Posted by Kerry on Apr 25, 2009
Recycling, reusing the fallen trees
How green is my Vineyard? The full picture is elusive, but I know that we have to start somewhere. As we proceed with the development of the first LEED certified residential home in Oak Bluffs, the enthusiasm and well wishes are heart warming. And the reality of building a green house in the middle of a neighborhood of established older family homes is complex. I’m sure we will talk more about this issue as we progress.
The Vineyard has always prided itself on being a community of earth loving humanitarians. We are exposed to diverse and environmentally sensitive habitats and wildlife, and we have commissions that are manned by very passionate volunteers. But like everywhere else, we still wear blinders to the impact of our existence on the environment. Global warming, our carbon footprints, the oil crisis and the age of consumerism leading up to the present economic crisis are all puzzle pieces. There is also ignorance as to how to begin on something that seems so overwhelming. A feeling that one person can’t make a difference.
First thing I just want to take this opportunity to remind you all of whom won the election in January this year, if you have any sense that one man cannot make a difference, then that man has most certainly proven you wrong. Next, when my husband and I bought the land on Green Ave. (that’s right, Green on Green!), we had not planned on going in this direction, owning it for as long as we have, and worrying about the real estate market’s effect on us and our future. We now see this as an opportunity to learn and educate. We have met and are working with some of the most well informed green building consultants available in New England. When we decided to build a LEED certified house, we knew it was the right thing to do for our company, the environment and our daughter.
The team at Squash Meadow Construction has been nothing short of enthusiastic and open minded, despite this being a new avenue for them to grow into. I’ve been away all week and was excited to get back to the island to be a part of this project and share in the enthusiasm. I went to the site to document the beginning of the excavation process. When I arrived a neighbor had stopped over and was loading his car up with some trees that had been cleared. He was going to use them in his fireplace for heat next winter. Reduce, reuse, recycle and recover… the 4 R’s of sustainability. A great place to start.
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Posted by Kerry on Apr 19, 2009
Oak Bluffs Harbor
Welcome to Martha’s Vineyard! What a relief to finally see those words as you exit the ferry and land on the Vineyard from lands near or far. Everyone has the same feeling of excitement and anticipation as their vacations are about to begin. Also of relief, that the steamship experience is behind you and you don’t have to worry about it for another week… If you are lucky it’s 2 weeks or a month until it’s time to leave. Who needs the stress? The looks of exasperation and the head shaking in disbelief because you don’t understand the arm flapping and apparent airplane directions coming at you? But that is a post for another day. So, whew, you made it, you are here! Woohoo!.
If you’ve arrived in Oak Bluffs, you may find yourself looking around for a recycling container to dispose of your soda can or water bottle. This is, after all, an island, so you know we have them. Well, believe it or not, we don’t. Due to circumstances beyond my comprehension, Martha’s Vineyard is critically under equipped to manage recycling. At the height of the summer traffic, you will find the trash cans in town full of things that should be recycled. Plastics, cans, cardboard and other products that would otherwise have second lives are going into the trash because people don’t know where to put them. Also noted, these people are on vacation and don’t want to have to look for the proper disposal methods. In a perfect world they would be readily available. Vacation and effort generally negate each other, but I am appealing to you here to make your Vineyard vacation a mindful one.
The only town on Martha’s Vineyard that has curbside pickup is Tisbury, so to get recyclables properly disposed of, they have to be brought to the dump and sorted by hand. For most of us who live here making that trip a part of our routine is not too much to ask. As a visitor, and presumably someone who loves the Vineyard and is vested in seeing it remain a beautiful island, does making that trip have value to you? How about for the earth and for your children? There are many ways to show respect for the environment and honor what mother nature has given us, recycling is the begining of the process. It is the simplest way to have the most impact in the short time that you are here. Recycling is a way to give back something to an island that gives so much of herself. Be mindful this year, take care of your island.
Please feel free to write to the www.mvtimes.com with suggestions on how Martha’s Vineyard can get it’s recycling system up to speed.
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Posted by Kerry on Apr 13, 2009
How do you find balance in your work and love life, when you work with your love life? Partnerships are hard enough without throwing in any emotional entanglements…so how do people do it? After much trial and error, I’ve developed some insight.
My husband and I both have home offices in different parts of the house. The work/life overlap has always existed to some degree, but took on a much sharper edge when we started a major project together last year. It was an exciting opportunity, and our early business meetings and brainstorming sessions were filled with laughter and intensity. Similar in many ways to the beginning of an infatuation, or our relationship!
Due to the nature of the project, I think we were both under the impression that our partnership was experimental and would be short lived. We were developing some real estate and it would not be in our hands for long. We designed a house together and developed a marketing plan. If things went well we would look for another opportunity and try to do it again.
That was well over a year ago, and there is no end in sight. We have had to reevaluated the entire scope of the project, and the plan has been revised to where we are starting from square one. Of course there are extenuating circumstances, but nonetheless this business of ours became larger than what we were able to keep in perspective. In other words, I became resentful that my husband would only talk business to me, and he couldn’t understand why I wasn’t more interested in our business!
We both have our other jobs as well as this business together. We also have the most delightful 7 year old daughter, and many other responsibilities that need time and discussion. What was happening to us was we would discuss this particular project at every single opportunity, to the exclusion of the rest of our lives. When we had a free 15 minutes, we talked about the house, or land, or sale or whatever stage it was labeled at that moment.
As busy parents with busy lives, it can be hard to find balance with work and home. Adding this whole other element, working together, and the first thing to go was the intimacy in our relationship. The time that we had to talk about us, and take care of us, was sacrificed for talking about business. Its tricky because the illusion is that you are communication, but the content is missing.
Finding balance is a goal that requires effort, but identifying where you have lost your footing is the hard part. When I no longer have the stomach to talk about this project with my husband, I know that I have lost my perspective and we are out of balance. When my relationship is in balance, everything else seems to flow along with it. I want to love the work and love the partner!
As we start this next phase of our project, a LEED certified home on our property(woohoo!!!), we are on the same page emotionaly as well as with the business end of things. The foundation for our success in working together as a team is set, because the balance of our family lives has been identified and re-set. It may be a see-saw, or some funky couples yoga pose, but each is available to balance the other. And if one sways, the other will steady.
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Posted by Kerry on Apr 08, 2009
Consumers are watching their pocketbooks. Every penny counts, so why not give your client the biggest bang for their buck and build a green home. Value added in the long term is money saved on energy bills, short term on quality of life. If you are building your first green home remember these five simple lessons for success.
1- Design and build a compact house.
Gone are the days of the mega-home. Space considerations and making use of what you have will be taken into account if you are looking for accreditation or certification from a building association.
2-Work out every design detail before you build.
Even a small change in design can affect the insulation package and quality of the air flow in the dwelling, affecting the overall operational costs.
3-Consult with your subcontractors before you begin.
Make sure that they are on board with the scope of the project and the materials required to manage their part. Sensitivity to the nature of green building and education are necessary.
4-Use materials from less than 500 miles away, or renewables.
Considered locally harvested, anything that is within the 500 mile radius does not have the transportation considerations. Tropical woods, for instance, require all sorts of harvesting and transportation that is unregulated. Bamboo completely regenerates itself in 10 years. In other words, when you harvest bamboo, it will regrow to the same degree within 10 years making it a highly desirable green product.
5-Closely monitor the debris or waste.
Anything you can recycle? Throw away the smallest amount of debris possible. Many things can be reused, if not in this job, how about the next?
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