An informative tour of innovative, planet-friendly homes and gardens will be offered by the Southeast Iowa Sierra Club on Saturday, October 15. The tour features homes in Jefferson and Henry Counties in which the owners have creatively incorporated various principles of sustainability for a greener way of living.
The tour provides a great opportunity for up-close viewing of great ideas put into practice. Among the features these homes have integrated are solar panels for powering house and car, grounds returned to prairie and savanna, rain barrel irrigation, and off-the-grid living. Participants will also get to see a small-space garden maximized for output, a nearly net-zero home, an all-electric home, low-energy appliances, and a greenhouse for both winter heat and year-round harvest.
Enjoy meeting the builders and makers, and come away with new ideas for greening up your present or future living spaces. Tour information and maps will be available at the Sierra Club table at the Fairfield Farmers Market in Howard Park from 8:30 a.m.–noon on October 15. Tours will take place from 1–4 p.m. (See details and map below).
Hap & Lin Mullenneaux home, 1886 185th Street, Fairfield
• 900 square feet
• superior insulation
• attached greenhouse + a tiny guesthouse
Jonathan Lipman & Karen Matchett home, 1971 Sunrise Drive, Fairfield
• 100% off-grid for both water and energy
• highly insulated
• uses passive solar heating plus solar panels
• restoring surrounding acreage to prairie & savanna
Joel & Joy Hirshberg home, 1000 Walton Road, Fairfield
• energy-efficient appliances
• passive solar heating, solar attic fans
• nontoxic materials
Mary & Steve Hoyer home, 202 West Oak St, Salem (Henry County)
• all-electric, solar array
• extremely energy efficient
FEATURED YARDS
Deanna Julsen’s yard, at the SE corner of Kirkwood & E Street (park on E),
• full of a huge variety of flowers
• rain barrel, shade sails
Gloria and Murray Foster’s garden at 2005 Radiance Circle, Fairfield
• 9 rain barrels for drip irrigation system
• vermiculture system
• fruit trees, vegetables, flowers, and herbs in small space
For more information see Southeast Iowa Sierra Club.