We invite you to join us for two days of Natural Building Professional Development on March 1 and 2, 2014, at our annual Natural Building Conference. Like previous years, there will be a variety of workshops, round table discussions, and presentations on a variety of topics of interest to builders and potential owner-builders.
This conference is a great opportunity to connect with others in the natural building and straw bale community who we don't often get the chance to meet up with, including some members of the Natural Builders Northeast (NBNE) from the U.S.A. Live music and tasty libations on Saturday evening will give everyone time to mix and mingle both personally and professionally!
The Ontario Natural Building Coalitions’ Annual General Meeting of members will take place on Sunday March 2, followed by further educational and social events.
Accommodation is available from Friday night through to Sunday, and super delicious and healthy meals are included.
(Most food sensitivities can be accommodated)
Accommodation is "Indoor Camping Style". Bedding and towels are not provided. You must bring your own sleeping bag, pillow and/or bedding, towels etc. A flashlight is a good idea too.
View all the Conferences Presenter Bios Here
Schedule - Saturday
10 am Natural Building For a Better Tomorrow Introduction with Tina Therrien, ONBC President Tina Therrien's Bio 10:30 am Natural Building Impact, Social Justice, and Creativity with Jacob Deva Racusin (NBNE)from Vermont, USA In this presentation, Jacob will explore the idea of natural building as being far more than simply using unrefined materials; it is a values-driven practices that considers the deepest context of the integration of our buildings and their systems into the ecological and economic systems in which they are created. To that end, the same principles of reduced impact, social justice, connection to place, and creativity will be explored in the parts of the building that often require more compromise in their material or technological make-up. In this presentation, practical examples will be presented through case studies, building details, posed questions, interesting spreadsheets, and pretty pictures. Perhaps more importantly, together we'll identify strategies to assess and choose the correct solution. Jacob Deva Racusin's Bio 1:30 pm Setting Goals and Priorities for Sustainable Projects with Chris Magwood from Peterborough, ON, Canada. By moving away from the idea that there is only one right or wrong way to build, but rather many options that can be combined to meet the goals of a particular project, for a particular owner on a particular site, Chris will discuss the multiple pathways to a successful sustainable building. Chris’ presentation quantifies the impacts of a wide range of green, natural, and alternative materials and systems according to key criteria. Chris Magwood's Bio 3:00 pm Reporting from the Front Lines -with a few Back Stories with David Eisenberg from Arizona, USA. Weaving the threads of lessons learned, insights, and sources of inspiration from his two decades of work leading the Development Center for Appropriate Technology, David Eisenberg will share stories from past and current work, and thoughts about our role in creating needed changes in thinking, designing, building and living as if the future matters. David Eisenberg's Bio 5:00 pm BaleHeart Bar opens with organic wines and craft beers and ales. 7:30 pm Slide Show of Recent Natural & Bale Buildings - "5x5" Pecha Kucha - photos and stories from over a dozen contributors (send your five photos to ckeetch@webhart.net before February 20) 8:30 pm Social Networking Party Saturday Night, featuring music by Rick Fines, guitar player, song-writer and recording artist. Winner of two Canadian Maple Blues awards.
10 am Natural Building For a Better Tomorrow Introduction with Tina Therrien, ONBC President Tina Therrien's Bio
10:30 am Natural Building Impact, Social Justice, and Creativity with Jacob Deva Racusin (NBNE)from Vermont, USA In this presentation, Jacob will explore the idea of natural building as being far more than simply using unrefined materials; it is a values-driven practices that considers the deepest context of the integration of our buildings and their systems into the ecological and economic systems in which they are created. To that end, the same principles of reduced impact, social justice, connection to place, and creativity will be explored in the parts of the building that often require more compromise in their material or technological make-up. In this presentation, practical examples will be presented through case studies, building details, posed questions, interesting spreadsheets, and pretty pictures. Perhaps more importantly, together we'll identify strategies to assess and choose the correct solution. Jacob Deva Racusin's Bio
10:30 am Natural Building Impact, Social Justice, and Creativity with Jacob Deva Racusin (NBNE)from Vermont, USA
In this presentation, Jacob will explore the idea of natural building as being far more than simply using unrefined materials; it is a values-driven practices that considers the deepest context of the integration of our buildings and their systems into the ecological and economic systems in which they are created. To that end, the same principles of reduced impact, social justice, connection to place, and creativity will be explored in the parts of the building that often require more compromise in their material or technological make-up. In this presentation, practical examples will be presented through case studies, building details, posed questions, interesting spreadsheets, and pretty pictures. Perhaps more importantly, together we'll identify strategies to assess and choose the correct solution. Jacob Deva Racusin's Bio
1:30 pm Setting Goals and Priorities for Sustainable Projects with Chris Magwood from Peterborough, ON, Canada. By moving away from the idea that there is only one right or wrong way to build, but rather many options that can be combined to meet the goals of a particular project, for a particular owner on a particular site, Chris will discuss the multiple pathways to a successful sustainable building. Chris’ presentation quantifies the impacts of a wide range of green, natural, and alternative materials and systems according to key criteria. Chris Magwood's Bio
1:30 pm Setting Goals and Priorities for Sustainable Projects with Chris Magwood from Peterborough, ON, Canada.
By moving away from the idea that there is only one right or wrong way to build, but rather many options that can be combined to meet the goals of a particular project, for a particular owner on a particular site, Chris will discuss the multiple pathways to a successful sustainable building. Chris’ presentation quantifies the impacts of a wide range of green, natural, and alternative materials and systems according to key criteria.
