Workshop outline
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(BEFORE DAY OF)
print materials/handouts: click here
6 base map layers on trace
get history of TS
get hours, budget, plowing system
get emergency (contingency) plan (if existing): equipment failure, injury, fire/explosion
get “Operating plan”: facility id
authorized and prohibited waste
routine operating plan
residual waste management plan
facility maintenance, inspection, and monitoring plan
contingency plan (see above)
employee training plan
record-keeping and reporting
make “IDEA” box
(DAY OF)
arrange seating in circle
lay out handouts for pick up at sign up sheet
Yeomans scale of permanence
sign up sheet: name, phone number, email
pin up relevant resources somewhere accessible
set up food and drinks
name tags?
Idea box and sticky notes
During course:
Introduction: introduction of each person, say one word that describes why you're here and one that describes the dump
Me: introduction
outline of day, objectives, show “idea” box and sticky notes
choose photographer, minute taker, task/time keeper
explanation of A&A, give examples. Reminder that this is NOT design
(go to dump)
set up line: birth month? Eye color? Divide into groups: layers
(return to town hall)
transfer notes to trace paper
After course:
send minutes, photos, and thank yous by email, invite to next weekend
handouts: simple base map with buildings, property lines, etc., outline of day, objectives of A&A, PA
1. landform, soil and water 2. vegetation (&wildlife), aesthetics and viewshed
3. buildings and infrastructure 4. traffic, parking and circulation (cars and people)
(additionals: 5. legal 6. budgetary)
• Topic: What is the current status of the Transfer Station? What are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats?
• Verifiable learning objectives: Everyone understands how an A&A workshop can be valuable in design.
• Learning activities: Field practices and activities, drawing, formulating a SWOT.
• Procedures: A&A examples, aerial view of TS, explanation of PA Yeomans scale of permanence
• Time: Intro: 30 mins
travel: 10 mins
walk around: 30 mins
travel: 10 mins
transfer of notes: 30 mins
presentation of findings: 5 minutes each (20 mins total)
layering of findings: during presentations
SWOT analysis: 30 mins
closing: 20 mins
• Learning resources: Pens, pencils, trace paper, coloring pencils, tables and chairs, rulers, erasers, handouts, pamphlets with additional info.
• How will the space be arranged? Chairs in a circle, tables on outside, poster board between two chairs
• Anticipated problems and solutions: I might be found not credible; people may be dissatisfied with having to do an A&A when they want to design (anxiety for “the big
thing”); my lesson plan is flexible to whatever people want to do and for however many people show up.
• Self-assessment (to fill out after the lesson is finished): How well overall
did I achieve the objectives? Which aspects worked well? Which aspects didn’t
work as well as expected? What could I do to improve this session in the future?
After the course, this lesson plan will serve as a record of what you taught and a means
to evaluate your results so you can continuously improve the quality of your courses.
Pg 16-17, Facilitators Handbook for Permaculture
A lesson plan will also help you to stay on track as you teach by providing answers at a glance to the following questions:
• Topics: What are the main topics or key points I want to cover today?
• Verifiable learning objectives: What do I want the participants to understand
or be able to do by the end of this learning activity or lesson? The objective
should be stated in a verifiable form – a form that shows what results you would
see or hear that would let you know the objective has been achieved – by the
end of the lesson, the participants will be able to describe 3 ways to conserve
water in their homes. By the end of the lesson participants will be able to
demonstrate the use of Permaculture principles in the design of a kitchen. By the
end of the lesson participants will be able to make 2 different kinds of compost.
• Learning activities: What kind and what sequence of activities will I use to
reach these objectives? E.g. large group presentations; creative thinking or
brainstorming exercises in small groups; field practice activities.
• Procedures: What are the key points I want to cover in my presentation? What
are the key steps to carrying out this classroom exercise or field activity? What
instructions will I need to give to introduce and guide the activities?
• Time: How long will each activity last? How much time do I have available for
this activity if I want to fit in the others as well?
• Learning resources: What tools, materials, visual aids, or handouts are
needed?
• How will the space be arranged?
• Anticipated problems and solutions: What might go wrong and how will I
respond? Is my lesson plan flexible enough? If people are tired or unresponsive,
do I have an energizer or other creative exercise to use as a backup? Or if a
particular lesson proves to stimulate a productive discussion, can it be expanded
to allow this process to come to a productive conclusion?
