Friday, December 18, 2009

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

The Big Hug Dec. 7 (meeting minutes)


*Figure 1

Meeting Minutes 12/7/09

Bells will ring on Friday 350 times-advertise!

Bonus for Regina: $10-15 would be great. Please deposit money in the envelope on kate’s door.

Seeds!

We’re loaded so let’s get some Prada-or maybe fencing for the chickens…

Garden tools, drill bits, extension cord, we need some supplies!

Stella is our TOOL MASTER.

Angie has some sick speakers.

Prep compost from McClurg starting next semester.

Compost bucket painting party to spice things up.

Fake money is popping up in random places so look out!

Update Marvin Pate’s list -priorities.

Email Chessie with food requests/ideas for the retreat by this weekend please!

Chickens have 3 babysitters over Christmas break.

Big hug, with Paul in the middle.

The Snackster rocks. Thanks Nick and Erika!


*Figure 1: a happy moment, brought to you from the first day of egg laying

Also, if you have seen a blue Olympus digital camera in a small black container, Kate has lost hers.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Greenhouse Meeting minutes 11-15

·       House discussion with Marvin Pate this Thursday 4:45
·       Thanksgiving dinner at McClurg at 6 on Thursday
o       Send invitation to dr. zigler
·       Retreat- Wed Dec 16th-Friday 18th
o       Leave wed morning, get back Friday afternoon
·       Chickens
o       Thanksgiving break care by Lydia Boroughs. 
§       She’ll come by this weekend
§       She gets to keep the eggs for payment
o       Predator dogs
§       2 or 3 dogs attacked the chickens this morning
§       Carson tells long story about police officer
§       We’ll get an electric fence from the police man
§       For now, leave the chickens in the coop run
o       Whenever you’re outside, check for eggs so chickens don’t eat them
o       Thank you note to Amy Rae
§       Stella will make it, leave it on the kitchen table for us to sign
·       Keep an eye out for Elizabeth walker’s cell phone
o       Small blue Verizon
·       Kate- we need a set up/ clean-up crew for each event
·       Carson is meeting with Rocco sometime this week
·       Next Sunday GH meeting=food (FRITATTA) around 7 pm
o       Carson will order food
o       Everyone else will clean up
·       Dinning council meeting tomorrow at 12:00 upstairs McClurg in the ABC room

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Fermentation Revival!




Sandor's Workshop, Nov. 4, 7pm

Wonderful News!!!!





THE CHICKENS HAVE STARTED LAYING!

Sunday, November 8, 2009

11/8 Minutes

Reed bio-diesel-list of parts. Time to get to work (possibly after Thanksgiving)

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?!?!?!

No wonder this place spins its wheels...

Committee on Committees: J. Peterman (10), Chair; A. Glacet (11) for P. Macfie (11), W. Brosend (12), S. Metz (11) for D. Miles (13), D. Murdock (14).
 Committee on Committees (Joint Faculties) (5 voting members)
    1. 5 faculty members, five-year term (staggered)
            charge: beyond its title: to make nominations for all elective committee posts except this committee.
authority: created by Joint Faculties 1973 November 16

from http://www2.sewanee.edu/provost/committees

Friday, November 6, 2009

building a greenhouse & a home with an entire tree!

click here for the whole article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/05/garden/05tree.html

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!

a post from a greenhouse alumna:

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

No sign of Stella.


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?

 Here's one of the best websites out there for biodiesel processor plans
and instructions:
   http://www.biodieseltutorial.com/appleseedprocessor/
 More details on the processing cycle:
   http://www.brevardbiodiesel.org/EV/ev.html
 Emissions information for biodiesel vs. normal diesel:
   http://www.biodiesel.org/pdf_files/fuelfactsheets/emissions.PDF
 And the advantages and disadvantages of biodiesel:
   http://www.fueleconomy.gov/FEG/biodiesel.shtml
   http://auto.howstuffworks.com/fuel-efficiency/alternative-fuels/biodiesel.htm

 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.

the greenhouse - on steroids:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/magazine/27Ecodorm-t.html

Piano stairs!

http://www.biertijd.com/mediaplayer/?itemid=16297

(if the link doesn't work, copy and paste it)

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Happy pictures



Random Costume moment
Hanging the undies out to dry!

