apart, Terra Dei Homestead’s straw bale construction has kept the wolf at bay with its excellent insulation (R-40) and effi cient heating through a masonry wood-burning stove and passive solar energy from south- facing windows. Other special “green” features
include a composting toilet and gray water recycling system, as well as electricity from solar panels. Lutherlyn also off ers an outdoor
classroom and “edible landscaping” that includes heirloom vegetables, raspberries, blueberries, grapes and kiwi fruit.
Simple steps at Koinonia Sometimes simple things mean a lot. Simple steps were what 10 youth from the Metropolitan New York Synod took in 2013 to improve energy effi ciency at Koinonia, an ELCA outdoor ministry in Highland Lake, N.Y. Youth spent two days caulking
around the camp’s windows and replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fl uorescent ones. T e caulking involved “a bit of a
learning curve,” said Olivia Souza a member of St. Andrew Lutheran Church, Smithtown, N.Y. But, she added, with these new skills she can now help others reduce air fl ow and heat loss.
Camp offers burial forest T ere’s an alternative burial forest at Camp Luther near Conneaut, a ministry of Lutheran Outdoor Min- istries in Ohio. People can choose to have their remains cremated, put into a biodegradable urn and buried at the base of a chosen mature tree, returning their body to the earth and assisting in the growth of a tree. Here “in the heart of God’s cre-
ation [people’s] ashes can be returned to the earth in a manner which hon-
ors God’s creation,” said marketing director Corey Wagonfi eld. T e ELCA camp partnered with
EcoEternity LLC, which works with municipalities, churches and private forest owners to plan and preserve forest property for burial grounds with memorial trees. Based on the “Friedwald” in
Switzerland and EcoEternity Forests in Germany, there are no headstones, plastic fl owers or other ornaments— simply the forest in its natural state. Trails cleared by Camp Luther
staff allow visitors to access the memorial tree where their loved one is buried.
Ewalu’s low utility bills No high air-conditioning or heating bills for Camp Ewalu in Strawberry Point, Iowa. It uses geothermal sys-
tems for heating and cooling. Deep water wells (about 250
feet) bring in water that is already 55 degrees, so it only needs to be warmed 15 degrees to help heat camp structures. In hot weather, the water is used almost “as is” to regulate temperatures. It’s turned out to be much
cheaper and easier to maintain than a conventional heating and air conditioning systems, camp leaders said.
Author bios: Contributors to this article include Todd Gar- cia-Bish, director of environmental education at Camp Lutherlyn. Prospect, Pa.; Elizabeth Hunter, a section editor of The Lutheran; and Maggie Hutchison, a freelance writer in Minneapolis.
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