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At our fifth meeting, we continued evaluating and developing on all prototypes. Our 6^th meeting will be on Sunday 20^th March from 17:00 – 20:00 in the Baumhaus. The aim is for each team to present their prototype to the rest of the group at this next meeting. So, over the next couple of weeks, all teams will be gathering building materials and organising work sessions to continue building their prototypes.

28-02-2016 – Vertical Garden and Permaculture Planning Meeting #5

Our fifth meeting was lively and productive! On this lovely Sunday afternoon, the sun shone in through the vast windows of the Baumhaus space, catalysing inspired ideas and friendly conversation.

At this meeting we heard updates from all teams on the progression of their prototypes. The rest of the group offered constructive feedback on how each could be improved upon further. In group work sessions, each team used the opportunity to plan the next steps in the development of their prototype, whether this be evaluating and refining their plan, ordering materials or organising a time to come by the space and build!

During the Meet and Greet at the start of the session we welcomed back many, who were by now veterans of our Vertical Garden project, and also introduced a few fresh faces to the group. Together, we then reviewed and evaluated how the ‘Waterfall’ hydroponic prototype, built 3 weeks ago, was running. Factors to consider were the durability of the burlap sack material as the plant pouches and whether the plants were receiving a sufficient supply of water. We also addressed some mould that started developing on a few plants.

Next, each team split into their working groups to evolve and build upon their own prototypes. At the end of the meeting, the results of these dynamic work sessions were shared with the rest of the group:

The ‘Lush Jungle’ hydroponic system had spent the meeting acquiring measurements of the wall on which they would install their 4m² living wall. They researched online and sourced the materials they needed to build a prototype measuring 1x4m over the next few weeks. They have also scheduled a meeting for next week to start building!

Next up for the ‘Tiny Aquaponics’ team, was to enlarge their already functioning prototype. In this meeting, they planned to obtain a larger fish tank and cut a hole in the glass cover to hold a hydroponic plant pot (plant with no soil). They will be experimenting to find the optimum plants for their shrimp system. This system will eventually be installed as a long narrow tank in one of the front windows of the space.

The last team continued to develop an exciting plan for how to build the most efficient soil system. They have decided to prototype a ‘Modular Rotational Vermiculture’ system. The basic principle is that worms are incorporated into a system of soil-filled boxes piled on top of each other. These worms break down kitchen waste into a useable and highly nutritious mulch-tea. This could then be used as a natural fertiliser for other vertical gardens in the space.

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Where: Baumhaus Planning HQ  VH 3.OG , ring for ‘Bolden und Wohlert’

When: Thursday 3rd March 19:30-22:00

So we’re all active saving the world in Berlin – but what is happening just outside our city? Lignite coal mining, as it turns out, which is not just starting to pollute our own drinking water, but is also one of the worst things we can do to the climate.

Come join us at the Baumhaus this Thursday March 3rd to learn how to help put a stop to coal in Brandenburg and beyond. Activists from “Ende Gelände” (“Here and No Further”) present their anti-coal coalition and the international action in May.

7:30 Arrival, Meet and Greet

8:00 Presentation by “Ende Gelände”

9:00 Discussion, Ideas and Collaborations

Bring a friend, bring drinks, bring snacks. Bring your belief in the power of collective action and ideas.

::: About Coal in Brandenburg, Lusatia and Germany :::

In Brandenburg, in the lignite mining region Lusatia (an area about 90 minutes southeast of Berlin, located within the states of Saxony and Brandenburg) the coal industry is at a crucial juncture. Vattenfall, a large energy corporation in Germany, seeks to sell their coal mines and power plants in Lusatia to another company instead of shutting them down. But these lignite coal mines are incredibly destructive on both a local and global scale. Not only have over 30,000 residents in Lusatia been forced to relocate to make way for lignite mines, but also every ton of lignite burned produces one ton of Carbon Dioxide, making lignite coal the dirtiest of any other type of fuel. Germany is the world’s biggest lignite producer.

