Like many developing countries, Azerbaijan suffers from serious environmental problems. Oil leaks into the Caspian Sea, unregulated factories pump smog into nearby communities, and trash litters the streets and common areas of rural communities. While some of these issues require drastic changes in regulation and business activity, the most visible, in fact, can be improved by a change in behaviors, and the beginning to that change is knowledge. As Azeris begin to better understand how people impact the environment around them and the effects of environmental problems on their health and livelihood, they begin to learn what they can do to combat these problems. With this environmental education project, we aim to teach youth to appreciate the environment and better understand how their actions impact it.
This project will include several phases that aim to, firstly, increase environmental awareness but will also provide numerous benefits to participants and the community. An environmentally-themed art contest for children will encourage artistic expression and general creativity while impressing the importance of environmental awareness on participants. Simultaneously, an environmental awareness class for select students will use a number a methods to teach students about environmental issues. A mural will then be painted on a city wall, based upon the winning art contest entry, providing a lasting reminder to the entire community. Finally, an Earth Day park clean-up involving local youth will reinforce good practices while improving the cleanliness of a popular common area.
To donate to this project please visit: Ming Earth Day Project
Friday, March 19, 2010
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Stay Warm, Save $
We PCVs tend to spend a lot of energy and money during the winter. Here is a list of environmentally friendly pieces of advice from our PCV friends:
I had worn the toes and heels out of my knee socks last year so I sewed them up and filled them with rice--we put them as draft snakes on our windowsills and the bottoms of doors. They really make a difference!
--Emma aka M(r)s. Jackson (I am for reeeeal!)
Tips for staying warm:
1. Keep your fridge plugged in, it puts out hot air (not very
enviromentally friendly).*
2. Put a towel accross the bottom of your door.
3. Put plastic on the windows.
4. Better yet put curtains on your windows or a blanket.**
5. Get an animal and cuddle with it, humans work too but cost more.
6. Take off your cotton clothes and put on wool, silk or polyester.
7. Excersie
8. Eat food, preferably hot, but cold will work too.
--Eli Waite
*Angry edit by Alexis C.: UNPLUG YOUR FRIDGE.
**Like Jesse’s article in the last Azlander suggested, you might want to keep the curtains drawn and let the natural heat of the sunlight into the room instead.
And a hot water bottle or Nalgene thrown in bed an hour or two before you climb in is nice.
--Amy Todd
For those who don't compost--My host mom helps homeless dogs all year. She has a small bucket in the fridge and puts food waste in it, such as pieces of old bread, old soup, vegetable pieces, stale baked goods, milk and mixes in a little fat or oil. When she sees a stray dog outside that she knows, she puts a little bit outside the house and they always eat it.*
--Linda Gies
* Alexis C.: Works for other animals too. I feed the local cows.
Regarding home insulation: I've seen a few AZ6 volunteers with plastic over the windows and caulk in the cracks, which helps a lot...One thing that might help keep heat within a room would be to keep stones or bricks on or around a gas pech that will heat up and can retain the heat over a long period of time. The stone would then slowly radiate throughout the night. Peches that send their heat to the air is often quickly lost from a drafty room.
--Todd France
Unplug your fridge! If you have a room with no gas petch, then the room is probably cold enough to house your food. My fridge has been unplugged since December 1st and my food, including cheese and milk, does not spoil quickly. If you aren’t convinced, then ask Laura Durden. Her fridge is unplugged too and we all know she isn’t crazy, right Laura
I had worn the toes and heels out of my knee socks last year so I sewed them up and filled them with rice--we put them as draft snakes on our windowsills and the bottoms of doors. They really make a difference!
--Emma aka M(r)s. Jackson (I am for reeeeal!)
Tips for staying warm:
1. Keep your fridge plugged in, it puts out hot air (not very
enviromentally friendly).*
2. Put a towel accross the bottom of your door.
3. Put plastic on the windows.
4. Better yet put curtains on your windows or a blanket.**
5. Get an animal and cuddle with it, humans work too but cost more.
6. Take off your cotton clothes and put on wool, silk or polyester.
7. Excersie
8. Eat food, preferably hot, but cold will work too.
--Eli Waite
*Angry edit by Alexis C.: UNPLUG YOUR FRIDGE.
**Like Jesse’s article in the last Azlander suggested, you might want to keep the curtains drawn and let the natural heat of the sunlight into the room instead.
And a hot water bottle or Nalgene thrown in bed an hour or two before you climb in is nice.
