Tour for UTC students of Carol Kimmons:

• Directions to SVI
• Property, trail and topographic maps

Sequatchie Valley Institute will sponsor a Fire Feast Seed-Sharing Potluck on Wednesday, February 1, 2012 from 5-10 pm at green/spaces.

Eric Blevins from the Mountaintop Removal Road Show will kick off the feast with a talk at 5pm.

Fire Feast 2012 flyer (PDF download)

We are putting the final touches on the new high tunnel greenhouse, and will need “all hands on deck” on Friday beginning at 10AM to pull the 72′ X 40′ plastic roof over the top.

We will provide chili, cornbread, and beer… so please come and help us RAISE THE ROOF!

The greenhouse is intended for season extension, allowing us to start crops earlier and grow longer. It was funded by a NRCS USDA grant and will be a great addition to the SVI gardens.

Dust off your jingle bells and come join us for fun and shopping at SVI, a non-profit sustainable living center located 45 minutes from Chattanooga, in the midst of 400 acres of forest. We will be providing nature-based fun for adults and kids alike, so bundle up and join us by the fireplaces for hot spiced cider, yummy holiday snacks, games and crafts.

Great gifts by local artists will be available for purchase (cash or check), including Carol’s Sassy Shadows Pottery bird feeders, mugs, dishes, and wall hangings, all with impressions of forest flowers, vines, and leaves. Nature of Reaction jewelry, marbles, and kaleidoscopes by Patrick Ironwood will be featured.

Watercolors of birds, and hand-painted holiday cards by the well-known Atlanta artist Michelle Kimmons will be available. See http://michellekimmonsfineart.blogspot.com/ for more information on her work. We’ll also have for sale SVI’s favorite books on sustainable building, food, gardens, and kid activities.

If hiking is your style, wear your boots and explore our mountain trails. We’ll have tours of our gardens and hand-crafted buildings made of rock, logs, clay, and straw, and powered by the sun. Dress warmly and wear walking shoes. No pets, please. Please let us know if we can expect you.

SVI is located in the Cartwright community just off Hwy 28 half-way between Dunlap and Whitwell. For more information and directions, contact Carol or Chris at: 423-949-5922, carol-kimmons [at] utc [dot] edu, or go to http://svionline.org/about-svi/directions/

Sequatchie Valley Institute is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to offer society an opportunity to experience and learn about living in harmony with nature by providing:

• education, art and research opportunities, land conservation & restoration
• a dynamic model residence and learning center
• a vision for attaining a sustainable future

Join Sequatchie Valley Institute for an earthen plaster workshop in downtown Chattanooga. Earthen plaster is a low-impact sustainable construction technique that has been used for thousands of years.

We have added walls made from a local clay/sand/straw mix (a material known as “cob”)to a timber frame structure in Chattanooga, as a demonstration of ancient, sustainable building techniques. Our next step is to seal the walls with earthen plaster. You will learn how you can use similar materials to create projects for your own home.

Dates: Saturday and Sunday: November 12-13
Times: 10:00 am and 1:00 pm (Lunch is included, starts at 12:00 noon)
Price: free (donations accepted)
Location: 1025 East 8th St, Chattanooga, TN 37403

Space is limited, please email ruderockdesigns [at] gmail [dot] com to reserve a space in this workshop.

Solar powered and energy efficient homes and buildings in Tennessee and across the country will be open for public tours on Oct 1, 2011.

It’s all part of the upcoming National Solar Tour.

The tour offers local residents an opportunity to find out how their neighbors are:

• trimming energy bills
• increasing energy independence
• taking steps to address global warming

Here at Sequatchie Valley Institute, we will be sponsoring the Southeast Tennessee tour for the 15th consecutive year! The Institute will be open all day on Saturday, Oct. 1, for tours.

We are looking for more solar homes and businesses for the tour, and will be adding locations. To add your home or business to the tour, please contact Chris Gilligan:
(423) 949-5922 or officemanager [at] svionline [dot] org

DIRECTIONS FOR THE 2011 SOLAR TOUR:

• Saturday, October 1, 2011

Free and open to all (donations gladly accepted)!

