Earth Day Invite: Visit a Wayland Solar Home and Biointensive Garden

Editor's Note: This is the first in a series of articles contributed by Transition Wayland and the Wayland Green Team inviting residents to an Earth Day weekend Open House Event at a home, business or other establishment in Wayland. Each week, you'll learn about another event at a different location.

This year Wayland will celebrate Earth Day during the weekend of April 27 and 28 with Open Houses all over town. Every week until then Patch will publish an article featuring one of these houses. Our first invitation comes from Margie and Tony Lee at 14 Brooks Road.

Margie and Tony moved to Wayland in 1986 and were active in the town's celebration, in 1990, of the 20th anniversary of the original Earth Day. Tony was co-chair of the Earth Day Committee and Margie co-chaired the Environmental Expo at the Middle School. Activities included informative talks on the environment and nature walks. The Expo featured exhibitions on energy conservation as well as student artwork.

In the mid 1990s when they made some renovations on their home, they installed the pipe work for solar hot water but photovoltaics were not feasible. When the Lees became aware of the Solarize program, they were eager to jump on the bandwagon. 

One of the highlights of their Earth Day weekend Open House will be their 28 solar panel system, which went live last October. It will generate an estimated 7,412 kWh per year. They invested $10,000 and expect to receive their money back in four years. They are excited to be on the cutting edge of solar power, and watch the power generated by each panel every day online.

The Lees will also show their biointensive organic vegetable garden and composting system. The double-dug, companion planting garden is an example of a method espoused by Tony's friend, John Jeavons, author of "How to Grow More Vegetables, Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Grains, and Other Crops Than You Ever Thought Possible On Less Land Than You Can Imagine." It results in greater production with less water. Margie and Tony also compost all vegetable food scraps, grass clippings and some leaves in two stationery bins. The decomposed mixture provides rich nutrients for the flower and vegetable gardens.

The Lees describe themselves as outdoor enthusiasts, environmentalists and activists, having backpacked, hiked, mountain biked and windsurfed throughout this country and abroad. They were full time volunteers for the Beyond War Foundation for seven years. Tony served on the board of Friends of the Earth and has given dozens of talks on climate change. 

"As parents and now as grandparents," say the Lees, "we are concerned about threats to the wellbeing of our planet but are encouraged by the possibilities of new technology, such as solar, and new awareness of processes that enhance and strengthen our ecosystem."

They recently connected with Transition Wayland, a group of residents working to create local resiliency to strengthen communities for adaptation to environmental, weather and other challenges. Last year they attended the Earth Day fair co-organized by Transition Wayland and they assisted with plantings in the newly created permaculture garden at the Hannah Williams Playground.

Earth Day 2013 is organized by Transition Wayland and the Wayland Schools PTO Green Team. You can find more information about Earth Day 2013, as well as a map and schedule of the Open Houses, by visiting www.transitionwayland.org. If you would like to host your own Open House, let us know at info@transitionwayland.org.