Chris Magwood's Bio
3:00 pm Reporting from the Front Lines -with a few Back Stories with David Eisenberg from Arizona, USA. Weaving the threads of lessons learned, insights, and sources of inspiration from his two decades of work leading the Development Center for Appropriate Technology, David Eisenberg will share stories from past and current work, and thoughts about our role in creating needed changes in thinking, designing, building and living as if the future matters. David Eisenberg's Bio
3:00 pm Reporting from the Front Lines -with a few Back Stories with David Eisenberg from Arizona, USA.
Weaving the threads of lessons learned, insights, and sources of inspiration from his two decades of work leading the Development Center for Appropriate Technology, David Eisenberg will share stories from past and current work, and thoughts about our role in creating needed changes in thinking, designing, building and living as if the future matters. David Eisenberg's Bio
5:00 pm BaleHeart Bar opens with organic wines and craft beers and ales. 7:30 pm Slide Show of Recent Natural & Bale Buildings - "5x5" Pecha Kucha - photos and stories from over a dozen contributors (send your five photos to ckeetch@webhart.net before February 20) 8:30 pm Social Networking Party Saturday Night, featuring music by Rick Fines, guitar player, song-writer and recording artist. Winner of two Canadian Maple Blues awards.
5:00 pm BaleHeart Bar opens with organic wines and craft beers and ales.
7:30 pm Slide Show of Recent Natural & Bale Buildings - "5x5" Pecha Kucha - photos and stories from over a dozen contributors (send your five photos to ckeetch@webhart.net before February 20)
8:30 pm Social Networking Party Saturday Night, featuring music by Rick Fines, guitar player, song-writer and recording artist. Winner of two Canadian Maple Blues awards.
Sunday
9:00 am Emerge Leadership with David Eisenberg from Arizona, USA. Faculty member at EMERGE - founded by Kathleen O’Brien and the not for profit organization, Emerge Leadership Project - David Eisenberg will present the EMERGE Leadership Model, a new, easy-to-apply framework for building effective leadership capacity at the personal, organizational, and community level. David has helped lead six EMERGE workshops across North America and we've invited him to give a mini-workshop at the conference to share some of the lessons, insights, and tools that can help us all develop our leadership potential. Those wanting more information can visit the EMERGE website at http://emergeleadership.net/emerge 11:00 am Annual General Meeting
9:00 am Emerge Leadership with David Eisenberg from Arizona, USA.
Faculty member at EMERGE - founded by Kathleen O’Brien and the not for profit organization, Emerge Leadership Project - David Eisenberg will present the EMERGE Leadership Model, a new, easy-to-apply framework for building effective leadership capacity at the personal, organizational, and community level. David has helped lead six EMERGE workshops across North America and we've invited him to give a mini-workshop at the conference to share some of the lessons, insights, and tools that can help us all develop our leadership potential. Those wanting more information can visit the EMERGE website at http://emergeleadership.net/emerge
11:00 am Annual General Meeting
1:00 pm Fun-draising Raffle 1:30 pm The ASRi Straw Bale Alternative Solutions Resource with Dawn Marie Smith from Vancouver, BC, Canada. Dawn Marie Smith was the Project Manager and lead editor of the Alternative Solutions Resource Initiatives’ Straw Bale Alternative Solutions Resource (ASR) manual, the first authoritative and comprehensive resource manual on the use of straw bale as a building material, published in June of 2013. Dawns’ presentation will review how the ASR manual was created, vetted and distributed, and the lessons that were learned from the project. The presentation will review how the ASR fits into the overall strategy of influencing the built environment in the province of BC, and a facilitated brainstorm will explore how the ASR document might influence or support straw bale building in Ontario. Dawn Marie Smith's Bio 2:30 pm Break Out Sessions Send us your suggestions in advance, or decide at lunch on Sunday. Subjects can range from Climate Change & Natural Building, to Straw Panel Construction, or Natural Building in Third World Countries..... (send suggestions to ckeetch@webhart.net) 3:30 - 4 pm Closing Remarks
1:00 pm Fun-draising Raffle
1:30 pm The ASRi Straw Bale Alternative Solutions Resource with Dawn Marie Smith from Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Dawn Marie Smith was the Project Manager and lead editor of the Alternative Solutions Resource Initiatives’ Straw Bale Alternative Solutions Resource (ASR) manual, the first authoritative and comprehensive resource manual on the use of straw bale as a building material, published in June of 2013. Dawns’ presentation will review how the ASR manual was created, vetted and distributed, and the lessons that were learned from the project. The presentation will review how the ASR fits into the overall strategy of influencing the built environment in the province of BC, and a facilitated brainstorm will explore how the ASR document might influence or support straw bale building in Ontario. Dawn Marie Smith's Bio
2:30 pm Break Out Sessions
Send us your suggestions in advance, or decide at lunch on Sunday. Subjects can range from Climate Change & Natural Building, to Straw Panel Construction, or Natural Building in Third World Countries..... (send suggestions to ckeetch@webhart.net)
3:30 - 4 pm Closing Remarks
PLEASE NOTE: Registering early, helps the kitchen staff plan our delicious meals!
Members will receive member pricing by logging in with your email address and password using the two boxes at the top of every page of this website.
Non-members can obtain member pricing, by becoming a new member (starts at $20) before registering.
Display Tables
There will be opportunity for free display tables (2’ – 4’ space only) for our Professional Members as well as presentation boards of current work to display.
Also, if you have a current straw bale or natural building you would like to show in our slide show, please send 2 – 5 pictures to Cheryl Keetch by Feb. 20
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