• Selfassessment (to fill out after the lesson is finished): How well overall
did I achieve the objectives? Which aspects worked well? Which aspects didn’t
work as well as expected? What could I do to improve this session in the future?
After the course, this lesson plan will serve as a record of what you taught and a means
to evaluate your results so you can continuously improve the quality of your courses.
When designing your lesson plan, remember to:
• Ensure that at least 50% of the course is hands-on practice activities that are
appropriate to the situation and can be implemented using available space and
resources.
• Keep classroom lectures brief and combine them with varied small group
dialogue, visual examples, and design tasks which let people integrate
information in a fun, relaxed manner.
• Allow extra time for interpretation into a second language.
• Allow for flexibility See Step 8: “Facilitating the course” for tips about how to
create effective learning environments and adapting your plan to respond to participant feedback during the course.
Click on the image below to enlarge
Transfer station attendant Deb Guinard looks through her new window opening; my article in the local newspaper on the two Analysis and Assessment // Design days
The schedule for the Analysis workshop
Analysis and Design Workshops
Many minds are greater than one. This was evident in the two workshops I held for redesigning the Transfer Station. The first day was focused on Analysis and Assessment of what exists and the history (equipment, layout, staffing, location, etc.), while the second was geared toward brainstorming solutions.
I advertised in the Andover Beacon (the local newspaper), by e-mail, word-of-mouth, and with flyers posted in town. Both days were almost cancelled due to snow and sleet, but we managed to have a successful group of people.
I discovered the difficulty of being a young teacher. I had it in mind that I would be guiding the participants through the A&A and Design process, but instead they were insistent on pure discussion. Once I let go of my plans for the day, I was able to relax and sink in to what they were offering for recommendations, advice, and memories of how the Transfer Station came to be.
Transfer Station Attendants' Notes
Workshop Handouts
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SITE OBSERVATION, ANDOVER TRANSFER STATION -- December 6, 2014
SCHEDULE
Introductions: 30 mins
(head to the “dump”)
Walk around: 30 mins
(head back to Town Hall)
Transfer of notes: 30 mins
Presentation of findings: 5 minutes for each group (20 mins total)
SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats): 30 mins
Closing: 20 mins, finish by noon
OBJECTIVES
In 4 Teams (maybe more):
1. landform, soil and water 2. vegetation (& wildlife), aesthetics and viewshed
3. buildings and infrastructure 4. traffic, parking and circulation (cars and people)
5 / 6: legal/zoning, budgetary
SWOT analysis: What are the internal Strengths and Weaknesses?
What are the external Opportunities and Threats?
Internal
|
Strengths |
Weaknesses |
|
Opportunities |
Threats |
External
First, use Direct Observation: Gain an intimate knowledge of the nature of your site; listening, seeing, feeling, smelling….
Intuition, Contemplation: Close your eyes... What qualities impress you (vitality,
wildness, neglect, abuse, potential…)
Buildings and Infrastructure Team:
What are the uses of the buildings?
Where are the doors (for humans and cars)?
Where are the windows?
Where are the power lines?
What type of heat do the buildings use?
How are the buildings insulated?
Are the buildings occupied frequently/infrequently?
What important features do buildings have? (ie. Electric panels, buttons for hoppers)
Landform, Soil, and Water Team:
Topography (of wider area surrounding TS): Elevation above sea level; valleys; ridges – draw using arrows pointing down slopes
Slopes (on site topography): Aspect; gradients (gentle, medium, steep) – draw using arrows pointing down slopes
Soils: rocky, fertile, wet, clay; color, compaction, erosion – use best guesses
Rocks, sand, minerals: Potential building materials, obstructions, microclimate
Vegetation, Wildlife, Aesthetics and Viewshed Team:
What Flora exists?: Trees, crops, gardens, ground covers, (wild or exotic); “edges”; native edible
forage, wildlife habitat; Stage of succession, invasive plants, poisonous plants…
What Fauna is around (domestic, native wildlife...)? Any wildlife corridors suspected? Any pressure from pests?:
Beautiful places: Springs; groves, old trees, ponds… (use your “6th” sense, memory/sentiment)
Any views that draw your attention (for good or bad reasons)?
Traffic, Parking, and Circulation Team:
What are the vehicular patterns of the general area (just outside the Transfer Station)? (Existing roads, driveways, bridges, bicycle paths, public transit...)
What are the vehicular patterns on site? (where cars move, park, back up, speed up...)
What does the Pedestrian traffic look like? (Existing footpaths, sidewalks, how people move around)
Click on the image below to enlarge
Article in the state newspaper (Concord Monitor) asking for help in the redesign and the online survey.
