Revisiting the Chicken/Duck Run in 2024

Revisiting the Chicken/Duck Run in 2024

Ah, the poultry run between the livestock shed and the energy generation shed! What a delight it is. I think it’s time for revisiting the chicken/duck run in 2024.

Why Revisit?

Well there are two main reasons I need to modify this system. The first being that when it works, it’s great, but when it doesn’t – like in the winter – it’s bad. The second is that it is labor and resource heavy to maintain it with satisfactory sanitation.

The issue is the rubber horse mattes. They are terrific and are required by law in my City. They are easy to clean, impermeable and long-lasting. The weakness is that I cannot adequately collect the manure runoff in a sustainable way for long before they clog or at all in the winter.

I was beginning to think that I had to modify the understructure of the mattes in a way that allows for chickens and ducks to have more natural materials beneath their feet. Secondly, I need a system that will manage manure in a way that does not back up. I found my solution from an unlikely source.

Paris or Bust

My original proof of concept was the redesigned 19th Century sewers of Paris. Allow water and waste to flow through channels and down into a main sewer where I could treat wastes with diatomaceous earth and UV radiation to cure the hot, acidic manure in a covered cistern. Then I could reuse the manure as a potent nutrient resource.

Alas, my sewers were under-designed and would clog easily. Even an 8″ diameter pipe and grated sumps placed strategically around the run were insufficient. In order for the system to work, I needed to engineer a 30cm (18″) drop which meant a cistern five feet deep.

Obviously that is a lot of work. It would also be a pain to empty. It does not work well in winter either.

Tour of The Livestock Sheds

Clean and functional poultry run

Dysfunctional Run in winter

The bioPath to the north of the poultry run and the manure collection cistern

Leave It To The Kids

Because this BioTechnology Summer Camp is an applied STEM summer camp, the team also came up with a series of solutions to the messy wastes and backup problem. Scrap it. Create a hybrid system that benefits animals and humans.

Team Duck, Mezzacello BioTechnology Camp Students

I have known this was a brewing issue for a while now. After two winters I can see the many flaws in my plan. But it was my BioTechnology Summer Camp Kids that really drove the point home.

In a section of the camp called sustainable habitats, one team of kids ran a meticulous review of the run and readily identified these issues. I was very proud of them.

Because this BioTechnology Summer Camp is an applied STEM summer camp, the team also came up with a series of solutions to the messy wastes and backup problem. Scrap it. Create a hybrid system that benefits animals and humans.

Listen To The Kids

Their suggestion was to install long French Drains located at the matte edges beneath the mattes. This would allow a small gap covered in hardware cloth to let water and wastes drop in and flow. They encouraged me to seal the south ends end to prevent rodents. They encouraged me to cover the rubber horse mattes with river rock to allow the manure and to percolate down and stay clean at the same time.

The drains would empty straight into a single 25cm (10″) deep, 8″ trough with a grate over at the run side of the walkway. Lastly, I am impressed that they recognized quickly the three major flaws with my existing system. I was quite surprised when they delivered their analysis.

I actually think this analysis the kids did is quite genius. One of them even drew what they thought the biggest problem with the system was: Too many 90 degree turns in the pipes. That had never occurred to me, but I see now that they were absolutely correct.

Their calculations showed that this stone hybrid interface would require .5 cubic meters (7.2 cubic yards) of river rock to achieve. The french drains would stretch north to south beneath the mattes and I could repurpose the existing sewer into a straight run in the walkway with a 10cm drop at the east end. The run drains to the north towards the walkway so this makes great sense.

This straight run and the smooth drains with steeper runs and no turns or wells to clog will allow me to clear wastes and recycle them easier – even in winter. The stones will keep the birds healthier and control the mess. The entire system will be far more sustainable and sanitary.

My BioTechnology design cohort!

I will keep you posted on the progress. Follow me if you have a coop and want to see the CAD plans and the before and after. If nothing else, show this to your kids to remind them that kids are the future, and a bit of Applied STEM goes a LONG way!


The Waste Water Cycle at Mezzacello

The Waste Water Cycle at Mezzacello

The Waste Water Cycle at Mezzacello
Hand washing station

Grey Water Collection
Gray Water Collection

Water Evaporation and Purification System

Reclaimed Water Fertilizer or Hand washing

If you are a fan of Mezzacello Urban Farm, then you probably already know that very little goes to waste. That is especially true of the most versatile substance at Mezzacello: Water. This is the Waste Water Cycle at Mezzacello.

