[Eric](/Eric): I want to honor [Hank](/Hank)'s assertion that we need some practical action, and I think [Paul Krafel](/Paul_Krafel)'s water practice (the game from *[The Upward Spiral](/The_Upward_Spiral)*) would be a good start
- [Brandon](/Brandon): I like the idea, but it would be hard to organize trips ahead of time when it has to happen during a rainstorm, and the improvements would take a long time to appear, making it hard to keep people interested
- [Ben](/Ben): Also, getting to the wilderness without a car is difficult ... but we should focus on learning to think long-term
- Brandon: We could do an urban version of the practice, e.g. disconnecting downspouts from the sewers and [removing impermeable paved surfaces](http://depave.org/), replacing them with gardens where rainwater can soak in instead of running off
- Ben: Also rainwater capture (reduce dependence on city water supplies)
- Eric: We would have to include an observational component, e.g. taking people down to the stormwater exhaust pipes to show their negative impacts
- Brandon: We could get [Mathew](/Mathew) and [Molly](/Molly) as allies and tie it into their interest in composting toilets
- Eric: I prefer going into the wilderness, "seeing and healing nature" ... maybe we shouldn't play Paul's game until we've studied our environment to see if it fits
- Ben: There might be Sierra Club outings like this, with something like trail restoration
- Brandon: That kind of trip usually doesn't include enough close observation of your surroundings
- Brandon: There's hubris in the idea that we can heal nature ... Paul is humble and talks instead about "making plays"
- Ben: Paul believed that by "acting high in the drainage," he could have profound positive effects
- Eric: But only in a few micro-drainages ... the overall watershed will barely notice, unless many more people start playing Paul's game
- Eric: Planting trees is also a good practice ... you can do it anywhere
Brandon: I'd like to focus on finishing the [SolSeed book](/SolSeed_book) ... it will give us something to show to help us grow our membership
- Ben: Of our four [three-year goals](/OnePagePlan#Targets_(3_Years)), Vision is the only one we can plausibly complete, and the book fits into that
Eric: We should consider having multiple locations where SolSeed groups are gradually growing ... your group is still growing toward "critical mass" even if it's spread across multiple locations
- Ben: It's no longer just a question of me moving to join the [Seed Village](/Seed_Village), which probably won't move itself ... Eric also has a family and is unlikely to move
- Brandon: A few people have expressed angst about the fact that SolSeed doesn't have activities outside Oregon
- Ben: On the other hand, let's list the benefits of building an intentional community:
- It's a test-bed for small communities on space missions
- It will draw in people who are really serious about living their values
- It's hard, but maybe we should get used to taking on hard projects
- Brandon: It helps us focus our energies toward SolSeed activities
- Also, there are questions about whether SolSeed Meetups are the right way to go