Future Senario's Carrying Capacity of Woodfordia
Ok so tonight I'm revisiting Murry's Carrying Capacity Dashboard (http://dashboard.carryingcapacity.com.au/) and having a more educated look at the numbers and what i can actually and feasably provide for Woodfordia in my future scenario.
And this is what I came up with.
Let me explain:
Total Food - 50%
As the number of permanent residents I am proposing to house is quite large for the site, having only 10 square kilometers to produce enough food for these people seems a bit unobtainable I can also justify this move as my ideology of the Woodfordia Campus is not to be totally food self-sufficient but rather to be used as an educational tool it will not be necessary to produce enough food for all the residents. Obviously that would be ideal but it just doesn't seem to be possible with the amount of land that I have. As a result 50% of the residents food will be imported from local producers. Woodfordia is merely a learning platform, in which residents learn how to and about sustainable living, focusing on, housing, education, and food production.
Meat/Eggs - 10%
The recommended healthy intake is 7.5% so this exceeds this criteria. Additionally having more chickens than required can be beneficial in terms of fertilizer for farming and crops, they can also be used for recycling of food scraps and waste from food production (see recycling)
Red Meat - 7.5%
Although the red meat average of Australians is 64%, this isn't necessarily the required intake of red meat. Red meat is a source of iron and protein however this intake requirement can be met with nuts and legumes. Unfortunetly Red Meat production takes vast amounts of land, land which I really do not have to spare for the Future Scenario. Thus 7.5% is a compromise.
Activity Level - 1.75
Residents of Woodfordia will do more than just basic day to day living. They will be expected to participate in 'hand-on' learning in workshops. In trying to encourage green lifestyles, use of vehicles will be discouraged, and use of bicycles and green transport modes will be encouraged. This will probably raise their daily amounts of physical activity above the current average rate of Australians of 1.
Avoidable Waste - 2%
As part of the education platform, residents will be totally immersed in everything from food production to waste and disposal. As stated above the avoidable waste (food scraps) will be fed to pigs and chickens, this will help residents understand the importance of recycling and the life cycle of consumables. I plan to lower the average from 12% down to 2%
Recycling - 80%
Almost all of food scraps that can be fed to livestock will be. This will also create compost which can be used as fertilizer on crops.
Time Frame - 2 years
Although it is planned for residents to only be living onsite for 6 months to a year. A 2 year time frame allows for climatic factors such a drought, flooding, storms etc. to be factored into the educational time frame. This also comes into line with the Future Scenario consequences of Sea Level Rise and Higher Storm Intensity.
Organic Farming - 2%
Currently only 2% of Australian farming is organic. Understandably organic farming is expensive and it is highly debated weather or not it produces better yields.
Irrigation - 50%
Irrigated farms perform better than non-irrigated farms. As a means of squeezing as much produce out of what little land available, but yet what could realistically be achieved, 50% of farming is set to be irrigated. Woodfordia and it's surrounds have a number of dams and water reservoirs for water retention and irrigation.
Textiles - 20kg
The average Australian textile consumption is 23kg. Woodfordia will be focused mainly on sustainable textile products and producing as much of its own as possible. Hopfully this will lower the textile consumption as well.
Natural Fibre - 65%
Average Australian consumption is 50%, again with a sustainable focus and desire for better practices, the reliance on synthetic fibers will be reduced.
Wool Fibre - 10%
An enhanced focus will be on cotton, bamboo and timber firbes as wool is less sustianable to produce and there will also be large bamboo plantations on the Woodfordia site, so why not employ the resources that are readily available.
Fuel - 100L
In trying to encourage green lifestyles, use of vehicles will be discouraged, and use of bicycles and green transport modes will be encouraged. Thus quite a low fuel consumption would be expected
Timber - 0.5m3
Same as current Australian average
Infrastructure - 500m2
Other than housing and educational buildings green space will be expanded into all spare space.
Nature Reserve - 20%
I have lowered this below the Australian Average as it solely represents wild nature reserves. Woodfordia already has and will have more plantation green spaces and reserves. As a result the actual area of nature reserve will be much greater.
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