Bugs, Wind & Solar: IPM in High Tunnels and a Hybrid Renewable Energy SystemÂ
Quiet Creek Herb Farm & School of Country Living
Brookville, Jefferson County
Thursday, May 13, 2010
10am – 3pm
$15 PASA members, $25 all others; lunch will be provided.
Claire and Rusty Orner, Quiet Creek Herb Farm and School of Country Living
Funds provided through grant support from the
US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA Region III)
Additional support is provided by the PA Department of Environmental Protection.
Come and spend the morning in the high tunnels looking at soil composition and discussing techniques the folks at Quiet Creek use to achieve healthy soil, plants, and people. Check out the work the worm composting team does and learn about reduced risk management using IPM practices that are completely biological.
After lunch – a yummy locally grown vegetarian meal cooked with wind and solar power - we’ll get an up close look the Orner’s latest project. We’ll tour Quiet Creek’s new wind and solar electrical generation system, sponsored by the PA Department of Environmental Protection. Claire and Rusty Orner will answer questions about the renewable system. You will be invited to view the computer software depicting the generated wattage over time, the amount of greenhouse gases saved, and weather data.
This event will occur rain or shine, so please come prepared for the weather.
About the Presenters
Claire and Rusty Orner are stewards of the non-profit educational facility Quiet Creek Herb Farm & School of Country Living, a 30-acre organic farm located in Brookville, Pennsylvania. Quiet Creek raises vegetables, fruits, herbs, edible and cut flowers. Much of the produce is used to make organic (non-certified) products such as herbal teas, soaps, dried produce, vinegars, etc. The farm uses only sustainable techniques when fertilizing the plants, controlling weeds and managing insects, bacteria and fungi. Quiet Creek’s year-round classes from toddlers to the elderly that cover sustainable topics such as energy efficiency, integrated pest management, renewable energy, vermicomposting, creating raised beds, soil food web, herbal soap making, bread making and many more.
In 2009, the Orners were awarded a Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Energy Harvest grant and installed an ARE110, 2.5kW wind turbine on a 127’ Guyed Tilt-up tower with a 2.6 kW Photo Voltaic array accompanied with a weather station and computer monitoring system.
Between the two of them, Rusty and Claire have over 40 years of teaching experience and 60 years of organic farming experience. Rusty has a BS in Agriculture from Pennsylvania State University and experience in dairy farming, growing herbs/vegetables and landscaping. Claire has a BS in Geology from West Virginia University and two Master degrees in Middle School Education and Curriculum & Instruction from Appalachian State University and the University of Washington, respectively. She is certified in the states of Pennsylvania and North Carolina to teach K-12 students general curriculum, biology earth science, environmental science, physics, and chemistry and has teaching experience in both states. In North and South Carolina she was employed as an Energy/Environmental Educator of Carolina Power & Light Company. Here she conducted seminars on the topics of renewable and non-renewable energy, generation of electricity, electrical safety, and more to kindergarten through adult students (teachers and administrators). In 2009, Claire completed the Citizen Power Energy Trainer Training. She now assists in Energy Education Workshops as a representative of Citizen Power. The current one-day workshop format is a six-hour workshop for 6 – 12th grade teachers of energy-related curriculum in western Pennsylvania. On the university level, Claire coordinated the University of Washington Science/Mathematics Fellows Program. Prior to her teaching experience, Claire was a hydrogeologist with Todd Giddings and Associates monitoring the water quality/quantity problems associated with the coal and solid waste industries.
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