The Origins of UC Sustainability House

It was back at the end of 2010 that members of the Sustainability Office at the University of Canterbury first started seriously thinking about a Sustainability House. The idea was not new and had been dreamed of by the previous Sustainability Advocate, Kate Hewson, but when we heard that we were going to be moved out of our office in the Facilities Management building and would probably be re-housed on the seventh floor of James Hight, the lofty heights of such a location sent us earth-grubbing types scuttling into the board room to come up with a contingency plan.

‘What about a house?’ someone suggested.

An hour later we’d covered the blank side of one of the big sheets of discarded architects’ maps (taken from the office next door) with felt pen, outlining what we were looking for in a house, and where we’d like it to be located.

A garden with fruit trees was at the top of the list. A kitchen and communal lounge area for eco-my-flat and other workshops a must. North facing, thermal curtains, non-coal fired heating, were all jotted down as being desirable in a house that would eventually serve as a model of a sustainable office space. Proximity to the main campus was also a consideration.

The notes were duly written up and sent to the powers that be for their consideration. In January we were asked to go and check a couple of houses in Creyke Road. In May our patience was rewarded when the Project Management team who were housed in 118 Ilam Road started eyeing up our office for its proximity to FM, and in return we began dropping hints about how much 118 would suit us. By June 1 we were packing and labelling, and when the truck with our stuff pulled in to the driveway the next day, 118 was wearing a plaque proclaiming to all that it was now Sustainability House. Result!

Of course, space is still tight at uni and currently Sust House is also housing members of the AQAU and Comms teams, but our office in the former dining room overlooking the garden is warm and cozy and close to the kitchen. Now the challenge is to eco our house!

Energy
 The house has five heat pumps, but given that it’s a ‘70’s concrete block house with sloping ceilings (no roof cavities), and each room is a separate office space, this excess in pumpery is actually the most eco heating plan currently available. Best of all, we’re no longer warmed by a coal hungry burner. In an effort to use the heat pump judiciously we run it at mid power, and turn it off at night
 During the first week we noticed that every time the kitchen was used by the other house dwellers, the door got left open and our precious heat escaped, so we printed up a polite sign asking users to ensure that the door was shut properly. Problem solved.
 Each night we draw the thermal drapes
 We shut down the computers at night and if we are going to be away from the office for long periods during the day.
 We turn our monitors off when leaving the room or having a meeting
 There are two large fluorescent lights in our room, so unless it’s really bleak we try to use only one and always turn them off when leaving the room.

Kitchen
 The first thing to happen in the kitchen was that hundreds of pieces of plastic cutlery were rounded up and banished to the back of a cupboard where they will hopefully stay for all eternity.
 Once cleared, the cupboards were then filled with a stash of second-hand cups and plates
 We use fair trade coffee, tea, sugar and hot chocolate.
 When it was discovered on day one that there was no jug for boiling water, someone ordered a plug-in urn as an alternative. It was about to be put into use when Sharon remembered seeing an extra jug in the Community Garden and promptly retrieved the lovely retro metal ‘forgettle kettle’ (water always tastes better when boiled in metal) and hid the power hungry urns.
 We wash our dishes with Eco-Store liquid, and wait until there’s enough to make it worthwhile, filling the sink to about a quarter of its capacity.

Bathroom
 A previous tenant left a can of air freshener in the loo, and in the interests of not scaring the other inhabitants too much we’ve left it there, but have also added a spider plant to naturally process any malodorous gases. Once the only tenants left in the house are all hardened eco types, we’ll add a sign to the loo saying something along the lines of ‘flush sparingly’.
 Currently, the soap in the bathroom is the default pink goo used by the UC as a whole, but after a trip to the Blue Earth stall at the Artesian Sunday market (Riccarton House), Sharon scored some sample pieces of their yummy, natural soaps to grace the curves of the 70’s vanity unit. (Thanks Blue Earth).

Garden
 Apart from a lemon tree, there’s not much in the way of edibles yet, but that’s definitely one of the projects we’ll be working on so watch this space.

Community
Last week one of the AQAU team gave Matt a ‘Hermann cake’ recipe and starter bug, to which he added milk, flour and sugar and left covered on the bench for the requisite amount of days. Today was the day when Hermann required splitting and baking, which conveniently coincided with a planned photo shoot for the forthcoming Eco-Office guide. The community garden donated carrots, and in no time at all Sarah whipped up the cake (using FT) and put it in the oven. It was ready around the same time as the photographer arrived for a shoot about purchasing Fair Trade products – perfect!

The Hermann cake is also called the Friendship cake because it’s the cake that keeps on giving, so if anyone wants to try it themselves, we can provide the starter bug for them. Alternatively you can start your own using the recipe provided, but if using the bug, just miss out Day One to Three, and start at Four – happy baking!

- Sharon McIver and Matt Morris