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Waldsee (camp)
Encyclopedia
Waldsee, "Lake of the Woods," is the German
immersion
program offered by Concordia Language Villages
. Located near Bemidji, Minnesota
, Waldsee is also the site of North America's first certified passive house
, which uses 85% less energy than a house built to the Minnesota Energy Code.
Waldsee is America's oldest and largest immersion program for German language and culture. Over 1,550 young people participate yearly, coming together from all 50 of the United States and many foreign countries. In 2009 Waldsee was recognized as a U.S. National Center of Excellence for its cultural immersion program by the American Association of Teachers of German
.
. In 1961, the first two-week session of "Camp Waldsee" was held for 72 villagers. The tuition was $75 and Erhard Friedrichsmeyer served as the dean of the program. Over the next decade, Waldsee began to grow in both the number of villagers attending as well as the number of weeks that the camp ran each summer. Waldsee's first "adventure program," Alpenland, was held at the Rising Wolf Ranch in Montana
, where villagers learned German while enjoying hikes
in the mountains and horseback riding.
In 1970, the high school
credit program was launched, providing a four-week intensive instruction for high-school students equivalent to a full year's instruction in a traditional classroom. In 1973, Waldsee launched its first study abroad
program, offering backpacking
and biking trips to Germany
, Austria
, and Switzerland
.
In the early 1980s the permanent Waldsee site began to be built on Turtle River Lake, near Bemidji, Minnesota
.
In 2010 Waldsee celebrates its 50th anniversary. Events in 2010 include a major "Waldseefest" on July 24, 2010 and six different alumni weekends.
, located in Baden-Württemberg
. American high school participants can spend four weeks each summer with host families in Bad Waldsee, and receive the equivalent of one year's worth of high school German credit for their experience.
Horst Köhler, the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the official patron (Schirmherr) of Waldsee, as was his predecessor, Roman Herzog. Many German Ambassadors and other dignitaries have visited Waldsee. World leaders have endorsed Concordia Language Villages, notably United Nations
Secretary-General Kofi Annan
, and former U.S. President Bill Clinton
, whose daughter Chelsea attended Waldsee for six summers.
|-
! Years
! Dean
! Site
|-
| 1961–1962
| Erhard Friedrichsmeyer
| Alexandria, MN (Luther Crest Camp)
|-
| 1963–1965, 1968–1969
| Hedi Oplesch
| "
|-
| 1966
| Norbert Benzel
| "
|-
| 1967
| Dale Whitesides
| "
|-
| 1968-1969
| Kerry Koestler
| "
|-
| 1970–1979
| Bill "Dieter" Schleppergrell
| Alexandria, MN (Luther Crest Camp); Cass Lake, MN (Camp Minne-Wa-Kan); Menagha, MN (Camp Emmaus)
|-
| 1980–1983
| JoAnn "Hannah" Tiedemann
| Vergas, MN (Camp Trowbridge); Bemidji, MN
|-
| 1981-
| Dan "Karl" Hamilton
| Vergas, MN (Camp Trowbridge); Bemidji, MN
|-
| 1983–1987
| Andrew "Gustav" Staab
| Bemidji, MN
|-
| 1988–2000
| Erin "Ilse" Jennings
| Cass Lake, MN (Camp Minne-Wa-Kan); Hackensack, MN (Camp Patmos); Bemidji, MN
|-
| 1995–2006
| Carl-Martin Nelson
| Cass Lake, MN (Camp Minne-Wa-Kan); Vergas, MN (Camp Trowbridge); Bemidji, MN
|-
| 2001-
| Jon "Berndt" Olsen
| Vergas, MN (Camp Trowbridge); Bemidji, MN
|}
The German Language Village has been cited as a model of innovative education by a wide variety of educators and organizations, including the American Association of Teachers of German
and the Goethe Institut Inter Nationes. It has also been featured in such media as Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
, Basler Zeitung
, ZDF
German Television, CBS
American Television, The New York Times
, Time
, German Life Magazine
, Oskar's and Deutschland
magazines, and been the subject of award-winning journalistic essays and various doctoral dissertations.