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

MEETING!! WHOOO!!
i love you

voicings.php.png

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

1. Garden hours
- 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

some words from a greenhouse alum:

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

1. Making it easier for people to go when they can
- 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

10/04/09 meeting notes

The raven flies into the room

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

TED talk, sustainable city

http://www.ted.com/talks/william_mcdonough_on_cradle_to_cradle_design.html

Spring GreenHouse Application!

There's one open spot in the GreenHouse for the spring semester of this year!  If you are currently abroad, or in need of a new room for second semester, we'd love to have you apply. This space is open to any student currently in the college. Applications are due by 12 noon, Thursday October 8th.

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.

9/27 Meeting!

chessie made brownies. it was delicious.
Read on for the details.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Garden Mtg, 9/22

Here is what we talked about on Tuesday (please excuse its being late in coming out):

1. Betas
- Angie has been talking to a Beta contact (Anthony) and they will be signing up to work in the garden
- We need to make a calendar of garden activities. That way, we will know when we want to work on big projects so the Betas can sign up to help

2. Pea trellis
- A preliminary version went up on Thursday, with fencing running in the middle between the two pea rows
- We need to reinforce it with bamboo, which should happen today

3. Sowing
- We will sow some of the new seeds, like salad mix, in the beds that have
been prepared (where the cantaloupe and cucumbers were)
- Sow cover crop in empty rows

4. Blue Chair
- Compton brought basil, mint, oregano, arugula to the Blue Chair (!)
- They want things like more herbs (cilantro), tomatoes, cucumber, squash, mixed greens, zucchini, carrot
- We should be sowing things that the Blue Chair could use, because this is awesome

5. Garden signs
- We should order small signs so we can label what is where and when it was planted
- Can someone help with this?

Sunday, September 20, 2009

COOL PEEPS at the GREENHOUSE meeting

meeting minutes. READ IT NOW!

Greenhouse Meeting September 20, 2009

How was everyone's weekend?

kate is sick.
callie has some sweet callouses on her fingers from jamming out all the time.
compton: sweet concert.
Carson's mom had a great birthday.
paul had a great XC race.
Stella went home.
Keri is happy.

Kitchen Messy . . . what are we going to do about it?

Instead of having the big tub, we will have a little tupperware compost!
The big tub will be off of the porch.
make sure the dishes never have food on them. and rinse and put your own dishes in the dishwater.
flies will die soon, no worries.
let us not revert to the carson microwave fly horror story.
fly bloooooddd
no tea bags in the sink! in the compost.

McClurg Compost

Compost from kitchen at McClurg could be picked up by Greenhouse Members maybe three times a week.
Paul will talk to Scott Maino about it.
Greenhouse members think of your schedules and when you can commit to picking up the compost.

Chicken Blessing, 2pm Saturday

Official name of coop: HEN HALL
Kate and Stella will work on sign!
Carson & Compton (get list of people who we invited last year to house blessing)
keri & compton: invitations - regina.
armentrouts. registrar dude. smith.
Posters for Chicken Blessings: make one stella
Carson will bake bread
Callie and Keri ordering food for blessing
Callie doing facstaff and cstudent.
COOP CLEANUP maggie and angie, later part of the week.
Stella - Mountain Messenger - garden work hours and chicken blessing. Do by tmrw .

Reed Biodiesel

Let's do it guys! Not very expensive. his donation ought to cover all/most the cost. $250.
60cents/ gallon. can sell to community members, use the money to expand greenhouse
he would help us get oil form sonic etc.
how is it done? - filter oil and add lye, and little bit of fuel. high octane, appleseed setup, cycling and drying by itself.
Reed will send information about how to build it.
keri and carson to help biodiesel. meet with reed later this week. email him. get information from him.
tax concerns?
cstudent for blackmarket diesel.
talk to roco about dinero!
Kate- talk to rob bacchmun

How we can be more "green"

missionary shower. self timers covered in plastic bags and duck tape.
tally keeper .. . .poop chart! and when you flush the toilet, turn off and on the lights.
fires. . . ?
keri coming up with a system to measure our energy/resource use.

Canning workshop:

Compton in charge
happening in next 2 or 3 weeks.
similar to bread-making event.
weekend following that to take a tour of farm.
go to cool restaurants.

Blue chair

totally willing to get herbs: basil, parsley, oregano, mint.
paying for or trading desserts/coffee.

