Over the last several months, we have been busy looking for a property to develop a sustainability centered communal living development; aka an Eco-village :)
Here are some of the locations we are surveying! We will of course keep you updated to our developments as they happen.
News Blog
Our news/blog section offers up to date information and commentary on the various aspects of the Rejuvenation Network. Check back often for news or leave a comment on our latest developments!
Revolutionary Gardens
The Revolutionary Gardens team is hard at work completing their first novel greenhouse :) Follow their progress here!
OASIS Project Build Update
This is video features an off-grid, passively heated, bubbletech greenhouse currently under construction by Revolutionary Gardens.
OASIS Winter/Spring Project Update
Welcome to the sustainable organic world of Revolutionary Gardens. We are presently focused on our new OASIS aquaponic growing facility that’s currently under construction. The OASIS project (Organic Aquaponic Sustainable Integrated System) is our solution to the irony in commercial greenhouse growing operations that produce high levels of greenhouse gases. Our state-of-the-art passively heated Solaroof design consists of a 28’ x 56’ high tunnel structure nestled neatly inside another 32’ x 60’ high tunnel to create a roughly 2’ thick void filled with biodegradable, non-toxic soap bubble foam. This gives our greenhouse a very high heat transfer coefficient of .033 or a thermal insulating value of R30. This temperature coefficient allows the OASIS to retain thermal energy captured from the sun during the day, and help maintain the system’s dynamic equilibrium throughout the night.
We have recently completed the first phase of structure assembly and are ready to begin installation of climate control systems such as bubble generators, bubble solution collection gutters, double wall tank & heat exchanger. We expect to be ready to test these systems by early to mid-February. In keeping with this ambitious construction schedule, we hope to near completion of our massive 1000 gallon, 150 fish, grow bed/floating raft style aquaponic growing system by early March. If everything stays on track, we’ll be ready to start sprouting sometime next month. By this point, Revolutionary Gardens will likely be in a position to accept investor support for the purpose of funding the more expensive PV/Thermal Solar systems for fully off-grid sustainability. Crowd funding is also a possible avenue for funding these.
Any interested parties for the purpose of volunteering, internship or investment should contact the OASIS Project Manager and R.G. founder:
Nivaldo do ALAMO
revolutionarygardens@hotmail.com
(647) 206-5448
Revolutionary Gardens Winter Update
A PRN affiliated agriculture cooperative, Revolutionary Gardens broke ground on their first greenhouse these past few weeks. Work continues apace and PRN and its members wish the Revolutionary Gardens team spirited success in these exciting times :)
Project Rejuvenation, year end newsletter
Hey Everyone! Welcome,
and thank you.
Many individuals have heard
about ProjectRejuvenation, and wondered what it is. The truth, ProjectRejuvenation is a social
innovation that has been growing and taking form over this past year since its
inception - beginning with a gathering of like-minds at a cottage near
Uxbridge. The topic was Eco-Villages,
and many of these original attendees later became members of the Core team
helping to shape and define the network that began growing very rapidly
afterwards.
Since then, many of the active individuals have worked together and gotten to know one another by taking hold of life choices on a different scale than most of us had experienced before. This was done through community minded relationships and trusting hearts.
A year later, here we are. And to reflect on all of the manifestations that took form over this past year, and appreciate all of the learning experiences we shared, this first newsletter will outline just what has happened.
First off, many many relationships with other like minded individuals became. This included being introduced to a lovely family hoping to build an Anastasia style ecovillage in Mt. Forest, which many individuals within ProjectRejuvenation spent time learning, contributing and enjoying time together. By the end of the year, literally tons of organic and bio-diverse produce was harvested by the family on their beautifully designed vegetable gardens in the emerging community, as well as several small structures had been built.
Like an apple falling from a tree, and it's seed taking root, another small offshoot of our community also came together to act upon creating an intentional eco-community all of their own. It's been amazing for all of us to experience the initiative. Here within the city limits, plans have also been drawn up to create Canada's first Urban Eco-Village, led by our Core members.