Waldsee offers programs that serve youth (7–18 years old), families of all ages, and adults; one of the high school credit programs travels abroad. During the academic year, Waldsee also hosts school groups.
The Waldsee credit program offers traditional instruction as well as credit programs in environmental learning and German (die Gruene Welle) and in medieval history and theater (der Maerchenwald). In the German apprentice program, starting in 2010, participants work half-time in the village stores, in gardening and green roof maintenance, music, the arts and the kitchen and bakery, and also learn half-time in intensive German language groups.
Waldsee's non-credit programs include programs that focus on producing FM radio broadcasts at a live radio station
, learning about Swiss culture in tandem with the nearby French village Lac du Bois and the Italian village Lago del Bosco, learning about the environment
, performing improvisational theater based on medieval lore and legends, and exploring German grammar in depth.
Villagers can choose different activities every day. Waldsee offers a wide range of European sports from soccer to fencing
. There is also traditional American camp
activities such as swimming and canoeing
at the beach. Waldsee also has a few giant chess
sets and a giant Mühle (Nine Men's Morris
) game.
. Since its founding in 1961, Waldsee has also leased numerous sites across Minnesota. It also offers a credit program that travels abroad.
The Waldsee permanent site, which opened in 1982, is located at 47°33′33.78"N 94°44′19.36"W near Bemidji, Minnesota on Turtle River Lake, along with six other Concordia Language Village sites. In all, Waldsee can house up to 240 people (typically, there are about 170 students and 40-50 counselors).
The site is styled after a typical German village and is centered around a Marktplatz, which is the center of most activity at Waldsee. The Bahnhof is a large building near the entrance of the village that houses class and administrative rooms. The Gasthof is another building that serves as a dining hall and houses most indoor activities. There is an artists' colony, named Worpswede
, which has about 6 small cabins and houses the arts and crafts activities.
The first building on the campsite was "Haus Katja," which is a log cabin that was built by a group of villagers. The first professionally-built building was the Schwarzwaldhaus, which can house 64 people in four units as well as several more in separate sleeping rooms on the first floor. A twin to the Schwarzwaldhaus is the Max Kade Haus, which was built a few years after the SWH and is very similar in design.
Two new medium-sized residences have been recently built. The Erich Markel Haus (Oberammergau and Unterammergau) has room for 24 people in two units. The Robert Bosch Haus houses the healthcare center (Heilbronn) and another residence (Stuttgart). The newest building at Waldsee is the BioHaus, the first certified passive house
in North America. The BioHaus is an integrated environmental learning center and residence for up to 30 people, including a small apartment upstairs. There is also Café Einbeck, where villagers can sample candy, soft drinks, and other foods from Europe or listen to a jukebox playing German-language music. Waldsee also has a Laden at which villagers can make purchases using Euro.
, Vergas, Minnesota
, Menagha, Minnesota, Hackensack, Minnesota, and Cass Lake, Minnesota
. Waldsee departed from Vergas in the summer of 2006 to make room for Al-Wāḥa
, the Arabic language village, which was founded that year.
, Austria
, and Switzerland
with smaller groups of high school students studying German in their summer for credit.
in North America, on its permanent site near Bemidji, Minnesota
. It is built to the German passive house standard for energy conservation and renewable energy use, and uses 85% less energy than a house built to the Minnesota Energy Code.
The construction of the BioHaus was funded in part through a grant from the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU), which is the world's largest foundation dedicated to environmental practice, education and construction. The Waldsee passive house marked the first time that DBU had awarded such a grant in North America.
In 2007, the BioHaus won the Minnesota Environmental Initiative Award in the category of Air Quality and Climate Protection. It was a 2007 Nominee for the World Clean Energy Award in the construction category.
school of 1920s architecture, and floor-to-ceiling windows recall the symbolic transparency built into West German government buildings post-World War II
.
