Great Lakes Natural Building Network SBS
Be part of this regional network, or suggest additions!
Archived version of Great Lakes Natural Building Network .
Tools for Carving, article by Mark Angelini
LOCAL ECO-CONNECTIONS !
- Skyline Camp. 156 acres outside Almont, MI
- Treetop Lodge-Oxford 3333 Jonathon Rd, Oxford, Michigan 48371
- Seven Ponds Nature Center Dryden, Michigan
- Upland Hills Farm, Upland Hills School Oxford, MI
- Oakland Wild Flower Farm
- Roots to Fruits Edible Landscaping, Clarkston MI
- Gardener Walsh, Pontiac MI – Landscaping, Weddings, Goats, Movies. A community place !
- More connections to come ! Mitten Munch snack food, Sol Kombucha, and other local folks. East River Organic Food. Produce, eggs, meat.
Natural Building Materials & Strategies including Thatching, Reed, Strawbale, Foundations, Insulation+
Natural Building Resources : Schools, Materials These were collected from 2003 – 2011.
Educational Materials
- Collaboratively create a model of an ecological community that is inspiring, fun, and restorative.
- How could you integrate renewable energy, organic food production, recycling of wastes, alternative transportation, nature (and more) into an existing or imagined community?
- Included is a 3 page activity/evaluation sheet, plus an article & notes from the Social Studies Michigan Journal. For age 8 through adult. Global Ecovillage pictures 1 Global Ecovillage pictures 2 Global Ecovillage pictures 3
Ideas to Live by – inspirational and educational graphic organizers – collected from various sources, envisioned in a dream.
- What does the world need, that we are uniquely suited to do?
- Evolving ideas about finding our “True Work”.
Natural Building Curriculum for Youth . Outline for short course on natural building.
Climate change grant 2008 . A story describing numerous climate change solutions.
Meaningful Work . A evolving conversation about sustainable livelyhood. This page is currently not available.
What do I want? An exercise, in chart form, that explores values from “now to forever”
Information on Michigan Teaching Standards and CEU’s .
“No Child Left Inside” . Links to this movement.
Current Ecovillages & Natural Building Centers:
denmarkfarm.org.uk greensparkvt.com endeavourcentre.org
Evolving Ecovillages or Ecological Communities
Vison / Concepts / to create Ecovillage
Social Permaculture “the art of designing beneficial relationships.”
village
Humanure Composting Book free download
Cave Sculpting
Ted Talk: Building More Than Homes, by Chris Rheinhart, Bloomington, IL.
(Includes Open-source Ecology & Micro-Housing.
Permaculture.
Designing land forms. Penny Livingston Permaculture 101, 3 min
RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
A Natural Building BOOK LIST put together by the Endeavour Center.
The Art of Natural Building- Design, Construction, Resources Thatching Article and photos by Deanne Bednar Edited by Joseph E. Kennedy, Michael G. Smith and Catherine Wanek
This comprehensive introduction to the natural building field is for lay people, architects, and designers who wish to build beautiful, low-cost, and environmentally-sensible structures. From straw bale and cob, to recycled concrete and salvaged materials, this anthology of articles from leaders in the field focuses on both the practical and the esthetic concerns of ecological building designs and techniques. Profusely illustrated and packed with resources.
The Beauty of Straw Bale Homes Article and picture of the Strawbale Studio by Carolyn Koch.
by Bill and Athena Steen
The Beauty of Straw Bale Homes is an extremely beautiful, well-written, and informative book. The photographs are elegant and awe inspiring. If you’ve been thinking about building a straw bale home, this book is a great place to look for creative design ideas. The Steens have also provided valuable information on earthen plasters, wall finishes, moisture, and ways to retrofit a home with straw bales in this delightful gem of a book.
Illustrated by Deanne Bednar
The Cobber’s Companion: How to Build Your Own Earthen Home [Michael G. Smith, Illustrator: Deanne Bednar]
The Art of Natural Building- Design, Construction, Resources with an article & pictures on Thatching the Strawbale Studio – by Deanne Bednar
Edited by Joseph E. Kennedy, Michael G. Smith and Catherine WanekThis comprehensive introduction to the natural building field is for lay people, architects, and designers who wish to build beautiful, low-cost, and environmentally-sensible structures. From straw bale and cob, to recycled concrete and salvaged materials, this anthology of articles from leaders in the field focuses on both the practical and the esthetic concerns of ecological building designs and techniques. Profusely illustrated and packed with resources.
More Straw Bale Building : A Complete Guide to Designing and Building with Straw
by Chris Magwood and Peter Mack
Despite growing interest in the technique, however, most straw bale books focus on “selling” the dream of straw bale building, but don’t adequately address the most critical issues faced by bale house builders. More Straw Bale Building is designed to fill this gap. It leads the potential builder through the entire process of building a bale structure, tackling all the practical issues: finding and choosing bales; developing sound building plans; roofing; electrical, plumbing, and heating systems; building code compliance; and special concerns for builders in northern climates.
Serious Straw Bale: A Construction Guide for All Climates
by Paul Lacinski and Michel Bergeron
This book provides the metaphorical nuts and bolts of straw bale construction for homes and other buildings. Unlike many other straw bale construction books on the market, this one looks at building design issues from the perspective of straw bale builders and considers the particular needs of the medium. Several different techniques are discussed, focusing much information on the needs of those building in wet and/or cold environments. Many illustrations, some color, and several project profiles demonstrate the theories discussed.
Straw Bale Details A Manual for Designers and Builders
by Chris Magwood and Chris Walker
Straw Bale Details is the perfect book for those who are serious about building with straw. It focuses entirely on the specific design theories and practices that result in well-built, long-lasting bale structures. It extends the range of books like Straw Bale Buildingthrough large, easy-to-read architectural drawings rendered for a wide variety of building options, including load-bearing and post-and-beam designs. A range of foundation, wall, door and window, and roof-plate scenarios is presented, along with notes and possible modifications. Also included are the most recent testing data to help base designer and builder decisions on sound science.
Design of Straw Bale Buildings by Bruce King The State of the Art details Serious. This was recommended by Laura Bartells who does this professionally.