A workshop offering hands-on experience with an alternative building technique that uses straw bales as building blocks is scheduled Saturday, July 28, 8 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Berea College Greenhouses.

During the workshop, sponsored by Berea College's Sustainability and Environmental Studies (SENS) program, participants will help build a straw bale shed and apply earthen plaster to the structure. Conducting the workshop will be Berea College students Kelly Cutchin, Jennie Koch and Kristin McCombs, who have been learning about straw bale construction this summer. The shed that will be built will be used by the College gardens.

Berea College has adopted ecological design -- the application of ecological principles to building and landscape design -- in its effort to become a sustainable campus. As part of this process, students in the SENS program are experimenting with alternative building techniques and materials that could be used in campus construction projects.

A key tenet of ecological design is that solutions come from place. Accordingly, the use of local, renewable resources is critical. Plastics and other materials manufactured from oil or transported long distances using fossil fuels contribute to environmental degradation and detract from sustainability. Alternative materials such as wood, earth and straw can be locally produced in many locations, and are, under the proper management systems, renewable resources.

Straw bale construction is a promising approach that is gaining acceptance nationwide. The exterior walls of straw bale buildings are comprised of bales of straw, either as in-fill in a frame structure or as load-bearing walls, and coated with various types of plasters on exterior surfaces, many of which are made from local soil (earth plasters). Straw bale walls can provide high insulation values, good structural support, moderate cost, low toxicity and easy installation. Straw bale construction also takes an agricultural product that is in some areas a waste disposal problem and turns it into a valuable resource and source of income for farmers.

Information on other natural building techniques will also be available, including a demonstration on how to make "papercrete" building blocks from old newspapers. The SENS program solar demonstration cart, solar ovens and information on producing electricity from sunlight will also be a part of the workshop.

The College Greenhouses are located on Scaffold Cane Road, 1/4 mile south of the College Square area. For additional information, contact SENS director Richard Olson or Kelly, Kristin or Jennie at (859) 985-3593 or at (859) 985-3698.