4 posts tagged “ecological”

It's been a bit quiet round here, hasn't it?  I'm glad to say this is entirely down to life going particularly nuts over the last few months, rather than any kind of climbdown from The Plan.  Central to the nutsness has been moving flat, caused by our old landlord selling up.  As time goes by I can feel the city sickness getting worse - but we'll save that ramble for another post.  Still, while there's been no great leaps forward since January, there's a few wee points worth noting...

• The Open University, of which I wibbled about in the previous post, have an open content section filled with written resources for their courses, accessible to anyone online.  Called OpenLearn, it's apparently been going since October last year but I only heard about it via the Moneysaving Expert newsletter a few weeks back.  There's all sorts of interesting stuff to browse around, but of particular interest to muggins here is Working with our environment - an introduction, Why sustainable energy matters, an Introduction to sustainable energy and Health and Environment.  Basically course textbooks in digital format, they all look like good introductions to subjects that could lead onto actual study at the OU, and costing precisely zilch it's a good gentle dip into educational waters.  Good tea-break reading, if nothing else.
• I received a couple of books on how to speak Scots Gaelic from local chum Croila for my 30th back in February.  Haven't really delved into them so far, the plan being to get into them as we get closer to taking evening classes on the language this Autumn, at which point I expect them to become immensely useful.  Likewise, the excellent range of online BBC resources, including a weekly MP3 podcast, Letter to Gaelic Learners.  Looking through the vacancies listed in the West Highland Free Press each week, there's usually at least one that's only written in Gaelic, more often than not with a higher salary than the others listed.  Right now it's frustrating, but once on the right side of the language it'll be a blessing and a huge plus in finding work over yonder.
• Talking of work, for the first time this week I had a look at the Civil Service Careers site on behalf of a chum who can do so much better than his current job and knows it.  While there is a public section on the site, there's also an existing-civil-servants-only section that's out of sight for Joe Public.  It was while looking through there that I found a job vacancy at a SEERAD office in Skye, Portree.  I may have involuntarily shrieked at the sight.  A quick read of the position made it pretty clear I could do it, no problem... however, it would also require a paycut of around £4K.  What with me still carrying a fair amount of debt with no mortgage to speak of, this just isn't an option.  On top of that, what with us both having just moved to a new flat in Edinburgh, we're locked into a lease for at least the next 4 months.  So I didn't apply, though that didn't stop me wistfully daydreaming about doing so for a few hours last week.  As things stand, in my financial condition, it would be utterly impractical and really far too soon.  As I've written before, with a move & a plan this major, it's worth taking the time to get it right, with all the pre-planning and work it requires.  Still, I'll be keeping an eye on those internal vacancies - just in case...

There should be more regular postings here over the next few months, what with a Skye holiday in June and a fascinating day in Inverness next month as part of the Six Cities Design Festival:

The profile of sustainable design is on the rise. People are taking more responsibility for reducing their own carbon footprints, and implementing more environmentally friendly lifestyles. The Six Cities Design Festival in Inverness explores:
• new technologies and building methods
• the use of new (and not so new) materials
• the importance of reducing and recycling waste
• renewable energy
• power micro-generation

Considering what we're planning, it couldn't be more ideal!

Ever since 2006 tumbled away into the ether, I've been brooding about what exactly I'll be bringing to Skye in terms of skills and practicality, especially with regards to making a living - we'll have to pay that plot-and-build mortgage with something.  While I may currently make my living in the middle echelons of the Scottish Civil Service, there's no guarantee that I'll still be able to work for that particular agency when the time comes to  move away from Edinburgh and into the Green.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed, eyes open and dropping hints into every high-powered ear I can get hold of that there'll be a working-from-home option enabled in the next few years via the internet - or, failing that, satellite branches of the agency opened in Highland and Island locations.  But... that may not happen - and even if it does, without another career or ability to fall back on I could feel worryingly insecure.  Far better to know that there'd be other ways to make my living over there, rather than having to scamper back to the cities because the only thing I knew was the workings of bureaucracy.  So, what to do?

On page 291 of his essential-for-this-sort-of-thing book (right), John Seymour writes

...do not despair if you cannot see how this will happen - life has a strange way of filling spaces.

Sadly I don't trust life any further than I can throw it and have no intention of going west without contingency scenarios planned and back-ups in place.  Thankfully, he then follows this with

Remember there are nothing like enough good craftsmen in the world - plumbing, electrics, mechanics, carpentry, basket making and so on are all things you can learn.  But many city folk do have skills that find use in the countryside - computer use, accounts, marketing, nursing, and teaching for example.

