Community project builds with nature and nurture

It may seem unremarkable that Eastwood Elementary School will soon have a new toolshed next to their community garden.

However, this is not just any toolshed, it is an environmentally-friendly strawbale construction. The walls of the eight by 12 foot structure are made of a combination of straw and clay, with the goal of creating a strong, efficient building out of inexpensive and environmentally-sound materials.

The new shed is thanks to three local groups and the work of many volunteers, including community members, Oberlin students and even kids from Eastwood.

The project originally began with the Eastwood community garden. This garden was installed at the beginning of this year so students could grow vegetables as well as flowers to attract butterflies and other wildlife. Sara Lee, a second grade teacher at Eastwood, originally thought up the idea of planting a garden for the school.

Organizers decided that the next step would be to build a toolshed to store garden equipment, seeds, and other tools, as well as what Brad Masi, Environmental Studies project director, terms "discovery things such as nets and magnifying glasses to let students learn more about the butterflies, insects and flowers in the garden."

The strawbale building technique is a traditional method which has recently been revived. A clay and straw mixture is applied to the outside of tightly tied strawbales, creating a breathing but waterproof wall. "Its materials are also non-toxic, renewable and aesthetically pleasing. Timber is becoming much more scarce and strawbale is being recognized now as much more usable and a much less costly building approach," Masi said.

The College has strongly supported the project. "The College has been a great source of volunteers. It has also donated all the sandstone which is being used for the structure's base. This comes from the old conservatory," Masi said.

The strawbale toolshed also got many other people involved. Masi said, "We could have just put up an aluminum shed in one day, but this allowed us to get large segments of the community involved." He guessed that this project brought together approximately 250 Eastwood students, 20 local community members and 40 College students as volunteers.

Masi said there has been a very positive reaction from Eastwood Elementary. "Some teachers complained about kids being muddy; that's really the only negative response. The kids are really excited. It's a lot of fun to see them go running over to the tool shed and point out the part of the wall they put in. The school has been very supportive, too."

Economics was another positive point of the project. The required materials were both inexpensive and locally available. Straw is a byproduct of wheat, and therefore it is widely available in Lorain County. Organizers were able to buy straw from local farms and timber from the nearby Amish. Masi said, "This would have beneficial local economic effects."

In addition to Oberlin College's Environmental Studies department, two groups were central to organizing the project. One was Seventh Generation, a Lorain County environmental group which organizes projects at public schools around the county.

They are developing curriculum involving the garden and putting a storybook together for elementary school students describing the building of the garden and toolshed. Masi also said, "Mark Hoberecht of Natural Homesteads, a natural building organization, was the mastermind behind the strawbale project and was absolutely central in organizing it."

Other uses for the strawbale process include a possible greenhouse associated with the Environmental Studies center and a sustainable agricultural project, which might be done on 80 acres of College farmland. It could also possibly be used to build houses.