Newsletter Archives

X's Thoughts From The Clothesline - May 2011

Vinnie and Martina Harvesting Rainwater from Eco1 System

The other day while hanging out laundry, I noticed how dry the undergrowth in the woods looked and how hard and dusty the ground under foot had become.

Since our last E-Newsletter in mid April, we've had less than one inch of rain here at the Teaching Farm in Hampton. A day without rain makes for carefree drying especially for folks like me with a touch of absent-mindedness. Forget to take in the laundry, no problem. No rain! But, no rain brings other problems!!

This past month, we've seen a number of very powerful weather events - an earthquake and Tsunami in Japan; powerful tornadoes in Alabama and adjoining states; extensive flooding in the mid west along the Mississippi; a lengthy drought in Texas; and now wildfires in southern Georgia and coming our way.

Unfortunate and destructive as these weather events are, it's nature doing its thing. There is not much that we humans can do about it. But, there is something that we can do about another event of nature - the earth's fresh water and its alarming decreasing supply to meet the needs of the world's population. One hundred years back there were 1 billion humans drawing from this supply. Today, there are 7 billion. Thus, the problem and thus the urgency to address it.

Here at the Teaching Farm we try to use as little water as possible from the deep aquifer. This gift from nature, known as the Floridan, has been a reliable source of quality water to the residents of Florida for many years. But, now there is more water being drawn from this once bountiful source than nature can replace. That's a problem that Floridians can do something about.

The old 120' well that's been on the land here for many years continues to supply the five residents and four buildings -- Peace Ed Center, mobile home, Eco House 1 & 2. - with high quality water. But we are looking for alternative sources. We have added an elevated 300 gallon plastic tote to the rear of Eco House 1. This acts as a cistern for the rain coming off the metal roof and is able to gravity feed the rain water 250' to a holding pool for use in the garden. 

Recently, we dug a 12' surficial well (see Paul Still's adjoining article) as a backup for our rain-catchment system. It's worth noting that most anyone can dig a surficial well in their own yard. This can provide the industrious person with cost free and electric free water for outside needs and, perhaps, after testing, portable water for the inside. Not to be discounted in this endeavor is the exercise performed in digging the well and the on-going "fun" of pumping the water as a substitute to your local Y or fitness club. It saves gas and fees.

During construction of Eco House 1, we were unable to get a permit for a composting toilet. We do have the new low flush model and we try to flush with gray water from the kitchen or shower, or rain water from the cistern. We wish that we had thought to have this plumbed in during the construction but we didn't. So, it's a bit inconvenient but we believe worth the effort. Our utility provider, Clay Electric, obtains most of its power from coal. So, in manual flushing, we don't use the electric water pump and thus save some CO2 from going into the atmosphere and eliminate fresh water going into our septic tank. 

We know that many of you have been water conservers for years. We want to encourage the rest of us to get with it ASAP. As mentioned above, we can't do much about controlling the major weather events but we can to something to save our fresh water supply. It's precious and necessary for all life and will become even more so in the days and years ahead. We owe it to those who come after us to do something now. No one can live without drinkable water.

There is a abundance of water conservation resources available on the internet - e.g., http://www.wateruseitwisely.com/100-ways-to-conserve/index.php  Check other links for suggestions. 

Thanks for reading Thoughts from the Clothesline. We'll be here next month. Hope some rain pelts down on our metal roof in the meantime. If so, we'll catch it and use it. 

John X  

Use It Up Make It Do - May 2011

Vinnie Burns Pumping Water from Hand-Dug Well

The metal scrap pile is an important part of many Use It Up Make It Do projects.  Ideally, when you assemble your metal scrap pile you have two piles; one in which the metals are likely to have no further use and are ready for the junk yard and one for those items which could be used.  In reality, my piles are a mixed lot and the decision to send items to the metal recycling yard is based on getting a full load of 700 to 800 pounds of ferrous metal on the truck.  At the current price for tin and unsorted ferrous scrap at $.10 a pound ($70 to $80 a truck load), it is worth the effort to load it and haul it to the scrap yard.  I sold my first scrap iron at the age of 6 for a penny a pound.