While he's got a perfectly valid point there, I wouldn't dare underestimate how net-savvy the people of Skye and the other Islands already are - after all, a lot of business done up there relies on either online orders or online publicity (such as the B&B we only discovered thanks to Google Ads, though their site is down at the moment).  What else can I offer?  Art skills, absolutely, but then Skye is practically groaning with the number of artists already living there - though going by some of the work I've seen on sale I could paint a few of them under the table - and it seems an awfully tenuous way to pay the bills without any other money-making to back it up.  Animation?  Ha!  Take the insecurity of art, multiply it by a million, and that's how reliable I see an animation income - so no chance there.

Okay, what about that civil service experience?  There's a few potentials there, most notably branches of the Highland Council, Highlands & Islands Enterprise and the Forestry Commission, though I suspect Skye-based vacancies at any of these would be pretty damn rare (hence the irregular checking of their sites... just in case).  More promising would be Qinetiq, with their BUTEC base near Kyle of Lochalsh, though it's worth bearing in mind this would, in a roundabout way, mean becoming one tiny part of the military-industrial complex.  Is this something I could be comfortable with, if it meant I could afford to live in Skye?  I honestly can't say right now.  After all, from what I've seen, there's a fair few positions there I could fill quite easily, and I suspect it pays jolly well.

If not that, well... there's always my previous experience in shops and warehouses, but do I really want to go back to that sort of thing?  The public, in particular, can be bloody annoying to deal with, though with the relatively small population of Skye this might not be such a bother...   Then there's dream employers like the Isle of Skye Brewery and the Talisker Distillery, though I don't have an ounce of knowledge relevant to either beyond the fact that their products taste very very nice indeed.  While I'd be very happy to learn the ways of brewing or distilling, I doubt either institution would have any desire to take in a total n00b.

At which point I start to run out of options with my present experience and qualifications.  The answer?  Get some new ones!  Skye is home to Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the only 100% Gaelic college in the world, with all the employment opportunities that entails, administrative or otherwise.  If I can really get to grips with the Gaelic in the next few years - beginning this September with Gaelic for Beginners at Broughton High and helped along by practice with my Lass, other speakers and websites like the BBC's bonkers Colin and Cumberland and rather more restrained Beag air Bheag - this could be close to ideal.

What else?  Just one back-up plan is never enough, so here's the second and more substantial.  One of the driving interests I have about moving to Skye is to lead a far more sustainable, environmentally-friendly existence, from using renewable energy to growing our own carrots to building a passivhaus.  This article on environmental careers from the Guardian back in November last year makes inspiring reading, particularly

"If you choose to work in an area like environmental planning, you'll never be out of work, and they'll always be a lot of diverse options open to you" says recruitment expert Ben Humphreys of Eden Brown, who specialise in public sector careers in the environment. "There are lots of other roles too. You could be out enforcing environmental policy, working in arboriculture taking care of trees, or getting involved in regeneration projects."

While I don't imagine there'll be many regeneration projects going on up there, environmental policy enforcement would be certainly be a necessity on Skye as with anywhere else - and then there's

Checking planning permission, and visiting premises to check that legislation hasn't been contravened is all in a day's work for many planning officers.  Even public-sector roles not directly related to the environment can also have plenty of scope for saving the planet. Many councils are now training staff to effectively implement environmentally friendly procedures, even if this is not their primary remit. Taking an NVQ in environmental management, for example, has become an option for public sector managers looking to expand their skills and manage the ecological impact of their department. "A lot of councils want to implement environmental policies," explains NVQ tutor Sarah Eyre of training company Enviro Focus. "Awareness is definitely increasing, as are the number of companies looking to certify their staff in this area."

Although the people quoted in the above article could potentially be biased due to the very positions they hold, it still sounds  plausible - after all, I've already seen environmental policy take root at the agency I work for in Edinburgh.  If I could take my interest in all things eco to an academic and professional level, the potential for employment would be great, even in a low population density area like the Highlands & Islands.  Therefore, inspired by other Vox-based chums, I've decided to go the way of the Open University, specifically..

