Fotos of the 2010 River Road Green Home Tour
July 17 and 18, River Road Neighborhood, Eugene, Oregon
The full schedule of green property tours
Summer 2010 Green Home Tours
Brought to You by the NLC Committee on Sustainability
Grass to garden, rain water collection, solar, creative collaborations, restoration, reclaim auto space, greenhouses, green building/design,,,
August
7 - Friendly, 11 AM - Meet Friendly Market, 2757 Friendly St.
8 - Friendly (excursion into Crest Dr 8/7)
14 - Jefferson Westside, 10 AM - Meet Monroe Park
September
4 - Whiteaker Community Council/WCC
11 – Bethel, TBA
19 - Laurel Hill Valley, 1 PM - Meet NW Youth Corps, 2621 Augusta
25 - Southeast Neighbors/SEN, 10 AM - Meet 450 E. 30th
full updated schedule at www.eugenesustainability.org
Bikes and riders gather in Rosetta Park.
First stop is the home of Heiko Koester. The new food forest, replacing a grassy front yard, is less than a year old..
Heiko explains the project.
Across the street, Jean shows her chickens and garden. She also has traded part of her grassy front yard for garden.
The tour prepares to move on.
Couple blocks away, the tour group passes a new front yard garden.
Matt explains how the neighborhood watch group he is part of looks after each other in many ways.
The group shares some tools, has occasional socials and meetings and has added to the quality of life of all its members.
Not far, along the River Bike Path, Kat and Bill explain a restoration project.
The project is removing exotic species and replanting wth natives. The restoration and Neighborhood Watch are both citizen initiatives and receive technical and material support from city programs.
Pedicabs are a fun and practical way to enjoy human powered transit.
A short distance, the tour visits Doug and Jen. They have planted 25 native trees in a large open space next to where they live. Jen is working with people planning to build a new church next door, with the idea to include some community garden space.
Doug shows a thriving hedge of Marion Berries.
Mom and daughter on the tour.
Newt Lokem, of Solar Assist, explains some solar concepts.
Down the street, Liz and Quinton show and tell their very nice front yard garden and permaculture site plan.
Roy, pedicabs and the tour about to move on.
In transit, stopping to view an impressive front yard garden.
Teresa describes removal of driveway and remodel of car port into office space. The solar water heater is a near antique Copper Cricket.
Than explains the garden in the field next door.
Teresa shares her knowledge about brine pickling and curdling milk for cheese.
End of Tour One.
Open Property at Jan's place, following the tour. The site includes driveway removal, passive solar redesign to the house, edible landscaping, 5600 gallons rain water storage, chickens, passive solar bungalow, infant food forest, roof top container garden, much more. Link to many fotos of Jan's place, before and now.
Entry, former driveway, car port conversion.
Looking from the house out to the back yard garden, bungalow, chicken coop. Corner at left is the sun room.
South side of the house.
Start Sunday Bike Tour
We met in Rosetta Park again on Sunday to see some other sites in the Neighborhood.
Mark moved in here mid June. The one acre property and house will be seeing a lot of changes. Already a chain link fence is removed, several dozen ornamental hedges and concrete curbing.
Several houses away. Al's beginning of a front yard veggie and forest garden. Much more space in the back, future site of micro eco village.
Down the street, Ravi talks about Dharmalaya, a meeting place and site of a beautiful straw bale structure along with edible landscaping and other green features.
Next door, Jason, Kaverii and Collette recently moved in and will be making many changes to this half acre property.
The permaculture class next door at Dharmalaya will be coming over for a work party, shortly.
There are about half a dozen properties [most of them with fotos above] within a 4 minute bike ride of each other that are all at various stages of permaculture conversion, ranging in age from ten years to 3 weeks. There is a recognition that this emerging density of like minded persons have a fascinating opportunity to make common cause for mutual benefit in many ways. Existing casual collaborations are set to take on a more purposeful and intentional characteristic.
A few blocks away, Michael shows his native plant front yard.
The back yard has raised beds and chickens.
Michael shows his small bike shop.
A couple blocks away, Sandra shows and tells about her great back yard. Raised beds, fruit and nut trees, green house.
Sandra's garden. chickens to the right. Its a wonderful space.
A bit further along. Jen describes her along the street garden. A former tangle of English Ivy and rocks.
Several houses along Elkay with gardens along the street.
Jen and nearby neighbor Gary meet for the first time.
On to Gary's place. Jen sees Gary's garden for the first time.
A few blocks away. Lawrence describes his projects. The cob green house is really artistic. The garden impressive.
Inside the green house.
A fine time was had by all.