1. Bringing Nature’s Wonders Inside:
Building an Educational Bioshelter
at Community Harvest Project
Claire Weston
CHP Intern 2015

2. What is a
Bioshelter?
• A well insulated
structure that utilizes
solar radiation and
other heat collection
and transfer methods
in order to function as
a sustainable contained
ecosystem with the
potential for year-long
produce production.

3. What Makes Bioshelters
Different from
Greenhouses?
• Bioshelters utilize other forms of heat
transfer and collection in addition to
the standard use of solar radiation.
• Heat generated by compost
• Heat generated by Jean Pain mounds
• Geothermal heating
• Heat sinks and climate batteries
• Potential for aquaponics
• Solar heat and energy
• Solar heating and cooling (SHC)
• Photovoltaic (PV)
• Chickens
• Metabolic heat production
• Additionally, it is essential that
bioshelters be well insulated.

4. Successful Bioshelters
The Cape Cod Ark
• 1826 sq. ft. greenhouse space, 91 feet long, 17-
30 feet wide, 30 feet high at center peak
• Heated by solar radiation, radiant floor heating,
and heat sinks
Three Sisters Farm
• Year-round organic garden, compost facility,
chicken house
• Heated by solar radiation, firewood heat, Jean Pain
composting, and chickens

5. What could a bioshelter mean for CHP?
1. A new building to provide educational opportunities
2. A longer growing season
3. Increased diversity of produce grown
• Fruits and vegetables from warmer climates

6. Educational Opportunities
• Healthy eating cooking classes
• Produce provided by bioshelter
• Would need an industrial kitchen
• Learn how to plant and maintain a garden before spring starts
• The bioshelter as a field trip destination
• Price per student: ≈ $7.00

7. Subject Areas
• Lessons on:
• Nutrition
• What goes into producing a vegetable? What makes it healthy?
• “Name that vegetable/fruit”
• Nutrient cycling
• Nitrogen cycle, carbon cycle, water cycle
• Tie to composting
• Heat transfer
• Convection and conduction
• Water cycle
• Water properties  What makes water unique?
• Soil chemistry
• The importance of nitrogen and phosphorous
• Tie to composting
• Sustainable design
• How does the bioshelter function as a sustainable internal ecosystem?
• Ecosystem dynamics

8. Lesson Examples
• Soil Chemistry and Composition
• “Space Travelers” –Grades 2-5
• Focuses on soil composition and the processes that go into making soil.
• Best to do comparison between soil outside and soil inside bioshelter. What are the differences and what
are the similarities?
• “Soil Doctors” –Grades 3-6
• Lesson focuses on minerals needed for plant health.
• Use soil test kit to determine levels of nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium
• Keep a record over time and compare nutrient levels in soil outside.
• Cycles and Changes
• “The Power of the Circle” –Grades 2-6
• Introduce nutrient cycle, oxygen cycle, and water cycle and how these cycles pertain to bioshelter
design and plant health.
• “Roundabout” –Grades 2-6
• Observe, describe, and illustrate the water cycle.
• Use the bioshelter as a giant terrarium.

9. Season Extension and Yield Increase
• What could we grow year round?
• Greens
• Kale, collards, chard
• Root vegetables
• Beets, carrots, potatoes
• Tomatoes
• Herbs
• Tropical plants
• Fig, avocado, papaya
• How much space would it take?
• I’m still working on this but we could be very
flexible in the design and how we utilize space
based on what we want to accomplish.
• Season extension
• Starting seedlings earlier
• Expansion of the learning garden or new location

10. Increase Produce Diversity
• What we grow now:
• Apples, beets, beans, blueberries, broccoli, cabbage (red and green),
cantaloupe, carrots, collards, corn, cucumbers, eggplant,
okra, onions, peppers (Bell and Cubanelle), potatoes, radishes, summer
squash, tomatoes (including cherry), winter squash (Butternut, Acorn, and
Kabocha), and zucchini.
• What we could grow in addition during the warm summer months:
• Avacado, lemons, oranges, figs, papaya, watercress

11. Construction
• South facing glazing for
solar radiation
• Polycarbonate for the
highest R-value
• Well-insulated north
facing wall
• Partially subterranean?
• Wood beam construction
• Cinderblock raised beds
• Wooden beds on upper
levels
• Hanging plants
• Large barrels of water to
act as thermal masses
• Drip feed irrigation
system.

12. Expenses
• Defined by the WPI 2012
report.
But
wait!!There are A LOT of
potential grants available.

13. Grants
• Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food
• Farm to school grants program
• http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=kyf-grants-fns5-content.html
• Agriculture and Food and Research Initiative (AFRI) – Agricultural Economics and Rural Communities.
• http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=kyf_grants_nifa2_content.html
• Community Food Projects (CFP)
• http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=kyf_grants_nifa4_content.html
• Food Insecurity Nutrition Incentives Program (FINI)
• http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=kyf_grants_nifa7_content.html
• Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE)
• http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=kyf_grants_nifa6_content.html
• http://www.sare.org/Grants/Grants-Information
• Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP)
• http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=kyf_grants_nrcs1_content.html
• Conservation Technical Assistance (CTA) (No monetary award, just guidance. Might be helpful)
• http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=kyf_grants_nrcs2_content.html
• Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)
• http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=kyf_grants_nrcs3_content.html
• Community Facilities (CF)
• http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=kyf_grants_rd4_content.html

14. Grants Continued
• “seed” grants
• http://www.ncrg.org/research-center/apply-ncrg-funding/seed-grants
• Possible? Mainly research based.
• General Agricultural Grant Information
• http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/funding.shtml
• Small farm funding resources
• http://www.nal.usda.gov/ric/ricpubs/small_farm_funding.htm#FPA
• USDA rural development main site
• http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/Energy.html
• Grants for days!!!!!
• http://sustainableagriculture.net/publications/grassrootsguide/farm-bill-programs-and-grants
• Massachusetts department of agriculture for renewable energy and energy efficient
projects
• Agricultural Energy Grant Program (Ag-Energy) (sounds a little complicated)
• http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/agr/about/divisions/ag-energy.html

15. Resources and Potential Contacts
• Earle Barnhart and Hilde Maingay
• Owners of the Cape Cod Ark
bioshelter
• Dr. Owen Geiger, Ph.D
• Ph.D in social and
economic development.
• He is an author and
engineer specializing in
sustainable building.
• The Three Sisters Farm
• “We have over three decades
of design experience in
assisting our clients to create
beautiful and ecologically
sounds homes, landscapes,
businesses, and
communities.”

16. Resources and Potential Contacts
• Andy Pressman
• Agriculture Specialist for the
National Center for Appropriate
Technology
• Small Plot Intensive (SPIN) farming
specialist
• Robert Hersh
• WPI Professor of
interdisciplinary and global
studies
• Director of Sustainable Food
Systems Project Center

17. Moving Forward
• Appeal to the Board of Directors
• Visit existing bioshelters and learn from these potential contacts
• Delve further into potential grants and fundraising possibilities

18. Questions?

19. Notable videos to watch
This Ted talk outlines why I am so passionate about sustainable
alternatives to mass agriculture. It is definitely worth checking out.
• https://www.ted.com/talks/jonathan_foley_the_other_inconvenient_truth
This short clip highlights the Cape Cod Ark and is an excellent
example of what a bioshelter can do.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzMUhmkI96o