Food Waste Display

paul sending out email to ERs about food waste in McClurg.
Stella in charge.

classified CANDLES!!!


Tuesday, September 15, 2009

waking up at the greenhouse

Today Chessie & Callie woke up each person in the house with a beautiful rendition of "Here comes the sun." It was fantastical.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Meeting Minutes!

fashion shows & rollup hugs...

1 thing we're really excited about
what we're going to do this week for the GH

kate: chickens! hosting craft night monday, 7-9p
stella: charlie! write messenger re: garden hours, work in garden this week
compton: yoga! greenhouse cookbook
callie: chemistry! tuesday suprise!
carson: angie! "we're doing an awesome job!" will volunteer.
angie: hardcore climbing! no more dinosaur computers! will organize DIY workshops with google doc
keri: climbing! chicken coop blessing prep
maggie: great weekend! angie & maggie will clean out coop
chessie: chicken coop blessing! callie & chessie have love & joy ideas
paul: celestial bodies! garden internship & class projects.

Thursday's Dinner:
dixon & annwn; angela; tom & pamela; meghan & kirk.
compton, kate & chessie cooking.
pizza? chicken of the woods?

coop:
carson & kate: gutters / rainwater catchment for coop.
will postpone meat bird project til future.
keri & stella will make new sign for greenhouse. "Chicken of the Woods" ?
Brainstorm coop name & names for chicken

Our House:
carson will make chore list
discussed dishwashing: rinse plate & put in dishwasher.
freebox: kate will maintain.
Kate & Angie announce the GreenHouse Costume Shop (located in the Futility Closet). Modeling session followed.
carson: explained printer, need to start turning out lights. Chessie will bring up new light.
bike power: benson & rocco might sponsor bike power generator, antique/auction guy interested. Kate working on this.
compton will attend leadership workshop on tuesday.

events / projects:
coop blessing planning - invitations - need to go out ASAP. Chessie & Keri.
Angie & Mitzi will plan garden job event for end of semester (november)
Friday Night Music Jam - coming up in a few weeks.
email compton for recipe book.

Thursday is overall day.

ROLLUP HUG WITH ANGIE IN THE MIDDLE!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Monday, September 7, 2009

Link to GreenHouse expenses

Check your email for the link to the GreenHouse expense spreadsheet and please bookmark it! (Posting it on here isn't a good idea)

You will be able to edit it to add what you have spent. Please drop your request payment sheet by Kate so she can enter the codes before giving it to Dr. Zigler to sign and going to the accounts payable to receive your cash.
*It is very important to enter the amount in this spreadsheet!

Type rest of the post here

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Music Jam!

We had a music jam, bonfire & s'more roastin' extravaganza last Friday night. 'Twas a great start to the year.

9/6 meeting minutes

9/6 meeting minutes

Chickens
  • possibility of meat chickens in spring? Based on success of egg chickens this fall. House supportive of the idea. Callie willing to spearhead.
  • Name for the coop? No consensus yet. Postpone until next year.
  • Paint chicken coop fence? Maggie will talk to Julie about finding people to paint it.
  • Angie is constructing chicken tractor. Angie & Carson will build soon. Paul will forward classifieds.
  • Chicken manager duties will rotate each month. We need to feed chickens more food scraps to reduce feed costs; put scraps in bucket outside of kitchen.
  • Maggie will talk to Julie & McCrady LLC folks about chicken chores
Saturday Potluck
  • Stella has invited garden / brakefield community folks. Plates from GH/outreach. Table or to set things out. Kate will make drinks; Carson will provide coolers. Angie/Chessie will bake bread. Carson, Stella, Maggie, Keri will find tables, decorate & set up. Carson will bring candles. Keri will make sign. Angie will bring bio truck to GH. Ask families to bring blankets? Kate & Angie may go to Good Will to grab blankets. Everyone will hang around afterwards and wash dishes.
  • get rid of trash party saturday 4pm
Thanks yous
  • Angie & Kate will buy $5 or $10 gift certificate from Mountain Breeze.
  • apple trees - paul
  • Angie - will mail
  • helen - angie/paul
  • Keri will stop by ice cream maker man and say thank you.
Events
  • 70+ people came friday. WAY TO GO! (pictures in next post)
  • Mon / Wed 7a Yoga on the porch led by Angie. may open up to campus if goes well.
  • Talk to Angie ASAP re dates for workshops. Angie is developing schedule. Angie will present schedule by next Sunday. Angie is our official workshop co-ordinator. Tie Dye workshop - batik?
  • update from chessie & callie on house dinners
  • 9/8: House Dinner. Invite Sean? Try Kirk & Meghan again.
  • 9/17: Dinner with Dixon & Angela
  • Conference anyone? http://www.bsu.edu/ceres2/greening/greening5.html
Angie still investigating SERP.

