Last Week Until Elizabeth Campus Tree Planting!

Things are coming together nicely for the tree planting! We will have representatives from our capstone class, Earthbound, alumni from the Lutheran Orphanage, and grounds crew present at the event. All interested students and faculty are also encouraged to come help out with the planting!

Save the date:
Saturday April 20th at 12pm
Meet by Elizabeth Hall. 
Snacks and drinks will be provided by Earthbound!

As for recent updates:

• We presented our poster on the project at RC's Showcase of Research and Creativity on Friday, April 16th . The poster was a success, with students and faculty showing interest in the project. 
• We were also lucky enough to have our project covered by the PR department! They did a great job with the article, check it out here.
• We have received the last of our tree orders, two copper beech trees that will frame Elizabeth Hall nicely. 

Staunton Review

I do believe that a BIG "Thank you" is due to ALL of those who traveled to Staunton to help with the Community Garden Work Day!

The trip was nothing short of a huge success! The community garden, which originally had three raised beds, was successfully expanded to THIRTEEN raised beds. 

The members of Transition Staunton and the Community Garden Organizers were very appreciative of all the work we could contribute to their cause. 

We also paid a visit to Sunspots Glass Studio. There I was able to share the fantastic experience i had last semester with everyone who was with me. Our gardening group soon became as enthusiastic about the trip next semester as i am.

THANK YOU all again for making this trip such a success!

Lets get ready to GAAAAAaaaarden! In Staunton!

The building of the lasagna beds in Staunton Virginia at the community garden site is ready to finally begin! This Saturday, our environmental capstone class will join the heads of the Transition Staunton organization and begin the construction and filling of the raised lasagna beds. Our class is also fortunate enough to be able to provide the Transition Staunton group with a modest monetary donation that will now allow the number of the beds to double from the original amount, four, to between eight and ten. This is excellent news as this will now allow them to implement their Noon Lunch Program, which according to Lindsay Curren, one of the leaders in the Transition Staunton organization, “is a free weekday feeding program for the hungry”. We are more than pleased to hear that this is program, for the benefit of the less fortunate, is being sped up due to the generosity and efforts put forth by our class and Roanoke College.

Joseph Lombard, of the Local Food Task Force in Staunton, has been working on the Elizabethan apple planting project, which are still scheduled to be planted on April 9th. Additionally he has been aiding us in gathering food waste from venues in downtown Staunton to supply the beds with organic material. We are more than pleased to be a part of this amazing project in this transitioning town. Thank you to Lindsay Current for all her assistance as well as Joseph Lombard for giving us the Staunton perspective and acting as a liaison between our class and our Staunton associates! Can't wait to go garden on Saturday!!!

Staunton Update

The dates for our trip to help in the community garden in Staunton is still set for April 6th from 11am- 1pm (approx.)
In addition we would like to have some class representation at the planting of the Elizabethan apple trees a few days later, on the 9th of April.

We have recently gotten in contact with CAB, after receiving a positive response back from Sunspots Studios, and the idea for a student trip to the glass blowing shop was well received. The CAB representative we contacted was very receptive to the idea and said that they would bring it up in the next CAB meeting. We will be emailing Sunspots Studios to inform them of the welcome reception our idea has had thus far, and that we will contact them again with the name of the CAB member with whom they will continue to orchestrate the trip and the pricing. We will continue to be as involved as we can during the planning process of this trip.

RC Electric

After contacting our chroming company we have come to find that the distinct "Silver Streak" trim is beyond any form of repair or chroming. Due to this circumstance we are now in need of a new one. A few individuals have been contacted in regards towards a donation to purchase the hood trim. We are waiting to hear word back from them as to how much they would like to donate.

Ideas of Fundraising opportunities have been brought up in order to raise some money which is much needed after discovering that some of our items are beyond repair.

Here are some photos that show us what we will be looking at for a completed car.

Found at: http://www.classicpontiacs.com/thirties/silverstreak.html

RC Electric

Currently we have the white papers completed and we will be printing them out and applying them to each of our grants.

We are going to send the grants out within the next couple weeks.

Our next step is to install the interior in the next few weeks.

Chrome should be finished within a week or two.

The running boards will be completed once we visit the garage to install the interior or the brakes.

Contact has been made with Electro Automotive and talked over what needs to be done with the conversion in order for a smooth development.

The group working with Transition Staunton has begun to communicate with Sunspot Studios, a glass shop based in Staunton, about potentially setting up a glass blowing session which would be open to all students on campus for what we hope will be a reduced group rate. The glass blowing session would potentially involve a beginners glass blowing class, a take home ornament designed by each participant,  and hopefully a more advanced demonstration. Ultimately the size of the trip WILL be limited. As we find out the terms, conditions, and pricing for this event we will provide updates on the trip's progress. Never fear, we will keep you as up-to-date as we can for this exciting and interesting trip!