Sunday, 12 April 2009
Football
Today was the Eastern Region Women's League Cup Semi-Final. We played Braintree Town Football Club in Braintree. The game was on AstroTurf, but we coped well. It was the first warm day we have had for a football game. Most of the team was back from Easter Break, everyone but Cat, the Captain and our sweeper. Danni took her spot at sweeper today and did a great job. We won 2-0! Which means we are in the final on May 10th.
Cambridge American Cemetery
I visited the Cambridge American Cemetery this week. It was stunning! The cemetery is 30.5 acres and was constructed on land donated by the University of Cambridge in 1944. After the war, it was selected as the only WWII cemetery in the British Isles. A high portion of those buried were temporarily interred in England and Northern Ireland and represent American servicemen and women who served as crew members of British-based American aircraft. Most of the others died in the invasions of North Africa and France as well as the training areas of the UK and the waters of the Atlantic. The cemetery has a memorial chapel, tablets of the missing inscribed on a wall measuring 427 feet long, and 3810 headstones.
Wednesday, 8 April 2009
Rotary Club of Stowmarket
On Monday, April 6th I spoke at an evening meeting of the Rotary Club of Stowmarket. Mike and Hilary Haydon drove all the way to Cambridge (an hour's drive) to pick me up. Before the meeting, they took me to their beautiful home in Bury St Edmunds. They live in an old pub that is now a wonderful, modern home. We had some tea and cake and then went for a tour of the town. In the centre of Bury St Edmunds lies the remains of an enormous abbey, surrounded by the Abbey Gardens, a park. The abbey was destroyed during the 16th century with the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Next to the gardens is Bury St Edmunds Cathedral. A new Gothic revival tower was added to the cathedral as part of a millennium project. The tower makes Bury St Edmunds Cathedral the only recently completed Anglican cathedral in the UK. The town centre also has St. Mary's Church, the civic church of Bury St. Edmunds, which is the third largest parish church in England. It was part of the abbey complex and originally was one of three large churches in the town.
They then drove me to Stowmarket to speak. As usual, the speech went well, the dinner was great, and the company was even better. After, I went to stay with Malcolm and Pam Cook in their refurbished barn. It was also another beautiful home. They fed me a large English breakfast in the morning and then drove me back to Cambridge.
They then drove me to Stowmarket to speak. As usual, the speech went well, the dinner was great, and the company was even better. After, I went to stay with Malcolm and Pam Cook in their refurbished barn. It was also another beautiful home. They fed me a large English breakfast in the morning and then drove me back to Cambridge.
ESD Field Trip
My program took a field trip to Cornwall from March 31st to April 3rd to study the post mining regeneration of inland Cornwall. Cornwall is a county of England located at the tip of the south-western peninsula of Great Britain. It is bordered to the north by the Atlantic Ocean and to the south by the English Channel. Cornwall's unique culture, spectacular landscape and mild climate make it a popular tourist destination. Cornwall has miles of beaches and cliffs and other popular attractions including moorland, country gardens and wooded valleys.
Tuesday March 31st
We departed Cambridge at 0730 on a coach and began our long journey to the western edge of England. On our way, we stopped in Woking. Woking is located in the west of Surrey, England. Woking is the town in which the Martians first land in H. G. Wells' science fiction novel The War of the Worlds. However, we stopped to visit because Woking Council is one of country's leaders in adopting greener energy technologies. Several combined heat and power stations provide district heating and electricity, and electricity is also provided by a combination of hydrogen fuel cells and solar cells dispersed throughout the borough. These are linked via an innovative private electricity distribution system operating completely off the public power grid. We actually got to go inside their Combined Heat and Power plant!
After, we continued on our journey and arrived in Newquay, Cornwall (a popular destination for surfers) around 1830. While on the bus, we watch a video about the Eden Project (our destination for the next day). After dinner, we had a briefing about tomorrow's visit and were split into groups. My group was in charge of focusing on waste while at the Eden Project.
Wednesday April 1st
At 0930, we arrived at the Eden Project. It was a beautiful day! We had until 1300 to walk around on our own. From 1300-1700, we met with a member of Eden's staff and got a behind the scenes tour of the project's inner workings and were able to ask lots of questions. It was amazing! My favorite part of the trip. I kept thinking how much I wish my dad was there to see it because I know he would have really enjoyed it. The Eden Project houses the world's largest greenhouse. The complex comprises a number of domes that house plant species from around the world, each dome emulating a natural biome. The domes are made out of hundreds of hexagons plus a few pentagons that connect the whole construction; each of these is a transparent cushion made of tough plastic. The first dome emulates a tropical environment, the second a warm temperate, Mediterranean environment.
The Eden Project was designed and conceived to be a living theatre of plants and people. It was built in an old clay pit to show how degraded environments can be fixed. Then colonized with plants to show we're all part of nature not apart from it. The site is about bringing people together to show what can be achieved when people put their minds to something and work collectively. The exhibits are designed to give a glimpse of our world: our connection with nature, the plants we rely on, the places they come from, the impacts people have, the challenges people face, and the ideas and solutions people come up with. The site is also covered in lots of amazing artwork and sculptures.
