Saint Michael's College: Wales Study Trip 2019

Greetings from the CAT!

No not the cute furballs with whiskers. We got to stay the night at the Center for Alternative Technology. This center was founded in the 1970’s as a living experiment- almost a postmodernist rebellion. Its founders were seeking to find different ways that architecture, energy, food, and buildings could be modified to be better for the planet while still being easily accessible for the consumer

We were given a tour of the center where we saw the different demonstrations and buildings that featured these various methods. My favorite part was the gardens. They grew crops that supplied not only their restaurant but also the local community. Speaking of which, we were given probably the best meal in all of Wales

We explored the nature trails and playgrounds that the center developed. Whats really cool is the center is built on an old slate quarry. Some of the buildings were left behind by the slate miners when the quarry shut down in the 50’s. The nature trail led us to an overlook that shows how deep the quarry went.

As amazing as the center was, one of my favorite parts was the sunset view over the hillside. It was breathtaking.

I mean, nature like this is just existing in our world and its so naturally beautiful. The landscape here has really given me more appreciation for the natural environment.

I would love to see a place like this developed in the US. The center gets about 80,000 visitors a year from all over the world- that’s 80,000 people seeing and learning how to be more environmentally conscious. I loved seeing the visitors enjoying all the CAT has to offer. It gave me the sense that people are willing to educate themselves on these crucial issues. Hopefully we can follow in their footsteps.

Thanks for reading!

Leah

The Center for Alternative Technology (CAT) is based a few miles outside of Machynlleth on the edge of Snowdonia National Park. Started in 1973 as part of the wider back to the land, off-the-grid, self-sufficiency and alternative lifestyle movements, the CAT is an experimental community that for decades been host to “norms entrepreneurs”–individuals committed to creative innovations in food, energy and water resource management–and working to disseminate sustainable educational practices worldwide. More recently CAT has been an epicenter for “zero carbon Britain”–a movement to raise awareness of the many ways individuals, corporations and public bodies can move towards net zero greenhouse gas emissions by the middle of this century. Today we visited the CAT and enjoyed an excellent tour that provided us with the history, mission and insights into many current initiatives of the CAT. The weather was stunning–crisp, breezy and sunny–in an area of the United Kingdom that normally gets an enormous amount of rain. Later many of us hiked up the slate trail and enjoyed beautiful views of lower Snowdonia National Park before enjoying a vegetarian locally grown dinner and meeting a group of students from Scotland. -Jeff

Hey everyone! Today we traveled to and toured the Center for Alternative Technology (CAT). In 1973 the CAT was created based on the radical idea of downscaling lives and living more sustainably by improving the environment. The CAT is built on an old Slate quarry that was abandoned in 1952. This means that they went against the odds: they settled in slate quarry where there’s no soil. So how did they manage to grow some of their own food?? The answer is poo lasagna!!

Start with the soil – soil has to be fed every year with a compost matrix of living things and it digests it and turn into nutrients. So what exactly is poo lasagna? To create a sustainable fertilizer for the soil they also had to fix the problem of ridding human waste when living so far from a sewage system.

This human manure program scientifically uses heat to rid of the pathogens in human waste through

Poo lasagna – layer of poo, layer of straw, and another layer of poo. Then they leave it sealed in heat for a year. As it gets hotter the harmful bacteria dies off and a brown powder emerges which is used to create soil that can only farm things above the soil- meaning it’s not used in root veggies so the food is not actually in contact with the compost.

Today the poo goes down the sewer into 4 concrete separation tanks, and goes through reed beds that filter out impurities. Every 18 months scientists haul it out and bring it back to the center. So our waste we leave today will be used in 2.5 years to help their gardens grow!

This visitors center is dedicated towards teaching practical solutions using hands on learning to control the carbon emissions crisis.

I’ve learned so much by visiting this center about exactly how much work is put into creating a sustainable community, but seeing this place makes me realize how important it is to teach others how to make our planet a better place.