Carson will make chore circle.

Stella will email list of of profs (provided by paul) of ENST - encourage garden/house participation

Thursday, September 3, 2009

the Bicycle Recycler

Check out this article:
http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/articles/article/3055/

It gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling. Oh yeah, you should check out this magazine in general because it's really amazing. There are copies in the library as well.

Type rest of the post here

Monday, August 31, 2009

Meeting Minutes

August 30, 2009 Minutes. Read on to hear about dinosaurs and potlucks


Leader: Stella Pfau

Recorder: Paul Dixon

  • At the beginning of meeting everyone went around and said “the best thing that happened to them this weekend was . . .”
  • Played pterodactyl game and Angie won.
  • Pulled numbers and assigned chores/partners for the next month:

Angie and Maggie – Chickens

Paul and Stella – Leaders/recorders of meetings

Kate and Carson – Recycling

Compton and Keri – Kitchen

Chessie and Kallie – Emergency Cleanup Crew/ Weekly dinners

  • For weekly dinners order from sewanee.locallygrown.net and use food from garden, and rest from the Pig. Professors and others invited to upcoming dinners include: Scott Maino (new Keith Davis), Kirk Zigler and his new wife, Julie Puttgen, Dixon, Darrel, Regina, Rocco, Shayne. Need to contact and confirm dates with these people pretty soon and alert greenhouse members what day and time they will be over for dinner. Chessie & Callie will organize.
  • Celebrated Paul’s birthday!: yummy yummy cookie cake made by Kate in the shape of a heart. Carson tickling him was supposed to be a distraction. Ate ice cream as well, very soupy though.
  • Talked about workshops: (need to partner with LLCs, ERs, Greeks, etc. to fund for some of these workshops)
    1. Freshmen “Hang out at the Greenhouse” finalized: Friday at 8 pm at Greenhouse. Compton to get fire permit, Carson to make posters and send c-student, Stella to get smores supplies.
    2. “Blessing the Chickens”: Keri, Callie, and Angie have that under control. Planned for Saturday the 26th of September, 2:00pm.
    3. Kate’s projects:

- fermentation and soap making Workshop– need to choose a date(s)

- Shed remodeling event at organic garden – need to choose a date

- Sewing day(s) – send c -student

    1. Compton’s project: Canning Workshop – need to choose a date, maybe a Tuesday
    2. Maggie’s project: Seed-paper/bookmark Workshop maybe led with your friend – need to choose a date
    3. Angie’s project: Bread-making workshop, Zucchini and Sourdough – need to pick a date. Pumpkin pie/everything pumpkin event sometime in October, probably led by more people than just Angie.
    4. Callie’s project: Old beer bottlecaps and soda bottlecaps collected in fraternities/sororities turned into beautiful quilt patterns and potentially hung up in the houses.
    5. Stella’s project: Drying the gourds at the garden and contacting house on 41 that has the purple martin gourd bird house to see if they can help us make the bird houses . . . maybe invite elementary students to come help out. Date will be figured out once gourds dry.
    6. Carson and Keri’s project: Haunted House!!!
  • Other upcoming projects/to do list:
    1. Community Garden Potluck organized by Stella, Deanna, and Chessie: Stella talk with Kirk to get list of neighbors and Deanna get another list of the rest of the gardeners. Make invitation and go door to door and invite them to Potluck. Figure out who needs to bring what, maybe by last name A-K main dishes, K-N beverage, etc. Do preferably by Wednesday.
    2. Sustainability competition amongst frats/sororities. Can crusher? / garden plots (need to choose a fast growing veggie)
    3. Compton and Keri get a white board out at the Garden so we can make a to-do list.
    4. House expects everyone to get out to the garden at least for 1-2 hours/week. Times: Thursday- Deanna and Stella will be there from 2:00-5:00pm

Sunday- Angie and Deanna will be there from 1:00-5:00pm

    1. Compton and Stella to check out house and make a proposal to PPS for water-catchment systems.
    2. Angie get plaque that was at the Eco-house
    3. Need to make a note for Regina
    4. Thanksgiving dinner
    5. Kate is the new Treasurer whoo hooo!
    6. What are we going to do with screenporch?
    7. Bio-diesel anyone?

