The Oakland Steiner School 3rd Graders visited the Strawbale Studio. They are studying natural building in their curriculum, making it a perfect fit to come and do some foraging and natural building here. September 29th, 2015 they visited the land, harvested trees, made an A Frame with lashing the poles they cut, and mixed “Cob” (local subsoil of clay and sand) to take back to their school and make a model ecovillage.
The Students loved harvesting trees, then they lashed them together in the Red Shed, heated by the Totem Rocket Stove Heated Bench. They were like peas in a pod, enjoying the warmth of this efficient wood stove mass heater.
Their “Thanks-you Letters” are so expressive and wonderful:
October 20 & 21, 2014 80 first graders from an Academy in Detroit came to the Strawbale Studio to learn about Soil for their science studies ! So they explored earth plaster, natural materials being used for the Composting Furnace experiment and how the forest makes soil.
Even the Earth Oven is made from soil – sub soil, that is.
Each year several youth classes visit and take part in learning & experiencing natural building on site. Here is a class that helped with the Hobbit Sauna earth plastering 2014, from the Detroit Waldorf School.. They dug the soil, mixed it on a tarp and applied it to the walls ! How amazing and fun !
These Students from a Montessori Middle School in Ann Arbor are constructing a lashed frame from poles they harvested on the land. This structure shows how close we are to creating liveable structures.
Winternship 2015 Crew
Young People also include the many folks from 18 through their 20’s who come each year to learn through Internships and Worktrading. Many are collecting skills in Sustainable Living so that they can create a lifestyle that fits their values and contributes to Life. The are an inspiration and hope.
They have an opportunity to practice living together in community, while doing hands-on project with natural local materials. These skills form the basis of a sustainable lifestyle that they can take out into whatever situation they encounter as they move into the adventure of their life, and the creation of a life-affirming, restorative future.