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Get your s**t together: Brown Is The New Green.

Earth-friendly waste water processing

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Get your s**t together: Brown Is The New Green.

Get your s**t together: Brown Is The New Green.

Get your s**t together: Brown Is The New Green.

Get your s**t together: Brown Is The New Green.

Get your s**t together: Brown Is The New Green.

Earth-friendly waste water processing

Earth-friendly waste water processing

Earth-friendly waste water processing

Earth-friendly waste water processing

KPC Temple
KPC Temple
KPC Temple
KPC Temple
1 Campaign |
Poolesville, United States
$6,343 USD 45 backers
19% of $33,000 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal

Short Summary

The first man-made wetlands in Maryland needs your support. Designed and installed over 25 years ago at a Buddhist monastery and temple, the wetlands have successfully received and treated all of their waste without chemicals or any other treatment. And now, some pretty serious maintenance is necessary to keep this landmark environmental experiment operating, setting a continuing example of what can be done when green is the goal.

What We Need & What You Get

In 1988, the oldest operating Buddhist monastery in Maryland, Kunzang Palyul Choling, ran afoul of state waste water discharge regulations when their old septic system failed. Keeping this original system in compliance would have required one of three expensive and environmentally adverse solutions, including chemical treatment and discharge into the Chesapeake Bay estuary. None of these were suitable for the philosophy and goals of the monastery and temple.

A new alternative, called constructed wetlands, was just being pioneered to protect lakes in areas where population growth was exceeding the ability of the land to adequately absorb the waste water volumes. Constructed wetlands work just like natural ones – the aquatic vegetation uses the nitrogen (ammonia) from waste water as fertilizer, removing it from the water table while supporting the growth of plants and the attendant life forms requiring this environment to thrive.

Mr. David Bailey, a temple member and water treatment expert, proposed such a constructed wetlands for KPC and, after educating state and local regulators of the efficacy of this new technology, secured the necessary permits to build and operate this landmark environmental solution, the first in Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay estuary. And we did.

After 26 years of continuous and successful operation, our constructed wetlands needs maintenance. The gravel beds have become clogged with solids, reducing water flow to the aquatic vegetation, and they need to be removed and replaced. Additionally, the aquatic plants themselves need to be cleared of invasive species and new plants installed.

There is an urgency to this project. The monastery discharges must be kept in compliance with waste water discharge requirements, and the work must be done before the first frosts so the aquatic plants have the chance to establish themselves. Otherwise, a temporary “pump and dump” system must be put in place to handle the waste water until spring. This is both environmentally adverse and very expensive, taking valuable operating funds from the compassionate activities of the monastery and temple such as feeding the homeless and animal rescue.

We need $33,000 to do this. Please help and become part of the “Brown Is The New Green” environmental movement.

The Impact

The use of constructed wetlands has the potential to change how rural and developing locations treat their wastewater. Many parts of the US and the world have no water treatment facilities. Constructed wetlands require few resources and none of the chemicals than industrial water treatment facilities use.

Risks & Challenges

Risk Number 1. We don’t raise enough to fund the required repairs. Without funding for this project, the monastery will be required to use holding tanks with a three-times-per-week schedule for removing the accumulated waste and taking it to traditional sewage treatment facilities. This service will cost approximately $1,000 per month and add to the chemical waste treatment load in the Chesapeake Bay estuary.

Risk Number 2. We don’t raise it in time.  The wetlands repair requires the planting of new vegetation and the preparation of the land for that so they can take root before winter sets in. Missing this schedule will mean no work can be done until the spring at a significant increase in operating expenses (see Risk Number 1) and the reduction of the compassionate activities of the monastery due to the loss of funds.

Challenge. Time is not on our side. The work must be done before the first frost to give the aquatic plants time to get established. 

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Choose your Perk

Prayer for Regularity

$5 USD
For 28 years, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every week of every year, uninterrupted, the monks, nuns, and sangha members of KPC have prayed for the freedom from suffering for all sentient beings. Your donation will get a specific prayer for you or anyone you name for any compassionate reason. Even regularity.
7 claimed

KPC Loo License

$10 USD
Unlimited free use of our constructed wetlands (i.e. use our toilets) anytime you are in the area, complete with an official lifetime KPC Loo License.
4 claimed

Commemorative Sculpture

$20 USD
Constructed wetlands commemorative edible "sculpture", AKA Baby Ruth bar. Use your imagination. Yes, Buddhist monks and nuns have a sense of humor, too. Complete with a donor Certificate of Authenticity.
4 claimed

Toilet Water

$50 USD
White Diamonds By Elizabeth Taylor For Women, Eau De Toilette Spray, 1 Ounce with a donor Certificate of Authenticity, OR Nautica Classic by Nautica for Men, Eau De Toilette Spray, 1.7 Ounce with a donor Certificate of Authenticity.
Estimated Shipping
November 2014
0 claimed

Brown Is The New Green T-shirt

$100 USD
A limited edition t-shirt with our "Brown Is The New Green" logo, complete with a Certificate of Authenticity. Specify your size.
Estimated Shipping
November 2014
6 out of 100 of claimed

Brown Is The New Green Brick

$500 USD
A "Brown Is The New Green" brick, 8 inches square, imprinted with your caption (75 characters), embedded in the terrace of the constructed wetlands.
Estimated Shipping
December 2014
1 out of 20 of claimed

Limited edition illustration

$1,000 USD
A signed, limited edition illustration of the constructed wetlands project by renowned illustrator Ashby North. http://www.northartist.com/
Estimated Shipping
December 2014
0 out of 10 of claimed

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