The building replaces 100% outside air; no air is recirculated through the system. Two underground tubes exchange outside and inside air eight feet beneath the ground, passively warming or cooling the air to match the temperature of the ground (~55°F year round). The house transfers heat between the outgoing air and the incoming air before it reaches the rooms, resulting in a difference of less than 10°F between the incoming fresh air and the desired room temperature, even in the midst of Minnesotan winter.
Water in the house is heated by solar thermal heat panels
on the roof, rather than photovoltaic solar cells, which would convert solar energy directly to electricity.
Low-growing plants make up the building's green roof, reducing rainwater runoff and adding another layer of insulation to the building. Additionally, the western half of the lower level of the structure is tucked into the slope, enabling natural insulation based on the soil.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
immersion
Language immersion
Language immersion is a method of teaching a second language in which the target language is used as the means of instruction. Unlike more traditional language courses, where the target language is simply the subject material, language immersion uses the target language as a teaching tool,...
program offered by Concordia Language Villages
Concordia Language Villages
Concordia Language Villages , previously the International Language Villages, is a world-language and culture education program whose mission is to prepare young people for responsible citizenship in our global community. Since beginning in 1961, it has grown to offer summer camp in 15 modern...
. Located near Bemidji, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, Waldsee is also the site of North America's first certified passive house
Passive house
The term passive house refers to the rigorous, voluntary, Passivhaus standard for energy efficiency in a building, reducing its ecological footprint. It results in ultra-low energy buildings that require little energy for space heating or cooling. A similar standard, MINERGIE-P, is used in...
, which uses 85% less energy than a house built to the Minnesota Energy Code.
Waldsee is America's oldest and largest immersion program for German language and culture. Over 1,550 young people participate yearly, coming together from all 50 of the United States and many foreign countries. In 2009 Waldsee was recognized as a U.S. National Center of Excellence for its cultural immersion program by the American Association of Teachers of German
American Association of Teachers of German
The American Association of Teachers of German is a professional organisation for teachers of German in the United States and Europe. Teachers may be involved in primary, secondary, or university education. Additionally, retired and student teachers are welcome....
.
History
Waldsee was the brainchild of professors Gerald Haukebo and Erhard Friedrichsmeyer at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, USAConcordia College, Moorhead
Concordia College is a private liberal arts school located in Moorhead, Minnesota, United States. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and offers bachelors' degrees in the arts and music, as well as a master's degree in education. The college was founded by Norwegian...
. In 1961, the first two-week session of "Camp Waldsee" was held for 72 villagers. The tuition was $75 and Erhard Friedrichsmeyer served as the dean of the program. Over the next decade, Waldsee began to grow in both the number of villagers attending as well as the number of weeks that the camp ran each summer. Waldsee's first "adventure program," Alpenland, was held at the Rising Wolf Ranch in Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, where villagers learned German while enjoying hikes
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
in the mountains and horseback riding.
In 1970, the high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
credit program was launched, providing a four-week intensive instruction for high-school students equivalent to a full year's instruction in a traditional classroom. In 1973, Waldsee launched its first study abroad
Study abroad
Studying abroad is the act of a student pursuing educational opportunities in a country other than one's own. This can include primary, secondary and post-secondary students...
program, offering backpacking
Backpacking (travel)
Backpacking is a term that has historically been used to denote a form of low-cost, independent international travel. Terms such as independent travel and/or budget travel are often used...
and biking trips to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.
In the early 1980s the permanent Waldsee site began to be built on Turtle River Lake, near Bemidji, Minnesota
Bemidji, Minnesota
Bemidji is a city in Beltrami County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was at 13,431 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Beltrami County. Bemidji is the most major city in North Central Minnesota and the largest commercial center between Grand Forks, North Dakota and Duluth,...
.
In 2010 Waldsee celebrates its 50th anniversary. Events in 2010 include a major "Waldseefest" on July 24, 2010 and six different alumni weekends.
