by William | Mar 8, 2024 | Passive House, Small Footprint
Dear Readers,
It’s been a while! While the silence from us has been seemingly extensive, I promise that we have not been sitting idle . If you check out our “Resources for LBC” page, you’ll see our Embodied Carbon Baseline attempts, some results with our material/product vetting (Toxnot Advocacy Letter, Manufacturer Inquiry Document, and Stone Advocacy Letter), and even a synopsis of our Biophilic Design Workshops. We’ve also been busy helping manufacturers pursue material transparency, with one in particular going full-throttle and asked us to make a Declare Label for them.
We have finished preparing the site for the driveway, septic system, and the home’s footprint. We did attempt to relocate and replant as many blueberry bushes, small trees, and moss heaps as we could.
Any trees or mountain laurel removed is intended for reuse in the project itself. Larger trees will hopefully be used for the timber frame structure (we are scraping the CLT idea…blog to follow later), and smaller trees and branches are intended to be used for handrails (I love this guy’s YouTube videos!), and even perhaps siding for our shed…
by William | Aug 11, 2023 | Healthy Living
Dear Readers,
Please join me in welcoming Abby Holt! Our first guest writer on Sustaining Tree, Abby is the creator of Craftability~ a website made to inspire readers to put their own crafting abilities to good use, whether it’s painting, jewelry-making, quilting, or calligraphy.
by William | Apr 6, 2022 | Net Zero
Dear Readers,
I would like to introduce you to a residential wind turbine manufacturer located right in Lebanon, Pennsylvania: Harmony Turbines. Christopher Moore and his wife, Cheryl, are in the research and development phase of bringing these pieces of art (and means of energy generation…) right to everyday homeowners.
The revolutionary aspect of these turbines is that they have the potential to generate electricity in both low and high wind speeds.
In the videos above, you are watching them spin in only 4-6 mph winds (with occasional gusts of 13). If you look closely in the videos, you will notice that neither of these turbines are currently hooked up to a generator. That’s because Moore could not find a generator on today’s market which enables Harmony turbines to spin this fast in only 4 to 6 mph winds. All the generators Moore has tried, only slow the turbines down. So, Moore is now developing his own generator complimentary to the turbines.
Not only are these turbines being perfected to generate electricity at low wind speeds, they are also designed to continue generating energy in high wind speeds.
by William | Mar 9, 2022 | Healthy Living
Dear Readers,
PennState Extension provides an abundance of opportunities for gardeners, farmers, landowners, and general land-learning-enthusiasts to become more familiar with the environments we grow, harvest, and live on. William and I have attended a couple of their webinars, and we are learning so much about our local watersheds and forests. More specifically, we are learning how to protect, and steward our local watersheds and forests.
From identify invasives and the causes of their perpetuation, to stream bed restoration, to the pros and cons of ponds…to reforestation of heavily forested and clear-cut areas, this year’s Forest Landowner Conference has given us new insights and goals for our lil’ piece of land in the Land of the Laurels, as well as some inspiration for my parent’s property!
The seminar itself contained four webinars, each about an hour long. Each webinar will be (very) briefly covered in this blog. If my synopses leave you hungry for more, no worries! I shall include a link to each of the recordings for your further perusal and learning!
by William | Feb 9, 2022 | Healthy Living
Dear Readers,
The endeavor to build this crazy house of ours has been fraught with difficulties. I can’t count the number of times I have turned to William and asked, “Do you ever regret not pursuing a project more…normal?” His answer has always been the same: “No.” And I agree. I just have to ask…
Amid the difficulties are ground-breaking enlightenments, inspiring learning experiences, and a growing sense of ‘awe’ and appreciation for individuals, groups, firms, and manufacturers who are paving the way for advocacy in responsible regenerative design and living. That sentence sure was a mouthful. But some things are just worth talkin’ about…
Bingaman & Son Lumber is one manufacturer that floored William and I with their processes and very ethos as a company. And they are certainly worth talking about! Hence this blog 🙂
From the onset of designing our home, William and I wanted to use what is called ‘thermally modified wood.’ Thermally modified wood is lumber that is heated just about to the point of combustion. The intense heat caramelizes the sugar and starches in the wood, and solidifies the cells of the wood itself. The result is a dark, beautiful wood (that smells a bit like slightly over-baked chocolate chip cookies…) that is insect (unlike cookies, the wood now lacks the enticing sugar) and water resistant.