As the Disney/Star Wars character, the Mandalorian is fond of saying, “This is the way.” This is the way, friends, the future is sustainable.

Jim Bruner

Hand Washing Stations

Mezzacello Advisory Board

There are three hand washing stations at Mezzacello (see the map). Each station is strategically placed to be used when needed. All of the water for the 18.5 L (5 gallon) stations are filled with solar purified water. We use a series of solar evaporators for this and supplement with city water when needed.

Gray Water Collection

Grey Water Collection

Each of the three hand washing stations at Mezzacello have a dedicated 37.8 L (10 Gallon) gray water waste collection tank attached to it. It is the gray water in this tank that we purify for fresh water during the camp seasons. The rest of the time the atmosphere here in Columbus, Ohio is too cool to either store liquid water outdoors or evaporate it.

Water Conservation Systems

We also collect rain water in 1000L (370 Gallon) rain barrels. This water is heated using solar powered heaters and pumps so we have access to liquid water on demand for the pond and fish. one has to plan ahead.

Solar Evaporators

This process is surprisingly straightforward, as it is exactly how mother nature recycles all the water on this planet for the past 4.7 Billion Years. The issue here is one of pressure and precise engineering. The atmosphere of the planet Earth is a sealed enclosed system with an atmosphere to hold in both air and pressure as well as heat from the central star, Sol.

In order for a small scale solar evaporator to work efficiently, it has to be tightly sealed, have a dedicated evaporation unit that is level, AND a sealed glass-topped cover that is at an angle. This angle is what allows the pure water to run down the glass and drop into the collection tray and run out the side.

What is left in the tray is bacteria and soap. I recycle that too. But that is another blog post. Suffice to know that there has to be a back door in the evaporator to change out the waste water and remove the waste solids.

PS I use a series of four solar evaporators at Mezzacello. In the winter I even keep one or two running in the Biodome. The Biodome is almoist (see what I did there?) always at a balmy 39C (102F). Therefore the evaporators will still work, but I also need some moisture in the dome for the plants to thrive on.

Repurposed Water

So, you already know what I can use fresh purified water for, right? I can put it back in the hand washing stations, or use it for the animals, or I could make more fertilizer products for the farm or to sell. The opportunities are endless and the costs are simple some thrown together bits and parts and patience.

The Rules of Sustainability

It is not sustainable if you have to struggle to get access to resources. The resources I use here at Mezzacello are an amalgamation of 80% recycled or homegrown content and 20% purchased resources. This is not true of food – as food is a precious commodity and I do not have enough land or the rural footprint to grow all my own food.

But what I can do is take every opportunity I have to make the most out of what I do have. As the Mandalorian is fond of saying, “This is the way.” This is the way, friends, the future is sustainable.


This is a part of the City of Columbus Parks and Recreation Summer Grant Grant #1521-2023



Recycle The Greens While You Can

Recycle The Greens While You Can

At Mezzacello Urban Farm we recycle greens while you can. It’s important to make sure you use what you have when you use it. The greens are plentiful when browns are not, and vice versa.

I am experimenting with a new process of locking the nitrogen content in greens and grass clippings without significantly increasing the CO2 or ammonia. What I really need is a freeze dryer to flash freeze the greens. But I do not have one of those!

So for now, I package brown leaves and green grass into reusable plastic drums. The greens I am sprinkling with hydrated lime in 10cm intervals to try to desiccate them without losing all that nitrogen. I’ll let you know how it goes!

Stay tuned and be sure to follow me on Social Media @Mezzacello.


Responsible Consumption and Production IS Sustainable

Responsible Consumption and Production IS Sustainable

Warning! Huge Gallery Below!

As you can see from the massive gallery above, I am passionate about the idea that responsible consumption and production IS sustainable. Mezzacello itself is recycled. In 1868 it was a farmhouse and farm outside the city limits of Columbus.

When you have nothing, $100 might as well be $1,000,000.

Richard Riley

Now it is an Urban Farm and Biological/Agricultural Learning Lab to help inner city kids understand Applied STEM, Life Sciences, and Applied STEM in a farm environment. I love what I do and I do this particular UN 17 Sustainable Development Goal very well.