The rainforest biome is the world's largest conservatory and contains steamy rainforests of Malaysia, West Africa, and South America. The Biome's message and displays are about trade and connections.
The Mediterranean biome contains the sights and scents of the Mediterranean, South Africa, and California where plants thrive on drought and poor thin soils. The biome was also home to bulb mania! We arrived at the time of year when all the flowers are blooming - breathtaking.
The outdoor biome was home to crops that grow in Cornwall's local climate. The Core is the site's educational building and contains one of my favorite sites of the whole day. You can actually use the world's largest nutcracker to crack a nut. The displays message is how we over-engineer a lot of the products in today's world, which leads to a lot of waste. It took me about three-four minutes of spinning a wheel to get this enormous machine to actually crack one little tiny nut.
That night, each group presented their findings on their paticular topic, so my group presented our suggestions on how waste at the Eden Project could be dealt with better. However, the project already does a great job. Recycling is offered everywhere and they use rainwater to flush all of the toilets and have a bio-digester for waste.
Thursday 2nd April
We visited Imerys China Clay Pits. We learned about their Heathland Restoration Project and Eco-town Project.
Friday 3rd April
We were suppose to visit Bears Down Wind Farm before heading back to Camridge, but our tour got canceled at the last minute. There was an accident on the main road on our way back, so it took us 10 hours to get back! It was ok though. We played Mafia (also called "The City Sleeps" in Cyprus and "Werewolf" in France) on the bus to make the time go faster.
Tuesday March 31st
We departed Cambridge at 0730 on a coach and began our long journey to the western edge of England. On our way, we stopped in Woking. Woking is located in the west of Surrey, England. Woking is the town in which the Martians first land in H. G. Wells' science fiction novel The War of the Worlds. However, we stopped to visit because Woking Council is one of country's leaders in adopting greener energy technologies. Several combined heat and power stations provide district heating and electricity, and electricity is also provided by a combination of hydrogen fuel cells and solar cells dispersed throughout the borough. These are linked via an innovative private electricity distribution system operating completely off the public power grid. We actually got to go inside their Combined Heat and Power plant!
After, we continued on our journey and arrived in Newquay, Cornwall (a popular destination for surfers) around 1830. While on the bus, we watch a video about the Eden Project (our destination for the next day). After dinner, we had a briefing about tomorrow's visit and were split into groups. My group was in charge of focusing on waste while at the Eden Project.
Wednesday April 1st
At 0930, we arrived at the Eden Project. It was a beautiful day! We had until 1300 to walk around on our own. From 1300-1700, we met with a member of Eden's staff and got a behind the scenes tour of the project's inner workings and were able to ask lots of questions. It was amazing! My favorite part of the trip. I kept thinking how much I wish my dad was there to see it because I know he would have really enjoyed it. The Eden Project houses the world's largest greenhouse. The complex comprises a number of domes that house plant species from around the world, each dome emulating a natural biome. The domes are made out of hundreds of hexagons plus a few pentagons that connect the whole construction; each of these is a transparent cushion made of tough plastic. The first dome emulates a tropical environment, the second a warm temperate, Mediterranean environment.
The Eden Project was designed and conceived to be a living theatre of plants and people. It was built in an old clay pit to show how degraded environments can be fixed. Then colonized with plants to show we're all part of nature not apart from it. The site is about bringing people together to show what can be achieved when people put their minds to something and work collectively. The exhibits are designed to give a glimpse of our world: our connection with nature, the plants we rely on, the places they come from, the impacts people have, the challenges people face, and the ideas and solutions people come up with. The site is also covered in lots of amazing artwork and sculptures.
The rainforest biome is the world's largest conservatory and contains steamy rainforests of Malaysia, West Africa, and South America. The Biome's message and displays are about trade and connections.
The Mediterranean biome contains the sights and scents of the Mediterranean, South Africa, and California where plants thrive on drought and poor thin soils. The biome was also home to bulb mania! We arrived at the time of year when all the flowers are blooming - breathtaking.
The outdoor biome was home to crops that grow in Cornwall's local climate. The Core is the site's educational building and contains one of my favorite sites of the whole day. You can actually use the world's largest nutcracker to crack a nut. The displays message is how we over-engineer a lot of the products in today's world, which leads to a lot of waste. It took me about three-four minutes of spinning a wheel to get this enormous machine to actually crack one little tiny nut.
That night, each group presented their findings on their paticular topic, so my group presented our suggestions on how waste at the Eden Project could be dealt with better. However, the project already does a great job. Recycling is offered everywhere and they use rainwater to flush all of the toilets and have a bio-digester for waste.
Thursday 2nd April
We visited Imerys China Clay Pits. We learned about their Heathland Restoration Project and Eco-town Project.
Friday 3rd April
We were suppose to visit Bears Down Wind Farm before heading back to Camridge, but our tour got canceled at the last minute. There was an accident on the main road on our way back, so it took us 10 hours to get back! It was ok though. We played Mafia (also called "The City Sleeps" in Cyprus and "Werewolf" in France) on the bus to make the time go faster.
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