SolutionsPedia, a virtual database showcasing sustainable solutions, free and open to the world-wide public, is in mid swing of being developed, and the TRIBE organizational tool is another virtual resource that has been very useful in coordinating action plans on what were once only ideas. A revolutionary greenhouse design, promising bountiful organic produce during any season, is also being constructed as we speak by another of ProjectRejuvenation's Founding Core members, and entitled Revolutionary Gardens.
In the spring, members of ProjectRejuvenation endeavoured to purchase a pristine acreage near Collingwood called Silver Springs to act as a living example of sustainability and living quarters to some of the coordinators of PRN. This endeavour did not come to fruition as hoped, but the efforts lent to much learning, and everyone had a chance to practice doing something that was previously never seen as possible had we been acting in independence.
Individuals within PRN have also taken active initiative at living in community, by humbly sharing their homes and living spaces with other individuals in need of shelter. This has been challenging at times, but very rewarding as we have had an opportunity to practice living the community life that many of us seek, and develop effective tools for harmonious living relationships.
At the years end, many of the original Core members are now re-antiquating themselves with the existing world situation by creating and improving their own businesses and passive income models, and understanding that this independence is necessary in order to be truly sustainable and truly in a position to contribute to others.
Over all, and most importantly, the heart felt connections that have been formed by everyone sharing, playing, exploring and working together has left a permanent impact on each of our being that can never be forgotten. And now, we, as a group, are beginning our next phase of evolution. The ProjectRejuvenation Network is being overhauled to serve the wider community base by generating teams committed to coordinating 'like' projects within the local community, actively outreaching to learn how we can further help, and finally to coordinate events and gatherings that serve the social entrepreneur and those of a heart centered being wishing to contribute to humanity and our planet Earth.
Additionally, an action oriented Social Enterprise is now being developed in order to serve our collective visions of a healthier tomorrow even more-so than before. These shifts will offer many opportunities for individuals to connect with one another, form into action groups and participate on many levels of self actualization.
We, as ProjectRejuvenation, humbly thank and appreciate each one of you for playing a roll in our life experience thus far, and acting as a mirror for us to better see even ourselves. We hope to return this favour by continuing to play our part in contributing to a healthier tomorrow for everyone.
May 2013, and the approaching harmonic shift, bring courage, love and renewal to everyone.
Much Love & Gratitude,
Brandon Strickland
ProjectRejuvenation Co-Founder
Fall Meetup event coming this weekend!
It's been a while since Project Rejuvenation has hosted a General Gathering open to the larger network, and so I thought to host something modest this weekend at my cottage for Saturday-Monday.
There are lots of places to sleep, but feel free to bring tents too. We will be listening to music, dancing, hanging outside in nature, and discussing strategies for developing eco-villages and other ideas relating to the Core processes of PRN (Project Rejuvenation).
If you are interested in attending but haven't yet met many members of the Core or extended circle, don't let that stop you from showing up and getting to know everyone. Just send me a quick message.
Also, I ask that everyone attending through facebook please mark themselves as 'Attending' so I can get a clear idea of what to prepare for.
Bring some food - preferably vegetarian. There is a big bond-fire pit, and a local organic farm next door so some produce can be picked up here too. If people are really brave, you can go for a swim too. But the water has gotten a little colder lately ♥
All and all, come, enjoy & play!
Thanks : )
Brandon
Project Rejuvenation
FB Event detail here
Revolutionary Gardens
We are proud to introduce another interesting project in regards to sustainability into our fold! Below is a simple introduction by our Revolutionary Gardens team!
Please allow us to introduce ourselves. We are Revolutionary Gardens CSA Greenhouses. We are currently in the process of creating an off-grid, sustainable, organic food growing project in the Toronto Area. This will be achieved by providing high-efficiency micro-climate-controlled, off-grid greenhouses with both traditional and innovative aquaponic growing, and water filtration technologies, to efficiently produce food of the highest quality possible with today’s technology.
