Photo album from island Oroe is up

Iselin's Eco Blog: Island Oroe

Eco in Denmark: From island to mainland to foreign land

I just came back to Copenhagen for a night. Tomorrow is very exciting, I'll be going to Berlin in Germany for Global Action Day, and stay there for a couple days. I just came from another island, hopping from Aeroe to Oroe suddenly for five days! I met some nice people at island Aeroe, called Hanne and Jens Johan, a couple living on island Oroe further north in Zealand, Denmark! So I took the ride with two cats they adopted from Aeroe, and met Hanne at the ferry to Oroe. Here I stayed until today, and my trip there was way too fast as it was so much to learn there and discover among plants and herbs. This was a herbal garden, a healing garden and Hanne educates in this. She is very experienced, and they run a Bed and Breakfast for visitors. I got lots of reflections while digging the earth there, and really I think human beings are way too comfortable indoors and should get out alot more! That was my first impression from there. Oroe taught me alot, but mostly to be respectful for what is so gently growing and we are simply just overseeing it all that happens around us. These plants they had, was very taken care of. You can sure tell when the earth is willing or not, and when the plants are taken care of. They respond by gathering more Co2, or getting fresh blooming flowers. Some herbs are treatments, learned by for instance the indians or the asian people using it almost daily. We're still very "new" at discovering all the possibilities of herbs, and after becoming more on my "veggie diet" I have discovered that the balance in the body is most important, and some herbs are used as instruments for when you are overweight in one component than the other, and cleanses your stomach and regains the immune system. Some herbs are particulary good for women, and I'll get back to more details later. I have to get some rest and sleep after a day of walking in a thousandsomething-crowded hall in Copenhagen with the title "Healthy Lifestyle Exhibition 25 Years of Celebration". You can tell, PEOPLE are HUNGRY!;)

Photo album from island Aeroe is up

Iselin's Eco Blog: Island Aeroe

Eco in Denmark: World's largest solar district heating plant

Yesterday I went for a daytrip to city Marstal (on island Aeroe/ Aero), mostly famous for its sailor history and where the very last transport by sailboat happened. "Farewell To Sails" had its exhibition when I went there, restoring an old ship that drowned and I went for a museum ride. Apart from my enthusiasm for boats and everything that floats, I went to see another tale - how the trial supplement of a solar collector plant for the city's single swimmingpool became the world's largest district heating plant to cover 30 percent of whole Marstal's requirements for heating! I think it is so nice when a little try-out turns into something expansive and re-used, like this one!:)

The plant in whole, 18,354m2. The markers are pointing at the different producers of solar panels and collectors delivered to the plant (four), also the tank for storage, as well as the circulating system and the pit heat store.

Budget of such a project. Supported by EU and Danish Energy Authority

Originally, the story begins with Marstal wanting their swimmingpool to be heated from "alternative energy" because the oil heating had a way too expensive bill. This was in 1993, and economy pushed the island into thinking differently and it was after several meetings an idea of a solar heating system. At the same time Marstal District Heating was interested in replacing some of their waste oil consumption by more eco-friendly fuel. With alittle midwifery from the Danish Association of Consulting Engineers, it resulted in a solar collector on the swimmingpool roof in 1994. The 75m2 solar collectors were to heat the pool only. However, the system also served another purpose: It was a test system to show if solar heating on a major scale was worth staking on. And it was. After six months, the results on paying the heating bill looked so promising that they decided to develope 8,000m2 of solar panels on the field behind the heating plant - and connect them to the district heating network. This was the beginning of the great success! From May till October, Marstal's consumption is 100% covered by solar heating. Source: http://www.solarmarstal.dk/

In danish: A district heating storage, to store heat from solar panels.

Sailor city Marstal. Collecting muliple creativities from all over the world when travelling by the sea.

the restoration of an old sunken ship.