(Note: may not be exactly as published in the Goldstream Gazette)

I approach the small building perched on a rock with a certain trepidation.
Some of the most vivid, and most unpleasant, memories of the summer camp I attended as a child are associated with the hold-your-nose reek of the outdoor latrines.
My apprehension grows when I detect the faintest whiff of “eau de outhouse” as I near the door.
Reminding myself that it is my duty to undertake, if necessary, disagreeable experiences in the cause of conscientious journalism, I open the door, step inside, take a deep breath, and smell – wood paneling.
I am impressed. Even with the toilet seat cover up, the only odours I can detect are the homey aroma of the scrounged wood panels that line the walls and, when I open the little bin next to the toilet seat, the sweet smell of fresh sawdust.
The outhouse smell, ventilated to the outdoors by a continuously running, solar powered 12-volt fan, is entirely missing.
The composting toilet is a key element of Ann and Gord Baird’s plans for the Eco-Sense Project, the off-the-grid, sustainable home they are building in the east Highlands.
Rather than squander water and a valuable organic resource by flushing human waste into the septic tank, they intend to compost it.
“We compost other animals’ manure, what’s wrong with ours?” Ann said.
Some would say that what’s wrong with human manure is the pathogens it contains – parasites, bacteria and other microorganisms which, if not destroyed, can spread disease.
The system used by the Bairds addresses that concern by ensuring that the pathogens are indeed destroyed, primarily by the action of thermophillic, (heat loving) bacteria.
The Bairds’ toilet is much nicer than the one I dreaded as a kid, being clean and bright and having a toilet seat, but the setup is similar. It consists of a bench with a hole cut in it.
Instead of a smelly, bottomless pit beneath the hole, however, there is a bucket. As necessary, the bucket is removed and the contents emptied into the straw-covered compost pile. Kitchen and garden waste end up in the same pile.
A scoop of sawdust thrown on top of the bucket’s contents after each use and the straw covering the compost pile both help eliminate odour, so much so that the Bairds have never had problems with rats or other animals. However, they have a much more important role.
The sawdust and straw are sources of carbon that, in combination with the nitrogen contained in organic matter, creates an ideal environment for thermophilic bacteria, which occur just about everywhere, including in our stool.
The microscopic forces work so vigorously that a tremendous amount of heat is generated, not only hastening decomposition, but killing pathogens.
Pathogen destruction requires that a temperature of 120degF be maintained for 24 hours. The temperature in the Bairds’ comppost pile (which is equipped with a thermometer to measure the internal temperature) easily exceeds those requirements every time new material is added.
The current compost pile will be used for a year, after which it will be left to rest for another year while a second pile is built up.
By the end of the second year, the well-decomposed, human-rich, pathogen-free material will be ready for garden use.
I imagined at first that I would find the prospect of having to dump and hose out buckets of human waste distasteful. On further consideration, I realized that I don’t think twice about changing a baby’s diaper, cleaning my cats litter box, or mucking out a horse’s stall.
Is there really much difference?

(Note: may not be exactly as published in the Goldstream Gazette)

Getting Off The Grid – Local couple creating environmentally sensitive, sustainable home in the Highlands. April 19, 2006

This is the first installment in a series of stories the News Gazette will publish about the Highlands’ Ann and Gord Baird and their ‘Eco-Sense Project’. Through spring and summer, we’ll check in with periodic updates on their progress, the challenges they encounter, and the systems they’re employing in their ‘green’ home.

