Saturday, July 15th — POSTPONED

The workshops are keyed by track: Renewable Energy [RE],
Green Buildings [GB], Sustainable Living [SL], and Art & Activism [A&A]

SolarFest’23 Workshop Schedule

11:15 – 12:15 pm	[SL] Home Composting & Recycling	Tent 1
From garbage to garden, Jim Corven & Brian Sales present best practices for home composting and easy steps to get started saving money and growing better gardens.
11:30 am – 12:30 pm	[RE] Women in Renewable Energy Panel	Tent 2
Women in different fields describe what they do, how they got there, challenges and opportunities. Joanne Coons, Li Ling Young, Tegan Murray, Erin Ballentine, Emily Eckert, Jacquie Scherer
11:45 am – 12:45 pm	[SL] A Year of No Garbage: Recycling Lies, Plastic Problems and More	The Barn
Eve O. Schaub, humorist and stunt memoirist extraordinaire, will discuss her most difficult challenge to date: going Zero Waste. Year of No Garbage: Super-Size Me meets the environmental movement.
Noon – 1:00 pm	[SL] Leslie Silver’s Weed Walk	Field – Meet at SolarFest sun
Learn about our plant neighbors and the gifts they have to share! We will walk around the land identifying common medicinal allies and discover some of the many benefits they can offer.
12:15 – 1:15 pm	[A&A] Kid-Friendly Soap Sculpture	Field – meet at Soap Tent
12:45 – 1:45 pm	[RE] Future Grid Effects of Heat Pumps	Tent 2
Li Ling Young, of Efficiency Vermont takes a look at how the grid handles residential heat pumps. Will there be a winter peaking problem? What’s the carbon implication; are they really a winner for the climate?
1:00 – 2:00 pm	[A&A] What I Found in a Thousand Towns	Tent 1
Singer Songwriter Dar Williams discusses her book, “What I Found in a Thousand Towns; a traveling musician’s guide to rebuilding America’s communities”.
1:00 – 2:00 pm	[RE] Renewable Energy Workforce Speed Networking	The Barn
A round-robin exchange of interaction between renewable energy employers and potential employees.
1:00 – 2:00 pm	[SL] Grow Oyster Mushrooms at Home	Field – meet at Mycelium Tent
Andy LeBlanc leads a 10-step, hands on process preparing recycled containers to grow oyster mushrooms at home; and each person gets their bucket with the first mushroom harvest about three weeks later!
2:00 – 3:00	[A&A] Dar Williams & Eve Schaub Book Signing	Field – at The Bookstore Tent
2:00 – 3:00 pm	[RE] The Basics of Solar + Batteries	Tent 1
Danielle Laberge of Grassroots Solar and Avtandil Giorgadze (gio) of Fortress Power provide a review of the latest in solar photovoltaics and battery storage
2:00 – 3:00 pm	Kid-Friendly Soap Sculpture	Field – meet at Soap Tent
2:15 – 3:15 pm	[GB] Getting Vermont to a 100% Renewable Energy Future	Tent 2
Vermont State Rep. Robin Chesnut-Tangerman and Peter Sterling, Exec. Director of Renewable Energy VT lead a discussion of Vermont laws and goals for changing the Renewable Energy Standard.
2:45 – 3:45 pm	[SL] Grow Oyster Mushrooms at Home (see above)	Field – meet at Mycelium Tent
3:15 – 4:15 pm	[RE] The Inflation Reduction Act and Solar Adoption in Vermont	Tent 2
Paul Lesure of Green Mountain Solar discusses the solar incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act and how the new federal tax incentives will assist solar adoption in Vermont.
3:30 – 5:30 pm	[A&A] Making Bread + Puppet Art	Tent 2
Bread + Puppet curatrix Alexis Smith leads a workshop, rehearsal, and show. Bread & Aioli will be served.
3:30 -4:30 pm	[GB] Heat Pump Alternatives	Barn
Air-source and geothermal (ground-source) heat pump positives and negatives will be discussed, including why the transition to carbon-free energy requires heavy use of heat pumps.
3:30 – 4:30 pm	[A&A] Kid-Friendly Soap Sculpture	Field – meet at Soap Tent
3:45 – 4:45 pm	[RE] SolarFest Site Tour	Field – Meet at SolarFest sun
A walking tour of the SolarFest “Juice Bar” by John Blittersdorf of Off Grid VT and Garry Tuttle of MT Solar, with special attention to various types of solar and storage systems in use.
4:30 – 5:30 pm	[RE] Small Wind Mythbusting by Roy Butler	Tent 1
Learn how small wind turbines work, the fundamentals of wind resource assessment, and how to calculate return on investment. Learn how to spot substandard equipment and deceptive marketing claims.
4:30 – 5:30 pm	[SL] Grow Oyster Mushrooms at Home (see above)	Field – meet at Mycelium Tent

Sunday, July 16th — POSTPONED

10:15 – 11:15 am	[RE] Do-It-Yourself Biogas	Tent 2
Paul Scheckel, of Parsec Energy Consulting, shows how to make and use your own renewable natural gas
10:30 – 11:30 am	[A&A] Extreme Climate Events from Mother Natures’ Perspective	The Barn
Climate researcher Dr. Alan Betts explains how the Earth appears to be choosing to damage fossil fuel infrastructure to limit damage to life; clear from an indigenous perspective, but heresy to capitalism.
10:30 – 11:30 am	[SL] Leslie Silver’s Weed Walk	Field – Meet at SolarFest sun
Learn about our plant neighbors and the gifts they have to share! We will walk around the land identifying common medicinal allies and discover some of the many benefits they can offer.
11:15 am– 12:15 pm	[RE] Flexible load management for a renewable grid	Tent 1
Morgan Casella of Dynamic Organics gives an overview of the changes happening on the grid as more renewables are interconnected, and how demand flexibility is a key part of the solution.
11:30 – 12:30	[GB] Waterless Composting Toilets – An Alternative to Flush Toilets	Tent 2
This workshop highlights the benefits and uses of waterless composting toilets and how they bring hygienic sanitation to those in need of an alternative to flush toilets which can pollute local water resources.
11:45 – 12:45	[GB] Getting to Net Zero	The Barn
Wes Golomb, The Energy Geek, will explore the techniques and materials used for building net-zero homes and will focus on how an existing homeowner can bring their home closer to net-zero.
12:00 – 1:00 pm	[RE] SolarFest Site Tour	Field – Meet at SolarFest sun
A walking tour of the SolarFest “Juice Bar” by John Blittersdorf of Off Grid VT and Garry Tuttle of MT Solar, with special attention to various types of solar and storage systems in use.
12:30 – 1:30 pm	[SL] Urine My Garden: Why & How to Peecycle at Home	Tent 1
Reclaiming urine is a safe and simple practice to access free fertilizer and prevent downstream pollution. Step-by-step instructions for using urine in home gardens. Pee the change you wish to see!
12:45 – 1:45	[RE] Evaluating Your Site for EV Charging	Tent 2
Berrett Walter, of Norwich EV, explains site consideration, evaluation, and planning for an EVSE (EV Supply Equipment) installation.
1:45 – 2:45 pm	[A&A] Environmental Justice and the Nuclear Fuel Cycle	Tent 1
The nuclear fuel cycle has left a host of environmental catastrophes in its wake. Chris Williams highlights each phase of the cycle and describes the environmental justice challenges facing host communities.
2:15 – 3:15 pm	[A&A] Paul Scheckel & Wes Golub Book Signing	Field – at The Bookstore Tent