The Ecology Center Field Trip

Beautiful. Clean. Crisp. Healthy. Natural. Raw. Cozy. SoCal. Sustainable.

What More Could You Ask For?

The Ecology Center, San Juan Capistrano.

What Crafty Skills Have You Got Up Your Sleeve?

There is nothing like throwing some blankets on the grass, listening to Sarah & Ashlyn on the uke, basking in the sun, and learning some fun crafty activities from your friends. Regardless of how many people showed up, I surely learned some awesome (possibly life-saving) skills at our little Skills Exchange Party! Yona shared how to make beads with magazines, Lizzy blessed us with her handy-dandy knowledge of how to make a basket with pine needles, and Ashlyn taught us how to give an epic massage! If I'm ever stuck in the woods, at least I'll be able to hold the beads I made in the pine needle basket, while giving myself a massage.

EcoWing Hosts Skills Exchange Party!

Eco Wing Visits the Ecology Center

All semester long, I’ve felt a little like Sherlock Holmes investing a crime scene: the case of the missing pro-environmental attitude. (Or something.) So many of the people we’ve run across have mentioned or taken part in the Ecology Center—all of our clues lead us that way. So, finally, after a great deal of scheduling and re-scheduling, the eco wing girls and I took a tour of the Ecology Center at San Juan Capistrano today. So, here's my take on what we learned today, and perhaps the other girls will want to share some of their thoughts in a post as well.

            The Ecology Center, now in its fifth year of operations, is an old farmhouse (Victorian details) surrounded on three sides by an unaffiliated farm. The front yard is not a lawn but instead native plants, succulents, and other drought-resistant plants.

            Inside the house is a small gift shop, but the center’s main focus is children’s education and workshops. Around the site they have multiple displays and interactive activities (scavenger hunts, workshops) under the themes of water, food, waste management, shelter, and energy. For example, they have a traveling watershed-mobile, which is a trailer (painted with whales and water) that opens up to an interactive game where children choose how to spend their “water allowance” and see the effects their choices make. Sarah and I want to invite the watershed-mobile on campus for International Festival next year through Environmental Department.

            Overall, I think my favorite thing about the Ecology Center was the crisp, simple design of all the art and layouts. They were iconic, replicable, and easy to spot in the foliage. The pretty, thoughtful design made me want to be there and made me want to try making my own… everything!

            The day after graduation, the Ecology Center is hosting a beekeeping workshop, and I am determined to go. I’ve tried twice this semester to go to two other beekeeping workshops, but have been thwarted by bad weather or lack of a car. Maybe the third attempt will be the charm!

Blue bins for recyclables - color coding + examples

A rainwater catchment cistern

The inside of the greenhouse - designed like a beehive to use the least amount of materials and remain strong

A sink that helps monitor water usage

A Quick Video How-To for Tire Pounding

Youtube is full of information on Earthships. If you want, you can start with a 2 minute-long video of a tire pounding workshop this weekend at Barndstall Art Park in Hollywood, made by yours truly.

You can also check out the man behind the earthships, Mike Reynolds, in this full-length movie about him, his earthships, and his attempt to change New Mexico law to allow experimental building.

When we applied for the grant, we promised we'd present what we learned to the campus...so we'll be putting together a lot of information about earthships in the coming weeks, which we'll start posting here when we can.

Earthship Biotecture Workshop More Info to Come...

We are all filled with SO much information and inspiration after the Earthship Workshop.

More info to come!

Let Food Be Thy Medicine

There is nothing like a homemade meal- that you cooked, from your backyard! Our lovely Soka Instructional Garden gave birth to this lovely meal today. Labor was done by Yona, Ranya, and Leia. A big thanks to Julian and Ale for opening their kitchen for us to cook in!

Organic Vegan Soup: onion, fava beans, kale, swiss chard, beets, broccoli, cabbage, garlic, and fresh herbs (everything from SIG minus onion and garlic)

Organic Vegan Salad: kale, swiss chard, cabbage, and kale flowers + lemon, olive oil, salt, and Bragg amino acids.

THIS IS THE REAL DEAL. FOOD IS MEDICINE.

Earthship documentary...excited for the workshop!

So excited for our earthship building workshop this weekend! (Read about how we got a grant to attend here). It will be led by Mike Reynolds (!!!), the man who developed the idea of earthships and stars in this documentary:

I think the first day of the conference will be a screening of this movie, but for any of our friends who want to see what we're going to learn about check it out! Or visit the website at http://earthship.com/.

Sauerkraut Taste Testing: An Adventure in Bathroom Chemistry

Feeling okay so far! We put some of it in our fridge so we can eat it cold later. (After we determine for sure whether we did it right and we should be eating it... We're going to show it to our raw food savvy friend and ask what she thinks.)

Maybe we'll try some version of these variations!