New Strawbale House at Craik

As the snow finally melts off the Prairie, a new house is being build in the Craik Enviro Village called Riverstone Studios. The foundation was poured in the shape of a three leaf clover last year and my understanding is it will offer two studios and a central living quarters.This house is using a post and beam construction different from the more basic straw bale wall without wood shown in a previous example. The first image shows three of the houses.

The next picture is a closeup of the construction on two of the sections.


Finally here is a picture of either a garage or a power generation station with solar panels in the roof that is behind the house.

I can't wait for my next trip to see how the houses are progressing.

How does a society collapse?

So according to my reading of Diamond, a society collapses because its decisions about how to handle 5 major types of crisis result in extreme depletions of population and resources.

Saskatchewan is facing decisions about climate change, loss of trade and economic erosion such as loss of water, soil, minerals and forest. How do you think our decision makers will respond to this crisis?

Reflections on "Collapse"

I've been reading Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond. In a nutshell, this is my take on what he is saying.

Saskatchewan has recently experienced a resource increase because of the worlds need for oil making extraction from tar sands more viable. As a result, we have been experiencing a large population increase that has driven the cost of land and housing to unexpected heights. Increasing employment opportunities have supposedly offset the increase in prices, so we have suddenly become a "have" province ready to ride out the economic downturn. So we are at our pinnacle point.

We have recently felt the inkling of crisis as trade has decreased because of less need for resources such as timber, grain, fertilizer and a fall in the price of oil.
So what does Diamond say about how a societies response to crisis leads to success or failure? What should Saskatchewan do?

Craik Enviro Village in November

We have had one of the most beautiful, warm Octobers in Saskatchewan history and thank goodness because it allowed for work to continue on the Round house in Craik. This is another variation of strawbale housing, which I wrote about previously. Hopefully, they will be able to close the building in before winter. I have a deep affection for round dwellings, so I am eagerly anticipating the completion of this endeavor.

When I went to take a closeup of the Round house, I discovered the underground house. Another interesting approach to the harsh Prairie climate. This building looks like it will be completed soon.

Craik Enviro Village in October

The town of Craik has offered inexpensive land to people who are willing to built environmentally friendly housing. At the beginning of October 2008, I took the following pictures. This is how the village looked from the Saskatoon/Regina highway. Two buildings stand out, a traditional rectangle and the frame of a round house.

The rectangle house closer up seems to be a very large, traditional structure. I heard that it might be a new school for international students??

The round house.

Straw Bale Construction

What does Saskatchewan have in abundance?

So if you want to built an inexpensive, environmentally friendly dwelling, you use what's at hand. Straw bale housing lasts 100's of years in the prairie environment and its thick walls provide a high R value. Craik's Flaxhouse Larry is building a demonstration project using Flax bales, which have a high fire resistance and aren't a preferred insect food.

After the wall is up, you cover the bales with stucco to protect the bales from moisture and increase the asthetic appeal. Here is an example of the first layer.

Then add a couple more layers, smooth the final coat and paint it. Here is an example of the entrance to the Flax Store in Craik, Saskatchewan.

So next time you are driving between Regina and Saskatoon, check out the Flax houses.

Congratulations to Ogema, Saskatchewan

OGEMA, Sask. - A tiny community in southern Saskatchewan is being recognized as one of the most livable places in the world. Ogema has made the shortlist for the 2008 International Awards for Livable Communities. See the CBC article for more information.

Turn off the lights for one hour

On March 29th, 2008 at 8pm local time Earth Hour will commence ALL AROUND THE WORLD.Created to take a stand against the greatest threat our planet has ever faced, Earth Hour uses the simple action of turning off the lights for one hour to deliver a POWERFUL MESSAGE about the need for action on global warming.Be part of making Earth Hour 2008 a huge, global success by telling your friends and family. Remember, every single light makes a statement and makes a difference.Last year, on 31 March 2007, 2.2 million people and 2100 Sydney (Australia) businesses turned off their lights for one hour – Earth Hour. This massive collective effort reduced Sydney’s energy consumption by 10.2% for one hour, which is the equivalent effect of taking 48,000 cars off the road for one hour.++Pledge your support for Earth Hour and find out more about the lights-out campaign at earthhour.org, the official website. http://www.earthhour.org/

From Rhetoric to Action

Reporting live from the Prairie Sustainable Campus Conference attended and organized by students from Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.

What are prairie universities doing?

