Some birds’ nests are cup-shaped, some have domes, others have been likened to apartment complexes. How do birds build their nurseries? Captain Cook collected a hummingbird nest during his trip to Brazil. That nest, just 6 cm (2.4 inches) high was in the fork of two branches, camouflaged with lichen, lined with fluffy seeds and … Read more
Over the course of 13 years, Mira and Krsna’s property in Tasmania has grown to consist of a residential dwelling, yoga space, biodynamic garden and an Earthship. The Earthship is made primarily from tires, glass bottles and cob. It was built with the help of volunteers who came to learn the couple’s methods of earth … Read more
Awareness Ranch uses the ideas of permaculture design to grow food and create buildings. Following the adage of “think globally and act locally” they aim to provide a working model of sustainable agriculture and construction which can be replicated or adapted to many settings. By cultivating an awareness of our interconnected world, they believe we … Read more
A cellar with a paved floor beneath a home is an almost unheard of feature for the Neolithic period. Members of the Funnel Beaker Culture (around 4000 BCE) created the cellar on the island of Falster in southeast Denmark, where workers stumbled on the remains of ancient homes while extending a railway in the area. … Read more
I am a big fan of masonry heaters. For additional heat during the cold season using wood as a fuel, these are extraordinarily efficient and produce almost no emissions, with minimal effort. Plus they can be used for cooking, like this beehive dome masonry heater. You can find out much about this heater and how … Read more
Peter Wade-Martins has visited all 649 of Norfolk’s surviving medieval churches to study the stone types used in their construction. As a result, he has identified the use of conglomerate, grey quartzite, millstone grit, and tile, much of it reused from ruinous Roman buildings. There were few stone churches in that region of England until … Read more