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Ladies of the Greenhouse get a haircut

All the lady chickens and even the rooster had a very big surprise this beautiful Sunday morning. With scissors in hand, greenhouse members snipped away at the primary feathers of the chickens to prevent them from flying away. Lately the chickens have been flying up and roosting on their fence, some taking the next step and actually taking little strolls around the yard. The Greenhouse decided, with Shayne's advice, to clip their feathers so we would not have dead chickens on Mitchell Avenue run over by cars or dead chickens in the mouths of Sewanee dogs or hawks. In less than 10 minutes the haircut of 11 hens and 1 rooster was completed . . . and hopefully they are not too ashamed of their new look.



Thursday, April 16, 2009

Update from Mexico!

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Add Image
Hey guys-

I'm leaving in a few days to work in Chiapas, probably in the jungle, for three or four weeks, so I wanted to wish everyone a good end of the school year! And summer vacation, graduation, all that fun stuff.

I will be living in a community, not sure where yet, studying agriculture and self-sufficiency, not sure exactly what yet either. I hope to learn some Mayan medicine too! I'll be living with a family again, so I want to help out in the kitchen and learn how to make some of the food- like tortillas from scratch and tamales. Mmmm...

Here are some pictures: the first is the use of some bottles to line herb beds in a community we visited about 2 hours from Oaxaca City and the the second is some urban agriculture that we saw in Mexico city, planting in tires.

Take care everyone!

kate


Type rest of the post here

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Meeting Minutes April 5

Solar installation went well.
We need to return the projector.

Need a list of everyone who has been to an event—just numbers

Not a second coffee house but a music night. Will advertise through word of mouth. This Friday the 10th. Emily would like to bake. Laura will get coffee from stirlings.

Chelsea will get egg dye and paul will get eggs from the farmers market so we can dye eggs this weekend.

During grad week sophomores will apply to stay—work in the garden.

We can work on the chicken coop during grad week too.

April 19 garden party- new house members will help. stay tuned for more information from Helen.

Bentley will talk to bands to see if they want to play on the 24th

Paul will talk to new house members about coming to meetings

On Tuesday there’s a gownsmen meeting where Paul and Elspeth are presenting a resolution regarding choosing the VC. Go to it!

Sunday, March 29, 2009


Meeting Minutes March 29

Oreo Olympics
Combine with experience weekend bonfire
Jonathan will organize/ lead
Sarah butler has smores and drinks and will drop them off
Carson will get fire permit and make fire
Sunday at 8 pm
Helen will send out c-student

April 10 coffee house
Elspeth will send an e-mail to house members listing things she needs help with. Elspeth will register event.

April 19 garden party
Helen will ask new house members to help

April 24 concert
Bentley has contacted Chris and Wilson who can play if Swaneroo isn’t that weekend. More info soon.

Money? Helen will check to see how much we have in the account.

Garden
The compost is doing really well because it is disgusting.
Stuff is growing.
There is a really cool fungus. Carson will ask dean jones what it is.
Compost stays at the house this month.
Carson will keep sending e-mails. Thanks!

Carson and Paul planned the chicken house
They are going to buy supplies this week and will talk to us soon about building it.
Paul will talk to people in Monteagle to see if we can buy adult chickens from them and

Heidi-marie huber-feely wants to hold hypnosis classes here
Week of April 13-17
Elspeth will be contact person
Dinner with them on Wednesday- talk to Elspeth if you want to go.

Paul will send an e-mail to the new members soon with info for this spring. Let him know what worked and what didn’t last spring.


Friday, March 27, 2009

The Mysterious Garden Tunnels

We just installed a system of row covers to get a jump start on the spring. The 3-4ft wide tunnels are made from Agribon row cover fabric, PVC piping, and rebar stakes. It offers a temperature buffer of around 6 degrees Fahrenheit and shelter from wind, frost, and UV rays.
This makes for some pretty happy plants.