Is it possible to live sustainably without making sacrifices? Ann and Gord Baird think so, and they’re out to [rove it. Not only will they use green construction methods and materials for a house they are building in the east Highlands, but the infrastructure in their new home will be cost-effective and environmentally-friendly.
Calling it the Ec0-Sense Project, the couple plans to build a modest, one-and-a-half-storey house of straw bale and cob construction, with an earthen floor downstairs.
Cob, a mixture of clay, sand and straw, is an ancient construction material that is a seeing something of a revival because of its low environmental cost, high insulation and sound-roofing value, fire resistance and seismic stability.
The unconventional building materials are just the beginning. The home will be off the grid, with electrical power provided by solar panels and wind generation.
A hybrid water system will rely mainly on rainwater captured from the metal house roof, supplemented in dry periods with water drawn from the well by a solar powered pump.
The house will be heated by a combination of passive solar, with the building’s outer cob and internal wood chip and clay walls and the earthen floor serving as thermal masses, and radiant heat provided by solar-heated water circulating through pipes imbedded in the floor.
Wood stoves for supplementary heating will have water jackets to boost the solar hot water supply when the weather is cloudy and cool.
The Bairds may never make use of the $30,000 septic field they were required to complete before they could apply for a building permit. Their plans include composting toilets and reuse of grey water for orchard irrigation.
And when the systems are in place, the Baird’s will offer educational tours of their home, with the goal of increasing awareness and acceptance of sustainable building methods.
“We wish to be a visible, respectable and reasonable example of sustainability within the community and the world,” they say on their website.
Ann and Gord know they face challenges in persuading authorities that their eco-friendly infrastructure should be accepted as equivalent to conventional systems.
Highlands building inspector Don Kitchen is interested in and supportive of what they want to do, but is bound by the rules in the building code, they said.
However, their engineer, David Romain of Spar Consulting, is creative, smart, has an open min and sees the bigger picture, they said. And the B.C. Sustainable Energy Association (BCSEA) has been “inspirational,” providing knowledge, encouragement and expertise to help the Bairds design their systems.
Not that the Bairds are lacking in knowledge and expertise. This is not a couple of starry-eyed optimists with an impractical and unrealistic dream.
Enthusiastic they are, but with their passion firmly grounded in experience. This is a “been there, done that” project.
Several years ago, Ann left the “bigger, better, faster, more” life and built an 1,100-square-foot, off-the-grid house on a small Gulf Island. Wise Island had little infrastructure beyond a community well, so seeking alternatives to conventional systems was a necessity.
House building required Ann to learn new skill in a hurry – including handling a chainsaw and running a boat, her only transportation off-island.
By dint of hard work, endless research, the support and help of family and friends, and being “stubborn as hell”, she ended up with a beautiful home, “with all the creature comforts including high speed internet.” That met the challenge of “living within (the island’s) fragile ecosystem without destroying it.”
Gord did not share Ann’s extensive knowledge when they met a year and a half ago (they were married in May 2005), but he does now.
During a two hour interview, the information flow shifted seamlessly from one to the other as both spoke confidently on topics as diverse as thermophillic bacteria, the insulating value of straw bale construction (R40 or more), or the use of a living bio-filter to treat grey water.
Also shared are values that dictate the choices made. Both financial and environmental costs are weighed every time a decision is required.
For example, Ann and Gord debated for two month before deciding to blast a small section of rock in the building area (which had already been mostly leveled by a previous owner of the property), rather than fit that part of the foundation to the contour of the land.

Building green poses significant challenges

All options were considered, including removing the rock bit y bit with a jackhammer. In the end, they decided that blasting would have the least environmental impact. Fitting the foundation to about six feet instead of the approximately two feet planned. That would have meant using much more energy-intensive concrete and bringing in many more loads of fill to provide a base for the earthen floor.
Installing a solar clothes dryer (a.k.a. clothesline) instead of an electric one was a choice conveying both economic and environmental benefits, as was deciding on a propane stove.
Although propane is a non-renewable resource, it is far more energy-efficient than electricity for any use where heat is generated, Ann explained. Propane is a low-emission fuel, and “cleaner than perhaps the electricity generated by a coal burning plant or the environmental impact of a new dam,” she said.
In addition, the propane stove will be supplemented by a solar cooker for slow cooked meals and a cob oven for baking.
Overall, the couple expects the financial cost of building their house will be about the same as it would have been using conventional construction – although they acknowledge that costs will be lower because they will do much of the work themselves. Seeking out recycled building materials will cost them in time, but save them money and reduce the environmental impact.
Long-term savings, though, will be huge. The infrastructure systems require minimal maintenance, and their components seldom need replacement.
Properly built, a cob structure will last centuries.
The Bairds believe that living what they call a “reasonable life” will allow them to dedicate more time to the things that are most important to them: family, community, enjoying the outdoors. Plans for the eight acre property include an organic garden, fruit trees and chickens.
Family is a high priority. Ann’s parents will share the home when it is built, and Gord’s children from his first marriage (daughter Emily, six, and son Parker, eight) will live half time with them.
By “buying less stuff and using less energy,” the Bairds anticipate that they will be able to spend less time working at outside jobs to support their chosen lifestyle.
Gord anticipates leaving his successful career in the autobody industry and creating a new job for himself that is fully consistent with his values and commitment to sustainability.
“If I had my dream job, it would be to be able to be up here teaching people, going out doing speaking engagements, doing some consulting, doing some physical labour for other people who wanted to” lead a sustainable life, he said.
More information about the Eco-Sense Project is available on the website, www.eco-sense.ca

Wow! This sums up an amazing month of watching the land spring into life. To date we have enjoyed the sights of at least 23 bird species (according to our son Parker the naturalist) and some for the first time.

Our bodies have adjusted to the regular hard work and no longer are we feeling exhausted after a hard day. Due to the quantity of dirt moved, Gord has taken on the nick name of “backhoe” Baird. This month has seen another trench dug, more pipes buried and jack hammering to make more space for Mom and Dad’s trailer right behind ours. They just sold their house of 34 years and are divesting of all the “stuff” to move into a 30 ft trailer until the straw bale house is complete. Even in the most inclement weather we enjoy our time outside; watching, learning, listening and getting exercise. The time spent inside has ensured close contact, and has resulted in more talking and family interaction – no one is lost behind a TV, or a bedroom.