Former Selectwoman and previous Recycling Committee Member Vicky Mishcon
Reggie Roy:
What's going well?
Single Stream, but it's costing the town a mint. We should've done a study. We pay $90 a ton for SSR, and $68 for the MSW (mixed solid waste) dumpster. 67% of people are recycling now, instead of 50% like it was before. Things are going smoothly--we know who's sneaking stuff in. I know that 31 cars=1 ton of garbage, and this hopper has a 25-ton capacity. We usually send out 17-20 tons on average, once/week. Can't fill it cause the next dump day it'll be overflowing! The Household Hazardous Waste Days are great. We do one per year in Franklin (we don't take it, just tell people to wait until July).
What's been challenging?
It's hard with only 2 of us on Wednesday. Last year (2014) we had 286 items in the metal bin that weren't supposed to go. It's a bitch to go in there, super dangerous. It's super expensive if we get charged for them--a warning the first time and $2000 fine for each one after that. We also used to have break ins all the time, but the new lock is good. It freezes though, might have to go back to the old one... As far as labor goes, the metal and C&D containers have to be shoved down continuously. The biggest concern is in the winter. We pay for the snow weight. We got a new plow guy, John McDonald, but Debbie still has to clean around the dumpsters with the Bobcat. We don't have the time to plow--especially with Single Stream. We gotta keep an eye on the container all the time. It should've been put on the other side of the trash compactor. People also complain about the C&D prices. It's hard to be consistent. Also, nobody wants to work here. We don't need a full time person, we like to stay busy. Sometimes Deb eats while working. We do need backup, though--it's tough to find someone good.
What are you biggest hopes and dreams for the T.S.?
Nothing. I'm glad they didn't put up the barricades! There have never been any accidents. I like the flow. The traffic works perfect. Actually, we need a floor scale!
"If I won the Mega-Bucks [lottery], I'd stay here all the time. I love meeting people and the socializing that goes on here."
Danbury, NH Transfer Station
I visited the Danbury Transfer Station in December as I had made a friend at an NRRA conference--Carl Hultberg. He is a poet, writer, and trash fanatic. He was incredibly helpful in framing small-town municipal waste handling (Danbury has a population of 900) and the psychology behind human obsession or aversion to it.
Transfer Station Fees
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Deb Guinard:
Single stream is hauled away without us being here, and they clean up. It gets hauled to Belmont and then hauled to Massachusetts. It leaves every 3rd dump day and returned empty.
I had to plow on Saturday for 6 hours, meaning I couldn't watch the single stream container. Who knows what people are putting in there. The plow guys are afraid of popping their tires on scrap metal, nails, etc. down by the dumpsters. They only come to 20ft from the containers. I do the fire pits, tires, oil, and the back of the gate by C&D. Red and Reggie don't run the Bobcat.
We have to tape the batteries individually, move the mercury bulbs every dump day, manage the car batteries (which are cracking in the cold). Everything must leave within a year's time of arrival.
TV's go out every ~1-2 months. 12-13 pallets=1 shipment. We're getting $8 for electronics from townspeople and then $0.24/lb when they are picked up by the company.
We should use the landing dock behind the recycling building, the set up is really good.
The burn-pile isn't great--people dump their own ashes full of slop and cigarette butts.
We need a backhoe to bang stuff down in the containers so we can fit more in there. We also need a floor scale. No one can be consistent with prices for the C&D.
Only 1 baler is working... and just barely. We should buy a state of the art baler and use the Single stream compactor for plastics since they don't make much money. Use a trailer for cardboard (comes free from the company as long as there is cardboard in it).
We have no fire suppression techniques, no potable drinking water. This is illegal. The Dept. of Labor is going to get us for that.
It would be great to separate wood that could be used as fuel wood. We could put it between the C&D and burn-pile.
Re-usable stuff under cover that we could clean up once a week would be a huge benefit.
"I love my job"
Bedford, Chichester, Epsom, Pittsfield (BCEP) Municipal Waste Transfer Station, NH
I visited BCEP transfer station in January as it is a state-of-the-art facility that has changed the way new stations are designed and built. 16,000 people use it and it makes a lot of money. It is set up in a line: everything recyclable is disposed of first (separated into 6+ categories) and trash is last. There are truck scales and covered containers outside for big items and C&D. It was truly an incredible operation to witness.
Warrant Articles, 1984-2015
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