Friday, March 20, 2009

less manicured lawn at the White House!

The first family & a few school children are busying planting the White House vegetable garden, the first veggie garden at the White House in nearly 50 years. Cool.

Monday, March 16, 2009

Monteagle's effluent bath

Monteagle's sewage tank burst yesterday! Here's a brief article from the Chattanooga Times Free Press. That's almost 100,000 gallons of raw sewage flowing rampantly into the Elk River watershed. Several families in this area rely on well water, which is now seriously contaminated. Hopefully, there more information will be available soon.

In other news, Grundy County is requesting $1,000,000 to put in a pipeline connecting their water supply to the Tennessee River. They determined that the pipeline will have "no significant impact on the human environment." And so they claim that an Environmental Impact Statement is not required.

SUD proposes that funds be used "for studies that address regional water resource planning issues for the Southern Cumberland Plateau," which would be an astute choice before spending a million bucks hooking a city up to a river whose hydraulic load is already taxed by TVA’s twelve coal-fired thermal plants, two nuclear power plants at Sequoyah and Watts Bar and the three nuclear plants at Brown’s Ferry, each of which need about three billion gallons a day for thermal cooling purposes.

More information on SUD's water policy can be found here.

post-addendum: Another Times Free Press article.

A lengthier article, and a video from WRCB Channel 3 Chattanooga, updated on March 20.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Photos from Arm & Trout Coffeehouse





We had around 150-200 people! Thanks so much for coming!

Meeting Minutes, March 1

Laura flew the coop and is off to Costa Rica!

-wheelbarrow - backyard trash - tomorrow.
-Emily will call equestrian center re: poop
-Helen will call for leaves
-Need container for compost transport
-Jonathan is investigating bike trailer
-Bentley will purchase soil for starting seeds
-Please wash soiled dishtowels!
-Record shower times! (remind people w/ crayons?)

Compost Bucket
Emily will bring in mornings
6:30-8:00 pm pick up by anyone

Garden - everyone needs to pitch in!
Carson will send out work emails each week, will start garden email list
Becca & Jonathan will lead Garden hours thursday.

Becca is working on chicken care plans.

Improve communication
-stop being condescending
-be kind with each other
-let's not send last minute emails requesting help; plan in advance!

GH Spring Concert - Bentley & Chelsea
Garden Party - Sunday of party weekend, New GH'ers.
Application process is happening. Paul will keep everyone posted.
Meeting next week at garden, 4pm.
Breadbaking SkillShare next Tuesday?
Emily is coordinating a joint birthday party.

A greener urban sprawl?

An interesting way to do a housing development...
In the last five years, Serenbe’s first two high-density hamlets have risen, shaped like omegas to flow with the undulations of the land and constructed according to stringent environmental and conservation standards. They have a Main Street feel, with Arts and Crafts cottages sharing the winding lanes with loft-style town houses and sleek modern boxes. Front porches supplant front lawns, and the sidewalks are dotted with fanciful lampposts that seem to have been designed in Whoville.
...more on the NYT.

Saturday, February 28, 2009

GreenHouse Application for 2009-2010

Application deadline extended to Thursday, March 5th at 11:59pm!

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 Elspeth at eiralu@sewanee.edu.

Name:
Class:
e-mail:
extension:
Major or Potential Major:
Faculty Reference:
Do you plan to study abroad during the 2009/2010 academic year?
If Yes, indicate which semester you will be abroad:

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.
All current residents of the Greenhouse who wish to be considered for residency next year must reapply. Their applications must address the following additional questions:

Consider the past year in the Greenhouse:
1. What did you accomplish, both independently and as part of the community? How were you a leader?
2. How have you benefited from this experience?
3. What have been your greatest challenges as a Greenhouse resident?
4. What do you want to change in regards to your role in the house?
5. Regarding the changes you noted in question four, how will you enact those changes?

What's it like to live in the GreenHouse, anyways?