Back to the Use It Up Make It Do element of the scrap metal pile.  When I heard about X's piece on the pump for this issue I decided that our new hand pump would be a good Use It Up Make It Do subject.  The tool we used to dig the well is a hand post hole auger I bought at a farm auction in Illinois.  The pipe used to extend the auger until we hit water at about 12 feet came out of the scrap pile.  A large plastic pipe that started life as a water main became a piece of scrap pipe used as a deer/turkey feeder now is keeping the surface soils from falling into our well hole.  The cover for the well hole was an old traffic cone.  The pump itself which is down in the well was salvaged from an old abandoned farm well.  The plastic pipe used to carry the water up from the bottom of the well was actually bought new 30 years ago for a garden irrigation system.  The well platform was made from wood sawn on my band saw.  The posts for the well platform are a salvaged power pole cut into fourths.  The tripod that supports the pump handle came from the side supports for an oval above ground swimming pool that collapsed about 20 years ago.  The handle of the pump came from a piece of playground equipment that had little seats and peddles on a wheel that went round and round.  The half of a blue plastic barrel was found along the side of the road.  If you have a large enough scrap pile and you keep your scrap long enough you can take on almost any project.

I hope this example will encourage you to start building you own scrap pile.  One bit of advice, however, is to build your scrap pile in a not so visible location.  I have not learned this lesson myself and often have to spend some time moving my newer scrap piles when we are expecting company.

Paul Still, Teaching Farm Manager

This Month At The FCPJ Teaching Farm May 2011

Martina Tending the Abundance of the Land

At the FCPJ Teaching Farm and Sun Harvest EcoVillage, we work to grow nutritious food to sustain healthy bodies and, at the same time, work to grow a movement to advocate for and support a sustainable environment and community.  During the past month, residents here at Sun Harvest and Teaching Farm have been very busy developing a fertile soil and planting a variety of seeds necessary to produce a bountiful harvest from both our garden and our activism.  After careful tending, and with the addition of certain basic nutrients and resources, we are hopeful that our efforts will be rewarded with all the components of a tasty salad and a sustainable world.

Projects we undertake on the land and in our community have, as their ultimate goal, the nurturing of a sustainable society whether the projects involve more eco-friendly building practices as modeled by our two Eco Homes at Sun Harvest EcoVillage; more sensitive use of limited resources as modeled by our rainwater catchment systems; more responsible consumption as modeled by our encouragement of resale and reuse of items exchanged at our monthly "Market Day" sales; or a more mature understanding of how current practices contribute to the decline of a healthy environment that we promote during our frequent workshops and presentations offered at the Peace Education Center and in the Community.

John X's commentary on water conservation and Paul's review of the process we used to dig and install a pump on our new well are but two examples of how we model and promote more sustainable practices here at the Teaching Farm.  In the past month, we have also hosted visitors from the Jacksonville NE Florida Sierra Club who toured the Eco Homes and participated in a lively discussion of practical steps we can all take to be more sustainable in our daily lives.  We also presented a Sunday afternoon gathering to hear Al Geiger, one of the original Seagoing Cowboys who delivered heifers to Europe after WWII, recount his experiences on board his ship and while on the ground in Poland.  The folks attending the event also contributed financially to meet our goal of $2,000 to support the ongoing programs of Heifer International and their WiLD Women Program.  Several days later, the women of Sun Harvest EcoVillage presented a very well received program of appreciation and gratitude at our local library that strengthened community relationships and, in many cases, initiated new connections.

Taking our message off-site, several members of our group participated in a highway cleanup in observance of Earth Day and traveled to St. Augustine to hear a program about the Eco Village at Ithaca presented at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of St. Augustine on Easter Sunday.  In both cases, we "walked the talk" to promote a cleaner, more sensitive approach to our environment and supported others who have actually applied their principles in their daily lives and assumed the responsibility to model a better world.

Continuing projects include developing our garden, rehabing the old mobile home on the land (you will be hearing much more about this project in the near future), Sunday evening gatherings for discussion on current concerns followed by a shared meal in the Peace Education Center, and offering the Peace Education Center and land as a location for group meetings and special events - Youth campers from Apopka will be here again in June.

We would love to have you, your family, and your friends join us for any of these projects or to suggest others you would like to be involved in yourself.  Check our web site  often to see the latest details on our planned events.  Until then, the team at Sun Harvest EcoVillage and FCPJ Teaching Farm will continue to explore what it means to live more sustainably and share what we are learning with all our friends.