Several of us here at the Macoskey Center have just returned from a great weekend at Penn State, where we attended the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) Conference. The conference consisted of two action packed days of workshops, speakers, vendors, and (of course) local foods.
The first keynote speaker was Michael Reynolds, the world-renowned "biotect" who builds buildings he calls "earthships" throughout the world. These architecturally unique structures are entirely self-contained and self-sufficient, existing outside of public infrastructure systems. Earthship buildings utilize passive solar design and substantially thick walls to achieve their energy independence; they require no heating and cooling systems to maintain a stable, comfortable interior temperature profile, even in climates with drastic temperature extremes (such as Taos, New Mexico).
Michael Reynolds' approach is unconventional to say the least. A primary sustainable building principle embodied in his architecture is the re-use of discarded materials; this was portrayed in Reynolds' recently documentary film called Garbage Warrior. A more sophisticated element of his approach involves building systems of rainwater collection and re-use. In his discussions, Reynolds presented simple diagrams to explain his systems for managing the water and waste within his houses.
The other workshops I attended were enriching and interesting. Jerry Brunetti presented a talk about "The Nutritional Alchemy of Plant Biodiversity" which highlighted the chemical pathways and nutritional value inherent in the foods we eat (or should be eating). The workshop proceeded like a college physiology course, and included discussions of such topics as cholesterol, omega fatty acids, and secondary plant metabolites.
A workshop on biointensive gardening techniques as well as one on the proper use and care of gardening tools will both come in handy here at the Macoskey Center as the organic market garden gets fired up. For the coming planting and growing season, I am fulfilling the role of 2010 market garden coordinator, a graduate assistant position here at the Macoskey Center.
A few notes about myself for those of you whom I haven't yet met: I am a graduate student in the MS3 program here at SRU. I have strong passions for botany and growing plants. My interest in green roof technology combines my love of both architecture and plants. My time at the Macoskey Center so far has been great, and I've already learned a great deal about how to prepare intelligent plans and strategies for the upcoming planting season in the organic garden. Sara Runkel has left me some extremely difficult shoes to fill, but I am surely up to the task and look forward to utilizing the great extent of the many resources close at hand.
Hope to see you all in the near future here at the Macoskey Center.
Tim Zeitler
RAMC Market Garden Coordinator
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