The 'water taxi' |
Inspire, inform and enable – so goes
their slogan.
Once upon a time, many moons ago, Ms
Tagalong took her two young girls via water-operated carriages up the mountains in Snowdonia
as an antidote to their near exposure to a nuclear power plant visit.
She was inspired to do it again. Visit CAT that is, not the nuclear
plant!
Some twenty years later, Mr Ideasman is
having his fill. No longer a 'hippie' sanctuary from the 70s the
disused quarry even houses a state of the art Wales Institute forSustainable Education building offering Masters courses in
sustainable architecture and research facilities for various
projects. Signs urge visitors to donate to the poo needed to research
the type of worm needed to eat their way through human excrement! Ms
Tagalong was pleased to know that it has already been proved that the
worms both reduce volume of the waste and minimise bacteria and
viruses.
Sally, our enthusiastic guide obviously
had not heard of Snowy and her poo worm farm back in Australia!
Sally talked through the beginnings in
1973, the piles of slag, the digging of ponds and her involvement as
a volunteer in the 80s to her subsequent employment.
'Nature loves messiness,' she enthused
as Ms Tagalong nodded her head in agreement. No manicured beds here.
A wonderful forest garden (Permaculture principles) and various
vegetable and herb beds with experiments in compost supply the
residents and Mr Ideasman who sampled tayberries and loganberries
espaliered and trained over archways. No nagging worries about Eden
here!
Volunteers keep the gardens looking
their best and Ms Tagalong came across a ruthless chopper of chives
in flower. Luckily Sally was looking the other way.
State of the Art Lecture Hall |
Ms Tagalong learnt about the rammed
earth walls in the information centre and the piece de resistance
internal walls of the auditorium. (Nothing new to Mr Ideasman) They
oohed and aahed though at the huge moveable moon disc in the centre
of the ceiling letting in light and the sliding wall, all working on
passive solar systems. State of the art sustainable architecture in
action.
CAT offers courses in Wind Power to
Hedgerow Herbalism and everything inbetween. Now if only time can be
found in between all the travelling to attend one of these!
When in Wales make sure you visit this
community dream in action and spread the word about sustainable
living. It works!
Sustainable garden |
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