The Lumberjack



Students Serving The Cal Poly Humboldt Campus and Community Since 1929

Tag: Buck House

  • CCAT begins reconstruction project

    CCAT begins reconstruction project

    by Emma Sjostrom

    The Campus Center for Appropriate Technology began construction of a tire retaining wall in their on-campus garden at Buck House. Constructed by CCAT directors, instructors and volunteers, the retaining wall is part of CCAT’s project to rebuild the existing Reclamation Station structure located in their garden. The structure has served as storage for students to donate and access reclaimed building materials. 

    Made from used tires, the retaining wall is needed to support the sloped landscape where the structure is located. Following the wall’s completion, project managers and volunteers are working towards utilizing natural building materials to complete the project. 

    The goals of the rebuild are to increase usage of reclaimed materials through safer and easier access. With a budget of $1,000, the project is proposed to be completed by May 5th of this year. 

    Spearheaded by project organizer Maddy Hunt, the project is aimed at promoting sustainable practices and techniques as well as serving as an example of utilizing appropriate technology in construction projects. 

    “The shed uses natural building methods which are focused on using reclaimed materials, minimizing ecological impact, and inviting community participation,” Hunt said.

    Plans for the rebuild include construction of a wall made of hempcrete, a natural alternative to concrete. CCAT intends to collect data on usage of the material within Humboldt County in an effort to understand and demonstrate the feasibility of hempcrete to address housing needs within the community.

    External Co-director James Lara added that CCAT’s overall goal is to encourage sustainable resource and energy use.

    “We are in a live-in demonstration home for sustainability and to live lightly on the Earth,” Lara said. “It’s about engaging students to have more experience with sustainable living.”

    Construction of the retaining wall is nearly complete, and project organizers expect to continue the groundwork for the structure in the next coming weeks with the help of students and volunteers. Hunt aims for the project to be a practical example of the organization’s goals.

    “It can be a demonstration for Cal Poly Humboldt,” Hunt said. “Especially for us to demonstrate [sustainability building] here at CCAT. It’s going to be a really cool way for us to connect with that and to be a part of that process.” 

    Hunt added that the project has potential for showing the university and surrounding community the viability of natural building, noting the relatively quick project timeline.

    A soon-to-be graduate from the Environmental Studies program, Hunt mentioned that the reclamation project is the culmination of what she has learned in her degree. 

    “It’s equally stressful as it is gratifying to be putting theories into action, and seeing it come together as not only a completed project in the end, but also as a network of people working towards a sustainable future,” Hunt said.More information on the project and techniques being used can be found at www.appropedia.org/CCAT_reclamation_station_2023. Those interested in aiding in the project’s completion are encouraged to participate in CCAT’s Volunteer Friday events, which occur weekly from 10am-12pm and 1-4pm. More information can be found on the organization’s website at ccat.humboldt.edu/ and Instagram @ccat.humboldt.

  • Garden Reclamation

    Garden Reclamation

    By | Michelle N. Meyers

    The CCAT garden’s are moving and bending in shape, forever changing with the seasons, through the helping hands that come and go. The folks at CCAT are welcoming these changes of seasons with open arms. Rows upon rows of seeds have been planted and now they wait patiently for their chance to peek through the top layer of soil to greet the moist air. Yet, it’s still just too early to see what lies within these carefully raked piles of soil. It’s fall in Humboldt, the height of the rainy season will soon be upon us, and outside the rain gently flutters across the terraced gardens, over the open grass, and trickles down the windowed walls of the CCAT greenhouse.

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    CCAT herb garden. | Michelle Meyers

    Inside the greenhouse, Austin Anderson, Co-Director at CCAT is hard at work, re-treating its wooden floors in order to limit wear and tear and slow weathering, so that the floors stand strong, hopefully for many seasons to come.

    In regards to the greenhouse, CCAT volunteer coordinator Natalie Rynne says, “The thing that everybody is most excited about, is the hydroponic system.”

    The new system is intended to reduce water usage by controlling the amount of water that goes into the plants and recycling their runoff. In addition, Rynne says crops that can’t commonly be grown in this climate can now be grown year round inside of the greenhouse.

    Outside of the greenhouse, around the CCAT grounds and gardens, coordinators and volunteers are currently working on revamping these surrounding areas to prep for new, exciting projects.

    “We’re trying to reclaim everything again,” said Rynne. “Clear all the weeds, mulch everything, and build up the soil.”

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    Cob woodfire oven and Compost Demonstration Site. | Michelle Meyers

    One of the many projects underway in the CCAT gardens is the Food Forest. Rynne says the project works to “create a forest of edible plants,“ by creating different gardening areas that all even have different names.

    The folks at CCAT cook with the food grown on the grounds and would like the Food Forest to be a place where visitors can enjoy the ‘fruits’ of the Food Forest as well. Rynne also hopes that the Food Forest can be a place where people come to simply hang out and relax.

    “It smells amazing up there because of the jasmine” says Rynne as she pauses to gaze at the billowing bushes of jasmine blooms.

    Near the jasmine bushes, the folks at CCAT have also recently constructed by hand what are called Cob structures. Everything that went into these structures was derived from all organic or reused materials, such as clay, straw, sand, newspaper and a natural plaster, used to coat the structures. This form of building has proven to be incredibly versatile, hearty and efficient.

    Anh Bui
    Anh Bui, NRG and ETaP grad student. | Michelle Meyers

    So far they have constructed Cob benches so people have another place to sit and enjoy the scenery, Cob terraces, in order to provide homes to a variety of plants, and even a wood fire Cob oven, which allows them an opportunity to prepare meals outdoors. Due to Cob’s heat retention properties, it makes to be an incredible oven explains Rynne.

    Over the years, CCAT has come a long way. They began their journey in 1978, and since then coordinators and volunteers have been hard at work, addressing issues in the local and global environmental community, hosting sustainability centered workshops and also working the property itself, installing sustainable technology such as a composting bin, solar hot panels, and wind turbines.

    The Buck House itself has undergone immense change over the years. It’s seen repairs, improvements, and new sustainable innovation come and go, such as the addition of a new roof, an entire ground floor and the installation of a Graywater catchment system used to recycle used dish, shower, laundry and hand-washing water.

    A new season has just begun and there’s still lots of gardening and more to be done at CCAT.

    TO GET INVOLVED:

    The Campus Center For Appropriate Technology is located on the Humboldt State University campus near the Redwood Community Forest.

    To learn more about CCAT and to keep up to date on all of the happenings at CCAT, click here.

    Head over to their Facebook page under Campus Center For Appropriate Technology

    To contact CCAT

    (707) 826-3551

    Email: ccathsu@gmail.com

    CCAT Upcoming events:

    Open Mic Night

    Oct. 13 at 7:00pm

    Herbalism Workshop with Loba Loca

    Oct. 18 at 5:00pm