City Chickens Part One: Taking the Chicken Plunge

[caption id="attachment_1882" align="aligncenter" width="700" caption="Rosie (Rhode Island Red), Buddha (Brahma), Butch (Americauna), Lemon (Buff Orpington). Not shown: Star (Silver Laced Wyandotte), Zebra (Cuckoo Maran)"][/caption] Two months ago my housemates and I felt inspired to take our desire for local sustainable food to the next level; we got four baby chickens.  These four new household members took up lodging in our office in a new 94 quart plastic tote lined with some wood chips. Apparently baby chickens are not very picky about their housing and were happily chirping and scratching away within minutes of arriving.

Four soft downy baby chickens huddled in a pile under a brooding lamp is just one of those irresistible sights. So irresistible, we quickly had two more baby chickens to add to the United Nations of Chickens. The city limit is eight chickens after all! One of my housemates, affectionately know as the chicken guru, can tell you the breed of each chicken but the rest of us know them as: Rosie, Buddha, Butch, Star, Zebra, and Lemon.

There were a lot of decisions to be made about how to raise our little girls even in the early stages. Do we give them the antibiotic feed recommended for little baby chicks? What kind of bedding should we use? Do we give our babies bird electrolytes? How warm do they need to stay? Will there really be dust everywhere? How do we keep them from getting their food clogged with shavings all the time? Should we really feed them eggs?

...........to read about how we answered these questions link to the full blog post on my gardening project Edible Dirt.

[caption id="attachment_1884" align="aligncenter" width="700" caption="The chickens got a temporary upgrade from their original plastic tote while we start to make plans for coop building."][/caption]

Stenciled Bikes

[caption id="attachment_1774" align="aligncenter" width="700" caption="Bike lane outside Schemata Workshop on 12th Avenue."][/caption] Much like Katherine I decided that May, official Bike to Work month, was a great opportunity to recommit to biking to work.  I was a fairly regular bike commuter five years ago when I worked downtown and lived in Greenwood but since then I’ve either worked close enough to walk to work or was on the road traveling for work.  The biggest difference I notice about biking now versus five years ago is all the new bike lanes, green bike lanes at intersections and sharrows (shared-lane markings) painted on the city streets.  These white stenciled bikes painted on the streets definitely make me feel like a more ligitimate user of the roadways.  As a biker I’m always hyper-aware of the dangers present when on the road.  Simple things can lead to dangerous accidents when you are on your bike such as a car door opening while passing parked cars, a car turning right across my path without noticing me, a car pulling out of a hidden driveway, the unaware driver at the four way stop who hasn’t noticed me, a newly formed pothole waiting to devour my bike, and the list goes one.  There are some drivers out there that get frustrated sharing the roadway with bikes but thankfully I have personally found those few and far between. The more common problems I’ve encountered with cars are that we bikers are just not super visible.  The good news is the image of my bike painted on the street seems to go a long way to remind my fellow car-driving road users that I and other bikers are also using the road. Seattle bike system may not be perfect and we have some ways to go before I would truly call us a bike friendly city but I am one biker that is happy with the direction we are headed.

On one of my evening rides home this month I decided to take a detour through downtown and head home along Dexter. It was fun to see the new road improvements currently underway that will create more buffered space between cars and bikes.  Later when I was looking up information about the construction I was surprised to learn that Dexter is one of the highest used bike lanes in Seattle but currently does not actually meet SDOT bike lane guidelines.  This is soon to be changed! The upgrade to Dexter will provide a substantial buffer between cars and bikes.  Most studies show buffers decrease serious bike-car accidents.  Dexter was originally slated for a Cycle Track, a two way bike lane separated from car traffic, but there was  debate on how much added safety (if any) these Cycle Tracks provide and if they were a actually a good fit for Dexter given the uses and layout of the street.  After community feedback the Dexter design was ultimately changed to provide buffer space between cars and bikes but not a Cycle Track.  That said SDOT has other Cycle Tracks proposed throughout the city. Community groups and SDOT are currently working to develop Cycle Tracks in a way that both increases bike ridership while providing added safety.

[caption id="attachment_1775" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Dexter road improvements currently underway will add buffered bike lanes."][/caption]

Dexter and the proposed Cycle Tracks are not part of my daily Greenwood to Capitol Hill commute but I’m still very excited for these projects.  New bicycle road improvements encourage more car commuters to become bike commuters. More bike commuters increase bike awareness for drivers and bikers alike. More awareness leads to better and more creative solutions that keep bike commuters safer.  Safer bike commuters lead to more bike commuters…. It’s a feedback loop that will continue to lead us towards a more bike friendly Seattle. And this ultimately leads to a more environmentally friendly way to get all of us to work!

Bike to Work month

As many of you may know the month of May is Bike to Work month. The Schemata Workshop crew reflects on the past month and concludes that we put in a solid effort to reduce our offices carbon footprint. John Feit led our team and road to work every day, as he always does;  Dominique came in second with her commitment of biking 75% of the time and I came in last but not least biking to work 40% of the month due to a bike accident (faulty new tire) at the end of the second week. Although the rest of the Schemata Workshop crew might not be biking they arrive by either walking or taking the bus. You will typically only find one car parked at our office, our company Prius.

