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Passive House Packchat Recap

Rough collection of notes from our recent visit to Elisabeth Post-Marner's Passive House. What is a a passive house? Simply put, a Passive House is a dwelling that uses the sun as an energy source for heating and cooling  Site orientation is critical to its success:  south orientation with many windows  There are 5 things that need to be done to achieve this: Continuous insulation Airtight construction using seals, overlaps  Triple glazed windows Energy Recovery Ventilation which brings fresh air into the house 24/7 Thermal bridge free  Supplemental heating and cooling using a heat pump method  The concepts of Passive House support a healthy indoor environment but we chose to take additional steps by doing the following: Construct the house with natural materials (ex:  insulation in walls is cellulose from recycled newspapers rather than standard fiberglass or “Batt” insulation)  Use finishes and furnishings that are VOC (volatile organic compounds) free  Use robust filter in o

Ready for Impact: Recap of 2024 Planning Packchat

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The overarching theme of the planning pack chat was the ongoing impact of us as a group, the power of our collective actions beyond what we do as individuals, improving the lives of each other and the planet. Sharing best practices, recycling details, new innovations in sustainable products, sustainable architecture/passive houses, we talked about specific interests in biodiversity, calling out birds, the Audubon Society work, wolves, the Wolf Conservation Center initiatives, concerns about moving species off of the endangered list, social justice, advocating for health related causes (heart - CPR training, cancer, diabetes, mental well-being), volunteering opportunities, planting gardens and picking vegetables, putting on plays, dancing our hearts out. You get the drift! It was a wide range of topics and interests. More to come as we plan Wolfpack events throughout the year.

Strong Wills, Women, and Wolves Pack Chat

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Preface: The formatting in this blog post is a cry for help. If you are interested in writing, blogging, editing, formatting, and or technology in general please reach out womenswolfpack@gmail.com- we need your skills! The Recap: On Thursday 8/4, twenty-ish of us met for our now-monthly wolfpack chat. With Tracy Kraft as t his month’s self professed ' casual host' at her woodsy home in Waccabuc, NY. We gathered on the living room couches and floor cushions, lounging with cheeses, crackers, and flatbread and a surplus of sparkling drinks and wine. Using our consumer power was something we all agreed on an important focus. We also learned about the Peekskill Recycling plant which turns out to be further doing more than members expected. We talked about our individual accomplishments and upcoming events – warmly supporting each other in those endeavors – and planned how we could assist each other as a pack in reaching those goals (check out our Wolfpack Shares below). Organic

Lifted Spirits- Raised the Roof!

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One of the more amazing outcomes from our gathering to support Animal Nation last week was a final push for bids to repair the critical issues at the barn.  As a NYC firefighter, the leaking barn roof that sent water pouring through light fixtures in the old barn was a terrifying situation for Patrick Moore. The roof needed immediate replacement, and thanks to the generous contribution by a party goer at our Party Animals Unite event at Good Hope Farm Thursday night, the funding was secured, and the team wasted no time getting the roof in place, literally, 4 days later the team had a new roof on the barn! Please donate to help with our next goal, a pond for the Water Foul who would love a cool calm break from the barnyard heat.

What happens when Party Animals Unite...

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Please take a moment to view the unforgettable video of the tragic story Patrick shared of the Gift of Hope that Animal Nation provided. What happens when Party Animals Unite... 'Being human is about what we mean to others, and by supporting our team at Animal Nation, you help us do more.' Good for the Soul What a blast of a summer night! On behalf of Animal Nation, we would like to thank the Brahmst Family, Women’s Wolfpack and Good Hope Farm. We are so grateful for your generous contributions and high energy presence to support Animal Nation. We're thrilled to share that we

The Electricity Went Out- but the Power Stayed On

Here’s what happened: Martha Hunt Handler welcomed everyone to the 2022 UN International Women’s Day live streaming event organized by the womenswolfpack.org and Bedford 2030   and shared the origin story of the Wolfpack, our vision and mission. Midge Iorio from Bedford 2030 spoke about the local initiatives around climate activism. The live stream of the International Women’s Day for the UN Women kicked off, and inspiration set in as we all sat back for the 90-minute program, but mother nature had other plans and as a ripple effect from last night’s storm, exactly 22 minutes in, just right as incredible Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman began her powerful poem ‘Earthrise’, the electricity went out and the theater went dark. All the collective fears of the organizing team about streaming something in a rural setting, the vagaries of the Internet and power- were actualized. But keep in mind that the gathering was a collective of women focused on productivity and progress- so the wolf