Look for a single aspect that can be improved in a community you are part of (your home, neighborhood, school, work, etc.). Share with us in details how you plan to do so.
From July 14 – 28th I am part of a temporary community at Camphill Community Oaklands Park, close to Newnham, Gloucestershire, England. I am volunteering in a Children’s Summer Camp, with 50 kids between 9 and 14 years old. I am part of a team of about 20 youth and adults who host and organise this camp for the kids. The camp takes place on a bio-dynamic farm, where we sleep, eat and do workshops. We sleep in tents on the cow meadows, and all the meals and large group activities take place in an empty barn. In this barn we have built a community circle area (we used straw bales), a tool shed (mostly recycled tools), a kitchen, dining area and dish-washing area.
Barn for Community Gatherings
Community Circle
Dining Area and Kitchen
The single aspect that I want to improve in this Camp Community is the waste and recycle management.When the camp started we did not have a proper waste and recycling management, so I took up the challenge to introduce that.
I have made bins for separate waste collection:
- Organic, biodegradable waste
- Paper and cardboard
- Plastic
- Glass
- Tins, cans and other metals
With this waste I have different plans:
Organic Waste
1. Organic, biodegradable waste
This will all go to the farmers compost and be reused on the land. That would mean food scraps, cooking scraps, left-overs, tea-bags, old coffee, rotten fruit and vegetables.
2. Paper and cardboard
We will use this to light the evening camp-fire for the community. This also includes cardboard boxed and light-wooden cradles that contained food.
Plastic Trash
3. Plastic
The plastic will be divided and either recycled by the craft workshops, or brought to the nearest village for government trash disposal. I intend to find beauty in this trash and divide it even more into transparent plastic, usable plastic, hard plastic, soft plastic, etc.
5. Glass
The glass will be collected and turned into candlelights if possible, if not recycled by the council.
Metal Tins & Cans
4. Tins, cans and other metals
Cans and tins will be collected by children to use for the craft workshops. We are planning to make a bowling alley with cans, but also other toys and objects for games.
I am working together with the other volunteer youth and adults to bring about a community of low waste and recycling management. With the kids I am hoping to work with trash as resources and with abundance as one of the principles. I will not by any workshop materials, but only use that what we find on the farm.
I will be posting the results here on this blog!
Nice plan, nice set-up!