By Ginny Richter
It may surprise you to learn that conventional farming practices worldwide have significantly contributed to climate change. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO):
The long-term conversion of grassland and forestland to cropland (and grazing lands) has resulted in historic losses of soil carbon worldwide but there is a major potential for increasing soil carbon through restoration of degraded soils and widespread adoption of soil conservation practices…The work of the FAO aims to identify, develop and promote cultural practices that reduce agricultural emissions and sequester carbon while helping to improve the livelihoods of farmers. (For more information, click here.)
In 2013, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations declared December 5 as World Soil Day to connect people with soils and to raise awareness of the soil as a vital resource. There is much we can accomplish toward this end at Hart’s Mill through our farming and soil regeneration practices.
33% of global soils are degraded and desertification is spreading rapidly. Soils that are tilled and fertilized cannot grow plants with all the micronutrients necessary for human health. Only fertile soil can do that. Fortunately, in the last decades farmers and ranchers have learned new (old) ways to facilitate the growth of new soil. I say “old” because what’s new is that people are observing how Nature does things.
For example, the inspiration for Holistic Management of Cattle came to Allan Savory by watching the behavior of the large ruminants in Zimbabwe. The herds were constantly moving to new pastures, allowing the plants left behind to regrow. The earth was always covered, plants were always growing (allowing constant nutrition for the soil food web) and biodiversity was allowed to flourish. Ranchers who use this approach (sometimes called mob grazing) find that the cattle are healthier, input costs are much lower, the rancher works less and make more money.
Other farmers have found that with crop diversity, no-till, cover crops and the use of compost the land becomes very productive and the percentage of organic carbon sequestered rises rapidly. These practices are being used all around the world very successfully. Many nations have the goal of increasing Carbon in the soil by .4% year. The faster the regeneration of the land that occurs, the faster the possibility of reversing climate change.
For more information, visit the links below. And I’m always open to a conversation on my favorite topic, so please be in touch!
Elaine Ingham: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDtGxOdDj1A
Allan Savory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpTHi7O66pI
Gabe Brown, North Dakota https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfTZ0rnowcc
Michael Pollan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxqBzrx9yIE
On Saturday, December 17, Hart’s Mill members gathered for our final round of Schematic Architectural Design with our architects Suzy Cash, Frank Harmon, and Paul Drake. We met in the Arcadia Common House, and the architects shared their work and progress since our last gathering in November. Here is a copy of the their slide presentation: 
more compact and sits more gently on the land than the original plan approved by Orange County in November of 2015. The new plan moves the village slightly north and east on the site to better follow the contours of the land and reduce the amount of grading and earth moving required. The compact clustering of homes reflected the community’s decision to design half of the homes as duplexes, and about 75% as 2-story homes, which reduced our land footprint and decreased our overall roof square footage to help us with storm-water management. The new plan also has a smaller pedestrian path running between the homes, which we hope will allow us to use less pavement and create a more intimate sense of connection between the houses. Overall, the new plan does a better job of meeting our values of sustainability and affordability. However, we will have to work with the County to ensure that there is adequate access for emergency vehicles in the village, so we may have to revise elements of the new Site Plan going forward.
In this iteration of design, we also saw an updated Common House design with slightly larger Dining Room and Café areas. The architects have also rearranged the location and sizes of the Guest Rooms to create one larger suite with a private bath, and two sleeping nooks off the Library/Meeting Room. This design choice was a response to community requests for different-sized Guest Rooms to accommodate visitors with different needs. In the feedback rounds on Saturday, some members expressed concerns about privacy for guests using the sleeping nooks, so we may modify this element going forward to include an enclosed hallway for greater privacy.
designs: a One Bedroom home, with 1- and 2-story versions (720 and 580 square feet, respectively); a Two Bedroom home, with 1- and 2-story versions (1200 and 1280 square feet, respectively); and a Three Bedroom home (1600 square feet). The Village will also contain two Shared Homes with five bedrooms each, but these units will be designed later. 
The homes use similarly designed “blocks” or sections that make them easier and more affordable to build. They have a 3/12 roof pitch for a shed roof style that creates an intimate streetscape. This low-sloping roof minimizes materials and also helps with affordability in construction, while still offering 95% solar gain for photovoltaic panels. All homes will have screened porches and patios, and most will be clustered in groups of four around shared green space for private and community gardens. Some of the units will have clerestory windows for light and ventilation. One design change from the last workshop is that more homes now have south-facing roofs for solar panels, and the homes that have north-facing roofs will be attached to other homes in duplexes so they can use space on their neighbor’s south-facing roof for solar panels.