::: About “Ende Gelände 2016” – Here and no further for coal in Lusatia :::

“Ende Gelände” organises the international protests and actions of civil disobiedience that will be held from 13th to 16th of May (pentecoast) in Lusatia – to send a strong signal against coal and to overthrow the sale of the coal mines. At “Ende Gelände 2015”, 1500 people occupied the pit of a lignite coal mine in Rhineland. In order to stop climate change, we have to phase out coal immediately. And we have to do this ourselves. It is this idea that drives the coalition Ende Gelände, working for an anti-coal-movement in Germany.

More info

Facebook Event 

Where: Baumhaus Berlin, Gerichtstraße 23, 13347 Berlin, Front House, Ground Floor

When: Thursday 25th February, 19:00 – 22:00

We are expanding our delivery of fresh organic produce from BioKräuterei Oberhavel. We are getting a greater share of the harvest so we will have new spot open for people who would like to join our group and pick up fresh organic veggies every week.

At this info meeting you will find out about the mission of the Baumhaus, BioKräuterei Oberhavel, how the system works and meet the current members of our group. In general, if you sign up then you are committing to a 1 year contract to pay for your portion of veggies to be delivered to the Baumhaus every week.

So we are looking for new interesting people to join our group and our community that meets for more than just picking up veggies! We can not take everyone into our group so there may also be another opportunity to join another group here in Weddding or start your own in your neighborhood.

Bring snacks to share, we will have some tea, beer, wine and water on a donation basis.

At our fourth meeting we continued developing prototypes. We also evaluated and improved upon two functional prototypes. Our 5^th meeting will be on Sunday Feb 28 from 14:00 – 17:00 in the Baumhaus – bring food and snacks to share. We will continue evaluating and building on all prototypes. Team members will need to keep in touch with their groups, coordinate ordering materials with us (baumhaus.berlin@gmail.com) and prepare a building plan. If you would like to book a work session in the space to work on building your prototype, just get in touch with us to arrange a time.

11-02-2016 – Vertical Garden and Permaculture Planning Meeting #4

At this fourth meeting we focussed on prototype development and improvement; it was a well-paced, fun and effective meeting. About 25 people showed up and brought along plenty of knowledge and a collaborative spirit. We evaluated prototypes for the ‘Waterfall’ hydroponics concept and the ‘Tiny Aquaponics’ system.

The evening started off with a chilled meet-and-greet, giving us a chance to get a good look at these two prototypes in advance of presentations on these systems. We heard presentations from the ‘Modular Compost’ soil system and the ‘Lush Jungle’ hydroponic system later in the meeting. Each group considered the next steps in the evolution of their system. Before the meeting ended, each group reported on their next steps to continue their prototyping process, as we sipped delicious cocktails made by the one and only Sarah from The Wedding Space.

Now for a more in-depth review of each system:

The ‘Waterfall’ hydroponic system had been built over the past few days and was now mounted on one of the front walls of the space. This is a closed system, composed of a wooden water tank and 3 wooden plant troughs. The troughs are lined with pond liner to allow water to flow though and burlap plant pouches filled with Seramis are installed in each trough. A pump sends water to the top trough, which then flows gently back down through the system. The team explained how they built the prototype and assessed how sustainable it was, as seen in the photo below.The total material costs for this prototype were 200€. This included all the materials used to make the plant troughs, tank, controller and pump.

The rest of the group offered plenty of useful suggestions for improvement, such as more ecologically friendly materials and solar panels to power the system. In the next weeks, this group will be experimenting with light and watering conditions and monitoring the growth of the plants.

The ‘Tiny Aquaponics’ prototype combines shrimps with the roots of plants in a fish tank in a mutually beneficial relationship; shrimp poop provides nutrients for the plant, whilst the plant filters the water to maintain a suitable habitat for the shrimps. In the feedback session, the group suggested a few suitable pumps for this prototype (ram pump and tesla pump). Next, this group will be enlarging their prototype and experimenting on a bigger scale!