With my bike and body on the mend from my accident I was part of the commuting via foot group. This is certainly a commendable and sustainable approach but I reminisce about my experience riding to work. When riding not only do I decrease my commute to approximately 9 minutes, I also gain a better perspective at the start of the day. I can’t help but smile as I whizz past all those waiting at the bus stop near my house. Instead of riding along my regular walking route on Roy to Broadway then up to 12th Ave E via E John Street, I snake my way up the hill from Bellevue Ave. E on all the back streets, listening to the birds and admiring the old apartment buildings along the way, as I slowly but surely take on the hill. When I cross Broadway I gain a sense of accomplishment as I make it to the top leaving only one small hill up to 12th Ave E to go. Then the last small jaunt goes slightly downhill giving me a moment of no pedaling and a small breeze before I arrive at work - ready to tackle the day. 

Beginning my day after my energizing morning routine has been very rewarding and I look forward to being fully healed and my bike repaired so I can extend the Bike to Work month to become Bike to Work year and so on. My colleagues are going to continue to do the same. With such popularity and commitment from the Schemata Workshop crew there’s talk that our office will be creating a shelter to lock up our bikes as the entry space at our office isn’t quite big enough for 3+ bikes but more on this later....

green = practical

[caption id="attachment_1649" align="aligncenter" width="700" caption="Fern Hill Terrace Apartments"][/caption] Mike and I met with a non-profit housing developer recently who indicated that one of their funders said that we should really stop talking about green building and sustainability. Their opinion was that what we are really talking about is taking a practical approach to design - focusing on reducing energy consumption, lower operations and maintenance costs.

Wow! What a refreshing change to have enlightened funders (who have historically been concerned about bottom line returns and building more with less) who truly get the triple bottom line with respect to affordable housing. By expecting affordable housing projects to be environmentally sustainable, WA state funders are acknowledging the social equity of providing healthy homes for low income families and seniors, but also the economic benefit to housing operators, and reduced energy consumption for low income tenants.

[caption id="attachment_1654" align="alignleft" width="700" caption="Typical Unit Kitchen"][/caption]

Fern Hill Terrace is a project that recently completed construction for the Multi-Service Center and Shelter Resources, Inc. It is a rehabilitation of an existing low income housing property. There are 24 family units in this project located in Tacoma, WA. Due to funding from the state, the project was required to satisfy the Evergreen Sustainable Development Standards - not only for the renovation but also for the 600sf of new construction. The great thing about the project was not only that we were able re-use the existing buildings (the best move we could have made from a sustainability standpoint), but that the residents of this apartment community were not displaced during construction. The construction occurred in a phases such that 4-6 units were renovated at a time. Sure, the residents had to move out of their units as they were being renovated, but they simply moved into another unit within the complex...which allowed them to maintain the same bus routes, driving routes, and daily schedule. For some seniors and families, this was a big deal - they shared that with me during the open house. And they were able to move back into units that were like new - new cabinets, flooring, doors, windows. The energy efficiency is dramatically improved, the indoor air quality significantly improved, and radiant heating elevated above the window to eliminate the fire hazard of the previous electric baseboards. Not to mention the improved laundry facilities, community room, low impact landscaping, and new kids playground.

Schemata Workshop is proud to serve low and moderate income families and seniors in Washington state by designing safe and decent homes - you can call them green, we call them practical.

Earth day – clean up

For some, Earth Day only reminds them of childhood activities long ago when they cleaned up a nearby neighborhood and were rewarded for the number of cans they gathered. But for others earth day is no different than what they do every day – being prudent consumers and fully aware of their carbon footprint. I have committed to being more aware of my carbon footprint and strive to consider Earth Day as an every day event. This commitment was energized by taking part in the bi-annual Duwamish Alive river cleanup, held every April and September. Last Saturday, April 16^th I participated at Duwamish Waterway Park in South Seattle. The event is sponsored by Soundkeeper Alliance, People for Puget Sound, Environmental Coalition of South Seattle, NOAA, Argosy Cruises, and Alki Kayak Tours to name a few. For a list of all sponsors go to http://www.duwamishalive.org/

The clean up at the South Park site was twofold which included both shore-side park beautification and, most anticipated by me, in-water cleanup via Kayaks.   

During the park beautification shift a few people from the Nature Consortium, my brother, and I tackled the invasive black berry bushes on the banks of the river (see the before photo above) and I have scratches on my arms from the thorns to proof it! I felt a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction with each branch I tore out (see the after photo below). The removal of the invasive weeds allows for the native plants to return taking a small step toward restoring the natural habitat of the area.  

In mid afternoon it was our turn to commandeer the kayaks and I was excited! We immediately spotted trash on the opposite side of the river and paddled over to pick it up, Styrofoam! Styrofoam was the most obvious trash on the water and banks, understandable given the industrial nature of the area. But, unfortunately, aluminum cans, plastic bottles and plastic bags were our most commonly gathered trash. The event was eye opening to say the least. With every plastic bag I found I remembered all the times at the grocery store when I forgot to bring my reusable bag. I vowed to be more mindful of having it with me in the future. In the end, my brother and I filled 3 large bags of trash (the most we could safely fit on our kayak). It felt good to contribute this small amount to the total collected by the entire group at the Duwamish Waterway Parkand the total trash gathered from all 13 sites along the Duwamish by approximately 1,100 volunteers all together! 

If you are interested in striving to consider Earth Day as an every day event the next clean up sponsored by Soundkeeper Alliance is May 14^th where we will be removing trash in Lake Union and Portage Bay. For more information go to http://pugetsoundkeeper.org/programs/partnerships/waterway-cleanups/waterway-cleanups