Blair

To ensure his plans were based on historic originals, Gareth purchased over 1,700 survey drawings of the Bourn Windmill in Cambridgeshire, approximated the measurements, and then reconstructed a quarter-size copy in his garden.

Gareth relied on his skills and education as a classical boat builder at the Falmouth Marine School, which also serves him at his day job repairing furniture. The windmill is built mainly of green oak and can rotate to be directed at the wind. He sewed the sails himself from a curtain he bought in a thrift store.

The mill’s generator produces 100 amps at 12 volts when spinning at its optimum speed.

https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/man-builds-an-electricity-generating-windmill-in-his-own-garden/

I just thought I would share some different solar projects I think are interesting.

Terracotta Solar:

"Designed to be indistinguishable by the naked eye from regular terracotta roof tiles, “Invisible Solar” tiles are made to improve the energy efficiency of heritage buildings without compromising their historic appearance. They make each tile out of a non-toxic and recyclable polymeric compound they themselves developed, and the tiles allow for sunlight to pass into a hidden bank of photovoltaic cells without the human eye being able to tell they are translusent." | Good News Network

Apartment Balcony DIY Solar

If you have a sunny apartment balcony and have ever been interested in solar, there are many options; including some designed to look like privacy walls. It is supposed to be as easy as strapping on and connecting the panels, then plugging the system into your outdoor wall socket.

“In the best case scenario, a 600 W balcony panel pays for itself after just a few years,” said Hermann Dinkler, an energy expert at the German technical inspection association TÜV. With a shade-free southern orientation, an optimal inclination angle of 35 degrees without shade and 2,000 kWh of electricity consumption per year, a typical 600 W system pays for itself after about five years, according to German institute HTW Berlin. - PV Magazine

To find out if solar would work for your apartment balcony, make sure to do the calculations(such as with a solar panel calculator), ensure you have an outdoor socket, and check the rules of your building.

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Solar Glass Bricks

These ones (amusingly) do remind me of the 1980s glass brick wall fad, but these are made to used to replace windows or other glass in office blocks, buildings and even bus stops. The inventors at Build Solar think they look better than solar panels and take up less space, so could be an eco-friendly alternative to current building materials.

Adding Solar to More Devices

The company Ambient Photonics showcased a bifacial solar cell. It can harvest from both the front and back simultaneously, and aims to charge small electronic devices; such as remote controls. It is supposed to work even in low-light, including indoors.

Its flexible and thin design means it could work in many different device types.

Funnily, the tech is reminding a surprising amount of people of the solar-powered calculators that used to be everywhere.

One of the easiest ways to help the planet might come from...human waste. 💩

Natural gas is a commonly used fossil fuel. The secret? Natural gas is mostly just methane; the same gas created from human waste.

In fact, toilets exploding can absolutely happen, which is why bringing a candle into an outhouse is a very bad idea. Some places even put this to use, such as using sewers to fuel street lamps(called sewer gas destructor lamps), which have the duel-purpose cutting down on smells and dangerous gas buildups

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There’s also more 💩 can do for us. For example…

• ⚡️Generate power (use the methane to replace natural gas).
• 🚗 Create fuel for vehicles
• 🔥 Create fuel for gas burners
• 🌱 Create compost (biosolids from the sewage treatment/methane plants) to help with phosphorus mining shortages

These options could greatly help with the transition from fossil fuels, and provide incentives for all cities to stop dumping raw sewage(yes, many places still do this).

Videos for more learning:

• https://www.youtube.com/shorts/NZA5aEEIzhQ?feature=share
• https://youtu.be/p6CF-umWLZg

"Findings in both studies showed that the more silverleaf nightshade was mowed, the more it developed ways to avoid destruction, Kariyat said. The taproot went down further, nearly 5 feet deep, in the first generation of mowed plants. More spikes popped out on the stem as a defense against caterpillars feeding on the flowers. The flowers became more toxic to caterpillars, leading to less pressure from natural predators."

Full Article Link

Aquaponics is similar to hydroponics, but makes use of fish to create fertilizer-rich (fish waste 💩) water for the plants to thrive. In turn, the plants help clean the water for the fish.

You can put the pumps and fish feeders on a timer to automate them, and even use fish types people eat for fish farming.

My only ask is that you remember to make the tank nice for the fish. A stressed fish is a dead fish, and way too many aquaponic users just throw a bunch of fish in an empty(no stimulation) and overcrowded tank.

The below videos talk about using the systems to grow food in urban spaces.

https://youtu.be/9ZLDDhFLWCY

“Ever heard of aquaponics? In urban areas, aquaponics helps combat barriers that come with farming in cities, like lack of access to space. “

https://youtu.be/_YmkWODcqbA

“There are so many barriers in place when it comes to growing food in cities, but education and lack of access to space are the hardest to overcome. Yemi Amu has dedicated her life as a farmer to solving this problem, by starting the only Aquaponics farm in NYC. Oko Farms in Brooklyn is both a working farm which provides fresh food to surrounding neighborhoods, while also actively engaging the public in education on how to grow food for yourself in urban environments.”

https://youtu.be/hKWREFjNWX4

"What's up everyone, in this video i build part 1 of an indoor DIY aquaponics system for my 10 gallon fish tank! I have been interested in aquaponics for a while now and know i wanted to build an indoor DIY aquaponics system early on when i saw the price of most retail aquaponics kits. This DIY aquaponics system was built using all materials found either on Amazon or at local hardware stores and came in under $50 total! "

"Recent research has shown that red nets are more effective than black or white nets in preventing onion thrip damage to crops, reducing the reliance on harmful chemical pesticides by up to 50%. This approach supports sustainable farming by minimizing environmental impact."

From this post: https://scitechdaily.com/the-science-behind-red-nets-a-new-dawn-in-eco-friendly-farming/

If you are looking for a way to both conserve water but also have a healthy garden, an Olla might help.

While surface watering, some of the water will be lost to evaporation, and you may not get the soil damp enough to encourage the roots to spread deeper.

This is when the Olla becomes helpful; made from porous clay, this pottery can be filled with water, which it will then gradually seep into the surrounding soil. While most of it is burred, enough of the neck is out of the soil to fill it.

You can make your own for your outdoor garden using terracotta pots and water-proof adhesive. Simply glue two pots together, and fill the hole on one side. When the glue is set, just bury the pots (with the unfilled hole up), fill with water, and cover the hole with a saucer, cork, or rock.

If, however, you only have indoor plants, you have an option, too! You can get terracotta watering spikes that work in a similar way, but a glass bottle fills it.

While they might not be suitable for all plants, for many plants they are suitable, and can help with your gardening chores.

While they might not be suitable for all plants(such as plants that prefer dry soil), for many, they are.

Images from Permaculture Research Institute