In our second hydroponics system, the ‘Lush Jungle’, garden plants are placed in fabric pockets stapled to a waterproof wall to create a full, flat living wall. They are watered from drippers from four different heights so that plants get enough water without constantly soaking the wall. The group talked us through developments in their plans to build a 4x4m living wall. They had found a more durable alternative to rockwool, to root the plants into the system. We considered additional lighting systems to supplement natural light at the walls furthest from the windows. Another suggestion was that they source plants that would otherwise be thrown away from plant nurseries. Next up for this team, they will be drawing up a list of materials to order and building their prototype.

The last system to prototype is a ‘Modular Compost’ soil system, a vertical tower garden complete with a vermicomposting system (compost with worms and old food). The prototype will be made up of box shaped containers which will allow the plants roots ample room. Group feedback included suggestions for alternate natural fertilisers, such as mushrooms and a similar composting system with ants. Now, the team will work out the dimensions of their unit and how to use the space available in the most efficient way. They will be choosing plants and prototyping over the next few weeks.

Where: Baumhaus Berlin, Gerichtstraße 23, 13347 Berlin, Front House, Ground Floor

When: 14:00 – 17:00, Sunday 28 Feb

At our fourth meeting we continued developing prototypes. We also evaluated and improved upon two functional prototypes. At our 5th meeting, we will continue evaluating and building on all prototypes. Team members will need to keep in touch with their groups, coordinate ordering materials with us (baumhaus.berlin@gmail.com) and prepare a building plan. If you would like to book a work session in the space to work on building your prototype, just get in touch with us to arrange a time.

Please bring snacks and drinks to share.

For a full update of the last meeting, check out our vertical garden page.

And read about how we created our first functional prototype, for the ‘Waterfall’ hydroponic system.

Here’s the Facebook event.

Last week the hydroponic vertical garden team met in the Baumhaus to work on the construction of the first prototype. The core team consisted of Sascha, Timo and Diane with help from Asha, Scott, Uli, and Sabine. By Thursday night we were able to present a mostly-finished prototype to the larger group and get feedback. On Friday we were ready to add plants to the system and are now interested in logistical aspects such as what kinds of plants do well in the vertical garden and how often they need to be watered.

The basic idea behind the system is that water from a reservoir is pumped up to the top and flows down and through angled troughs until it once again reaches the reservoir at the bottom. The plants are set up in burlap sack pouches which contain a granulate material. As water flows through the system water is drawn up into the pouches through capillary action. Each one of the troughs is attached to each other with chains that guide the water from one trough to the next.

On our first day creating the prototype we started out with an illustration of what the finished product should look like and collected the necessary tools and materials. This prototype was created with recycled wood and therefore many of the steps consisted of measuring wood to the correct size. First we considered the size of the wall and how long each individual trough should be. We planned for the reservoir on the bottom to be wider and longer than the troughs to ensure that it would catch all of the water dripping down the system.

After cutting the wood and screwing it together to fit the desired form we added a layer of waterproof pond liner and secured it with a staple gun. This kept it in place while we screwed a long thin piece of wood to each side of the trough. Afterwards we removed the excess liner with a box cutter. These pieces of wood secure the liner in a more permanently and act as a shelf for the plant holder frames.

Next, we created the plant holder frames. We cut a board to the correct size and then considered separating the single board into many smaller sections that would hold one to four plants. In the end we decided on cutting it in a way that allowed each plant to have its own board so that we would have more control over the position of each plant and greater access to individual plants in the finished system. After making similar frames for each of the troughs, we installed the system on the wall, added the chains for the water to trickle down and made sure that the pump was working.

The pump worked really well. Timo created a control panel and wrote a program so that you can change the amount of water pumped up to the top of the system and. This gives us control over how much water the plant receives without any extra effort.

The last step was attaching the burlap sack to the boards and then transplanting the plants into the individual pouches. We attached the sack in such a way that the pouch touched the bottom of the trough but still had some room on either side for water to flow through. This was done by setting individual plant frames in their respective troughs, putting our fist into the burlap sack material through the hole in the frame, and then adjusting the pouch size to the particular trough. After it was the correct size, we used a staple gun to secure the material to the frame and cut off any excess material.

