Students from SENS 386 C, Building Renovation Practicum have been working hard all semester, learning about energy efficient renovation techniques. The students began by assessing a house, identifying safety and efficiency improvements, creating a comprehensive budget,  and proposing renovation ideas to clients.

Building Renovation students shop at Lowe's for the materials to complete their projects.

Once their projects were approved, the class took a field trip to Lowe’s hardware store where they gained experience selecting and ordering building materials and tools. During the last several weeks the students have sealed air leaks in the building envelope and installed a new energy efficient door.

Students figure out how to fit bags of cellulose insulation and other construction materials into the truck to transport them back to Jason's house.

Before the semester ends, the students will install a second door, frame and finish a wall, install a handrail on an exterior staircase, install cellulose insulation in an attic, and complete several other small projects. Energy efficient renovations are the wave of the future, and the SENS program is excited to be a part of preparing these students to meet these challenges!

With an unusually warm spring heralding the hotter days of summer, it’s time to transition the aquaponics facility from winter to summer conditions. Exhaust fan vents are uncovered and the swamp coolers are serviced and re-connected to the water line. Shade cloth is installed on the  greenhouse.

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We are pleased to announce that there are two new resources available at senshouse.org!

The Food Forest Field Guide, authored by SENS Labor students Stella James and Micah Perkins, is once again available online! Use it to identify useful edible and medicinal plants in the Food Forest and Ecovillage (as well as undesirable invasives). The Field Guide is available at the link below:

http://senshouse.org/projects/food-forest/food-forest-field-guide/

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The German Passive House (Passivhaus) design uses an airtight shell, super-insulation, superior windows, and a heat exchanger for ventilation to achieve 90% or greater reductions in energy use relative to conventional housing. More than 25,000 Passive Houses have been built in Germany, Austria and other countries, and now Habitat for Humanity of Madison & Clark Counties will be building a passive house this spring in Berea.

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2004 Nobel Laureate Wangari Maathai was the founder of the Green Belt Movement, which empowered Kenyan women to restore their lands and their livelihoods by planting trees, and which eventually became an international movement.  Sadly, she recently passed away.

Join us in remembering her life and work

At the SENS House on Thursday, February 2^nd, at 7:00 PM.

Refreshments will be provided.

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By Richard Olson

Last November, with the College under lockdown in response to a shooting on the edge of campus, Food Service delivered lunch to students shut in the dorms. Soon a request came from the Art Department – we have students in our building who need food. Requests from other departments followed.

In the Agriculture Building, chili was pulled from the freezer, corn bread was whipped up in the kitchen, and we ate and continued with our work. Continue reading →

Wishing you and your household peace, resilience, and healthy local food!

Students in SENS 386 D: Materials and Methods of Construction have been hard at work all semester! They have been learning about various building methods for residential construction through readings and class lectures. They have also been working on applied skills such as drafting and small-scale construction. Their first big group project this semester was learning how to install masonry pavers by building tee pads for the new disc golf course at the college. During this project, students learned to prepare the site by using a tiller and other hand tools. Next, they learned to install masonry blocks, making sure to maintain straight courses and an even surface. The tee pads the students helped install will serve as starting points for two of the disc-golf holes.

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The Sustainability and Environmental Studies (SENS) House is an ecologically-designed residence, the goal of which is to demonstrate and teach approaches to increasing household resilience in the face of increasing environmental and economic challenges.

The SENS House was constructed with a 1.5 kW tracking photovoltaic array, which has produced close to half of the electricity used by the house. The goal, however, has been a house that is net zero electricity or better.

This fall, the photovoltaic capacity of the house was increased by the addition of a 3.15 kW fixed array installed on the roof by Solar Energy Solutions of Lexington.

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Aquaponics is the integration of aquaculture and hydroponics. The circulation of water from fish tanks through hydroponics tanks and back provides nutrients for plant growth while improving water quality for fish growth.

The SENS aquaponics facility produces tilapia, catfish, pacu, basil and other herbs. Although the SENS system is housed in a greenhouse, winter water temperatures fall below those acceptable for tilapia. Each fall the tilapia are harvested while most of the catfish are left to overwinter.

November 20^th, the 2000-gallon tank housing the tilapia was drained, and the fish netted, weighed, and immediately iced for distribution to local consumers. One hundred ninety pounds of tilapia and 60 pounds of catfish were harvested, along with four pacu.

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