--Amy Todd
For those who don't compost--My host mom helps homeless dogs all year. She has a small bucket in the fridge and puts food waste in it, such as pieces of old bread, old soup, vegetable pieces, stale baked goods, milk and mixes in a little fat or oil. When she sees a stray dog outside that she knows, she puts a little bit outside the house and they always eat it.*
--Linda Gies
* Alexis C.: Works for other animals too. I feed the local cows.
Regarding home insulation: I've seen a few AZ6 volunteers with plastic over the windows and caulk in the cracks, which helps a lot...One thing that might help keep heat within a room would be to keep stones or bricks on or around a gas pech that will heat up and can retain the heat over a long period of time. The stone would then slowly radiate throughout the night. Peches that send their heat to the air is often quickly lost from a drafty room.
--Todd France
Unplug your fridge! If you have a room with no gas petch, then the room is probably cold enough to house your food. My fridge has been unplugged since December 1st and my food, including cheese and milk, does not spoil quickly. If you aren’t convinced, then ask Laura Durden. Her fridge is unplugged too and we all know she isn’t crazy, right Laura
Compost and Wire-mesh Compost Bin
Compost and Wire-mesh Compost Bin
This article concerns the making of compost using common kitchen and yard wastes and constructing a low cost, simple to build compost bin.
Compost
Compost is partially decomposed organic matter made from material that is easily available from every kitchen and yard. Compost is used to improve the fertility of soil, improves aeration, root penetration, water infiltration and reduces soil crusting in vegetable gardens. It can also be used for container plants, ornamental plants and flower gardens.
Compost can be made from the following materials found in kitchen and yard wastes:
Kitchen scraps with the exception of fat, grease, meat scraps and bones.
Leaves
Grass cuttings
Hay
Manure
Sawdust
Animal bedding
Wood ashes
Composting develops best when the material used is constructed in layers which ensures that the materials are added in the proper proportions. Once several layers are made the pile should be mixed before adding more layers. Water should be added to each layer of dry material as the pile should be slightly moist. The pile should have an internal temperature between 57 and 60 c in order to speed decomposing.
Start the pile by selecting an area with good air circulation all around where you can place the compost bin. Scrape the ground so the first layer is dirt. Place a 15 to 20 cm layer of coarse plant material on the bottom, add a 3 to 6 cm layer of manure or dirt, add a 3 cm layer of wood ash and repeat until the pile reaches the top of the compost bin. Kitchen waste can be added at any time and it should be added to the middle of the pile and covered with dirt to avoid attracting animals or flies. The pile can be layered over time as materials become available and the pile should be mixed every week or so. The compost is completed when it is dark brown, crumbly and has an earthy smell.
Compost problems:
Bad Odor: The pile may be too wet and not mixed well. Mix the pile and add dry materials. Be sure there are no fat, grease, meat scraps or bones in the pile.
Pile is not decomposing: The pile is too dry. Moisten while mixing.
Pile is not hot enough: Pile is too small and needs more green matter.
Wire-mesh compost bin
A wire-mesh compost bin made from galvanized chicken wire (verify name and type of wire mesh available) is inexpensive, easy to build and easy to move for mixing compost.
Materials:
3 meters of 90 cm wide mesh wire
Heavy wire for ties
Three 1.5 meter wooden stakes for support
Tools needed:
Wire cutting pliers
Tool for pounding stakes into ground
Directions
Fold back 8 to 10 cm of wire at each end of the wire-mesh to form an edge that will be easy to latch.
Stand the wire-mesh in a circle in the scraped out area for the compost bin
Cut the heavy wire into lengths and use to tie the two ends of wire-mesh together with the pliers.
Space the wooden stakes equally apart inside the circle, hold the stakes close to the wire-mesh, pound into the ground and secure to the wire-mesh with wire ties.
Start to fill the compost bin.
If the compost bin is full, properly mixed and moistened you should have finished compost in 6 to 8 weeks in the summer and longer in the winter.
Good luck
This article concerns the making of compost using common kitchen and yard wastes and constructing a low cost, simple to build compost bin.
Compost
Compost is partially decomposed organic matter made from material that is easily available from every kitchen and yard. Compost is used to improve the fertility of soil, improves aeration, root penetration, water infiltration and reduces soil crusting in vegetable gardens. It can also be used for container plants, ornamental plants and flower gardens.
Compost can be made from the following materials found in kitchen and yard wastes:
Kitchen scraps with the exception of fat, grease, meat scraps and bones.
