade a success. Your support has enabled us in turn to support permaculture designers in their professional and community work. We will continue to expand and deepen this support through continuing education, provision of resources, design contests, community-based programs, employment, and co-funding through grant cooperation with our hubs, partners, and allied organizations. Your commitment to permaculture ethics and design are the foundation of our work, and the very reason for our existence.

On behalf of PINA’s directors and staff, we thank you,

Monica Ibacache, President (NY)
Jane Hayes, VP (ON)
Bob Randall, Secy. (TX)
Darrell Frey, Treas. (PA)
Koreen Brennan (FL)
Peter Bane, Exec. Dir. (MI)
Elizabeth Lynch, Admin. (PA)
 

Andrew Millison (OR)
Paula Westmoreland (MN)
Marco Chung-Shu Lam (CO)
Matt Bennett (PA)
Gloria Flora, Philanthropy Coord. (WA)
Scarlet Naomhaithis, Comm. Coord. (MI)
Melanie Mindlin, Diploma Programs (OR)

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