World connections
Waldsee enjoys a continuing sister city relationship with the German town of Bad WaldseeBad Waldsee
Bad Waldsee is a town in Upper Swabia in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is part of the district of Ravensburg, in Oberschwaben. It is situated 20 km south of Biberach an der Riß, and 20 km northeast of Ravensburg. The town is known for its historic old city with many landmarks and large...
, located in Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
. American high school participants can spend four weeks each summer with host families in Bad Waldsee, and receive the equivalent of one year's worth of high school German credit for their experience.
Horst Köhler, the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the official patron (Schirmherr) of Waldsee, as was his predecessor, Roman Herzog. Many German Ambassadors and other dignitaries have visited Waldsee. World leaders have endorsed Concordia Language Villages, notably United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Secretary-General Kofi Annan
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...
, and former U.S. President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, whose daughter Chelsea attended Waldsee for six summers.
Waldsee deans
{| class="wikitable" border="1"|-
! Years
! Dean
! Site
|-
| 1961–1962
| Erhard Friedrichsmeyer
| Alexandria, MN (Luther Crest Camp)
|-
| 1963–1965, 1968–1969
| Hedi Oplesch
| "
|-
| 1966
| Norbert Benzel
| "
|-
| 1967
| Dale Whitesides
| "
|-
| 1968-1969
| Kerry Koestler
| "
|-
| 1970–1979
| Bill "Dieter" Schleppergrell
| Alexandria, MN (Luther Crest Camp); Cass Lake, MN (Camp Minne-Wa-Kan); Menagha, MN (Camp Emmaus)
|-
| 1980–1983
| JoAnn "Hannah" Tiedemann
| Vergas, MN (Camp Trowbridge); Bemidji, MN
|-
| 1981-
| Dan "Karl" Hamilton
| Vergas, MN (Camp Trowbridge); Bemidji, MN
|-
| 1983–1987
| Andrew "Gustav" Staab
| Bemidji, MN
|-
| 1988–2000
| Erin "Ilse" Jennings
| Cass Lake, MN (Camp Minne-Wa-Kan); Hackensack, MN (Camp Patmos); Bemidji, MN
|-
| 1995–2006
| Carl-Martin Nelson
| Cass Lake, MN (Camp Minne-Wa-Kan); Vergas, MN (Camp Trowbridge); Bemidji, MN
|-
| 2001-
| Jon "Berndt" Olsen
| Vergas, MN (Camp Trowbridge); Bemidji, MN
|}
Teaching philosophy
Waldsee offers one-, two- and four-week living and learning experiences in German language and culture for beginning through advanced 7- to 18-year-olds. The goal of Waldsee and each of the language villages is not to ask participants to trade their American ethnocentrism for a German one, but to use language and cultural immersion to prepare young people for responsible citizenship in our global community. This global perspective infuses all activities at Waldsee, and includes a variety of cross-cultural, political and social simulations and role-playing to help participants gain a deeper understanding of the role of Germany and the United States in the wider world.The German Language Village has been cited as a model of innovative education by a wide variety of educators and organizations, including the American Association of Teachers of German
American Association of Teachers of German
The American Association of Teachers of German is a professional organisation for teachers of German in the United States and Europe. Teachers may be involved in primary, secondary, or university education. Additionally, retired and student teachers are welcome....
and the Goethe Institut Inter Nationes. It has also been featured in such media as Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , short F.A.Z., also known as the FAZ, is a national German newspaper, founded in 1949. It is published daily in Frankfurt am Main. The Sunday edition is the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung .F.A.Z...
, Basler Zeitung
Basler Zeitung
Basler Zeitung is a regional newspaper, published in Basel, Switzerland. The German-language daily was created through the merger of National-Zeitung and Basler Nachrichten in 1977. It is owned by the Basler Zeitung Medien who also publishes the free daily newspaper Baslerstab.-External links:*...
, ZDF
ZDF
Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen , ZDF, is a public-service German television broadcaster based in Mainz . It is run as an independent non-profit institution, which was founded by the German federal states . The ZDF is financed by television licence fees called GEZ and advertising revenues...