After the plant frames and pouches were ready we started transplanting the plants into each of the pouches. Sabine, who is knowledgeable about gardening, showed up at just the right moment to help with the transplanting process. Most of the dirt was removed from the roots and then they were placed in the granulate material. The entire pouch with the plant inside was then soaked for a couple minutes to ensure that the plant started out with enough water. Afterwards they were added to the vertical garden system.

The total material costs for this prototype were 200€. This included all the materials used to make the plant troughs, tank, controller and pump.

Seeing the project through from start to finish was a really fun experience and seeing a working prototype was really exciting too. We all worked really hard to bring the idea into reality as an evolving and functional prototype. We are excited to see how effective the system is and also interested in tweaking the system to make it better. Currently the system is set up to water the plants once every three days. Later this week we will be taking moisture, light, and air exchange measurements as well as monitoring the growth of the plants.

When: Thursday 18th February 19:00 – 22:00 

After our usual Open Office Hours (17:00 – 19:00), there will be an Improvisational Groove Orchestra session in Das Baumhaus.

 

A fun way to experience the joy of vocalizing together…

 

In this workshop we will explore various methods to create improvisational music with voice and body in a comfortable and supportive environment. We will explore how to connect with each other via many musical styles, layering vocal rhythms, melodies, spoken word and tones with a groovy vibe.

 

This workshop is designed for singers of all vocal levels from beginners to professionals. Scott will provide the general moderation but any group member can also contribute to guiding us in the creation and discovery of new paths of vocal expression.

 

We do much of our work with our eyes closed so that we can stay focussed on creating the sound space without distractions. So far we have explored many various styles of vocalisation including polyrhythmic loops, Balinese Kecak chanting, traditional choral singing, freestyle lyrics, vocal and body percussion, emergent improvisational compositions, beat boxing, gospel/spiritual, hip hop, drum n bass, dub step, jazz, reggae & dub +++

 

19:00: meet-&-greet and hangout

 

19:30: start singing 

 

(please be on time, there are important things to explain before beginning)

 

• Check out a short clip from our last IGO session in Das Baumhaus:

• Here is a video showing another fun method, the human sequencer game:

• Later there will be a cocktail bar run by the wonderful Sarah from The Wedding Space.

 

 

The address is Gerichtstr. 23 in the front house on the 3rd floor, you can walk in our door from the sidewalk. Please bring snacks and drinks to share.

 

This is a free event, any voluntary donations from the evening will go towards the general project as we build Das Baumhaus Berlin this Winter and Spring.

At our third planning meeting we decided on 3 systems to start prototyping; soil, hydroponic and aquaponic.  Our 4th meeting will be on Feb 11 from 19:00 until 21:30 in the Baumhaus.  We will begin the process of prototyping so we are asking team members and people who are interested in joining to do some research and start to identify materials and resources we will still need (with prices and places where we purchase them or get sponsored for cheap or free).  This meeting will be a continuation of the prototyping process.  As teams develop their plans we will begin purchasing materials.

20-01-2016 – Vertical Garden and Permaculture Planning Meeting #3

The night outside was frosty but inside the cosy Baumhaus space the air was warmly buzzing with good energy, groovy people and great ideas…

We were continuing to plan the vertical and permaculture gardens to grow on the walls of Das Baumhaus. After two productive planning meetings, we now had plenty of ideas for everything from watering systems to aesthetic design. This third meeting was all about moving forward; we set a goal to work out which systems we wanted to prototype in the coming weeks.

The options were vast. So we split into working groups, each to explore a different support system for vertical gardening: the soil system, the hydroponics system (water only) and the aquaponics system (water and aquatic animals). With people coming from a variety of disciplines and interest areas, each offering their own valuable input, it made for some very interesting discussion. Between us all, we had a lot of experience of permaculture, building vertical gardens and working with aquaponics! We considered how, and the materials needed, to build each system, as well as how sustainable and price efficient they each were, and sketched out some designs.

The team working on soil systems came up with some very innovative ideas, including stringing up plant beds in hammocks and a vertical tower garden that also functions as a vermicomposting system (scraps from the kitchen with added worms create a great organic fertiliser and soil amendment!). Benefits of a soil system are that it would be 100% organic, would support principles of permaculture in that species within the ecosystem benefit each other and would be truly sustainable – waste products can be recycled as nutrients for other plants in the Baumhaus.

