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Episode-1495- Ben Falk on Soundscapes within Homestead Design

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Harvesting Ice at Whole Systems Design

Harvesting Ice at Whole Systems Design

Ben Falk developed Whole Systems Design, LLC as a land-based response to biological and cultural extinction and the increasing separation between people and elemental things. Life as a designer, builder, ecologist, tree-tender, and backcountry traveler continually informs Ben’s integrative approach to developing landscapes and buildings.

His home landscape and the Whole Systems Design studio site in Vermont’s Mad River Valley serve as a proving ground for the regenerative land developments featured in the projects of Whole Systems Design. Ben has studied architecture and landscape architecture at the graduate level and holds a master’s degree in land-use planning and design.

Ben has conducted nearly 200 site development consultations across New England and facilitated dozens of courses on permaculture design, property selection, microclimate design, and design for climate change.

Today Ben joins us to discuss soundscapes, an often over looked component of permaculture and homestead design.  Soundscapes have a huge impact on the quality of our lives and actually on the performance of a homestead and farm.

Ben will discuss how in his design firm, IDs and maps soundscapes, and what considerations they take into account when designing to improve them. Also what’s worked well and what hasn’t here for them – what mistakes he’s personally made (like cutting down some pines far downhill that actually made the road noise reflected off a local cliff, considerably noisier) to working with water and co-location of buildings to enhance soundscapes

We also delve into a lot about proximity and line of sight between sleeping spaces especially and the barn yard and entry to deal with predators and also heightened awareness of when someone is coming into the property.

Resources for today’s show…

Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show. Also remember you can call in your questions and comments to 866-65-THINK (866-658-4465) and you might hear yourself on the air.

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Comments

Episode-1495- Ben Falk on Soundscapes within Homestead Design — 17 Comments

  1. I think the obvious answer to the DaVinci’s Last Supper question is that Judas had already left at this point leaving only 11 disciples and likely Mary Magdalene.

    • I would buy that IF the individual between Mary/John (depending on what you believe) and Peter wasn’t holding a change purse. But IF is the biggest two letter word in our language and he is. Go look at it. Given that he is, it is hard to argue that that individual doesn’t presume to be Judas.

      Now just to pull a conspiracy theory out of my butt to prove that it can be done.

      Perhaps there was never a John! John was a code for Mary to hide her true identity in many of the Gospels. Because John is often referred to as “the disciple that he loved” or a direct translation is “his beloved disciple”.

      This is used six times in the Gospel of John. Including at the death of Christ. But a careful reading of that will reveal that when it is said who is there, it doesn’t say John was there, it says only the women were there then Jesus sees his beloved disciple and declares Mother behold your son.

      What gives?

      See (tin hat on) what was being told in code is Mary was there, she was the beloved, she was the bride of Christ. But what about the use of the word son? Well Mary M. was of course pregnant with the holy grail, the son of Christ and now commanded to be the Son of Mary (the mother).

      Wow that would be somewhat plausible, even though I just made it up. Lesson, be careful when it comes to conspiracy theories.

    • I just listened to Jack’s comments on the history segment and conspiracies. It sounded very sensible. I felt compelled to comment simple to show that nothing Jack said are in serious conflict with what I said.

      I remember telling a rabbi/academic I know that I study the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha to which he responded, “That’s…. obscure.”

      I laughed. Those texts certainly are obscure. The texts that the book and movie “The Da Vinci Code” are based on are called “The Nag Hammadi Library”.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nag_Hammadi_library

      I have an English translation on my shelf and after reading Dan Brown’s book and flipped though looking for the references he made and in my judgement… his book was a lot of fun but not based on any reasonable interpretation of those passages. Your mileage may vary.

      I like Dan Brown as an author and I’m reading one of his books while we speak… The Lost Symbol”. So far it’s a great read.

      My wife’s calling. Gotta go.

    • Thanks Jack for taking the time to point out a few little known facts about Leonardo’s Last Supper. There are lots of discrepancies or liberties that Leonardo expresses in this piece. I think one needs to analyze the mood and culture of the society for which the piece is a product to truly understand the artists intent.