Come on out and enjoy the autumn colors in the beautiful Sequatchie Valley while you learn about making electricity from the sun at the Sequatchie Valley Institute! You can also visit places in Chattanooga and Sequatchie Valley that are using solar energy. Many uses of solar and other renewable technology and alternative building techniques will be demonstrated by the open houses. Have you seen the biggest solar array in the Southeast? It’s covering a parking lot at Finley Stadium and is sponsored by TVA’s Green Power Switch program. The National Solar Tour is organized by the American Solar Energy Society. The local tour of Chattanooga, the Sequatchie Valley, and the southern Cumberland Plateau is sponsored for the 14th year by the Sequatchie Valley Institute, a non-profit organization that promotes sustainable living and technology. For solar tours in other locations, please see the website nationalsolartour.org.

The Sequatchie Valley Institute will be open for tours of four homes that demonstrate use of solar electricity, green building, and hand-crafted passive solar design. Call 423-949-5922, e-mail officemanager [at] svionline [dot] org or visit our website www.svionline.org for more information.

Chattanooga Area

Finley Stadium. Finley Stadium has one of the largest solar electricity generation complexes in the Southeast, covering part of the Finley Stadium parking area. If you go to the Sunday Chattanooga Market, you will see the panels just across the road.

• Time: You can visit anytime.
• Location: 1826 Carter Street. Finley Stadium south parking lot.
• Contact Info: TVA, (423)751-7461
• Directions: Exit downtown Chattanooga from 27 onto MLK, turn south on Chestnut to 20th Street.
• No representatives will be there but you can park under the solar panels. Electricity from these panels goes into the TVA electric grid through the Green Power Switch program.

Sequatchie County (Between Dunlap and Whitwell)

Sequatchie Valley Institute at Moonshadow. Off grid, photovoltaic electricity, Trace Inverter, RV Solar boost charge controller, Zomeworks Tracker, Trojan batteries, Southwest Wind Power wind generator, Sunfrost refrigerator, passive solar, hand-crafted buildings of rock, logs and clay, solar greenhouse, hydroelectric system and passive hot water system under construction.

• Time: 10:00 am – 5:00 pm Central Time.
• Contact Info: Telephone: 423-949-5922, 423-949-4598, E-mail: education [at] svionline [dot] org. Website: svionline.org
• Location: 1233 Cartwright Loop, Whitwell, TN 373797.
• Directions:
  • From Chattanooga: We are located just off Rt. 28 near Cartwright, between Whitwell and Dunlap. It will take under 1 hour from most locations in Chattanooga. Take I-24W from Chattanooga toward Nashville. Take exit #155 (Dunlap). Turn right on to Hwy. 28. Go 18 miles North from I-24 (you will go through Whitwell). Watch for Cartwright Automotive on your left. Turn left just past this on Cartwright Loop. Follow this road for 0.7 miles to Box 1233 and a Solar Tour sign. Turn right and park, walk across dry creek to the first house. You will be met there.
  • From North Chattanooga: Take Hwy 111 from Soddy-Daisy to Dunlap. Turn left at the ramp exit and drive through Dunlap. At the last light, take the right fork, which is Rt. 28 (passes by the schools and BiLo). Travel 7 miles to Cartwright Loop, just past a small store, and before Cartwright Automotive. Turn right on Cartwright Loop and go 0.7 mi.to Box # 1233.
  • FROM DUNLAP: We are located just off Rt. 28 near Cartwright, between Whitwell and Dunlap. It will take about 20 min. from Dunlap or Whitwell. Take Rt. 28 (passes by the schools and BiLo) south from the Middle School. Travel 7 miles to Cartwright Loop, just past a small store, and before Cartwright Automotive. Turn right on Cartwright Loop and go 0.7 mi. to Box # 1233.
• There will be Solar Tour signs. Call for directions from other locations.

Nona McIntyre Home. Passive solar Mother Earth News design; circular and earth bermed.

• Time: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm Central Time.
• Contact Info: See Sequatchie Valley Institute above.
• Directions: See Sequatchie Valley Institute above.

Mildred Kimmons Home. Passive solar construction with dual-metering capability, when the TVA Green Generation Partners Program is approved by the Sequachee Valley Electric Co-op. Green architecture and healthy house design used throughout to provide a non-toxic and environmentally friendly living space for elder living (95 years young!). Both interior and exterior built with Southern Pine Beetle-killed pine and other local and salvaged materials. Wall insulation made from blue jean scraps.

