Last summer over 40 volunteers helped divert more than four tons of materials from the landfill. The team helps spread the word about how to recycle better and helps clean up our community. The goal is to cut down on overall waste that ends up in the landfill, improve on the amount recycled from the previous year at each event, as well as answer questions about recycling at home or work.

Trash Talkers work in teams and are typically assigned to a specific area of the venue to keep free of trash.  At JazzFest last year volunteers were also given garbage and recycling bags to hand out to fans to involve them in the recycling efforts.  All Trash Talkers that volunteer will receive an organic cotton Trash Talkers t-shirt, water bottle, gloves, and refreshments. Volunteer shifts last around 2.5 hours and several shifts are still available for the following events:

Hot Summer Nights – July 14th
JazzFest – July 15th-17th

Click here to join the Trash Talkers team today!
Questions? Email Karin@siouxfallsgreenproject.org or call 605.610.4240

-Cameron Sinclair

…well almost completed.  There is still work to be done at the Summit House Tool Lending Library before it is up and running but a huge amount of the work is behind us. Cameron Sinclair, Founder and Chief Eternal Optimist of Architecture for Humanity and a speaker at the Plain Green Conference, toured the shed with a few of the project volunteers.  His excitement and encouragement gave us the push we needed to keep moving forward.  The building will be completed by the end of May and the Library will be open for business in early fall 2010.

Great work everyone!

Work began at 8am by trimming nearly 70 bales with a chain saw to make them perfect blocks to build with. During bale trimming, a second group of volunteers began preparing the sills and columns for bales with gravel, waterproofing, and felt paper.

The first bale…

The straw bale shed, located near downtown Sioux Falls in the Pettigrew Height’s Neighborhood, will be a gateway project that may lead to creative thinking about future development in the neighborhood. Sioux Falls Seminary students serving at Summit House hope to eventually use the structure as a Tool Lending Library for the residents of the Pettigrew Heights Neighborhood for simple home maintenance and repair.

Many local contractors and building material suppliers in and around Sioux Falls are responsible for making the straw bale shed a reality. Puetz Corporation, the presenting sponsor, and the Pettigrew Heights Housing Resource Center have provided funds to make this project a hands-on workshop for Plain Green attendees, integrating sustainable building concepts with community stewardship.

Additional co sponsors have offered their time and resources. Amert Construction excavated and poured the foundation. Bruns Construction assembled the post-and-beam frame. Schoeneman’s Building Materials Center, donated lumber used in the structure, and Agan Drywall and TCC Materials have donated plastering mixes, finishes, and accessories. JELD-WEN Millwork donated doors and a window, and Carlson General Carpentry and Big Sioux Construction fi nished the roof.

Also, Koch Hazard Architects and Chartreuse Research have sponsored Joyce Coppinger, an internationally recognized straw bale expert and managing editor and publisher of The Last Straw, to oversee the shed design and workshop.

If you are interested in learning more about straw bale construction or sustainable design, join us at the Plain Green Conference. Register here.

We are now ready for the standing seam roof.  Check back for construction updates as we near the workshop.

A roof bearing assembly, or box beam, sits above the box columns.  It is constructed of a double 2 x 6 for the exterior perimeter and a single 2 x 6 for the interior perimeter.  The underside of the beam will be sheathed in plywood to act as a fire stop for the wall.  The box column will also act as a nailing strip for the plaster mesh applied over the bales.  The trusses will sit above the roof bearing assembly.

The trusses are up and the fly rafters are being constructed over the drop end.

Plywood sheathing is next.

Box columns are up!

The box columns are constructed of a double 2 x 4 on the exterior and a single 2 x 4 on the interior of the column.  15/32 plywood is used to sheath the boxes on both sides.  Plywood is used, as opposed to OSB, because it will stand up to moisture better if any water were to get inside the bale wall.

The columns are as deep as the bales and sit on the base layer of sills and between the second layer of sills.  They are bolted to the sills and the foundation (two per column) with 7″ x 1/2″ anchor bolts.

The first column to go up will frame the double door.

The sill plates , or toe-ups (as they are often called in straw bale construction), are used to raise the bales above grade to protect them from water damage and infiltration.  At Summit House, a double 2 x 4 was used for the interior sill and a double 2 x 6 was used for the exterior sill.  All the lumber on the project is pressure treated to prevent decay.

First, the sills are measured on the foundation.  A moisture barrier is laid above the foundation and below the sills.  A second layer is added above the inside sill and below the exterior sill to direct any moisture out of the wall.  A third layer will be added above the exterior sill to separate the bales from the wood.  The second layer of sills is notched to allow the box columns to sit between.

After marking anchor bolt locations on the plates, holes were drilled for the 7″ x 1/2″ anchor bolts at 3′ o.c.  The bolts were then hammered into the plates and foundation.

Weep holes are cut into the exterior sill plate at 2′ o.c. to allow any moisture to escape the wall.