Our house site needs to be leveled out a bit. We had discussed working with the dips and curves, but leveling will allow a much better foundation while using less concrete and enable the house to blend in and follow the natural contours of the land. We have fully explored the options and will do a small blast in mid April. The other options included a large excavator with a hoe ram (jackhammer), a small hand jackhammer, hydraulic rock busting, and expanding putty in drilled holes. Concrete encompasses a lot of embodied energy, so the less we use the better, but it is so easy to use. The blasting company has been great with giving us good information as to how to develop the site with minimal environmental impact. David our engineer, has provided great suggestions to minimize the use of concrete. Many of the trades appreciate that we are shaping our home to fit the land rather than the other way around. Most people design their house and then try to make the land fit.

This entire project involves endless debates where we factor in the needs of all the family members, the environment, and our finances. We are finding that with lots of conversation and research there are reasonable solutions that fulfill all of our goals. We suspect this process will be greatly complicated as we add the legal requirements of the building codes into the mix. This forth legal aspect does not take into account the environment, the individuals creating the home or the financial costs.

An example of legal codes complicating the process has been encountered already with the septic system. Our plan is to limit water usage, and use a composting toilet system. We suspect that our family of six will use between 50 to 100 gallons of water per day. With the new regulations around waste water systems we have had to complete a system to handle 500 gallons per day, five to ten times more than we need. A building permit can not be issued unless this is in place. The cost of this system is $30,000 dollars in comparison to our composting toilet system costing $300. It would have been more beneficial if the code required a hygienic and safe disposal option over the forced consumption of materials to make such a system. Ideally laws should have changed to encourage reduced water consumption. The laws are changing to make affordable and reasonable housing even further from the grasp of the majority of citizens. Rant, rant, rant

The den or as we are now calling it, “The re-den”, has taken longer than we anticipated due to using recycled materials. This type of building is labour intensive in both locating and preparing the materials. However, saying that, it has been immensely satisfying. We would much rather be meeting neat people while locating materials and then pulling nails, sanding, and fixing them than sitting behind a desk. Good for us, the environment, and the bank account. Gord and I slept in the den for the first time while my parents were visiting and we loved it. Quiet, snug and earned with our hard work. The bed was constructed with old recycled 1×8’s from our friend Bill. The old brown door was found on the property and turned out to be beautiful old growth cedar once sanded down. We still need to complete the den and are looking for some sort of exterior siding and interior finishing material. We hope to complete it soon so that we may read in our re-den.

The bathroom is almost completely finished and has a 12 volt computer fan installed and a small solar panel. The inside was finished with recycled mahogany paneling and some plywood. The plywood was painted with water based paints purchased from the Victoria Restore. Oh, and by the way, the compost pile is now big enough, and temperatures have started to rise. Last week was at 110 deg F and this week will probably reach and hold our target of 120 deg F. This will kill all potential pathogens in a one day.

Last week we met with the folks from The Rainwater Connection and we are in the process of designing the rainwater harvesting system. They really know their stuff and produced tables using different scenarios on rainfall in the Highlands, daily usage, and predictions of remaining water storage throughout the year. They took into account pollen season, more guests in the summer, veggy gardens, roof size, the lay of our land, etc. All this information has allowed us to properly size our storage requirements and to start developing a reasonable rainwater harvesting system. The initial plan is to have approx. 5,000gal of storage with automatic topping up from the 300ft well when levels get low. This system dramatically reduces the well usage and will be a perfect demonstration of a hybrid system encompassing rain water, well, and water conservation. We also spoke of drip irrigation for our gardens for water conservation. Of course the biggest step towards water conservation is that we will not be flushing our drinking water down the toilet.

Our next major project is the cob workshop workshop which we introduced in the last update. (www.eco-sense.ca). There has been tremendous interest in this course and spots are filling up quickly without any advertising. Some have asked why we are offering the course for free. Our response is that our goal is to educate, but we are not a school. There are three groups of people involved; the students, who learn a skill and work hard; the instructor who is paid to teach the course; and ourselves, who end up with a cob workshop. Our opinion is everyone equally benefits. We are busy collecting materials and organizing the workshop. The clay will come from an old and large man made pond on the land. It is pure clay at least 4 ft deep…probably much more. It no longer holds water so in the process of digging out a small amount of clay (8 yards), we will reseal the pond and re-create the oasis that once existed. When the excavator is here next week for the blasting we will further utilize it for digging the trench and positioning some large foundation rocks for the workshop. The rest, as usual, will be done by hand.

And finally, if you have visited our web page recently you will see a completely new look. It still needs some work and the links are just being set up. Much thanks to our friend Ron for working with us on this.

Humanure Compost Update…Temperature is at 121 deg F. Yeah!!! We celebrated with a bowl of ice cream last night.

Ann and Gord