Think you might want to live in the GreenHouse (GH) next year but not sure if it's for you?
The GreenHousers try to make apparent two concepts: sustainable living & community engagement. We're passionate about people and the world we live in - we want to make a difference and make the world a better place. Here's what you should get excited about for next year:
  • Each resident organizes at least one major event or event series (past examples include Haunted Houses & stream cleanups) per semester for the GreenHouse. You'll be responsible for thinking up the event, planning it & working with other groups/Greek organizations, advertising it, and co-coordinating how it actually happens.
  • Many of us are active leaders in other groups on campus - we lead Housing Sewanee & other Outreach events/Trips, volunteer at the Farmer's Market or the Senior Citizens Center, and lead SOP trips.
  • Next year, we'll be taking care of our very own flock of chickens. That means waking up to feed them in the morning, gather eggs, and then put them back in their coop at night. And then cleaning out the poop & soiled bedding each week.
  • We get dirty in the garden every week. We expect each resident to spend one afternoon (3 hours) working in the garden each week.
  • We place the compost buckets in McClurg every morning and then carrying them back to the GreenHouse compost pile every night.
  • We have a house meeting (30 min to an hour) every Sunday night.
  • We take the initiative on campus with regards to sustainability. We work with the administration, the student body & PPS to make life at Sewanee more sustainable.
  • We work & live together, as a house. While we will do our best to be accommodating of friends who want to room together, we can not guarantee roommate preferences.
  • We do chores around our house - cleaning the kitchen & family room, taking out the recycling, and exciting surprises for each other. And EVERYONE DOES THEIR DISHES!
And lastly, the goals of the GreenHouse are to:
  • Develop students of all academic pursuits into creative and inquisitive servant leaders,
  • Engage with the local community through active participation, and
  • Promote involvement by faculty, their families and community so that we all may more fully
  • Practice sustainable living here at Sewanee and in our global community as a means of
  • Confronting a self-centered mindset that motivates local and global inequality.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Free Coffee

"Free Coffee!"

Boy in coat and tie: "No, really?!?"
Neighborhood photographer: "No thanks, coffee gives me the shakes."
Chem major: "You made my morning."
A desperate test taker: "How much?"
An incredulous prof: "How can you serve coffee if you don't have cream?"
A Nobel Peace prize winning physicist: "I don't drink coffee."
Angry Girl: "I'm already LATE!"
Girl on bike: "SWEET!"

This morning we served 84 cups of coffee to folks going to and from classes, breakfast, and the SPO.

Why? According to Laura, "because we're nice".
Or maybe it's just our subversive advertising technique to get you to attend the Arm (en) Trout Coffeehouse (this Friday at the GreenHouse from 9 P.M. to midnight). We'll be serving more Stirling's coffee and several elegant trout-shaped cakes. The entertainment will be provided by you and your friends.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Sunday, February 22nd meeting!!!

Meeting minutes...

Carson farts in Elspeth's general direction because she hasn't been using the shower timers.
Carson will do the time sheets.
Carson made a water resistant timer by putting it in a ziploc bag.
Bentley thinks that Carson should stop eating his hamburger to conserve water. That's what Bentley does.

Starting minutes at 8:00. A.K.A. don't be late.

Arm & Trout Coffee house. 9-12 this coming Friday (the 27th of Feb).
Caterers? Elspeth didn't want to call on the weekend. Will be taken care of... coffees and cakes, etc.
White sheets on walls? Dramatic lighting? Bentley say's strobe lights. Or Christmas lights, says Becca.
Becca will make coffee and refill it.
Laura will write a vagina monologue for Bentley to read.
Carson will not perform penis monologues, he will read a poem called "the void" while strobe lights are going.
We'll need to move furniture around for the coffee house.

Garden business:
We had garden hours today.
4 hoop houses in total. 2 were put up today.
Water catchment- use the water for watering plants. Buckets around the garden with water in them.
onion bulbs planted.
Lettuce will be put in.
We ordered potatoes. Cabbage. Greens. Peas.
Composting- we can't just put fruit scraps in the compost. We need to layer the fruit with leaves and newspaper and other compost.
We need a way of transporting bucket of compost out to the garden. Bike trailer? Jonathan is working on it.
Trying to get trash out of the garden.

You can sign in and edit the post that Paul put up about living in the Green House if you need to.

