Monday, November 16, 2009
Greenhouse Meeting minutes 11-15
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Sunday, November 8, 2009
11/8 Minutes
Arm and Trout-give Keri your shirt! Start promoting to friends and get them to tell Angie what they want to play/sing. Need more musicians!!
Posters and cards need to go on campus.
Compton will get cake and coffee from Blue Chair.
Passing out coffee-Keri, Compton, Angie on Tuesday. Maggie, Chessie, Stella, Kate on Wednesday.
SET UP SATURDAY
Optional supplementary meeting for Arm and Trout Wednesday….more to come.
Tuesday 7-9 dinner HERE with Rocco and ERs.
Please go to Emily Ezell’s talk.
Wednesday-Catholic students making spaghetti.
Scarf felting Thursday at 5 in the living room.
The chicks need company-article in the messenger to find sitter.
Party at Carson’s!!!!! Let’s hit the road December 16 and go into the woods.
Rockin compost buckets!!
Close fridge and freezer please-and LABEL your stuff or Paul will throw it out!
Waste display in front of McClurg TBD.
a committee on committees?!?!?!
from http://www2.sewanee.edu/provost/committees
Friday, November 6, 2009
building a greenhouse & a home with an entire tree!
After finishing the A-frame, Mr. Gundersen built a 100-by-20-foot solar greenhouse next door with thick straw-bale walls on three sides, banked into the north slope. He used small-diameter, rot-resistant black locust trees for the timber framing.
A wall of double-paned glass, positioned to optimize the low-angle winter light, faces south. Growing beds angled slightly toward the sun are planted with rows of mustard greens, kale, chard, arugula, lettuces and herbs. Hanging trays of micro-greens and a fig and bay tree promise fresh food for the fall and winter.
But it is the Book End — the little house attached to the greenhouse, which is home to the firm’s project manager and his wife — that quietly vibrates with the spirit of the forest.
“We used a lot of standing dead elm here,” Mr. Gundersen said, pointing out the delicate trails, or galleries, left by the beetles that killed the tree. Peeled of their bark and satiny smooth, these trees have a presence that seems to draw one’s arm around their trunks and invite a viewer to lean into them, to soak up strength from these powerful old souls.
In this quiet farming community, where people may not have a lot of money to spend, but do have plenty of wood and straw, word of the beauty and practicality of Mr. Gundersen’s structures has spread. Solar greenhouses made of local materials can extend the growing season through winter, even in a place where temperatures can drop to 30 or 40 below. In the last 18 years, Whole Trees has built 25 of them here.
Monday, November 2, 2009
somebody had the same idea!
hey guys,
I found this house that's at Sarah Lawrence College that is similar to the Green House... it even looks kind of similar (from the one picture shown) and they have retrofitted it with a solar hot water heater and rain water catchment system... take a look at it.
-emily
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Meeting Minutes for 11/01/09
Paul talked with PPS about our “sidewalk”. They didn’t know what we wanted, so they decided not to put one there yet. We should have a mote with serpents and ducks. If someone wants to come up with an idea for the sidewalk. Smaller gravel like from the parking lot on Alabama, same sidewalk as everywhere else on campus, cement and design. Gravel is not a good idea for a lot of reasons – ask Carson about these.
It is illegal to ride a skateboard on the road. You can also ask Carson about this.
ARM AND TROUT! By the end of this week, we need to send letters to people we want to perform. Angie and Compton can put an invitation together and send letters to musicians and performers and artists. Keri is making t-shirts sometime after Tuesday – she will send an email about when she is doing this. Angie and Maggie will make a poster. Compton will look into Blue Chair coffee and cake. Next Sunday we will sort out dispensing coffee on campus. Post something on the Sewanee homepage – we will talk about this next week. Dr. Miller, Nathan Bowman,
Sandor Katz is coming on Wednesday! He would like to do something cool at Sewanee on Wednesday afternoon before his “wild fermentation” workshop. House dinner with him at 5:30 and workshop at 7. Carson and Stella and Reed are interested in hanging out with him.
Farm internship. Easy to organize next semester. It’s a bit early now.
Local food meeting at 8:15pm in the LAL. We are all welcome.
Greenhouse retreat. Possibly right after exams. Possibly the first weekend back from Christmas break. Paul will plan.
Last year, there was a GH thanksgiving dinner with some faculty and staff. We could do this again this year or maybe a Christmas dinner.
Compton and Kate will organize a gingerbread house
Eric Keen wants to organize some GH events.
A Sewanee alumna would like us to come visit her chicken coop! She is also a vet and can take care of the chickens if they need it.