• Time: 10:00 am to 5:00 pm Central Time.
• Contact Info: See Sequatchie Valley Institute above.
• Directions: See Sequatchie Valley Institute above.

Marion County

Sequatchie Cove Farm. 28 kilowatt, grid-tied installation made possible by a grant from USDA Rural Development Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). This system provides energy offset for the operation of Sequatchie Cove Creamery, a raw-milk dairy operation creating artisan cheese for restaurants and consumers.

• Time: From 10:00 am to 5:00 pm Central Time.
• Contact Info: Telephone: 423-942-9201
  Address: 320 Dixon Cove Rd., Sequatchie, TN 37374
• E-mail: padgett_arnold [at] sequatchiecovefarm [dot] com
• Directions: Please call or email for specific directions, as this location is not generally available via online mapping.

Bledsoe County

Robert and Hillary Bergeron Home. 100% Solar electric, off grid, with generator back-up, propane refrigerator, stove, and water heater, solar dryer, wood stove heat, compost toilet, rain-fed water system.

• Time: From 10:00 am to 6:00 pm Central.
• Contact Info: Telephone: 423-447-3173 (home) or 423-285-4815 (cell)
  Address: 230 Stone Ridge Dr., Pikeville, TN 37367
• E-mail: hsbergeron [at] yahoo [dot] com.
• Directions: Please call or email for specific directions, as this location is not generally available via online mapping.

Across the US, tens of thousands of Americans will visit homes, schools, churches and businesses that demonstrate the buildings of tomorrow. The Sequatchie Valley Institute and SE Tennessee join 46 other states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico in showcasing solar options during the Tour.

Media tours of solar powered buildings can be arranged prior to the National Solar Tour. For information please contact Chris Gilligan at 423-949-5922, or email officemanager [at] svionline [dot] org.

For tours in other areas, go to www.NationalSolarTour.org. Owners of solar or other alternate energy homes in our 5-county region who are interested in being part of the tour may contact Chris.

Come and join the Sequatchie Valley Institute staff and friends… and the ragwort, dwarf buckeye, phlox, bloodroot, trout lily, trilliums, wild geranium, dogwoods, redbuds, etc! in the beautiful Sequatchie Valley for our spring wildflower hikes. The hikes will be accompanied by guides familiar with the geography, ecology and biology of the area.

We will begin the hike at 12 noon Central Time (1pm Chattanooga time — Eastern Time). You must arrive at our parking area no later than 11am to assemble for the hike. Early birds (10:00 am Central Time) may enjoy a hiking tour of our buildings and gardens. There will be a choice of a long, strenuous hike deep into the Gulf, or a shorter, more relaxed walk. Please be prepared for the hike with long pants, hat, sturdy shoes… and a container of water.

SVI is a land trust and nature preserve. Please do not bring your pets. No pets, no exceptions.

Plan to take lots of pictures! You are welcome to come early to visit our gardens, hand-crafted homes, and crafts gallery, which will be open for purchases of fine nature-based crafts produced by our staff, and specialty books.

Please bring a picnic lunch to eat at one of our beautiful picnic areas in the woods.

A sliding-scale donation of $5-20 will be used for our non-profit educational programs. For directions to SVI, which is located in the Cartwright community half-way between Dunlap and Whitwell, 45 minutes from Chattanooga, or for more information, contact us at 423-949-5922, or email officemanager [at] svionline [dot] org

Directions:

• Click here for landmarks, directions, and Google Map »
• Click here for more information about SVI events »

Carol will exhibit her pottery, vessels, bird feeders and ceramic in the St. Andrew’s – Sewanee Gallery  exhibition.

The Craft Artists of Southern Tennessee hosts the 13th annual Holiday Studio Tour in the Monteagle/Sewanee communities on the Cumberland Plateau. This year the tour takes place on Saturday, Dec.4, from 10 a.m.- 5 p.m. CST and on Sunday, Dec. 5, from 12-5 p.m. CST.

Over 30 local and regional artists will be showing their work, ranging from textiles, sculpture, jewelry, pottery, flameworked glass, paintings, cast bronze, metal work and more. Local artists will open their studios to the public during the tour.

Other locations displaying work are American Legion Hall, Edgeworth Inn, Locals Gallery, Shenanigan’s Gallery, and St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School, both in Spencer Room and SAS Art Gallery. The SAS Art Gallery will host the group exhibition Full CAST 2009.

