Friday, September 26, 2014

Sustainability Goes To The Dogs at the Green Beagle Lodge



Green Living is the Life For Me!

















I recently had the opportunity to visit the Green Beagle Lodge in Chapel Hill, NC.  There I met one of the owners, David Schmidt who took me on a tour and discussed some of the sustainable aspects of the new 10,000 square foot facility for dogs (and cats).


Green Beagle Lodge


















The Green Beagle Lodge was designed by architect, Mark Schmidt of  Knapp Schmidt Architects who specialize in veterinary and animal care building designs.  The orientation of the site optimizes the natural sunlight.

Rain Water Harveting

One of the sustainable features includes a rain water harvesting system (a 3,000 gallon cistern) that help feed a dog swimming pool / water feature, the wet /dry vacuum system as well as the toilets in the facility.

The cistern was installed by Rain Pro NC. According to Mike Stroud with Rain Pro, a one inch rainfall on a 1000 square foot roof will generate 600 gallons of water. With the system at Green Beagle Lodge, the cistern is at capacity with only 1/2 inch of rain because the roof is so large.
3,000 gallon cistern for collecting rain water
















Water feature
















Wet / dry vacuum system by Aqua-Air
























Reclaimed field turf


















A second sustainable aspect of the Green Beagle Lodge is the field turf used in all the outdoor runs and play areas.  The Green Beagle purchased their field turf from RS Global. The field turf "re-use" allowed two soccer field that were being replaced to be diverted from the landfill to a second life in this incredible dog daycare and amusement park.

Another section of reclaimed field turf
















Sun Tube lighting up hallway



















Natural lighting is the final sustainable feature that sets this facility apart.  Throughout the lodge, there are eight 24" and three 12" Sun Tubes by Velux that bring in natural lighting from the outside. Additionally, there are several high ceiling transom windows and glass block windows that insulate from the outdoor temperatures but allow natural daylight to illuminate the building on a sunny day.

Outside view of Sun Tubes
Transom windows bringing in natural lighting
















Glass block windows
















Dog cabins illuminated by natural lighting




















Conclusion

David Schmidt and his partners did a great job of making the Green Beagle Lodge an example of sustainability for other animal care and veterinary buildings. I was impressed with the size of this facility and the thought and initiative that went into making it truly the GREEN Beagle Lodge and hope others will follow their example.

Website Resources

Green Beagle Lodge

Knapp Schmidt Architects

RS Global

Rain Pro NC

Aqua-Air

Velux Skylights

*******************
Thanks for checking out my blog and clicking on my sponsors!


Rick
apexgardner@gmail.com
@apexgardner (Twitter)
http://apexlazydogblog.blogspot.com/

Monday, September 15, 2014

Farm Aid 2014: More Than Just a Concert



Green Living is the Life For Me!
 















This past weekend, I had the pleasure to volunteer three shifts with Farm Aid 2014. I help with the set up of the Homegrown Village, Volunteer Check-in the morning of the concert and served on the Green Team during four hours of the show. It was a great experience, educational and an example of sustainability. 

Farm Aid was started in 1985. It is more than a concert, it is an interactive, fundraising, awareness event aimed at teaching what is going on in the farm industry. During my volunteering, I learned about the importance of local food sourcing, composting, and some the pressing issues facing today's family farmer.

John Mellencamp performing at Farm Aid 2014

















Neil Young performing at Farm Aid 2014


















Local Food
A majority of the food consumed at Farm Aid was provided by local farmers. Food items from peanuts to apples, corn on the cob to beef, chicken to shrimp and usual concert fare such as corn dogs and hamburgers were local sourced.  The venue worked with the Farm Aid staff to switch up it's entire concession stand operations to meet the local food criteria. Additionally, there were signs indicating the farm where the item had come from. Wow! It must have been a lot of work, but it sent an important message.  Local Food = Sustainability

Homegrown Food Menu at Farm Aid 2014























Concession Menu featuring Homegrown Food


















Signage outside The Pit Restaurant Concessions Tent


















Catering for the bands, crew and volunteers was also from local farmers (as well as national sponsors with a commitment to local and organic farming). While the food was delicious and plentiful, it made me realize how much my regular diet has been tricked by national store brands and other foods that are full of preservatives and have been over processedAdditionally, I learned that on the average, food travels 1500 miles before it reaches your plate. 

Catering Lunch featuring local food




















Salad Bar featuring local food


















Recycling, Compost or Landfill?
Everywhere you went throughout the event was recycling, composting and trash containers.  The organizers used over 150 volunteers on the Green Team to help people sort their items accordingly.  I did this for four hours and found many people were very accommodating.  If they weren't sure, they asked. 
Students from NC State Volunteering on the Green Team














 


The biggest challenges seemed to be that the composting bags were very fragile when they got full and the whole cart needed to be taken away and replaced with a new cart and liner. Additionally, many folks were confused about the corn based cups and utensils and tried to put them in recycling or trash instead of the compost bins. 

Educational
At the Homegrown Village, I learned about: the importance and complexity of the Farm Bill (most of the farm bill deals with the program former known as food stamps and has little to do with the actual farmer); some very cool farm tours happening locally; micro lending for farmers; how TS Designs creates 100% local organic cotton t-shirts (including the 2014 Farm Aid t-shirt); and numerous programs to promote buying local sourced food.
Helping set up the Homegrown Village

















Farm Aid shirt was created by TS Designs using local source organic cotton



















Eastern Triangle Farm Tour























Resources













 

















No Farms = No Food

Bottom line was that if there were no farms, there would be no food.  It was a very clear message that people need to start looking at where there food comes from, how is it grown or processed or produced, and whenever possible, buy local to support the local farmer and local economy.

















What Can You Do to Help?

This sign says it all LEARN MORE and TAKE ACTION






















*************
Thanks for checking out my blog and clicking on my sponsors!

Rick
apexgardner@gmail.com
@apexgardner (Twitter)
http://apexlazydogblog.blogspot.com/