Our Founding Mission

Grow, Maintain, Sustain, Explain

Jim Bruner and Richard Riley

In 2014 Rick and I bought these abandoned property on Columbus’ near east side. This is what it looked like then.

The original state of the yard, just after we removed all the overgrown vegetation.

From grass, dog feces, drug needles, and oh so many weeds, we built an urban farm and food oases in the middle of the city. We used our own money, labor and time – nothing is more responsible or sustainable than that.

The Seduction of Consumerism and Convenience

Would it have been easier to just pay to have this done? The pointed answer is no. No one really knew we needed a system like this, least of all us, we just wanted it.

In our society, convenience is king. Save time waste money, bolster the economy and buy buy buy. My husband, Rick has a quote that I love. It’s “w”When you have nothing, $100 might as well be $1,000,000.”

That quote has always STUCK with me. I suspect that is truth for 80% of the US and 95% of the world. That is why this UN 17 SDG Goal 12 resonates with me so well.

I grew up lonely and poor. I have never known wealth or an easy life. Until I founded Mezzacello.

It is astounding how much joy comes from action and passion to a mission and a purpose. That is what these UN 17 SDGs are – Mission and Purpose for creating a world worth living in. I am all in on that – it is a transformational way of looking at the world.

It’s Not Living In Scarcity; It’s Living in Compassion

To many many people reducing consumption and living with a recycled aesthetic is an admission of defeat or a fear of scarcity. Search your feelings, you know this to be true. Nothing could be further from the truth though.

This planet is drowning in plastic, pollution, waste and poor decisions. We cannot keep taking and taking and taking and giving nothing back. That is the absolute OPPOSITE of sustainability.

Pride and vanity are really the enemy of sustainability. They cry out for more, more, more! But ask yourself -intimately – what do you get in return?

A life lived in service is the most profound transformation any human can experience. Caring and compassion in a world gone mad are acts of rebellion and courage. Be that, be better than fear; be hope, grace, kindness wisdom.

Try living this way for SIX months. Be MINDFUL of new over recycled. It will save you money, give you peace, and most importantly help everyone on this planet in some small way.

Change doesn’t have to be all or nothing. The best change is gradual and focused. The most effective change starts with you and your next decisions over the next six months.


Winterizing the Pond at Mezzacello

Winterizing the Pond at Mezzacello

Winterizing the Pond at Mezzacello
The pond at the end of the season.
Completely covered with netting.

It’s that time of the year again! Time for Winterizing the Pond at Mezzacello. If you anything about this pond, you know this is always a scary time!

Keeping Fish Safe and Ducks Out!

I usually cover the pond with a loose plastic fencing that allows sunlight in and O2 and nitrogen as well. This year I replaced the plastic netting with a finer grade mesh. This mesh does the same as the netting, but does a better job of keeping the ducks out.

The ducks will still walk on the pond, but their claws cannot hurt the baby koi fish that Rick is nurturing in the pond. Ducks are very charming, but persistent.

The Bakki Shower and Water Quality

The water in the pond this year has been remarkably clean this year. I credit the Bakki Shower and keeping this netting atop the pond. The leaves will pollute the water, so I need to keep it clear.

The clarity and Ph of the water is stunning still this far into winter. The Nitrates and Nitrides are also perfectly under control. The only weakness is hard water.

So in the coming season I will look for ways to mitigate the hardness of the water. If you have ideas or solutions that I could deploy. Share them here if you’d like.


Creative Recycling and Winter Prep

Creative Recycling and Winter Prep

Creative Recycling and Winter Prep
Peony gates, solar panel boxes, and donated leaves will keep the roots of this crepe myrtle alive through winter.

One of my favorite parts about living at Mezzacello is that I get to experiment and explore how we can be stewards for a better world, AND live amongst beauty, technology, sustainability, and mystery. That is a loaded sentence, but 8 years in, it is still very true. This post is about creative recycling and winter prep.

I hate waste. Search waste on this website and you will find 20 blogposts that reference it. It is a thing for me.

Having the opportunity to recycle and reuse is very important to me. I grew up dirt poor and reuse seems as obvious to me as taking a deep breath in fresh air. So I strive to use every resource that I have available — as long as it is helpful, healthy, and sustainable.

