Ecohouse

Ecohouse
Home Sweet Home

Friday, November 19, 2010

Fall Quarter Comes to an End

It feels like just last week that my roommates and I moved into the ecohouse, and now the quarter is already coming to a close! I have learned a great deal over the past few months living at the ecohouse, and I look forward to returning in January to continue soaking up new information about eco-friendly living. Here is a list of the highlights from Fall quarter:
  • Creating a two week No Impact Challenge based on Colin Beavan's year long pursuit to live without a negative environmental impact in New York. From this challenge, we were able to get a better sense of areas where we could reduce our carbon footprint and what would be manageable to live without in our everyday lives. This event challenged us to not buy anything new, go without producing trash, use only sustainable transportation, buy local foods, reduce our energy use, etc. What we found is that we were already doing most of these things by biking everywhere in Athens, shopping at the farmer's market, and not buying new items other than food. From the two week challenge, we collectively produced only half of a bag of trash waste. We found that most of the trash in that bag came from food packaging. After the challenge, I realized that purchasing food with minimal packaging is the area that I can improve upon the most. I have been more conscious of this when shopping for groceries. Overall, the challenge was a success because we were able to identify personal areas of weakness while sharing our journey with others through social networking.
  • We held a zero waste bonfire event in October. To welcome our friends to the ecohouse and introduce them to our environmentally conscious lifestyle, we decided to host an international potluck/bonfire. As many of our guests were going to be international students, we asked everyone to bring a food dish from the country they are from. Guests were asked to only bring dishes in reusable containers without plastic wrap or other materials that cannot be recycled. We set up our recycling bins in a visible location with signs explaining what each container was for. Over 40 people attended this event, and we were impressed to find that less than one small trash can of waste was generated from the night. This showed us that it is easily possible to dramatically reduce the amount of waste produced when entertaining, and that there is no hassle involved with making changes such as this. Not only was the event a wonderful evening filled with friends and fun, it was an opportunity to share the ecohouse culture of sustainability with a large number or people. Everyone was very receptive to the idea of recycling and bringing reusable containers, and many said they couldn't wait for another bonfire!
  • Over the course of the quarter, we have become more familiar with the technology powering the ecohouse and have had the opportunity to share the history of the house with others through group tours, open houses, and many personal interviews with journalism students, newspapers, and other media outlets. The primary purpose of the ecohouse is to serve as an educational tool that will generate critical thought and discussion amongst visitors about sustainability and environmental issues. This quarter has been a learning experience for myself about public communication and learning effective ways to share a positive message about the benefits of living green. Next quarter, I hope to continue developing my skills as a public speaker and environmental advocate.
 Overall, this quarter has been a wonderful experience for me personally. Over winter break I am challenging myself to take what I have learned about recycling, composting, and energy conservation to my hometown to share with family and friends. My family already recycles plastic at home, but my goal is to set up bins for other types of recyclable materials, as well as start a composting system. It is my hope that this experiment over winter break will demonstrate to my family how simple it is to reduce your waste through small changes. If you are a student going home for break, I challenge you to do the same thing with your family and share your experiences with us. In the meantime, Jim, Kate, and I look forward to hearing from you in January and wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season!

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Vermicompost

This is our vermicompost bin at the ecohouse. Vermiculture is a type of composting that uses worms. It is beneficial because it allows food waste to compost rapidly in a self-contained system.  The biggest concern I hear from people about creating a vermicompost system is the smell. However, if you properly maintain your bin, it should not smell!! 

How to create your own vermicompost system:
  • Obtain a bin. As you can see, ours is just a plain rubber bin that is double layered. The double layering is necessary because the inside bin needs to have holes drilled in it for ventilation. 
  • Drill 1/8 inch holes approximately four inches from the bottom of the bin. Otherwise, the worms will stay at the bottom of the bin and possibly drown.
  • Prepare the box for worms. Fill your bin with fibrous material such as thin strips of newspaper, cardboard, grass, straw, etc. Sprinkle dirt on top of the fiber material and moisten with water. Allow the water to soak for at least a day before adding worms. 
  • Add worms! Eisenia foetida (Red Wigglers) are the most common species used for vermicomposting. These are special tropical worms that cannot withstand cold temperatures, so make sure to keep your bin in a warm area. It is not recommended to dig worms out of your back yard for composting. If you live in Athens, you can purchase Red Wigglers at the local farmers market located by the State Street mall on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
  • Maintain bin. You will speed up the composting process by keeping your bin elevated. Also, your worms will not attempt to escape if you add food waste and moisture regularly. Feed your worms food scraps weekly and add fibrous material when needed (usually once a month). 
  • Harvest your compost. Remove a large amount of compost and place on a piece of newspaper or plastic. Allow time for the worms to bury into the center of the compost heap, and eventually you will have two separate piles, one for the worms and one for compost. Return the worms to the compost bin and use the remaining compost for whatever you like!
There are many online sources available that explain vermicomposting techniques. However, I found the website mentioned below to be particularly helpful in giving easy, detailed instructions on how to create your own system:


http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Your-Own-Worm-Compost-System

Worm Factory


This is a photo of our worm factory located in the ecohouse basement. We just cleaned it out and filled it with new redworms! 

How it works: 
  • There are several different removable bins with holes in the bottom of each, and these bins fit together to form the worm factory and allow the compost from worm waste to be sifted to the bottom
  • To start your own worm factory, place moist newspapers in the top feeding tray and place food scraps under the moist sections
  • The balance of food and fiber should be 50/50.
  • Once you have added the proper ratio of food and fiber, you can add worms to the top tray
  • For feeding the worms, you should follow the guidelines of 1 pound of worms to 1/2 pound of food per day 
Our worm factory currently has less than 1/2 pound of worms because winter break is approaching, and we want to make sure the worms will have sufficient nutrients to get them through the months that we will be gone.

Possible fiber sources that can be used for the factory:
  • Shredded paper
  • Magazines
  • Cardboard
  • Kleenex, napkins, junk mail
  • Even dryer lint and vacuum dust!