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Projet Karyne - Phase 3
A Solar Greenhouse Classroom!
A worldwide first?

2012/11/18

2012/11/18

2012/11/18

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2012/10/18

2012/10/18

July 20th 2012 - Construction of the straw-clay wall

Wow - what an amazing effort! Thank you to the more than 50 volunteers who came to help us during one of the most beautiful weekends of the summer!

More than 50 great pictures of the slip straw wall construction here!

2012/05/24

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2012/05/20

2012/05/15

2011/12/03

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2011/10/16

2011/09/26

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2011/08/29

2011/08/24

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2010/11/25

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2010/10/08

Thanks to our sponsors and partners for the greenhouse construction!


 


  





 

 
 




 
 





 























SEPT 17TH 2011 - The Solar Greenhouse Classroom construction has come a long way in the past few weeks. This is thanks to the kindness and generosity of many companies and individuals. We'd like to take this time to try to recognize everyone who has helped us to get this far:

Design Ideas, Initial Drawings:

- Caroline Cote and Rob Guindon, teacher/student at GL, for the initial idea to create a greenhouse classroom
- Sonia Joanis, architect, who donated her time to do our initial drawings
- Alain Brierley, Martin Sing, Mathieu Carrière and Joel Primeau at Genivar, engineers and sustainability consultants who created all the official plans to get the permits, and all the revisions afterwards!

Startup Funding for the Project and initial partners:
- Sobeys / Earth Day Canada
- TD Canada Trust - Friends of the Environment
- La Famille Maisonneuve/Bourgeois of Montreal (Karyne's grand parents and great aunts)
- Projet Karyne (paid a good percentage of the greenhouse with prior donations)
- The CEPEO and Roch Landriault, director of technical services
- Battery Expert in Orleans for discounting the PV panels, battery system and ceiling fans

Companies and individuals who have been exceptionally helpful so far:

- Rick Guindon (Great Outdoors) who has donated many days of his personal time and equipment to dig, fill, load and unload gravel and coordinate all of the work being done at ground level. Rick and Christine have been there since day one and have helped us recruit many of the other contractors and partners listed below.
- Alain Brierley and Mathieu Carrière (Genivar) for their engineering and design expertise, and for answering the many questions that came up. Alain has come many many times on his off-hours to discuss various changes with all the trades.
- Colin Von Rootselaar (PCL) and his family (Elizabeth, Jacob and Alex) who have been on-site many times with the Maisonneuves raking, shoveling, moving styrofoam and any other dirty jobs as required.. Colin is also our key advisor in helping us make a workplan and constantly improve our design. Thank you Colin for your patience!
- Willy (United Rentals) for donating the rental of excavation equipment and the fence surrounding our work area - thanks for being so patient with the length of time we have required it!
- Marc (Marc Robert Cartage) who donated his time and some fill for the foundation last year
- James (James Locke Developments) who donated money to pay for the greenhouse framing team
- Francois Poulin and his framing team, who have done an incredible job not only in framing, but in helping with adjusting the design and coordinating with the other project leads where necessary
- Dave Brown (InterLock Roofing) from Toronto who donated the entire blue interlock roof, including the installation by Jeremy, our friendy installer who worked for 3 long days and came from Guelph to do the job, and had to wait around for a day because we were not quite ready...
- Melissa and Rachelle (Kott Lumber) for providing excellent wood products and trusses at a discounted rate.
- Diane and Avi (GreenWall Solutions) for providing a $4000 discount on our 40x18 polycarbonate glazing, and their patience with our many many questions
- Martin (Simluc Roofing) who donating styrofoam, sand, and most of all for saving our butts by getting the polycarbonate glazing out of the storage depot with their flatbed truck - at no charge!
- Adèle (Day and Ross Transport) for her extreme patience in storing the glazing until we could pick it up
- Alain and Dan (AL-DAN metal contractors) for their understanding and flexibility since the design had to be adjusted several times, and they pitched in a lot of free time
- Sylvain (Maurice Yelle) who donated the delivery and discounted the materials for the floor
- Hugo Lalonde (Furnace Doctor in Rockland) for helping us plan the installation of the radiant floor and piping around the greenhouse
- Pierre (Centennial Construction in Rockland) for discounting the concrete floor which will be poured this week
- Ray Marks (Nature's Right Hand) for helping us get discounts and free stuff
- Don Robertson (Robertson's Rent-All) for donating the scaffolding rental
- Normand Brunet, science teacher at GL, who agreed to build the solar heater made of pop cans with his students
- Ian Robinson and Denise Rousseau who spent several days helping Rick with the floor preparation. The gift of time is the most hard to find!
- Alain Quirion who came out to help us shovel and install styrofoam for the foundation walls
- Alex Gudbranson for cutting the grass (and the huge weeds!) around the greenhouse
- All those who came to help put up the fence - that was a lot of fun and went really quickly!
- Alex Rousseau, Karyne's friend - for taking on the Golf Ball fundraising project (there are some left by the way, check out our website)
- Terry Lemieux, who organized a super fun poker tournament as a fundraiser for the project
- Eric, Alex and Leo of Evollusions illusionnist team, for inviting our fundraisers during their big show
- The GL Enviro club and many teachers at GL for their fundraising efforts, including the Wall of Founders
- Nancy Robinson, secretary at GL, for her help managing the PK accounts and bills
- Elyse, Marc and Paul Maisonneuve, who we've dragged into many last minute jobs at all times of the day