December 3rd’s workday began before lunch on a sunny and brisk day. Paul was cutting firewood early on; Anthony arrived before lunch to set up the new loo; Charles and Christina soon arrived with their two-year-old grandson Jaxon; then Vanessa and Lizel, Hope, Julie, Margret, Randy, Rita, and HM old-timer Christian along with his daughter Alison all showed up to general acclaim. Lots of good food!
After lunch we split 
into 
work groups, three people to mark off the western half of the village path on the new site plan, afterwards joining the rest in cutting and removing the overgrown saplings in the Far Field that were blocking or slowing down the mowing Jeffry has been doing. Jeffry soon brought over the tractor and he and Anthony shared mowing until about 4:30, while everyone else cut and pulled out small pine trees — some so nice that they took them home for Xmas trees, or to put out for others to take. 
After the October workshop, the community was faced with a host of specific design questions concerning Homes and the Common House. In addition, some members had expressed concerns, anxieties, and misgivings about the direction of the design work, and especially about the aesthetic look and feel of the proposed homes. After considering whether to slow down the design process, members of the General Circle and the Planning, Design, and Development Circle (PDD) made a commitment to explore member concerns while simultaneously addressing as many questions as possible, in order to provide direction to the Architects so they could prepare for the November workshop. 
pitch roof (a shed roof style); the Storage for All scheme featured a 12/12 pitch roof (a gable roof style, which was the steepest of the three); and the PV (PhotoVoltaic) Delight scheme featured a 6/12 pitch roof. They shared street-level drawings and el
evations to help us get a feel for walking and living amidst a cluster of the homes in each scheme. The third scheme, PV Delight, provided the most roofs with good south-facing solar access plus the best roof angle for solar gain at 99%, though the other two roofs also did well at 95% solar gain for this region. Street Smart seemed to provide more variety in the size and connections of the homes, which many members found visually compelling, and was also the most cost-effective design option. Storage for All provided the most attic storage, but many members were concerned 
with the higher cost and lower efficiency of those designs. Members discussed the balance of multiple elements in the designs, including sustainability, storage, cost, and visual impact, and the group was ultimately drawn to a blend of the Street Smart and PV Delight schemes.
included added storage space and bathrooms closer to the kitchen/dining room. In addition, the Common House designs raised questions about the location and design of the guest rooms, the size and location of the laundry room, and the location of the library/meeting room. The two designs also offered different options for the overall shape of the building and how much it should extend and enclose the village green. We left with questions to be addressed before the next workshop, and are working to provide the architects with our preferences for these designs so they can prepare for our next meeting together.
In the November darkness, two dozen members and friends gathered at Arcadia Common House for the gifts of community — companionship, excellent food, and drinks galore. Candles lit up the tables and late-fall flowers brightened the room. Succulent dishes and kind conversation warmed our bodies and hearts. Favorite foods from Fickle Creek Farm turkey to several types of squash, potatoes, stuffing, veggies, and a splendid outpouring of desserts delighted our senses and filled us with good things. 
Marsha, John, Maria Teresa, Margret, Jeffry, Michael and Hope. Ben Rickard and Noah Ranells from Fickle Creek Farm joined us for a late dinner around the festive campfire. The conversations, stories and singing carried us into the late hours. Countless stars twinkled in the overhead darkness.
Major accomplishments for day included:
inter rye) on the garden beds
used for summer irrigation
Special thanks to:
commendations to Geri and Rita for avid gardening and trail clearing
delicious maitake soup!
We finished the evening with a rousing rendition of a Halloween round (slightly adjusted he
re in honor of our namesake):
In early September, Hart’s Mill members also met together to make a host of specific decisions around Site Plan, Common House Design, and Home Design, and we passed along our preferences to the architects. So, by mid-October, we were very excited to see what the architects had come up with.
October 1, I attended a workshop on Ecovillages at Pickard’s Mountain Eco-Institute. The workshop was led by two energetic, young facilitators. Cynthia and Nick are active in GEN, the Global Ecovillage Network, and Cynthia is on GEN’s international board.
aving short-term, affordable housing in the community; creating education and internship programs; providing entrepreneurship opportunities and infrastructure that welcomes young people, including community businesses with jobs designated to support a few young people financially; and hosting National/International ecovillage events and gatherings at Hart’s Mill. I look forward to working with Hart’s Millers in making many of these ideas manifest in our community.
