Snow Disappears, But The Campsite Stays White

It’s been very warm (and now rainy as well) in Kandersteg, with the snow is disappearing fast. But we’re getting something else white for it in return: Spring crocuses are popping up all over the place.

 

That means that spring has come to the campsite! We’ve stored all our snow shovels, and in a few weeks the Work Parties will help us to get the terrain ready for another busy summer.

This spring we have a Spanish, a Dutch, and an International Work Party; if you’re interested in joining a Work Party to work a few days for the Centre and to enjoy the mountains the rest of the week, send us an e-mail, and we’ll bring you into contact with the right people.

Dries (NL)
Grounds Manager

The Tea Drinking Challenge

It is a matter of fact that Pinkies like to drink tea. Lots of tea! Especially black tea. Even more these days. Why? Because we are preparing for summer! Does that make sense to you? Well…

Tea is not just tea. Looking away from personal tastes, we all need to make sure that our tea comes from a sustainable supplier. We recently evaluated our tea-suppliers and found that in the centre we serve tea from at least 5 different brands at the same times. All of these have different eco-labels and different approaches to a sustainable and eco-friendly tea-industry. So we went to look behind the nice colours of the tea-bag and decided instead to support one brand of tea, which has good sustainable practices. The problem now comes: what do you do with all the rest of the tea from the previous suppliers? You drink it!

At this moment we have app. 3600 tea-bags of black tea of 5 different kinds. If you like milk in your black tea, 3600 cups of tea would require app. 54 L of milk. That is the same amount of milk that the staff team uses for breakfast, coffee, tea and drinking in 2 weeks! Also, there is all the fruit and herbal tea as well.

So if you are making your way by the centre in the next few months, please help us in the quest to become even more eco friendly before summer. If not, why not show your support of our efforts with a nice cup of tea?

If you have been inspired to look at the tea brands you yourself drink every day, then you might quickly get confused by all the different labels you see. So how do you find your way in this forest of eco-friendliness? 

There is a couple of different things to consider regarding the tea-industry: The worker’s conditions, de-forestation, and the quality of tea. Different eco-labels each focuses on one of these subjects. To find out which labels your brand of tea have (or what else they do to environment and society), visiting their web-site is the easiest solution. Underneath you will find a short unofficial guide to what the most common labels means.

Good luck finding your new favourite brand, and happy tea drinking!

Rainforest Alliance

Is only available on products which originate from rainforest areas. The suppliers are regularly check that the farms producing the products are taking precautions to conserve wildlife, waterways and forests. Also important is protecting the workers and their families and actively work for a long-term sustainability. Steps taken includes, reducing chemicals, increasing tree cover, protecting wildlife as well as local communities and indigenous people living in the areas.

Fairtrade

Fairtrade is one very well known brand that focuses on the rights of the workers and mall companies involved in the big industries of especially tea, coffee and chocolate. It is only available to producers in countries where the individual workers right is normally forgotten. Members can only be small producer organisations, that protects the right of any workers and reaches the quality goal. All companies trading Fairtrade must pay a certain minimum price and an investment bonus the company can use to further develop.   

FSC (Forest Stewardship Council)

An international organisation supporting responsible and sustainable forestry management. Works to find solutions between local inhabitants, environmental organisations and the timber industry to improve the local community and overall secure forests for the future. Products with the logo are from producers and areas which are environmentally responsible, socially beneficial and economically sustainable.

 

Mette (DK)

Catering Assistant 2014

Clean Climbing

 

Spring season has started here in Kandersteg. It is time for many to put away skis and start thinking about hiking and climbing.

Climbing, be it rock, ice, or mountaineering, in particular is a activity most would not think to be Eco friendly. It has evolved to do so but still has a bit to go, which is why I wish to talk about it in light of recent events. The Nepalese government has recently ordered that each and every climber on Mount Everest “must bring back at least 8kg of garbage, apart from their own trash.“ This is a major step forward after decades of discarded oxygen bottles, packaging, clothes and in some extreme cases, bodies have littered the trail to the highest peak in the world. A failure for climbers to do this will result in major penalties from the Nepalese Government, which is not clear if that will be fines or revokes or cancelation of future climbing permits.

Many of us here at KISC are not only enthusiastic about being and playing in our serine mountain environment but also taking care our surroundings. This stems from not only a scouting principle of “leaving things better than you found it” but also from being a supportive member of the human race.

Changes have happened over the years to make climbing more Eco friendly and sustainable for climbers. In the early day of mountaineering, It was common in Europe, North America and Asia for climbers to use pitons. As pictured below, these are iron spikes or rods that one hammers into cracks and therefore secure to on their ascent.

                Pitons are damaging to the rock, by enlarging the cracks in the rock over time and are left to rust as they are not removable. While secure, climbers in the 1960s and 1970s realized there need to be a change.

 

                Pictured above are common modern methods of securement while climbing. On the left is a nut (also called a stopper or chalkstone). They are easily slipped into cracks and also (mostly) easy to remove after use. They were first used by British climbers in the 1950s and further propelled by Americans such as Yvon Chouinard in the 60s as part of clean climbing, or climbing in the least environmentally harmful way as possible.

                On the right is a cam, or Spring Loaded Camming Device. First invented in the 1930s by Russian climbers but later patented by climbers in the 1970s. They do a better job and are a lighter protection in even sized cracks than pitons ever could.  Additionally, they are removable and no damaging to the rock.