We hope we didn't forget anyone… Please know that everyone who has contributed time, materials or money will be recognized inside the greenhouse walls and that we appreciate everything you have done!

What's Next This Fall/Winter?
Finish the floor, the metal works, framing and the font part of the blue roof
Install the soffit and fascia and exterior flashing
Install temporary exterior sheeting and inside partition
Install solar rack, panels and tubing
Create the 18 'learning stations' describing the greenhouse components for the students and visitors
Preparing the plaques for the Wall of Founders and banners
Construction of the desk/planters by Serge Poirier and his class
... and much more in preparation for a grand opening in late Spring 2012!

Thanks
Mary Lou and Carl

 

 

 

Solar Passive Design: a ‘lost art’ that is making a comeback!

Solar architecture and urban planning methods were first employed by the Greeks and Chinese who oriented their buildings toward the south to provide light and warmth.

Old houses in Canada used solar passive design:

  • thick stone walls for insulation (thermal mass)
  • solar orientation and awnings
  • dark stone to capture heat or help stay cool depending on the season

Solar passive design is now an important part of modern sustainable construction (LEED, Green Building, Net Zero, Passivhaus, etc

Chronology

  • CEPEO presentation: April 2009

  • First draft: July 2009

  • Update to councellors: February 2010

  • Meeting with Genivar: April 2010

  • Fundraising and student involvement: February to December 2010

  • Construction permit: August 2010

  • Official launch: September 2010
  • Opening ceremony: May 2012

  • Final city inspection: November 2012

  • First class in the greenhouse: November 2012

Why a Solar Greenhouse Classroom?
A self-sufficient Solar Greenhouse project is a great example of sustainability:

  • Shelter: solar passive design, glycol barrels, straw bail walls
  • Heating/Cooling: solar heating systems and semi-passive geothermic air cooling
  • Power: solar PV and batteries, energy-efficient 12V fans, LED lighting
  • Water: rainwater recycling system, underground cistern and manual pump
  • Food: local foods and gardening, healthy and organic foods
Projet Karyne has been working since 2009 on an idea from a teacher at the Gisèle-Lalonde school: to build a large greenhouse with a classroom inside!

This idea has since become an ambitious project - to create a self-sufficient solar greenhouse which will offer a unique learning opportunity for our students in the fields of science, renewable energy, organic food production, and sustainable building. The teachers and students are involved in the design, financing, construction and operation of the greenhouse.

We have the support of the school board and the technical services, and the planning is coming along but we are currently waiting for city permits before we can begin construction. We hope to start construction in June.