Not Always On The Same Sheet of Music

Rick and I have disagreements sometimes. I am a hoarder by nature (see growing up dirt poor above). As an Urban Farmer I see 10 uses for everything.

Saving everything can be a liability, sometimes it can look like a trashy yard. But these are paints on a pallet to my artist’s mind. Have you ever seen a clean artist’s pallet — after they started painting?

This is not the original direction I started in when I decided to write this post, by the way. But this is where we are going. I reused THREE elements laying about at Mezzacello to save these Crepe Myrtles.

Pride and Joy

These three trees are one of Rick’s favorite specimens at Mezzacello. But keeping them alive in this climate and USDA hardiness zone is a challenge. That is why I found these photos so compelling.

It is a perfect commentary on our mission here at Mezzacello: Grow, maintain, sustain, explain. I was able to reuse architectural elements from Rick’s formal gardens (peony gates), components from both my hoarding and my tech integration (solar panel boxes) and inputs from our community (bags of leaves) to insulate these trees.

I love that we make space for beauty, resourcefulness, community, technology and grace in our space. this is at the very heart of sustainability. Being human, and being part of the natural world – simultaneously. It is a gift and a privilege and I look forward to more opportunities to do it!


Water Conservation Systems

Water Conservation Systems

Water Conservation Systems
Rain water and watering cans

This is one of the water conservation systems at Mezzacello. There are three of these 1000L (350 Gallon) Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBC) tanks that I collect rainwater in. They are incredibly useful for this as they are designed to hold water and have a built in steel structure and nozzle.

Yes, I know this IBC nozzle pictured below is broken. It is for reference only. I wrote a blog post about when these things start to fall apart…

Example of the IBC spigot

Optimize Water Collection, but Without Pressure

It is very useful to be able to collect water this way. The one drawback to using IBCs is that they have no pressure. Even if you put it on a platform half a meter high there is not enough pressure.

You will need to raise an IBC if you want to take water from it. Otherwise a watering can won’t fit beneath the bottom mount not nozzle that comes with an IVC. I also highly recommend a fitting that will allow you to secure a hose bib to the IBC .

When the IBC is full of water there is more pressure than when it is not full of water. This is good and it is bad. If you have the IBC close to your house you will want to be able to drain water off.

Foundation Issues

As the water fills the IBC it can overflow through the top and right into your foundation. That is why it is important to add an overflow valve just below the top of the IBC. this will ensure that the top of the IBC never overflows into your foundation.

in this configuration I also have a solar powered water pump capable of pumping water up 20 feet. I use this for limited watering and also to refill the water tower that is 3 m high on my bioreactor. I cannot fill the bioreactor tower with just rainwater.

Bioreactor Rainwater IBC

I have talked about the Bioreactor on this blog before so you’re welcome to look up that if you’d like. The bioreactor is the only IBC that allows for the pressurization of water as it is 3 m up in the air.

The rest of the IBCs are simply on 4 x 4 platforms made from pallets. It’s a bit challenging to use these IBCs to refill the bioreactor IBC. As one Has to run a 20 m hose from one to the other.

I just keep a hose ready at all times and roll it up. It hangs on the side of the IBC and you don’t really notice it until you need it. In my next blog post I’ll show that process.

I just keep a hose ready at all times and roll it up. It hangs on the side of the IBC and you don’t really notice it until you need it. In my next blog post I’ll show that process.


Carbon Footprint in a Yard

Carbon Footprint in a Yard

Carbon in the coop
Making compost, water, and power
Recycling water
Water evaporation still
Algae reclamation
Water conservation
Rain water and watering cans
Fire In The Garden
Weed management and carbon setting
Infrastructure for vertical gardening
Growing food
Farm animals
Automated compost
Chickens exploring the new terrarium abode of the crickets.
Reset The Bio Dome
Portable greenhouses

Today I was in a local high school working with 9th graders on environmental science and food production. The topic at hand was how we reduce our carbon footprint with sustainability. So this morning I pulled together this blog post to illustrate how we address our Carbon Footprint in a Yard.

It’s pretty rare for me to have a mic drip moment, but it was definite this morning. These kids were struggling to find alternatives to the 8 largest sources of carbon in our environment. so I pulled up this blog. The eight leading causes of an excess carbon footprint are:

  1. Driving a car short distances
  2. Taking a plane
  3. Beef
  4. Using a refrigerator
  5. Using AC
  6. Leaving lights on
  7. Using a dryer
  8. Eating American cheese

The kids were struggling to find three alternatives to all of these things on their own. They came up with one maybe two. I brought this blog post in and it blew the other one minds.