The hydroponics group planned to build a living wall, complete with tank, multiple dripping watering lines, wooden frame and a rockwool rooting for the plants, covering a 4x4m wall in the space. This system is water-efficient (and it waters itself automatically) and has the potential to be very aesthetically pleasing, giving us the chance to play with different coloured and textured plants. On the other hand, it would take a while to get this system going as the plants are installed and then must be allowed to grow into the wall.

The aquaponics system works on the basis that aquatic animals, in this case fish, and hydroponics exist side by side, in a mutually beneficial relationship. The fish faeces in the water used to irrigate plants provides them with essential nutrients. The plants filter the water, in turn, and thus maintain a suitable habitat for the fish. One aquaponics group focused on the idea of plants having access to water both above and below the water of the fish tank. The other group designed a ‘Paternoster’ style system. Plant baskets are hung along a vertical, circular conveyer belt, which turns a bit more each hour (or any given time interval) to allow each plant basket to be watered. Whilst the circuit is stationary, the basket at the watering station is allowed to flood, then drain out at a slower rate than it was watered. This ensures nutrients within the water are evenly distributed. A benefit of this system is that plants demanding different mixes of nutrients can be separated by basket and watered accordingly. When plants need tending to or harvesting, there is also no need to climb up to the baskets. This system has the convenience of being able to alter the heights of plant baskets as desired.

After all these ideas were presented to the rest of the group, we hung out, chatting, networking and drinking delicious cocktails mixed at our bar prototype by the lovely Sarah from ‘The Wedding Space’.

• Last week started out with a special work help session to clear out the back room and most of the front room to make room for new building materials and prototype designs.  A bunch of really cool people showed up to help including Sam, a refugee engineering student from Syria. After our cleaning action we went up stairs to enjoy a nice home cooked meal.

• We also had a couple of surprise visits. The first was from the company that is (still…) installing the windows. The second surprise visitor was Björn who signed up to volunteer some time helping to build the Baumhaus. As it turned out, Björn not only signed up to volunteer through the Vostel online volunteering platform, but he also happened to be a programmer for Vostel! We spent some nice time getting to know each other while we worked on optimizing the Baumhaus’ posting online. Check out Vostel along with the many projects to volunteer for across Berlin.

• Our third Vertical & Permaculture Gardening meeting was a smashing success and a lot of fun (Sarah from the Wedding Space mixed some of her famously delicious cocktails). We identified and started planning the 3 systems we will use to make the walls of the Baumhaus alive with plants: 1) a hydroponic system that uses no soil, the roots of the plants get water with nutrients, 2) an aquaponic system, the same as the hydroponic except the water cycle includes fish in a fish tank that produce nutrients for the plants and, 3) a modular soil system with an integrated worm and compost design. At our next meeting on February 11, we will begin planning each prototype in detail and begin building each throughout the month.

• Part of our lighting team, Elena, Matthias, Vladimir and Scott met 2 times last week to continue developing our second major lighting installation prototype, “The Orchid Lamp”. We spent Thursday sorting out the technical design of the electronics and structural support of the wireframe. On Sunday we wired the electronics to the frame and reinforced the frame.  Our skinned functional prototype is now on display at Rathaus Kleinmachnow but it will be at the art loft berlin during the next “Sunday Afternoon” networking event for change makers and active neighbours from all across Berlin on 28 Feb.

• On Thursday evening we had an amazing session of the “Improvisational Groove Orchestra”, a great improv singing event. Sarah from the Wedding Space, provided more tasty support at the bar in between rounds… Stay tuned for the audio recordings, there is some really nice music in there! The next session is Thursday Feb 4.

• This week we will spend preparing the last planning details and purchasing building materials to order next week. We also finalized the contract with our plumber so that work can begin soon…

Check our calendar on our website or stop by every Thursday between 17:00 and 19:30 for our open office hours to see how to get involved or support the project!