University of Alberta

Michael Rawson Clark wants “to transform the University of Alberta into a participatory member of a sustainable society through the creation of bio-economics, clean technology, clean energy, and sustainable economics.” He reported that the U of A has improved steam, water and electrical use significantly but that has been offset by a 37% increase in the density of buildings because of increasing enrollments. Projects he was involved in included replanting lawns with prairie grasses, green roofs, green investing and purchasing FSC recycled printing paper as part of the sustainable purchasing initiative. Below is an image of Michael taken by Jennifer Bonnycastle during his report.

University of Saskatchewan

Students at the University of Saskatchewan reported on several initiatives including

Footprint Design –students in engineering promote sustainability through workshops, concerts and projects such as Chris McKay's wind turbine that will provide enough electricity to power a house and the car that runs on used vegetable oil from restaurants.

Ecobash is an annual music festival supported by local musicians that raises funds for projects such as the wind turbine and the Prairie Sustainable Campus Conference.

The Students Union provides worm composting, curbside recycling, the green career fair, and a sustainability policy that provides a model for the university administration.

LEED building policy – All new UofS construction must meet LEED standards. The new Law building is an example.

University of Regina

Billy Patterson who describes himself as a part time student, full time activist reported on the Enviroment Action Network, Transdisciplinary Enviromental Studies degree, Public Interest Research Group (professor/student research), and Green Investing.

University of Winnipeg

The highlight of the University of Winnipeg’s initiatives is the Sustainable University Now Sustainable Earth Together (SUNSET) project which received funding to hire a staff person to involve more students in sustainability research and link course materials with community resources.

The University has a campus sustainability policy adopted by the Board of Regents. Some of the projects students have been involved in include:

Bike to the Future – bike-riding advocacy
Campus Recycling
Student Experience in local organizations.

The RiverGreen Ecovillage in Saskatoon

RiverGreen aims to meet the exacting LEED-Platinum standard of the Canadian Green Building Council, ensuring outstanding environmental performance. Features like solar water heating, high-efficiency district heating, natural cooling, and rainwater harvesting will dramatically reduce resident's ecological footprint and greenhouse gas emissions. http://www.prairie-ecovillage.org/ or http://www.rivergreen.ca/

Prairie Sustainable Campus Conference

The University of Saskatchewan will be hosting the Prairie Sustainable Campus Conference Jan. 18-21, 2008.

Purpose:

The Prairies Sustainable Campuses Conference will bring together campus community members from across Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta to build a regional network as part of the national movement to institutionalize social and environmental sustainability on campus. The Conference will act as a forum to:

1. empower campus community members to build new and more effective sustainability initiatives


2. share organizing experiences: successes, challenges and new directions


3. learn about specific Prairies sustainability initiatives and challenges


4. plan for future collaboration between campuses within the region
   

Agenda:

Friday January 18th in ARTS 143

• 4:00 Registration Begins


• 7:00 Welcome


• 7:15 Keynote Panel Discussion - Climate Change and Social Justice


• 9:30 Evening Socializing

Saturday January 19th in Arts 241

• 9:00 Outdoor Activities (so bring warm clothes unless you prefer to be inside)


• 11:00 Intro to SYC and the Conference


• 12:00 Lunch


• 1:00 Anti-Oppression Training


• 2:00 Personal Sustainability Training


• 3:00 Open Space / Personal Sustainability Time


• 4:00 Success Stories from Prairie Campuses Interactive Discussion


• 7:30 Keynote Panel Discussion - Tar Sands Activism


• 9:30 Evening Socializing
  

Sunday, January 20th in ARTS 143

• 9:00 Strategic Organizing Training


• 10:00 Regional Campaign Proposal Presentations (Campus Climate Challenge, Student Unions for Sustainability, PaperCut, United Students Against Sweatshops, and more)


• 10:45 Campaign Breakout Group Planning


• 11:45 Campaign Reportbacks and Regional Strategizing


• 12:45 Conference Wrap

For more information, http://syc-cjs.org/sustainable/Prairies+Sustainable+Campuses+Conference

Saskatchewan Food Sources

Check out Home for Dinner, a blog by Amy Jo Ehman for a list of Saskatchewan food producers http://homefordinner.blogspot.com/2006/04/saskatchewan-food-sources.html

Amy Jo Ehman is part of the Saskatchewan Food Challenge that asks us to take a pledge to eat Saskatchewan foods for two weeks. She and her husband ate only local foods for one year. Check out the rest of her blog for some great recipes and other articles about eating locally.

For anyone reading this blog who is not from Saskatchewan, this image is of Saskatoon Berries, one of the best things about late summer.

The Canadian Electric Car

Buy Canadian!
The Canadian Electric Car



Now watch Rick Mercer report on it not being available to Canadians.



Write your favourite MP about this one.