Light refreshments will be available at many locations and meals at Shenanigan’s.

The Monteagle Inn, a year-round boutique, bed, breakfast, and retreat center in Monteagle, will be open.

Locals Gallery, owned and operated by Melissa and John Goodson, is new to the tour this year and features artisans and craftsmen local to the Sewanee region.

Artists will also be displaying their work in the Spencer Room, which is past the chapel on the right after turning into the campus of Saint Andrew’s-Sewanee School.

Bright yellow signs will mark the tour route and maps will be available at all locations on the tour. Maps can also be found at In Town Gallery and the brochure area at AVA on Frazier Avenue in Chattanooga and on the web at http://www.cast-taca.org (click on “studio tour”).

Download the map and brochure for the 2010 Tour:

• http://www.cast-taca.org/images/10%20Studio%20Tour%20proof%5B6%5D%5B1%5D.pdf

St. Andrew’s – Sewanee Gallery will have the Full CAST 2009 exhibition featuring work from Holiday Tour participants, CAST-TACA members and SAS faculty and staff. Most works featured in the Full CAST exhibition are also for sale.

Art Sale and Open house at Sequatchie Valley Institute and Sassy Shadows Pottery

Saturday, November 20, 1:00 -5:00 CST

Dust off your jingle bells and come enjoy a lovely old-fashioned winter day at the Sequatchie Valley Institute (SVI), a non-profit environmental center located 45 minutes from Chattanooga, in the midst of 400 acres of forest. If hiking is your style, bring the kids, wear your boots, and walk up our forest trails to the last homely house, Moonshadow.

Bundle up and sit by the open fires, drink hot spiced cider and pine needle tea, make a natural tree decoration or card. Visit our new wood-fired kiln—almost finished except for the chimney. Carol Kimmons will be exhibiting her unique pottery holiday gifts and decorations that celebrate our natural world, including bird feeders, mugs, leaf pendants, and decorative leaf imprint wall hangings. You’ll be able to tour our permaculture gardens and hand-crafted solar-powered “green” homes and buildings. We are just off Rte. 28 midway between Dunlap and Whitwell, in the beautiful Sequatchie Valley.

Click here for Directions »

Contact: Tel: (423) 949-5922, Carol-Kimmons [at] utc [dot] edu, or see SVIonline.org.

SVI is a 501 (3) (c) non-profit educational organization promoting education and research in sustainable green living, ecology, and art.

The Beehive Design Collective will visit Chattanooga Oct 23-25

A swarm is coming! The Beehive Design Collective is heading this way to release their long-anticipated “True Cost of Coal” graphic campaign! Four members of the Beehive Collective will present a “Picture-Lecture” in which they tell stories described in their huge graphic, an elaborate narrative illustration that explores the complex story of mountaintop removal coal mining and the broader impacts of coal. The image is the culmination of an intensive, collaborative research process. To make the poster, the Beehive interviewed hundreds of community members throughout the Appalachian region. The Bees craft these stories into visual metaphors, weave them together in a patchwork “quilt,” and share them with audiences as a larger-than-life banner.

True Cost of Coal graphic: click to enlarge (5MB - large file!)

The Beehive’s picture-lectures prompt discussion and understanding of contemporary struggles about energy and coal, while honoring the deep legacy of the Appalachian experience. The Bees are currently on a tour of Appalachia and have stops all over Eastern Tennessee. This is part of a national tour that was launched at Appalachia Rising, national day of action to END MTR in Washington DC last month. Upon seeing the graphic, Tanya Turner of Pineville, KY said, “This image is changing Appalachia. Appalachians are taking back Appalachia and this image is a tool for that change.”

Picture-Lecture

Sat. Oct 23rd
5:30-7:30pm
Green/Spaces
63 E. Main Street
Chattanooga, TN
FREE

Potluck

Sun.Oct 24th 1pm
Sequatchie Valley Institute
@Moonshadow
1233 Cartwright Loop
Whitwell, TN 37397
Donations/sliding-scale

Picture-Lecture

Mon. Oct 25th
9:30-11:30am
Chattanooga State
Humanities Building
Lobby
FREE

For more information and to view the graphics visit www.beehivecollective.org OR beehivecollective.blogspot.com.

Sponsored by Sequatchie Valley Institute and Cherokee Sierra