                These are all good steps in making climbing more clean but what are some of the ways KISC do to do our part? We first limit the number of guest per guide of a trip, not only to help out the guides on a climbing course, but to not put too much traffic on the rock. We do not use pitons but previously placed bolts and anchors, to set up our climbs. These are regularly check to be secure. Additionally, pre-placed bolts concentrate the impact of climbing to only a few climbs and not the whole rock. Lastly, we take good care of all our climbing equipment. Again, not only for safety reasons, but the less we have to replace and the more we can clean or repair can go a long way in making our climbing programs sustainable.

                Climbing, along with all other outdoor sports, be it skiing, rafting or mountain biking makes us better people. However it is important not the degrade the outdoors we love in exchange.  We invite all scouts to explore the hills around our little mountain chalet safely but with a little consideration to their impact along the way.

 

Tad (US)
Eco Assistant

 

Mother Natures Hairdryer

Quite recently we had a lot of warm wind coming down the mountains here in Kandersteg. Enough for writing an EcoBlog about this special wind called “Föhn” (German for hairdryer) which can turn every winter wonderland into brown sadness within a few hours.

The föhn is very common in the Alpine regions of Switzerland and Austria and is known for rapid temperature rise and therefor disappearance of snow covers. The wind originates in Italy as a warm south wind that blows over the Alps. While raising on the south side of the mountain the air cools down, but as the wind comes down on the north side it warms up again at twice the speed. On the accent the air also loses most of its humidity which leaves a dry wind on the north side.

 

Effects

The föhn is said to also have effects on humans. Physiological effects are headaches, dizziness and nausea. Many people also tend to be restless or grumpy during föhn.

The föhn is also the reason for many avalanches. On the mountain top it melts the top layer of the snow and night it freezes over and creates a really slippery ice layer. After föhn winds there is often a lot of snowfall. The fresh snow then rests on top of the ice layer which is really similar to a two layered cake with frosting in the middle. The top layer can then easily slide on the icy layer and cause big avalanches. 

At KISC there is one rule connected to Föhn:  Guests are asked not to light a fire in the fireplaces in the common rooms during föhn conditions.

The high winds of the Föhn force cold air down the chimneys which hinders the smoke to escape to the outside. The smoke then stays inside the rooms and this would set off the fire alarms in the building.

 

 

So you can see föhn winds are a big part of living in the Alps. If you have any more questions about föhn, just ask one of the pinkies. We surely can tell some fun stories connected to this strong wind. J

Agnes (AT)

STS Winter 2014

 

A New Use For Lemons, Ketchup and Vinegar

Here at KISC as many of the cleaning chemicals we use as possible are eco friendly, but could we come up with an alternative to some of our harsher chemicals? Using natural products, that can be found around the house, to clean with is both eco friendly and cheaper than buying most fancy cleaning products.

VINEGAR  

 
Uses: Multi-purpose cleaner, disinfectant, deodoriser.

Particularly good for: Bathrooms and Kitchens.

How to use it: Mix up a solution of half vinegar, half water. This can be used like a multipurpose cleaner to clean hobs, most appliances, counter tops, floors, bathtubs, toilets, sinks, soap scum and hard water stains.

Pure vinegar can be used instead of toilet cleaner to remove nasty rings around the bowl. ½ a cup of vinegar can be added to your laundry as a natural alternative to fabric softener (just add to section of machine where softener would usually be put).

Beware:  Improperly diluted or undiluted vinegar may eat away at tile grout. Do not use on marble surfaces.

Surprisingly: Doesn’t smell of vinegar after it has evaporated!

LEMONS AND LEMON JUICE

Uses:  General cleaner, stain removal, freshening hands and kitchen appliances, bleaching, polishing.

Especially good for: Bleaching.

How to use it: Use it pure to dissolve soap scum or polish and clean copper or brass. Cut a lemon in half, dip in baking soda and use it to scrub surfaces and dishes. To remove stains on plastic tubs, rub on, leave to dry in the sun then clean off. The same can be done with chopping boards. ½ a cup of lemon juice can be added to laundry for extra strain removing power! Lemon juice can be rubbed on hands after handling unpleasant smelling ingredients such as raw fish to remove the odour.  

Beware: Do not use on marble or stainless steel, it may bleach them!

Surprisingly: Half a cup of lemon juice can be mixed with a cup of olive oil to make furniture polish!

BAKING POWDER

Uses: General cleaner and deodoriser

Especially good for: Removing nasty smells.

How to use it: Baking powder can be used as a general cleaner, just sprinkle on a surface and scrub with a wet sponge. Place some of the powder in a box anywhere that needs nasty smells removing, such as the fridge, stinky shoes or the rubbish bin.  

There are lots more out there; Ketchup is good for cleaning all kinds of metal, white bread can be used to dust and is great for picking up smashed glass, coffee can be added to pot plant soil to deter insects and is a great deodoriser, rice is great for cleaning inside bottles and green tea is great for removing smells and cleaning the inside of microwaves!

Why don’t you try some of these at home? Be careful, any new product you try should be tested on a small, hidden area of the item to be cleaned, to ensure that it doesn’t damage the surface.

If you want to read more about this try this website: http://housekeeping.about.com/od/environment/a/Homemade-And-Natural-Cleaning-Products.htm

Helen (UK)

STS Winter 2014