In the not too distant future, Watershed will be moving into a building at AREC, the Australian Rural Education Centre!

And it’s not just any building...

Once a simple shed on the AREC grounds, the building has been retrofitted using Straw Bale Construction techniques to transform it into a super-insulated bungalow. Constructed from straw bales and rendered with lime and clay, the Straw Bale Bungalow has been taking shape over the past year or so through Straw Bale Construction Workshops run by AREC.

Straw Bale buildings have featured a number of times in our Sustainable Homes Tours and we’re thrilled to be taking up residence in, what will be a showpiece for sustainable construction.

Once completed, the building will serve as office for our coordinator Thea Ridley, and provide a great space for various workshops / small seminars and meetings that Watershed and AREC will run in 2011.

The residency is part of a partnership between Watershed Landcare and the Australian Rural Education Centre which will see more Watershed activities run at the centre along with joint projects and events. AREC has been a fantastic, supportive facility for us in the past and we are looking forward some of the events we have in the pipeline.

Interested in learning more about this building? Contact Watershed!

See a slide show of our progress here:

Interested in learning how to build using straw bale construction methods?? The Australian Rural Education Centre run practical+theory straw bale building workshops. Head to their website to read more and register your interest.