There are five beavers building a new lodge just 20 metres from where the Outdoor Centre keeps its canoes. They are busy using renewable resources (sticks) for structural support and other natural materials (mud) to make their winter home comfortable and warm. There are also some humans working to make the Sustainable Living Centre warm and beautiful. This past October was busy with the Climate change having many Grade 5 classes through the program and two workshops teaching the public how to sustainably add to their homes.
The Natural Plaster Workshop with Sebastian Renal was very successful and allowed this intern to live up to his nickname of “Messy” Jesse! Mixing sand and clay takes a lot of care, consideration and willingness to get covered in sand and clay. Plastering it on the wall was sort of like putting icing on a cake. It didn’t taste quite the same though. We patched leaky spots and coated some walls with Alis paint which is made of natural pigments and flower paste. One participant actually made a beautiful symbol on our shed and we covered it in Mica which shimmers in sunlight.
The Solar Hot Water Heater Workshop with Sean Flannigan was also a great success with participants building their own thermal collectors out of simple materials. Teams of two put together a wooden case that held layers of insulation, a black piece of plywood, copper piping in a grid pattern and plexi-glass on top. The pipes were pressure tested and re-soldered until perfect. Participants were taught how to install the solar collector in their homes and how to maintain their panels.
We still have a few rain barrels left and anyone can contact me at Jesse.Christensen@kinark.on.ca to order or go to www.rainbarrel.ca/minden.
More blogs are coming very soon!
Keep up with us online at www.koc.on.ca or www.sustainablebuilding2006.com or www.kinark.on.ca or Jim McHardy’s twitter https://twitter.com/KinOutDoor or Jim McHardy’s blog http://www.speakingofkidsmentalhealth.com/blog/jim/ or search for Kinark Outdoor Centre on Facebook
Sincerely,
“Messy” Jesse the Intern
No comments:
Post a Comment