Bioregional Changes are taking place.
Melissa Hamilton and Ryan Love creating a bench in the Moscow Community Garden, 2011
A shift in perspective is needed when thinking about climate change and establishing resilient communities. There is no one way that society needs to approach this as it is a complex issue with many possible solutions. The University of Idaho has created a program in which students are trained in systems thinking and interdisciplinary subject matter.
The University of Idaho offers a graduate degree program in Bioregional Planning and Community Design (BIOP). Student’s coursework is divided between topics including: law, ecology, economics, and social sciences. This program views communities through a regional lens and challenges the students to work towards strengthening the planning practice by taking a holistic approach to problem solving wicked issues. Embracing bioregionalism, humans can reduce their impact on the world around them and reduce climate change. Evaluating the systems we use to support ourselves is one way in which we can be bioregional. Melissa Hamilton, a 2011 graduate student of the BIOP program, has been evaluating the world around her upon graduation from this program and has made a bioregional contribution to Moscow, ID.
Completed community garden bench.
The Moscow Community Garden on C Street has a special “hidden” treasure. In the back of this garden there is a bench constructed out of cob using sand, clay, and straw. All of these items were found within a 30 mile radius of Moscow and are bio-regional.
Building with Cob is a traditional building technique with English roots. It is one of the oldest forms of building and is a rewarding construction experience. Using the method of building with cob, a bench was constructed in the fall of 2011 by two volunteers that had recently completed a summer apprenticeship program with House Alive (an organization based out of Oregon). Melissa Hamilton and Ryan Love constructed this bench as a workshop with the Idaho Chapter of the American Planning Association conference.
The process of building with cob is labor intensive, but the outcome is unique and aesthetically pleasing. The sand, straw, and clay mixture is made by using a tarp and the builder’s hands and feet. Each batch of cob is then added to the structure and sculpted by hand into the desired structure. The bench was finished with an earthen plaster and the pink color was derived from using a red iron oxide. If you are interested in learning more about building with cob there are plenty of resources online. The bench above took ~165 hours of labor and ~$200 of materials.
Melissa Hamilton and Ryan Love currently reside in Corvallis Oregon. They have recently launched AsterStar Jewelry and Housewares in which they feature handcrafted bioregional items made out of local minerals. If you would like consultation by Melissa Hamilton, you can contact her at www.aboutme.com or through her AsterStar Jewelry pages on Facebook and Etsy.
If you would like to learn more about the Master’s Program in Bio-regional Planning and Community Design you can find information on their website at http://www.uidaho.edu/caa/biop.
To learn more about the apprenticeship program with House Alive visit their webpage at http://housealive.org/.
AsterStar Jewelry 