Emily Ezell is working on a project to create a farmhouse on Breakfield. She is giving a presentation here on the 11th to get our feedback. Everyone needs to try to be here.
We need to try to organize a meeting with Rocco every couple of weeks to coordinate the GH and the ERs. Carson will work on this.
Compton wants more recipes!
Dishes are a huge problem. Reed will come up with a fantastical way to assign plates to each person so that we know who is leaving dishes in the sink. Extra dishes will be put away somewhere for when guests come over.
Chores have changed.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Biodiesel?
and instructions:
http://www.biodieseltutorial.
More details on the processing cycle:
http://www.brevardbiodiesel.
Emissions information for biodiesel vs. normal diesel:
http://www.biodiesel.org/pdf_
And the advantages and disadvantages of biodiesel:
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/
Note that the last two sites disagree on the number of vehicles that can
run on pure biodiesel. My understanding is that most engines can run on
pure biodiesel (B100). Many manufacturers don't test their engines with
biodiesel, though, and therefore don't recommend it. You can look at
biodiesel forums and find out whether or not your engine can run on
biodiesel, and the answer is almost always "yes". My VW Jetta can run on
B100 without any problems.
Piano stairs!
(if the link doesn't work, copy and paste it)
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Meeting Minutes 10/25/09
Meeting Minutes 10/25/09
Everyone is excited about the Haunted House this Saturday at 8:30!!
We need big sheets of cardboard for the HH. Maggie will check Nabit.
Pumpkin carving on Wednesday. Rocco is supposed to be ordering pumpkins.
Potluck on Tuesday at 5. 40-45 people will be here at the GH. Olivia and Jane are making soup. Stella and Kate are making bread. Make sure the house is CLEAN!
Sandoor is coming on the 4th of November.
Felting workshop on the 12th of November.
Armentrout: November 14th.
Angie is working with print services to make a poster of greenhouse events. Add any event you would like to be on the poster.
-game night
-music jam
-contra dance
Thanksgiving. We tried to reserve a table. Call again. Dress in overalls and flannel. There is room for 2-3 extra people.
2 black chickens escaped today.
Meat/fur rabbits next semester or next year? We need to prove ourselves with the chickens first. Great idea and perfectly doable, but not until later.
Bucket for McClurg compost. Let´s paint it and resume taking it to McClurg.
Garden party: too cold to do it this semester. Wait until next semester.
Another faculty dinner soon. Probably next week because it´s too busy this week. Keri and Compton will work this out.
Chickens are great – in process of training them to go from the coop to the garden. Light is set up but timer is not yet – Callie is working on this. Carson has all of the supplies to put wheels on the chicken tractor.
Carson still thinks we´re awesome!
Let´s go on a retreat!!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Green House Meeting
Keep it quick
Carson- Applicants
Historically, applicants decided by professors, but since it´s halfway through the year, its more of a community decision.
Two applicants would make things more crowded.
Decsion to accept two Applicants!!!
Showers
Shower timers are here in ziploc bags. Use them! They are easy to use, remember to record your shower time. Stopping and soaping up doesn´t count. Measure water usage. This is important for us to find out how much water we need as a house, and challenge ourselves not to waste water. Keep the timer going even when filling up the buckets.
Toilets- Fill up buckets full of cold water from shower and pour into the bowl to flush.
Chicken coop tracktors
Paul and Stella got netting, stakes and fencing. Lets make a new run!
The chickens can flutter out of the tractor.
When they get out they usually go back to the coop right away
Mushrooms
Shitake logs are goin! Oyster mushrooms in the fridge are up for grabs (collected from the Perimeter Trail).
Kate- white board
White boards for the house, chicken coop and garden.
Kate needs help putting up the water catchment
Music jam-
Went great !
DIY
Nov 12- Seed Paper Making...... Maggie
Nov 14- 9pm- ARM & Trout.....Angie
Nov 4 - Sandor Katz..... Kate
OCTOBER 20 – PUMPKIN CARVING .....Stella
Oct 31- Haunted House... Carson
Let´s make a poster !
Screen Print a master
ARM & Trout shirts
Arm and Trout Stamp....Crson can scan lukes stamp
Compost- just take it out. It is still a big, gross problem.
Compost Manager- Kate is the OFFICIAL COMPOST MANAGER!
Haunted house- we are going to buy stuff in Chattanooga. We need money. ADT can pitch in 100$. Bring anything you can from home, costumes masks, WIERD STUFF
Paul will be here on Fall Break to take care of the chickens.
