Random updates and progress made

Whew.  Beginning to make some progress on a variety of fronts.

First, LOVE volunteering at the Iowa City Free Lunch Program.  I really enjoy working on food prep., service, and clean up with Jama and her team on ad hoc days each month.  Secondly, I have also enjoyed my time with the folks at the Dubuque Rescue Mission on Friday night meals and would like to learn more about the community greenhouse/garden and two thrift stores soon.

I was also intrigued by the Cedar Rapids Gazette article on "The Tapestry" time bank.  Time banks- where one hour of expertise provided in a particular area is 'traded' in exchange for one hour of expertise needed in another area- have intrigued me since I first came across the idea when preparing for Sociology of the Environment.  I hope to become a part of this organization upon my return to Cedar Rapids and also look to see where the idea might already be present (or expanded upon) in Dubuque, Iowa City, or the Big Island of Hawaii.

Speaking of the Big Island, I have joined the Hawaii Chapter of WWOOF or World Wide Opportunities in Organic Farming.  I had a former student take my suggestion of "WWOOFing" several years ago and she was fortunate enough to farm across Europe.  I am hoping to make connections in the Hawaii organization soon and perhaps volunteer at goat or fruit/veggie/macadamia nut farms soon as well.  Ultimately I hope to be able to profile some 'off the grid' farms in Hawaii for upcoming blogs.

Lastly (for now), I am thrilled to be successfully continuing my "buy nothing" year.  So far, it seems I want for very little and what few needs I have can be satisfied by "finds" of old.  I've "found" bags of gloves that are perfectly lovely for kayaking and hiking, windbreakers not used anymore for golf that satisfy all sorts of outdoor needs, shoes that were in the back of a closet that are just perfect for hiking rough trails, and free water bottle holders in the form of old 'slings' and cleaned out backpacks, etc.  It's amazing how much joy I get just by successfully repurposing these items.  :)  Peace out.  B.

Sustainable Village

Joe Greathouse and Jim Ott were kind enough to escort me through the first of several buildings in the Sustainable Village project at Kirkwood.  The first structure (designed to be a permanent showcase of the students' work) is an open floor-plan, passive solar design.  The walls are 12 inches thick and feature varying amounts of insulation for future assessment of performance.  Because the building is so tightly constructed, air exchanges are warranted.  Radiant in-floor heating is standard and solar hot water heating is to come.  The walls feature recycled bottles (Jim informed me that you can read the labels of some bottles if you look closely) in paneling as well as state-of-the art dry wall alternatives made of recycled goods.  Much of the building is courtesy of generous donors.

Not only did we discuss future purchase opportunities for the next one-bedroom home (with interior design and exterior construction by Kirkwood students), but we are contemplating how my Sociology of the Environment and Social Problems students might be able to showcase the existing sustainable village structure through their service learning projects.  Additionally, I am hoping to hold classes in the sustainable village 'classroom' upon my return and to work with Jim and Joe (with my students' help) on college-wide presentations regarding how staff and students could learn (or implement) from the sustainable village efforts in future.  [I am envisioning a panel with Kirkwood interior and energy technologies/construction students as well as faculty/staff presentations.]