      Personally I think he is trying to portray quite a bit of sarcasm and egotism on behalf of the church. Though I think with the passage of time, his intent has backfired. AND, what was originally meant as a jest has cast such strong emotion that folks actually have started to perceive that as a factual depiction of one of Jesus’ last days.

      Michelangelo also used similar techniques in his paintings and sculptures. I think most renassaince period artists were rebels and there was kind of an undocumented rebellion going on amongst them to lace things with hidden meanings, satirical gestures, other small symbols and depictions of thumbing their nose at the ruling elite, or powerful figures.

  2. “Trees don’t block sound”
    That is one BS belief if I’ve ever heard one. I know exactly what Ben is talking about. Clearing about an acre of trees and brush just next to me has taught me that one. Really anything other than air blocks sound. In fact, sound is BEST blocked by changes in mediums particularly air and objects.

    Also what ends up happening is trees and other objects can funnel sound into an area, or they can capture sound or bounce around. My property is kind of a hole cut out of a forest with neighbors all around. It actually becomes difficult to detect exactly where a sound is coming from because of the buffering from the trees. The sound has to go over the trees and come down and then gets bounced all around.

    I definitely dig this topic. I became very envious of a family friend of ours who lives a little bit off the road. Hanging out with him you couldn’t hear a single car ever unless it was the direct (and only) neighbor. On most days around here you can’t hear much, which is great.

    • If you live far enough south you can use clumping bamboo. And I tell you what it adds a serious buffer. There is this main road that has all these expensives houses on them which makes so little sense to me, but there is some massive bamboo walls to really mitigate it. Heck this one house has 2 rows of em 20 foot tall!

  4. Did I just hear ben say “dog food replacement” with processing his geese? Is that just all the viscera? Surely a couple dogs can’t eat that much all at once, right? Not sure if Ben reads these comments, but I’d be curious to hear a little more explanation of that.

  5. Turn the power off in your house and notice how much ‘background’ noise we listen to on a daily basis – in zone 0.

    I work in the building design and construction industry and try to locate mechanical stuff next to the bathrooms. It’s a great use of ‘waste noise’.

  6. Having all your barns animal shelters close to your house is also important when you age or for the occasional injury or illness. Personally would love having them connected to the house. Sure would make life much easier. Makes birthing seasons easier too.

    Love being able to look out the window at any time of day or night and do a head count from the door or window. Has saved many many middle of the night walks out in the weather to check on things.

    Last summer built a quick building for animal shelter. It will be coming down next summer. It blocks the sound of the gravel on the drive and some of the visual. Drives me nuts. Blocks so much even the pups don’t hear someone coming.

  7. I would like to add the use of trees of keeping unwanted sounds out but also that trees help keep sounds in or at least keeps the neighbors from haveing to hear your sounds ie. goats sheep dogs roosters ducks gun fire hammering. When you are the odd one in society that does not go by the same ideals as everyone else, annoyed people can become your biggest problem. You can be completely legal but they can still be a pain in your neck. I think my grandpa said it best. Good fences make good neighbors but thick tree lines make them not care.

  8. I liked the show very much. I live in zone 4 MN. To be honest the vast majority of plants and strategies discussed on the show don’t grow or work up here. I realize I’m a bit extreme (I’d move south if my wife would) but we exist.

    I appreciate the cold weather shows and I’d like to hear more about small gardens in the future. It’s damn hard to find fruit trees and perennials when you can rip out about 85% of the pages in a gardening catalog. FWIW I’m sure our friends in Florida feel the same.

    Thank for pushing the boundaries. Those in outposts need it.

    • I’m not sure what you mean by the Florida comment David. We can grow a lot of things down here. =)

      I live in zone 8B-9A in southern Louisiana which is about the same as the panhandle and north of Tampa. We can grow just about anything you can think of. From edible Bananas and the full slew of citrus (some requires MINIMAL protection), to apples, most well known berry types, etc. If certain things don’t do “great” down here like regular grapes, there are analogues that are just as good such as muscadines that requires significantly less work.

      The one difference probably is that because of the lack of deeper winters, we get less vigorous growth in the spring/summer times as more northern places. Each place has its own quirks.

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