These greenhouses as part of a broader urban agriculture CSA strategy involving communities who need access who healthy food will be a key asset to food security in Toronto and the GTA. The global industrialized, high-input, export driven agricultural production sector, along with concentrated corporate processing and retailing, is ecologically unsustainable, increasingly unaffordable, unhealthy and unjust, as noted in a recent report by civil society organizations in preparation for the UN Special Rapporteur. In Canada, food sovereignty means connecting the right to consume food with the right to produce food for local consumption. Revolutionary Gardens is poised to help build the infrastructure needed to play our part in securing local food sovereignty. We will be working with local organizations, institutions and permaculture land/farm projects, to sustainably and equitably produce healthy food, with and for diverse urban communities.
The greenhouse pilot is based on the bubble solar greenhouse, a successful model that has been tested in several climates and shows promise for further adaptation. Working with Photonics, an experienced renewable energy and water treatment engineering/build company, and others, we will build on the example of the bubble greenhouse to combine the best of current technologies to achieve full year round micro climate control for maximum food production.
The greenhouse will be one of a handful of uniquely sustainable buildings around the world that makes use of interior-environment control systems commonly known as SolaRoof technology. When required, a mass of soap bubbles are held between two transparent skins that form the roof and walls of the building to provide a thick transparent blanket of insulation or cooling shading. This design provides an ideal solar controlled environment for growing horticultural and food crops and maximizing production while requiring minimum energy and conserving water resources. The liquid bubbles provide hundreds of layers of bubbles of about 6 mm (1/4 inch) diameter since a typical roof would be one meter thick. This provides a shade that is similar to cloud cover and absorbs the invisible heat spectrum of the sun. The advantage is cool daylight under the transparent roof that greatly reduces stress and improves productivity and comfort in the controlled environment space. The liquid bubbles provide a thick blanket of insulation at night that is able to reduce the heat loss by a factor of ten times as compared to standard double polyethylene covered greenhouses and is about 15 times improvement over a single glass covered greenhouse. The renewal of the bubbles brings the stored solar gain from the liquid thermal mass system to the building envelope so that no conventional heating is required inside the growing space during cold nights.
These types of innovations in thermal efficiency of structures have resulted in organizations such as the United States Green Building Council creating initiatives like LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design). LEED® is an internationally recognized green building certification system providing third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.
New website now live!
The Rejuvenation Network is now hosted on this brand new web layout, offering quick and effective information and communication portal to anyone interested in what we are doing. Expect continued growth and up to date information on our network's growth and new and exciting developments in many varied fields. And as always, jump onto our facebook page for daily updates and access to our many members!
Much to think about and be thankful for this special Summer 2012.
High Park General Meeting
On May 7th, 2012, Project Rejuvenation Network held its latest General Meeting on a grassy knoll in High Park. Around sixty people attended. As we sat in a sacred circle of love and introduced ourselves for the sake of new members, I was struck by the beauty of the scene. The lush green of the grass and the trees almost matched the new green Project Rejuvenation Network T-shirts that some of us, myself included, wore with pride. Green is the color of the heart chakra and represents the love vibe that I always feel in the company of my fellow Rejuvenators, the beautiful wise souls who have congregated together with like minds and hearts to share our visions for a better world. We gather like this to touch base, catch up, announce the latest developments in our efforts, and celebrate our commitment to everything that PRN stands for: liberation, enlightenment, sustainability, and most of all, love for all life. I do not think I speak for myself alone when I say that it’s always an uplifting, inspiring and healing experience for me to spend time with these lightworkers who are undoubtedly the “better angels of our nature.” Some of the main topics discussed at the General Meeting include the possibility of establishing a holistic healing centre at Silver Springs, the agricultural work being done this summer at Alisa Alonso’s family’s property, and of course our ongoing search for suitable land on which to build our intentional community in Ontario. I am certain that the continued commitment and collective intention of PRN’s members will soon manifest the oasis we envision as our new home.
Ilya Shur