Angie, Carson, Reed, Keri .... talk to Michael, Cody & Charles about filming more grassroots musicians ( Old Time Jam, Music Jams at greenhouse ..... Arm & TROUT)
Muddy PPS landscaping MCCRADY
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Garden Mtg 10/6
- email went out to people who have been to the garden for Tues (2-4), Thurs (2-5), Sun (1-5) garden hours and invitation to go when moved to do so
- cancelled in nasty weather? What constitutes weather that is too nasty for gardening?
- need a cstudent for garden hours
2. Bio Truck projects
- leaf pile on the road parallel to University - Stella knows where - get leaves!
- get wood mulch if we can't get some delivered
- also move cold frames to the garden
- see if the Bio truck is free on Thursday
3. Cold frames / Agrobon
- need to go up this week because first frost is Oct. 15 (!)
4. Plants
- cover crop empty space
- still need to look at wheat
5. Betas
- Anthony suggested starting this Sunday
- Angie still needs to hear back from him
- they will do at least 2 big Sunday work days
6. Other
- still seeking a white board or chalkboard!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
transformation
Stop using the following words: environmentalism, sustainable, sustainability, organic, local, communal, community, engagement, service, administration, professor, student, community member.
Start using the following words: friend, revolutionary, radical, underground, guerilla
Monday, October 5, 2009
Garden Mtg 9/29
- get a white board / chalk board to put under the shelter; write up what can get done each week
- leave the garden log in the oven so people can write what they did and everyone else can see it
2. Betas and the garden: talked with Angie Wednesday night
- have Sundays be big work days, pick two coming up (like Oct. 11 and 25 or Oct. 25 and Nov. 1) or come on a Tuesday/Thursday if they can't on a Sunday
- they have meetings on Mondays, so have to communicate for the week by the Monday of that week
- can help make a new shed, do epic path mulching, massive weeding of the back (if we have something to put in the very back)
3. Cold frames / Agrobon
- first frost is Oct. 15, so they should go up in the next week
4. Tuesday garden day
- 2-4 on Tuesdays
- need to send an email (like today) to garden folks to tell about Tuesday
5. Blue Chair update
- plan to grow more specifically for them in the spring
- can use cilantro, carrots, basil, salad greens
- can use food on Wednesday night buffet
- what is a fair exchange with the Blue Chair?
6. Working with compost
- a freshman (Michael) wants to work with the compost
- want to find a way to mulch all the grass/weeds that are collecting in giant piles (possibility: get a garbage can, fill it with grass and weeds, get a weed whacker and mix it like a big milkshake)
- mix in more wood chips: Lydia might have some
7. CAC
- Wednesday is the first Wednesday of the month, so it is a grocery day
- can bring anything we have to Otey and put in the fridge
- probably need to wait and do this for real in the spring because it needs a solid effort
8. Signs for the back
- need to label them somehow so we don't have to refer to them as "bed next to tomatoes," etc.
- two freshmen (Emma and April) started making signs on Thursday, but the saw is no good for cutting wood
- need a useable saw
- need paint, but the paint can't stay out in the garden because it gets waterlogged
9. Plant management
- time to take out squash, let the tomatoes in the back decompose into the ground
- look at the farmer's market to see if there are any live plants we can buy
- look into wheat because it's grown over the winter
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
TED talk, sustainable city
Spring GreenHouse Application!
Living in the GreenHouse is all about making friends, caring about those around us, and living a more sustainable lifestyle. If you have any questions, or wonder if the GreenHouse is right for you, please contact any current GreenHouse member or Paul Dixon at dixonpe0@sewanee.edu.
(If you have extenuating circumstances and do not anticipate completing the application on time, please email Paul ASAP and we can work something out.)
----
GreenHouse Application, Easter 2010
This is a paperless application. Please submit your application and resume as a single document to dixonpe0@sewanee.edu by Thursday. If you have questions, contact Paul at dixonpe0@sewanee.edu.
Name:
Class:
e-mail:
extension:
Major or Potential Major:
Faculty Reference:
Please include your current resume.
From the following nine questions, pick six and write a short answer for each one:
1. Imagine you are planning a large scale Greenhouse sponsored event. What is the event? What are your goals for the event? What steps will you take to accomplish these goals?
2. If you could make one change to Sewanee, what would it be?
3. Tell us about the development of your environmental ethic. What changes have you made in your daily life in order to live according to this ethic?
4. As a member of the Greenhouse, what challenges do you think you might face?
5. Do you consider yourself an environmentalist? Justify your answer.
6. Tell us about a time in which you had a falling out with someone and describe how you overcame the problem.
7. What are your interests outside of environmental issues?
8. What do you see as the role of the Greenhouse? What do you think its role should be?
9. Write your own thought provoking question and answer it.