Leaves
Grass cuttings
Hay
Manure
Sawdust
Animal bedding
Wood ashes
Composting develops best when the material used is constructed in layers which ensures that the materials are added in the proper proportions. Once several layers are made the pile should be mixed before adding more layers. Water should be added to each layer of dry material as the pile should be slightly moist. The pile should have an internal temperature between 57 and 60 c in order to speed decomposing.
Start the pile by selecting an area with good air circulation all around where you can place the compost bin. Scrape the ground so the first layer is dirt. Place a 15 to 20 cm layer of coarse plant material on the bottom, add a 3 to 6 cm layer of manure or dirt, add a 3 cm layer of wood ash and repeat until the pile reaches the top of the compost bin. Kitchen waste can be added at any time and it should be added to the middle of the pile and covered with dirt to avoid attracting animals or flies. The pile can be layered over time as materials become available and the pile should be mixed every week or so. The compost is completed when it is dark brown, crumbly and has an earthy smell.
Compost problems:
Bad Odor: The pile may be too wet and not mixed well. Mix the pile and add dry materials. Be sure there are no fat, grease, meat scraps or bones in the pile.
Pile is not decomposing: The pile is too dry. Moisten while mixing.
Pile is not hot enough: Pile is too small and needs more green matter.
Wire-mesh compost bin
A wire-mesh compost bin made from galvanized chicken wire (verify name and type of wire mesh available) is inexpensive, easy to build and easy to move for mixing compost.
Materials:
3 meters of 90 cm wide mesh wire
Heavy wire for ties
Three 1.5 meter wooden stakes for support
Tools needed:
Wire cutting pliers
Tool for pounding stakes into ground
Directions
Fold back 8 to 10 cm of wire at each end of the wire-mesh to form an edge that will be easy to latch.
Stand the wire-mesh in a circle in the scraped out area for the compost bin
Cut the heavy wire into lengths and use to tie the two ends of wire-mesh together with the pliers.
Space the wooden stakes equally apart inside the circle, hold the stakes close to the wire-mesh, pound into the ground and secure to the wire-mesh with wire ties.
Start to fill the compost bin.
If the compost bin is full, properly mixed and moistened you should have finished compost in 6 to 8 weeks in the summer and longer in the winter.
Good luck
Azlander Article on EC and Google Group
Unifying our Action: Environmental Committee Website and Google Group
Azerbaijan’s environmental problems can seem too overwhelming for individual PCV action. Despite this feeling, individual PCVs continually work to educate Azerbaijanis on a range of environmental problems including pollution, global warming, use of pesticides, and energy use. The Environmental Committee (EC) hopes to catalogue these individual events and bring our solitary efforts together into unified action. Do you want to start a composting project in your area? Do you want to create an Earth Day lesson plan in Azerbaijani? Would you like to take part in a field trip to an Azerbaijani National Park? If yes, then avoid recreating the wheel. The Environmental Committee wants to make years’ worth of valuable data and resources available to you through two main venues:
Website
http://envcommaz.blogspot.com/
On the EC website you can find: conversation club discussion outlines, project reports, lesson plans, Azerbaijani environmental data, news article links, past Azlander articles, and more. Right now the EC is reworking the website into an easy to use information database. Everyone is encouraged to submit articles, pictures, or anything else to the website. Both Sara Nevius (saranevius@gmail.com) and Alexis Cohen (alexistentialism@gmail.com) are administrators to the site.
Azerbaijan’s environmental problems can seem too overwhelming for individual PCV action. Despite this feeling, individual PCVs continually work to educate Azerbaijanis on a range of environmental problems including pollution, global warming, use of pesticides, and energy use. The Environmental Committee (EC) hopes to catalogue these individual events and bring our solitary efforts together into unified action. Do you want to start a composting project in your area? Do you want to create an Earth Day lesson plan in Azerbaijani? Would you like to take part in a field trip to an Azerbaijani National Park? If yes, then avoid recreating the wheel. The Environmental Committee wants to make years’ worth of valuable data and resources available to you through two main venues:
Website
http://envcommaz.blogspot.com/
On the EC website you can find: conversation club discussion outlines, project reports, lesson plans, Azerbaijani environmental data, news article links, past Azlander articles, and more. Right now the EC is reworking the website into an easy to use information database. Everyone is encouraged to submit articles, pictures, or anything else to the website. Both Sara Nevius (saranevius@gmail.com) and Alexis Cohen (alexistentialism@gmail.com) are administrators to the site.
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