Open University: Environment
Possibly Working for our Environment: Technology for a Sustainable Future (Level 1)
Definitely Environment (Level 2)

The Level 2 Environment course sounds fascinating (I'm hoping I can skip the Level 1 course thanks to my previously acquired HND, even if it was in Animation) and opens up a number of possibilities, both professionally and academically.  Taking the OU courses further, there's the BA/BSc in Environmental Studies, an Advanced Diploma in Environmental Decision Making, others along those lines.   It'll take years, of course - we're talking about attaining a university-level education from distance study part-time - but if somethings worth doing, it's worth doing right.  For now I'll continue with my weekend classes in life drawing, but they'll probably have to stop once I start any OU courses, partly for the time, mainly for the financial cost.  Granted, I'm too late to start the Environment (Level 2) course this year, so the earliest start date for that would be January 2008 but, as this whole blog should ultimately attest to, the more time I have to plan, the better the outcome.

I had hoped to also ramble about desires to learn woodwork, electrics, more hands-on skills that would be of practical - rather than administrative - use on Skye, but that can happily wait for another time.  Instead, your reward for making it this far is a lovely cover of a Carpenters song by the very good Engineers.  I chose it because, now and then, it's easy to daydream how much easier things moving to Skye would be if I just made my living from chairs, tables and cupboards.  I'm sure it wouldn't, but you know how daydreams are.

From Worldchanging.com:

Zero-carbon building in the UK
Hana Loftus
December 22, 2006 5:43 AM

Last month's pre-Budget statement by the UK government was heralded as 'green' when in reality, most of its measures were pretty puny. A mere £5 extra tax on flights, anyone? But one measure that was mentioned did get radical. The government committed to making all new houses in the UK zero-carbon within the next ten years. By progressively tightening the building codes in a series of stages, builders will be forced to meet higher and higher standards of both energy efficiency, and self-generation of renewables.

In the mean time, zero-carbon homes will be free from stamp duty tax for a limited period to encourage homebuyers to make the switch, and housebuilders to start raising their game. Housing that is funded by the government will have to become carbon-neutral in a shorter timeframe. And we've got a Planning Policy StatementCode for Sustainable Homes.

It's taken a while here, and we are far behind Scandinavia at the moment, but it looks like the UK will be the place to innovate if the government keeps its promise.

More locally, a couple of months ago I was happily surprised to find the following online - and even more to learn it's six years old, but still relevant.  A comprehensive and inspiring guide that printed retails for £35, the whole thing is available for free from the following link as PDFs for each chapter.  Worth a look, whether you're in Scotland or not.

Sustainable Housing Design Guide for Scotland

The Sustainable Housing Design Guide for Scotland, written by Fionn Stevenson and Nick Williams, was first published in 2000 by The Stationery Office. The content was commissioned by Communities Scotland (then Scottish Homes) with additional support from Scottish Natural Heritage. The online version has been developed with the purpose of widening access to the Guide and providing users with a more interactive way of interrogating the content.

[...] Sustainable development means economic prosperity and security, enhanced social welfare and social inclusion, and a healthy natural environment. These are all connected; success in one policy area is dependent on success in others.

[...] Against this background this design guide is intended to provide comprehensive and user friendly guidance to the incorporation of sustainability principles into maintaining, rehabilitating and developing housing.

Which in turn led me to reading about the Passivhaus standard for energy use in buildings, a voluntary standard for the design of ultra-low energy housing requiring very little heating.  The Wikipedia entry makes a fascinating read, as does the UK site it links to, PassivHaus UK, from which came the following list of basic principles for the standard:

• very good levels of insulation with minimal thermal bridges
• well thought out utilisation of solar and internal gains
• excellent level of airtightness
• good indoor air quality, provided by a whole house mechanical ventilation system with highly efficient heat recovery

While the initial expenditure to bring this about could be pretty high, the savings would be immediately apparent and ongoing - imagine the joy of being able to tear up your gas bill for ever.  For a more general European overview of this sort of thing, check out Promotion of European Passive Houses, from which you can download PDFs of info relevant to your country - for the UK, there's the National Publication and Passive House Solutions.

And from that, we end up at the Building Research Establishment, a research/consultancy group whose mission is "to build a better world and our vision is our unmistakable imprint on a highly regarded and sustainable built environment."  Their response to the new Code for Sustainable Homes can be read here and leads on to BREEAM: the BRE Environmental Assessment Method, including a home-specific section which has formed the basis of the new Code. I like the cut of their jib - and, to localise things further, they have offices all over the UK... including the Highlands.  Perfect.