Water From Waste Part Two

Water From Waste Part Two

Water From Waste Part Two
The model of the solar still I am building at Mezzacello.

Earlier in the summer I created a waste water recycler with sand, gravel, and rocks in a nested three and five gallon bucket. It worked quite well and I was really pleased with it. I wanted to cover the moisture evaporator in this blog called Water to waste part two.

This model was a test idea to see if we could actually create evaporated water from waste water from the hand washing stations at Mezzacello. It worked very well! We used a plastic container and a heavy duty ceramic baking dish with a plexiglass lid.

It was not as efficient as this wood box and water sealed design with the pyrex dish and a real glass lid that will be sealed tight. I will be building this one out now that I know the design principles are solid. The key innovations with this one will be the glass sealed lid and a metal drip edge to capture ALL the evaporate condensate.

Mild Success With Plastic

The original evaporative still was pretty successful. It captured one liter of pure water over two days. I think I can improve upon that with the new design. The real flaws in the original design was the plastic container, and the lack of a drip edge.

We were amazed that it actually worked at all. We painted the interior of the box matte black to absorb as much heat as possible. The plastic was not as efficient an insulator as the wood and watertight paint will be.

We were fascinated that the evaporator was both efficient at collecting pure water AND the solids from the soap. In the ceramic dish, the layer of soap solids and bacteria were left behind. By treating the soap solids with heat and alcohol we could also recycle the soap by adding it to fresh soap and allowing it to continue to aid in saponification.

The water was easily sterilized to 98% by adding a bromine tablet to it. But we decided to use the water to keep the animals hydrated. The rabbits, chickens, ducks, worms, and crickets were very grateful.

Glass and Wood

My main concern with this modified design will be the glass facing. I will have to store it in the greenhouse where it will get the right amount of sun, but be protected from the environment. Then I will innovate the water collection bottle.

The water has a tendency to evaporate out of the bottle if the bottle is not sealed properly. Water wants to return to vapor in heat. So I will insulate the bottle and keep it out of the light and sealed with a one-way valve.

Stay tuned for the results of this experiment. i will post the results of this experiment here after i have the model complete. Come back then!


Lessons in Food, Water, and Waste

Lessons in Food, Water, and Waste

Lessons in Food and Waste
Creating chicken and duck feed from weevil-infested rice

This was a day in my renewables camp at Mezzacello this summer. We had covered motors, electricity, solar power, wind power, magnetism and batteries and how they can all be used to create power and resources on an urban farm. We had yet to discuss The lessons in food and waste.

Food and water are renewable resources that most young people ignore or are completely unaware of. How much food gets thrown away because most urban people do not know what else to do with it? This is the power and privilege of an urban farm.

Freaked Out

I would be lying if I told you when I showed these young people bugs in rice that they were not freaked out. Their first response was, “Ew! Throw that away!” But I asked them to calm down and reflect.

When we ere working in the gardens and we found a worm, or a grub, what did we do? They immediately knew they had given them to the chickens and ducks at Mezzacello. They watched as the poultry made quick work out of free protein and fat.

So I asked again, who would eat these without question? The chickens! And what do we use to cook it? Recycled water from the atmosphere!

The Luke Skywalker Effect

Earlier in the week we had built an atmospheric evaporator that turns grey water (From sanitary hand washing stations collection) into fresh water using glass, pressure, sunlight, heat, and a rubber tube than ran down into a sealed bottle. The kids knew we could use this water for this task and that if we wanted to drink it we’d have one more step to sterilization. The bigger question was how did we reuse the soap left over?

They decided to use their “Luke Skywalker ‘vaporator Bonus Water” to prepare a rice, weevil, grub, mealworm and sweet pea treat for the poultry. Why not? We had more than we needed and the tools to do it!

Here is a quick video of them deciding what to do and how to get through it. All power was being generated from solar, wind, and battery reserves. Except for my iPhone, which had its own battery.

How we recycle typically trash food into more resources on an urban farm.

Even I have to admit I was not ready for some of these ideas and answers. We do not know we are ignorant or wrong until we are confronted by it. This is why Mezzacello exists.