Happy Holidays

Posted on December 26, 2012 by jmeilander

Happy holidays everyone.  Hope you have had some time to breathe and relax for a bit.  Don’t forget that with the New Year around the corner, you can start making your sustainable resolutions.  Suggestions for small ideas that could lead to bigger changes; recycle more frequently, pick up one piece of trash a day, turn the thermostat down 2 degrees, unplug electronics from the walls when not using them (I just started doing this. It really is not as annoying as I thought it would be and we are saving energy!), reduce your shower by 10 seconds every month in 2013, or install more insulation in your home;  the ideas are endless and do not have to be life altering.  Remember to pick something you can achieve then start small…small steps mean smaller footprints.  We tend to be more motivated when we see a direct and immediate impact of our efforts on our lives and communities.

Below you will find the new Flagstaff EcoRanch Sustainability Handbook, a product of a recent sustainability audit conducted by two students in the MBA program at NAU, Net Impact, and the City of Flagstaff Sustainability Office.  Jorge (MBA student), Paul (MBA student, representative for Net Impact), and Erik (City of Flagstaff Sustainability Program), came to the EcoRanch, looking for double paned windows, CFLs, weatherstripping, low flow toilets, and many other energy reducing methods.  A few weeks later they provided an analysis of their findings that included positive methods being implemented and areas to improve on.  One of those recommendations was to create a sustainability policy/handbook that WWOOFers, volunteers, and visitors could use while here.  We plan on implementing the remaining recommendations over time and hope to follow up with another audit next year to develop a stronger relationship with all three groups.

Sustainability Handbook

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Winter Settles In

Posted on December 20, 2012 by jmeilander

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Aside from plowing the driveway, shoveling the walkways, and trying to fight the never ending battle of ice dams on the roof, most of our outside work has come to a close.  The chickens are still laying, giving us at least one egg a day.  Apparently they don’t like clean water because they keep filling their water dish with dirt and hay…I guess I am a poor learner because I keep cleaning it out every day.

The hoop house took quite a hit  with some strong winds followed by freezing temperatures.  We lost some radishes and collard greens, but the carrots, endive, and kale are hanging on…only one more day until the days get longer!

The EcoRanch Pot Luck was cancelled due to a foot and a half of snow.  It’s hard to show your accomplishments when they are covered by snow.  No problem, it will all still be there when the weather warms up in Spring.  We’ll still be looking for donations via paypal and grant writing during the winter.

We finally finished another month of water savings data and have three graphs to illustrate our use.  If you have questions or ideas, please let us know.  I am trying to build something now that will collect snow melt and reduce the ice damming.  Please stay tuned for pictures.

Flagstaff EcoRanch Monthly Water Savings Monthly Gallons Water Saved Per Person Normal Toilet Use vs Sustainable Use

 

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New Sustainability Techniques Page

Posted on November 22, 2012 by jmeilander

Check out and follow our “Sustainability Techniques” page we just posted.  The goal is to stimulate a discussion amongst our followers to help reduce and improve everyone’s practical sustainability.  We will keep updating this page as time goes on and as we collect data, but for now, see what we are up to at the EcoRanch.  We also provide links to water and energy saving calculators in the hopes that you can save some money.  You can also see the amount of hours donated to the EcoRanch from WWOOFers and volunteers on our “Many Thanks” and how much this would equal if we paid each person $7.65/hr (Az minimum wage).

We also just finished installing our first hugelkultur bed, a permaculture method that Kara and Ben planned and designed for the EcoRanch.  We dug down about a foot, put down a bunch of cardboard, then laid down old logs and sticks, covered them with sawdust, leaves, and woodchips.  Next we spread a thick layer of soil and then another layer of woodchips.  The idea is that the wood will absorb and slow the water flowing down the hill while breaking down, supplying nutrients to the soil and creating a small microclimate from the heat released from the decay of the wood and possibly extending the growing season.  We plan on putting in one more before the snow comes and then two in the spring.  Check out the photos below.

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Freeze. Thaw.

Posted on November 14, 2012 by jmeilander

We’ve thawed out here at the EcoRanch:  after the weekend snowstorm, much of the snow on the garden beds has melted, and the chicken coop seems to be holding plenty of heat.  The sun shines on the yard again, keeping our imaginations vivid while prepping for the spring.

Kara, our intern and permaculture/vermiculture mastermind, and Ben, a WWOOFer that arrived on Sunday, are busy brainstorming plans for a permaculture design.  Recent questions that have come up:  how feasible are goats on this amount of land?  Should most of the garden beds be situated lower in the yard to capture maximum sunlight and optimize the most level ground on the property?  Is there a good way to capture the snow melt and funnel it away from the chicken coop, toward a garden area?

Busy ladies in the chicken house.

Recent progress includes more insulation on the chicken house, online updates and marketing headway, ongoing improvements on the existing garden beds and endless notes, phone calls and brainstorming sessions regarding the site plan.  Our Golden continues to display her contentment by laying almost every day; tweaks to the cold frame have raised that bed’s temperature, and sprouts have emerged in the hoop house.

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Scrambled Eggs

Posted on November 4, 2012 by jmeilander

The golden made herself at home today by laying the first EcoRanch egg while I took a nap in the chicken coop and Nova drooled over our delicious, feathery friends.

Kara arrived last night and will be here for a few months working as an intern.  Not only will she be using her permaculture skills to develop a site plan for the EcoRanch but she will be helping fundraise, incorporate vermiculture techniques, help care for the plants and chickens, develop sustainable curriculum, and get involved wherever she can.

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The Chickens Are Here

Posted on November 3, 2012 by jmeilander

Today the chickens arrived and are making themselves at home.  We only had to chase one around the yard before finally catching her.  We have a Rhode Island Red, a Golden, and a bunch of Silkies.  Below are some photos.

