RIS+Describing+a+Place

I think a good place to describe is the Center for Bioregional Living, Andrew Faust's Permaculture "paradise." I have never been there, but I have read about it and watched the [|YouTube tour]
 * plants, weather, animals, geography, etc work together with natural dynamics
 * synergy
 * sun exposure
 * taking advantage of "free" energy for food and other worldly needs
 * tree
 * dams
 * animals
 * appropriate to the area
 * yet there are foreign species (I am surprised at this; it is contrary to what I would instinctively feel about permaculture. I think about it as something that is natural, but this makes it seem more like manipulating nature. Similarly in Wiccan rituals, they draw down the quarters, which is a process of //forcing// elementals (spirits of each of the elements:earth, air, fire, water) to the circle to help with the spell that is being cast.)
 * Asian plums
 * European plums
 * educational facility
 * Part of permaculture is about making it available to others although it seems like right now it isn't available to everyone: the courses are expensive (though there are scholarship opportunities... but even then, not everyone has access to land they can farm)
 * farm
 * demonstration site
 * cut down on mowing
 * good southern exposure and good water
 * fruit shrubs and trees instead of buying fruit
 * then you don't have to mow
 * fruits, nuts, berries - not just annuals
 * growing season for a small fruit tree is slightly longer when it is near a spring because it is like a small cave, so it's always ~45-52 degrees
 * catch, hold, and yield energy system: pond
 * takes advantage of the topographical geography
 * water from a pond higher up feeds a rice paddy lower
 * created an ecosystem: the pond was dug
 * chickens uphill from rice paddy - when it rains the water flows down and fertilizes the rice
 * control the plants so that they are useful: willow stand
 * frolicking dog
 * bees - very important
 * architecture: beds as earthworks to intercept silt sedimentation and water
 * rainwater catchment cistern uphill from the rest of the farm - main water supply!
 * water from the sink used for handwashing is even used because it has skin cells and phosphorous and other nice things from the soap
 * Suntrap
 * Cultivation without irrigation
 * Least work from the person after the initial work is done
 * Excellent porosity in the soil
 * plants used to add nitrogen and increase rainwater infiltration
 * natural features
 * gravity fed outdoor shower with outdoor wood fired water heater
 * lecture hall for teaching
 * cabins for 3 or 4 season living