What's New.

I was just looking at my last post and realized I've gotten some work done on the things I said I was going to do. Often, these lists are equal parts wishful thinking and actual goals. So, for once, it's good to see some of the wishes happening.

I *did* learn a bit on how to make the Learning Center a "Green & Healthy School" at the...take a guess...Green and Healthy School Summit in Lexington this weekend. I found out some great work going on in Kenton county (near the Kentucky side of Cincinnati). They're a big public school system, so what they're doing isn't feasible for a school of 30 here in eastern KY, but it is inspiring to see engineers, architects, school administrators, teachers and students working together to build net-zero energy schools. The national average of new schools built is an energy usage of 73 kBTUs per sq.ft. per year. So, 73 is the magic number. Kenton county built a school last year (and so they have a year's worth of data to prove this) that uses only 28 kBTUs per sq.ft. per year. The engineer who gave the presentation believes that if he can continue to bring this number down to 18, then he can design a net-zero school--that is: a school that can produce as much energy (with solar PV, mostly) as it uses. You can check out the real time "vital signs" of one of the schools here. (Be sure to click on the buttons on the left to see how the solar cell, rainwater collection, and geothermal heating and cooling systems are currently working. *Really* cool stuff.)

More practical for the school here: I got information on starting an outdoor classroom and ways to integrate it into the curriculum, and some introductory information on how to work to get locally grown produce into the cafeteria. (And, I got an unexpected education on the labyrinthine ways the public school lunch program and the USDA works. Ugggh--just awful.)

What else?...

Whit and I went and looked around the area where we'll be planting a garden with neighbors/friends/colleagues, starting as soon as possible--after the ground dries out a bit. Can't wait until I can get some early season crops in the ground: lettuce, spinach, maybe some peas, etc.!

I wrote my little bits for KFTC's newsletter, Balancing the Scales.

Made updates to the LEAF website. I'm *so, so, so* excited that there is the possibility, through Dawn and Pat's nonstop work at LEAF, that MTR might actually be stopped in Tennessee. Oh, oh, oh, how exciting! And, you know, what's good for Tennessee in that respect, is good for Kentucky.

We've gotten the house cleaned up a bit from it's pre-dissertation-turn-in squalor. Feels *very* nice. More of that today.

This evening: The Gingerbread Festival committee meeting at the Holly Hills Mall Restaurant. How Hindman is that! (I think you might just have to be here to know what I'm talking about).

And, working on job applications today...

Busy, busy.

Oh, and the kitchen door is wide open. Enjoying this fresh, warm, humid (it's so drizzly today) air before we crash back into winter for at least a few more days again.

Oh, for springtime in Appalachia!