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In This Issue...
October 19th Member Meeting
Special Thanks from SBC
Photovoltaics Workshop for Women (10/22)
Introduction to Permaculture Talks this Fall
Solar Air Heater Panel Workshop (11/5)
Holistic Land Management Workshop (11/12)
SBC
Calendar:
October 19th
Member Meeting at Casa de Luz
"Video Night"
with a video on sustainable building
November 16th
Member Meeting at Casa de Luz
"Pre-construction
case study of a hybrid Faswall-Straw Bale home", Charles Gibson
December 2nd
SBC Holiday Party at Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems
January 20-22, 2006
Austin Green Living & Home Products Expo at the Convention Center
Local
Area Workshops:
Cultivate Green Workshop - Oct. 25
Please join us Tuesday, Oct. 25th from 6-9 PM, at the University of Houston Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture Rm 150,
for our next Cultivate Green Workshop, Green Homes 101-Urban Trees. Please let us know if you plan to attend.
Houston Advanced Research Center
4800 Research Forest Dr.
The Woodlands, TX 77381
281-367-1348
bbars@harc.edu
SBC Workshops
Future SBC-sponsored workshops on cob, earth plaster and building with local juniper are in the works. Watch for upcoming announcements.
Green Building Tidbits:
BSHF is pleased to announce that the winners of this year's World Habitat Awards are the Straw-Bale Housing
Technology Transfer Project in the People's Republic of China and the Solar Housing Renovation Project in Gårdsten, Sweden.
The Awards were presented on World Habitat Day at the global celebration in Jakarta, Indonesia.
More detailed information can be found on the BSHF website (www.bshf.org) in the Database of Housing Projects section.
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October 19th Member Meeting: "Video Night at Casa de Luz"
Join us for
a screening of the informative video entitled " Building with
Awareness The Construction of a Hybrid Home" by Ted Owens. It
was featured in the July/Aug 2005 Natural Home & Garden magazine
and has won 3 awards. We may also screen some highlights from
other videos in our collection.
We also have some brand new book titles in stock (in limited quanities)
with many of them at 50% or more discounted to members. Check them out at the next meeting.
Please
join
us for
the movie screening.
SBC meets every 3rd Wednesday of the month at 7 pm at Casa
de Luz, 1701 Toomey Road in the Cielo Room. You are welcome
to join us before the meeting at 6 pm for a wonderful macrobiotic
meal at Casa de Luz.
Special Thanks for Roundup Assistance
SBC would
like to give out some special thanks to the people who helped
with the SBC/SBAT booth (SBC of Austin and of San Antonio) at
the Fredericksburg Alternative Energy Roundup. In particular,
we would like to highlight the outstanding efforts of a few people
who need to be recognized: Ken McKenzie, Mina Loomis, Gayle Borst, Frieda Rinehart, and Yvonne Hansen.
The hurricanes
caused many of our volunteers, and Roundup volunteers as well,
to cancel their committments... personal demands, relatives and
friends evacuating to our volunteers' homes, etc. Even with these
unforeseen events, the SBC booth at the Roundup went off without
a hitch. If you helped out in any way, we want to thank you for
your time and effort.
Photovoltaics: Workshop for Women - October 22-23rd
A Photovoltaics
Workshop is being presented by Tradeswomen Rising. Participants
will receive 14 hours of instruction and hands-on experience lead
by Master Electrician and Licensed Solar Installer Janet Hughes.
You will start by becoming familiar with a variety of tools, their
proper use and safety issues. Next Basic Electrical Theory will
be discussed as well as Photovoltaic or Solar Energy Theory. Photvoltaic
Components, the actual parts of a solar power system, will be
discussed followed by a hands-on session where the participants
will build the racks and install solar panels on a model roof.
They will install all the equipment associated with a grid tied
system. A demonstration of a battery back-up system will be shown.
By the end of the two-day workshop, the participants will have
a working knowledge of how solar energy is harnessed; the
basics of grid tied solar systems and; the basics of a battery
back-up system, and; how to install a photovoltaic system on
your property.
