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Environmental Stewardship: WELCOME TO HOP HILL STABLEJuly 2010
By Nadine Abrams Hop Hill Stable is owned and operated by Michael Jewett and his family. Mr. Jewett’s efforts in the protection of the environment and natural habitat are visible throughout the property. From fostering a healthy, diverse forest community, planting the areas along his creek with native vegetation, to innovative building enhancement projects, Hop Hill Stable is an excellent example for stewardship of both the natural and built environments. His environmental ethic and unique building philosophy has focused on minimizing environmental impact and maximizing the property’s buildings and their overall function. Where possible, the building materials used in each project are salvaged to limit what goes into landfills. “This also reduces the need to purchase new materials from natural resources that would need to be harvested and processed, which further reduces our environmental footprint”, says Jewett.
Mr. Jewett, although partial to salvaged wood for its structural integrity and ability to be modified, does not discount other materials when updating his buildings. In 2004, the Thorncrest Mall in Thornhill, Ontario was demolished, and a 7 metre diametre (24 foot) aluminum framed hexagonal skylight got a new life in the Hop Hill stable roof. It was removed from the Thornhill site, pane by pane, transported, hoisted by crane to its final destination and reassembled, providing a brilliant natural source of light to the structure.
No stone is left unturned when it comes to Jewett’s practice of the 3 R’s (reduce, reuse and recycle). The interior of the walls of the barn are constructed from unused straw bales. “This material is so compressed it can support the weight of the roof structure, provide a very high R factor and is not combustible,” he adds. Given the location of Hop Hill Stable on the Oak Ridges Moraine, it should come as no surprise that Jewett takes the concept of recycling one step further. The 20,000ft 2 arena roof drains through 10 downspouts into a 5,000 gallon cistern. This captured water is recycled, providing water for fire-fighting, washing, toilet flushing and irrigation. Mr. Jewett’s vision does not see their precious well water used for anything other than drinking. “The ground water here is some of the best in the world, and we don’t waste it or replace it with bottled water when we offer better from our own taps!” he adds. Capturing rainwater for other uses just makes sense. It eventually gets back into the moraine to recharge what he refers to as the “Rainbarrel of Southern Ontario.” This is part one of a three part series on Hop Hill Stable. Stay tuned for part two which will discuss the circular paddock design, barn heating and construction of the hay storage building. Contact your local Conservation Authority as they may be able to provide further funding and technical assistance for your environmental project. Not sure which of the 36 Conservation Authorities you should contact, check out the provincial map and contact listing on the Conservation Ontario website. This article has been prepared by the Healthy Lands for Healthy Horses Steering Committee, which is comprised of representatives from the Ontario Equestrian Federation’s Horse Facilities Council, Uxbridge Horseman’s Association, Ontario Trail Riders Association, Equine Guelph, University of Guelph, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and various Conservation Authorities. Funding for events organized by this committee has been provided by the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association from the Nutrient Management BMP Demonstration Grant funding project. For more information please visit: www.equineguelph.ca/healthylands.php |