Hope this didn’t gross you out too much, thanks for reading 🙂

-Lauren Giampietro

Here in Wales the views are spectacular, the fish and chips are wonderful, and while I notice many new things each day unique to this place, today I made a strong connection to Vermont.  Here in Wales I have noticed some similarities between the landscape including species of trees and flowers, and of course, the cows. Our time so far has been enriched by the rolling hills and mountains contrasting the blue sky.  Today was very special. We drove from Carmarthen to the Center for Alternative Technology in the mountains of Wales. We drove through farmland and mountain roads winding around and around to get to the center. I noticed the farmland and forestry created an amazing landscape full of shades of green.  It was beautiful. When we got to the CAT, our tour guide discussed the implication of pasture land on the ecology of the land. He said, “This land is not supposed to be grass, it’s supposed to be forested.” I found this very interesting, and connected it to the landscape history of the state of Vermont.  Sheep in Vermont and pasture land dominated the landscape for many years up until the early 20th century. Since the sheep industry has died down, Vermont’s landscape has changed and become more forested. This has resulted in an increase of biodiversity, and because the land is now back to what it is like naturally, the soil has been enriched.  While our tour guide was talking to us about the growing controversies of the pasture land taking up most of the space, and the ecological challenges associated with that, I couldn’t help but think about the Vermont landscape and a few controversies associated with Vermont’s land usage. While there are many different ideas and aspects of Wales I am learning that are unique to Vermont, I think there is a chance to relate the knowledge to our home, Vermont.

Kaitlin Speck

Hello hello! It is currently our fourth day here and we have seen so much!

Yesterday we visited the fishing village Tenby. It was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. Our first view once we got off the train was the gorgeous coastline accompanied by brightly colored buildings in every color. The tide was out so far that the boats were completely grounded on the sand.

We had the morning to explore the various coffee shops, stores, and other sites. Some of my classmates and I wandered down to a beach where you could walk out to an island. While we didn’t climb up the steps to the fort at the top, we were able to walk around the beach and see the different caves. It’s so fascinating standing in a cave that you know will be completely submerged once the tide comes back in.

We later reconvened to take a hike through the woods. While it was a LOT of uphill walking, we eventually reached a cove with one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen. We were some of the only people there! The tide was out really far, but you were able to see how dramatically the tide changed based on the waterline and erosion. There were several caves to explore too.

Tenby has some of the most beautiful scenery I have ever witnessed. I really didnt know what to expect when learning about Tenby and its beaches, but I was completely blown away. I hope I’m lucky enough to get the chance to come back and see this wonderful hidden gem again someday.

Cheers for now! -Leah Benoit

P.S. More culture shock- they dont know what iced coffee is. The ketchup here is weird and they dont keep salt shakers on the table. This is the first salt shaker I’ve seen in days ):

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Yesterday we spent a wonderful day in the city of Tenby, and it definitely deserved a 10/10 rating. The town was right on the water, and was only a train ride away from Carmarthen. From the beautiful coast to the colorful houses – our time spent here was unbelievable. First, we went to a breakfast shop, then spent the day walking the beach and the shops and later hiking up the coastal path. The coastal path was a tough hike – but was worth it once we got to the end and saw the amazing beach that waited for us. The beach was in between two cliffs, lined with rocks, caves and tons of small sea creatures. We spent time enjoying the beautiful day, searching the caves, discussing small creatures and even enjoying the water. The beaches are incredible, but don’t forget to watch out for all of the jellyfish! Tenby was definitely unforgettable – not unlike most of Wales that we have seen.

Alexyah

Yesterday we boarded the train at Carmarthen station at 9:29
in the morning to head to Tenby. After about 40 minutes we stepped off the train to find ourselves right on the coast of Wales. This little
coastal city filled with flats and shops wrapped around the inlet was
also full of history. We ran into a man who lived in the town and
informed us of Americans who had spent time in Tenby before us. He
said that during the Second World War the 8th division was camped
there. During their time they would train and prepare for the battle.
At one point during the war these men, now known as the Pennsylvania
national guard, would train for D-Day on the beach. This must have
been very strenuous to plan since the tide at Tenby is the second most
aggressive shift in the world.

After this brief discussion with the man we sent him on his way to
his five-hour trip for work and continued our journey exploring the
city. After all the conversations we had with friends and family about
how rainy and cold the UK would be, we never imagined that we would
have clear blue skies and sand under our feet on the shore – nor did
Will expect to get sunburned.  We walked along the coast exploring an
old fort that had been converted into a summer home, used during both World Wars, and was at one point a zoo. Further down the shore we found restaurants built into the face of the rocks, apartments with
living roofs, and a wheel park full of scooters and not skateboards.

At 1:30 we all met back up to hike along the coast of Tenby. We
followed an acorn trail up and down what might have been one of the
steepest hikes I have ever been on, but it was more than worth it. At
the end of the trail we found ourselves at a beach between two massive
cliffs. Right behind us was a resort where some residents were
spending the weekend. Something that Liam, Will, and I discovered
during our time in Tenby is that people do in fact place homes right
on the very Hills that we had thought would be left to nature. Homes
and resorts lined the cliff so that residents could have great access
to and view of the water. 