- When: Saturday October 22 - Sunday October 23
- Time: 9am to 5pm each day
- Cost: $250
- Meals and Snacks provided
To secure your place in the workshop, send a $100 deposit to: Tradeswomen Rising, 7707 Gault Street, Austin, Texas 78757
Questions? Call 275-0557.
"Introduction to Permaculture" Talk Series this Fall
The Texas Institute for Practical Sustainability (TIPS)
(http://www.austinprogressivecalendar.com/permaculture.htm)
is happy to announce six Thursday night Permaculture Introduction
Talks happening this fall. Permaculture is a Grassroots Movement towards practical
sustainability as well as an ethics based design system for effective
landscaping and ultimately living well on our planet. Permaculture
originated through the the efforts of Bill Mollison and David
Holmgren in the late 1970's. In addition, this Fall there will
be a special treat....several previous Permaculture graduates
will be helping teach these Introduction talks. Another reason
to come out and cheer them on - nothing helps more than a packed
house.
So the dates are:
- Thursday October 13 and 27
- November 3 and 10
- December 1 and 8
The time is 7:00 - 8:30 PM and the place is Habitat Suites Hotel. Habitat Suites is located on Highland Blvd., just North of Highland Mall,
between the Sailboat Center and Sugars Cabaret. This will lead up to a Permaculture Course from Jan 21 - March 18, 2006.
Solar Air Heater Panel Workshop, November 5th
The rising cost of
fuel has prompted us to look for low cost alternatives to meet our heating
needs. Last year our heating bills doubled, this year it is expected to
be even higher. The Rainhouse and the Alternative Energy Institute have
collaborated to create a low cost efficient active solar air heating unit
to help meet this need without using more fossil fuels. The workshop
will include the principles of solar heating, weatherizing, conservation
and building the panel.
- Date: Saturday, November 5th, 2005
- Location: WTAMU AEI workshop building (One block north
of 3rd on WTAMU Rd, turn north past the tennis courts)
Canyon, Texas (Canyon, Tx is 16 miles from Amarillo)
- Time: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
- Cost: The workshop is free to the community on a tax
free donation bases.
More info:
contact MorningStar Black at 806-322-1062 or 806-236-4266 or Ken Starcher at 806-651-2295
or visit http://www.rainhouse.org/.
Preserving your Paradise: A workshop in Holistic Management on small acreage, November 12th
How do you know which actions to
take or to avoid to keep your land healthy? Holistic Resource Management of Texas invites
the public to a one-day intensive workshop on managing small tracts (5 to 50 acres) with or
without grazing animals. This event will be held outside, on the land in Wimberley, from
8:30am to 4pm, November 12, 2005. Cost for the day is $25 and includes handouts and a catered
lunch. Register online at www.hrm-texas.org or by calling Peggy Cole 512-847-3822.
The workshop will address the following concerns:
- How do I plan for the maximum enjoyment of my land?
- How do I make sound management decisions?
- Restoring springs -water for wildlife, for plants and for pleasure
- Vegetation - the good, the bad and the ugly. What plants do/don't I want and how do I ID them easily?
- How much cedar should I remove and how should I do it?
- What are the best ways to restore my land's health?
- How can I graze my animals without harming the land?
- How can I attract certain birds (song birds, quail etc.), butterflies?
- How do I work with my neighbors and the surrounding community to influence a greater whole?
After a variety of speakers on the above topics
and a catered lunch, participants will go out in teams on the 15-acre tract to practice making a land
plan, while they learn plant identification from team leaders. Consolidation of the plans and brainstorms
will follow with a panel of experts to answer questions specific to your own operation or the practice tract.
Holistic Management enables you to improve the quality of your
life while enhancing the environment that sustains
us all. And it's all based on a simple change in the way you make decisions. Holistic Management gives you a
practical way to develop a clear, focused vision for your future, and enables you to plan how to get there in the
most economically, environmentally and socially sound way.
Join others who love the land in an enjoyable and informative hill country event-a great place to meet new friends
and neighbors. Please reserve your space by November 5, so we can plan lunches and hand-outs. Dress for walking
hilly grassland.
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