Other projects we completed this week:  hoop house, flower bed, and coldframe.

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Chickens, Hoop Houses, and Winter

Posted on October 29, 2012 by jmeilander

In the last couple of weeks we have been breaking ground and getting prepared for the winter.  Ryan, Josh, and Nico have all left on their separate journeys and we are down to four WWOOFers, Maggie, Sarah, ROB!!!!, and Kenny.  We have been cutting, splitting, and stacking wood, but it seems like no matter how much work we do, it will never compare to the mountains of wood my neighbors have; probably a bit of foreshadowing as to how cold it gets out here.  We are trying to conserve as much heat and have been winterizing the house as much as possible because the roof is poorly insulated.

The Sustainable Botany Class came out Wednesday and put in two raised beds and started on a third.  We have garlic, onions, and asparagus in the soil and this week will finish the hoop house, which we broke down and moved to a sunnier place.  Inside, we will plant carrots, endive, lettuce, radishes, leeks, kale, collard greens, and parsley.  Thanks to everyone in the class for their hard work, Peggy for bringing them out, Kim for taking photos, and Todd Cislo, an extreme, master gardener for showing up and offering guidance and advice with our hoop house install.

In exciting animal news, Josh finished his chicken coop and Mary Ann Canning is donating chickens this coming weekend.  It’s too bad Josh had to leave before he got to see chickens living in his amazing creation.  He was able to convert part of the barn into a chicken coop for about 15-20 chickens which can be expanded on in the future if we need too.  It has an inside run, and can be opened up to allow the chickens to free range in the front field.

We are collecting data on our water saving methods and will be posting this on the website.  We are reusing the water collected from showers to flush the toilets and we collect dish water to water the trees, flowers, and plants in the yard. All sinks and showers have low flow faucets that are adjustable between .5 and 1.5 gallons per minute.  The city of Flagstaff passed these out on Earth Day and has great resources for reducing your home water use in their utilities department.

As winter creeps closer, Flagstaff EcoRanch is going to be looking for grants, fundraising opportunities, and planning for the spring.  More to come as they develop.

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A Full House

Posted on October 15, 2012 by jmeilander

It’s really amazing to come home from a day of teaching and meetings to find your volunteers in good spirits and the projects you thought would take days are practically done.  With a full house here at the EcoRanch we are flying through projects left and right.

Kenny is still here working hard as ever.  He has been a great help making the new WWOOFers feel at home and getting them familiarized with the EcoRanch philosophy and practices.  He is off tomorrow to summit Mt. Humphrey’s.

Last week, Nico left to pick up his friend Dhruv from college who is originally from Uttrakhand, India.  They were planning a road trip to the Grand Canyon but decided to hike Mt. Humphrey’s the day before. Unfortunately, while driving up the road, the transmission on Nico’s car blew.  Luckily, they were close enough to the EcoRanch, that they could come back and have a place to stay for a few days.  After a tow and an exam by a mechanic, it seems as though Nico will be continuing his road trip by bus and Dhruv will return to Virginia without a trip to the Canyon.  Despite the circumstances, they are both in good spirits and tonight, Dhruv made us some authentic Indian food to say thanks for the hospitality.

Josh and Ryan finally made it from Washington after a long trip hitchhiking with numerous unplanned layovers.  Both have been wood splitting machines and recently Josh planned and designed a chicken coop that will fit into the barn.  Tomorrow the construction starts and come spring time, Mary Ann and Michael, great friends who live in Camp Verde will be donating some chickens to help fill it.

This Sunday, Rob, Maggie, and Sarah arrived from Akron, OH.  They are recent graduates in anthropology and have been doing informal research on WWOOFers and WWOOF hosts.  Today they pulled weeds, raked pine needles to reduce fire risks, built stairs, and helped repair the trail behind the house.

Next week, we will all be working with students from Dr. Pollack’s sustainable botany class to build and install a hoop house they designed.  We will be amending the soil, putting in raised beds, and planting chard, kale, lettuce, carrots, green onions, garlic, radishes, and bok choi.  What better way to get started farming in an already harsh growing environment than to jump right in with some extreme winter gardening.  Maybe this will be like groundhog’s day; if we can grow crops in the winter for our first season, the EcoRanch will be successful.

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Food

Posted on October 7, 2012 by jmeilander

Thanks so much to Chris and Corrin Kalinich for donating their time and energy by making us some delicious dinner and baked goods that will provide us with plenty of energy to keep working on our projects.

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NicKevry Trail

Posted on October 5, 2012 by jmeilander

What a stellar crew!  From the left; Steven from LA, Nico from Virginia, Kenny from Philadelphia, Stephanie from France.  My first four WWOOFers and they have worked extremely hard for the last few days.  They are always in good spirits and ready to work.  I thought the trail going up the hill behind the house would take at least five days…it only took them two.  Cleaning up all the layers of pine needles in a 30ft radius around the house only took ~60 garbage bags and a days worth of work.

We have spent time together over dinners and work chatting, discussing literature, politics, the environment, and families while sharing stories and just having the time to be ourselves.  Unfortunately, Steven leaves tomorrow to do conservation work in Flagstaff and Stephanie will leave for Montreal for a month before returning to France to visit her family and friends.  They will be missed but always have an open invitation.

Kenny, Nico, and I await a few more WWOOFers that arrive mid-October.  We have plenty to keep us busy though.  More wood cutting for the winter, finishing the fence, and preparing for a sustainable botany class project from NAU.  Dr. Peggy Pollack will be bringing her students here to build a hoop house they are designing and we need to get the soil and base ready for the install.

We look forward to having you come out and join us if and whenever you have time.

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