To cap off our day we spent a little more time exploring the city for
dinner and watching the tide rush in. Boats that seemed beached
sitting in the bay were now swaying in the water ready to sail out. We
heard from our friend that we had met with earlier that the best place
in town to get seafood was Fessi’s. Unfortunately for us we forgot how
early shops close around here so by the time we had arrived they were
closed. However, there was naturally a fish and chip shop right across
the street. We each ordered our meals to go and walked back to the
coastline to see children in full wet suits do front flips into the
brisk water. We noticed as we were eating that the shop hadn’t given
us single use plastic cutlery as one would expect to receive whenever
they order takeout in the United States. Instead they had a miniature
wooden fork. This speaks to sustainability efforts that even reach a
small restaurant in Tenby. These wooden forks are definitely less
harmful to the environment than a plastic fork and knife, although
they are much more difficult to use. We did appreciate that there is a
conscious effort to have less of an impact on the environment. Once we
had finished our meals, we wandered back to the station to board the
7:29 train back to Carmarthen to complete our adventure that consisted of great conversation, food, and around 13 miles of walking.

-Liam Anderson, Jake Myers, Will Santangeli

Today we visited the Center for Alternative Technology (CAT) in Pantperthog, Wales. While we were there, one of the many topics of interest that we discussed was renewable energy resources. In particular, we learned a great deal about wind power.

A wind turbine produces energy through aerodynamic lifts (the same force that our airplane used during our flight here!). This works by utilizing uneven petal shapes in which one side is longer than the other to change the pressure of the air along the blades and thus cause the turbines to spin and create energy.

Wind turbines come in a large variety of different sizes. The first photo depicts a turbine that was made in Zimbabwe. It produces approximately one kilowatt of energy.

The second photo depicts a wind seat that creates mechanical power instead of electricity. It can be used for pumping up to 21,000 liters of water a day. However, in this case, the energy was used to lift a chair up and down.

The third photo depicts a fairly large wind turbine that produces approximately 250 kilowatts of energy.

Finally, the last photo shows the hub, the bit the thirty-five meter long blades are attached to. This turbine produces approximately 2.75 megawatts, or 2,750 kilowatts, of energy.

While there is much debate over the use of wind turbines and whether or not public opinion declares them as “ugly,” an “eyesore,” and “too expensive,” there are many benefits to wind power:

1. Wind power is cheap. Whatever cost it does have is payed back within a few months due to the amount of energy it will produce in turn.
2. Wind turbines take up little land. On average, wind turbines only take up about 1% of the land or sea they are on.
3. Britain is a windy place. Thus, the nation should make the most of this. Moreover, most wind power is made in the winter, when people often need it the most.
4. Wind power has the smallest ecological footprint. Out of all of the different energy sources that exist, wind power has the smallest eco-footprint. In fact, according to the CAT, its footprint is at least 200 times smaller than that of fossil fuels.

I really enjoyed learning about renewable energy sources at the Centre for Alternative Technology and I am eager to use the knowledge I have acquired for my research project in the days and weeks to come!

-Deana DiBenedetto (title idea credits to Leah Benoit)

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Today we went to the Lansteffan Castle in the town of Lansteffan, built overlooking the Tywi river in the 11^th century. The castle changed hands many times throughout history between the Normans and the Welsh. It was common for castles to have villages around it, that way if enemies were coming to invade then the villagers would travel up to the castle to alter them, as well as hide for safety. The castle also played a big role in the town social atmosphere either holding markets or church services, and animals were common visitors as well.

We took a beautiful coastal walk to the castle on Saturday. The weather surprised us all with how warm and sunny it was. The path up to the top was also nicely maintained, hedges or fences lined the edge and it wove through farms and houses. This is one of the one hundred castles still standing in Wales, originally, they had over six hundred. While exploring around, we noticed shells were imbedded in the walls and the floors of the castle, most likely from the construction. The view was absolutely breathtaking on top of the hill. We could even climb up the stairs to the top of the castle which gave an even better view. There were many other people visiting the castle besides us. A child and his dad came to take a picture and told us he was doing a school project on castles.   

-Katia, Lauren, Bella, Alexyah

Our trip today brought us to the top of Llansteffan Castle. We hiked along the coastline and through a heavily wooded area full of vibrant yellow and purple wildflowers and tall grass. Aside from the beauty of the castle itself and immersing ourselves in this historic place we quickly noticed something. The hilly greenscapes filled the coastline. We discussed that if this country had a more capitalistic or American mindset these hills would be covered in beach houses all along the shore. Far too often in the U.S. we don’t let beauty remain and quickly try to profit off of mother nature. The problem is that once everyone starts to do the same thing, they quickly destroy the beauty that they once sought to live near. Wales has done a great job of preserving this natural landscape. Not only does this provide a view that everyone can enjoy it is also important to sustainability efforts. Conservation, in green spaces especially, is crucial when thinking about prolonging the environment, country, and culture of this country.   

-Liam Anderson, Jake Myers, Will Santangeli