Chicken Meeting:
We split up into 2 groups before the chicken meeting and we need to use those groups now, says Becca.
Building the coop- important part.
We need a more specific proposal ready by the end of this week.
Coop design completed by the end of this week too. We need to turn in everything together and completed.
Meeting or multiple meetings to complete the coop design and chicken planning.
We already have the basic plans for the chicken coop, we just need to fully organize and explain the design.
Where are we going to get all the money from? Something to think about. Shouldn't be a problem.
Coop design should get together this week. Paul, Carson, Emily and Jonathan- meet at 1:30 at the bike shop on Wednesday for the coop design meeting. Jonathan may not be able to make it, but Becca and Bentley can stop by. Bring your graph paper, says Carson.

We need to start planning events. We had a lot last semester, but not so many this semester.
We should do something next week. What are we going to do this next week?
Maybe doing something with Beta and Lamda Chi? Saturday afternoon jam session with Lamda? Or even a week night.
Thursday night jam session with Beta? Carson can talk to them about that. Maybe convince Beta to do the advertising?

EVERYONE put the garden signs up all around campus before Helen gets back!!!
Helen did not go to Mardi Gras. She went to Chicago.
Put pictures of random students on posters for Arm and Trout advertisement.
Personal invitations for coffee house to the people that have secret talents.

Jonathan needs to move his desk.

Burn permit for fire a week from this Sunday.

Laura will be gone for a week starting on Saturday.

THE END!





Friday, February 20, 2009

Food & the Modern World (and where colleges fit in)

Sewanee has 13,000 acres. Perhaps we could spare a few & bring back the farm? Warren Wilson does it with 275 acres. Just saying...The article goes on to talk about the modern economy and how to change the food production paradigm.
Tucked into the rolling hills of North Carolina's Swannanoa Valley, Warren Wilson College is essentially surrounded by a farm. The school's 800 students not only tend the 275-acre farm -- which includes pastured livestock and vegetables -- they also provide the labor to run the campus. They do everything from accounting to plumbing to cooking in the cafeteria. I've had the privilege of hosting several Warren Wilson kids at Maverick Farms, and I've been amazed at how well those kids know how to work, and have plenty of fun while doing it.
Read on at grist

Thursday, February 19, 2009

DIY: Sustainability

Learn from your neighbors!

Sponsored by the Sewanee GreenHouse and Students for an Environmentally Responsible Plateau, Sewanee senior Angie Langevin has started a gathering called D.I.Y.: Sustainability. Students, community members, and faculty will come together twice a month for a potluck and "skill-share"

The goals & vision are the following:
• To share skills or knowledge that will help us all live more simply,
sustainably, and closer to the land.
• To promote community on the Cumberland Plateau with Sewanee students,
activists, community members, faculty, and their families.
• To enjoy our time together through food, music, and conversation.

At each skill-share a community member, student or faculty member will share knowledge or teach a skill pertinent to sustainable living. We hope that food, friends, and music will accompany these gatherings, and we will encourage everyone to bring food to share and an
instrument to play.

We are calling on you to share your ideas.
Do you have a suggestion for a topic, or would you / a group like to lead a workshop?
Do you have a particular vocation, job, hobby, story, or craft you could share with us?
What would you like to learn?

We have come up with some ideas: permaculture, bread baking, cooking, animal husbandry, solar panel installation, solar oven construction, bike-power, cobb building, art and the environment, living locally, masonry, fermentation – but we want your input!

Post your ideas here or send them to redwoodraven@riseup.net.

Garden Allotments

Here's an interesting article about cooperative community gardens in the UK

Arm & Trout Coffeehouse

Arm and Trout dare you
to be weird, witty, creative, edgy, intrepid, humorous, schizophrenic, titillating, and groovy.


On the night of February 27th, the Greenhouse will become the Arm & Trout coffeehouse, an open mic opportunity for you to floor us with your creative wit. Even if you've buried your aspirations at becoming the next Wyatt Prunty, we invite you to step behind the microphone and give us your best shot. This is your chance to perform before a darkened, well-caffeinated audience, anything you so desire--acoustic, electric, poetry, prose, drama. We'll even showcase your artwork.

And if you aren't creatively inclined, come bring your deepest mug, swill your favorite caffeinated brew, and enjoy the company of those who are. You provide the entertainment. We'll provide coffee and sweets.

What: The Arm & Trout Coffeehouse, open mic night
When: Friday, February 27, 9 pm--midnight
Where: The Greenhouse

Tell us how you would like to participate. Post a comment or call Laura and Elspeth at extension 3171.
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