German Television, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
American Television, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, German Life Magazine
German Life Magazine
German Life is a current bi-monthly magazine written for all people interested in the diversity of German, Austrian, and Swiss culture yesterday and today, and in the various ways that North America has been shaped by its German heritage element...
, Oskar's and Deutschland
Deutschland (Magazine)
Deutschland is a magazine of culture, politics, business and science about Germany. It is a bimonthly magazine published in Germany in German and English languages. Federal foreign office Berlin helps it and it conveys German government opinions too....
magazines, and been the subject of award-winning journalistic essays and various doctoral dissertations.
Daily life
The Waldsee credit program offers traditional instruction as well as credit programs in environmental learning and German (die Gruene Welle) and in medieval history and theater (der Maerchenwald). In the German apprentice program, starting in 2010, participants work half-time in the village stores, in gardening and green roof maintenance, music, the arts and the kitchen and bakery, and also learn half-time in intensive German language groups.
Waldsee's non-credit programs include programs that focus on producing FM radio broadcasts at a live radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
, learning about Swiss culture in tandem with the nearby French village Lac du Bois and the Italian village Lago del Bosco, learning about the environment
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
, performing improvisational theater based on medieval lore and legends, and exploring German grammar in depth.
Villagers can choose different activities every day. Waldsee offers a wide range of European sports from soccer to fencing
Fencing
Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...
. There is also traditional American camp
Summer camp
Summer camp is a supervised program for children or teenagers conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as campers....
activities such as swimming and canoeing
Canoeing
Canoeing is an outdoor activity that involves a special kind of canoe.Open canoes may be 'poled' , sailed, 'lined and tracked' or even 'gunnel-bobbed'....
at the beach. Waldsee also has a few giant chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
sets and a giant Mühle (Nine Men's Morris
Nine Men's Morris
Nine Men's Morris is an abstract strategy board game for two players that emerged from the Roman Empire. The game is also known as Nine Man Morris, Mill, Mills, Merels, Merelles, and Merrills in English....
) game.
Locations
Waldsee is currently located at a culturally authentic site on Turtle River Lake north of Bemidji, MinnesotaMinnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. Since its founding in 1961, Waldsee has also leased numerous sites across Minnesota. It also offers a credit program that travels abroad.
Permanent site
The site is styled after a typical German village and is centered around a Marktplatz, which is the center of most activity at Waldsee. The Bahnhof is a large building near the entrance of the village that houses class and administrative rooms. The Gasthof is another building that serves as a dining hall and houses most indoor activities. There is an artists' colony, named Worpswede
Worpswede
Worpswede is a municipality in the district of Osterholz, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the Teufelsmoor, northeast of Bremen. The small town itself is located near the Weyerberg hill. It has been the home to a lively artistic community since the end of the 19th century, with over 130...
, which has about 6 small cabins and houses the arts and crafts activities.
The first building on the campsite was "Haus Katja," which is a log cabin that was built by a group of villagers. The first professionally-built building was the Schwarzwaldhaus, which can house 64 people in four units as well as several more in separate sleeping rooms on the first floor. A twin to the Schwarzwaldhaus is the Max Kade Haus, which was built a few years after the SWH and is very similar in design.
Two new medium-sized residences have been recently built. The Erich Markel Haus (Oberammergau and Unterammergau) has room for 24 people in two units. The Robert Bosch Haus houses the healthcare center (Heilbronn) and another residence (Stuttgart). The newest building at Waldsee is the BioHaus, the first certified passive house
Passive house
The term passive house refers to the rigorous, voluntary, Passivhaus standard for energy efficiency in a building, reducing its ecological footprint. It results in ultra-low energy buildings that require little energy for space heating or cooling. A similar standard, MINERGIE-P, is used in...
in North America. The BioHaus is an integrated environmental learning center and residence for up to 30 people, including a small apartment upstairs. There is also Café Einbeck, where villagers can sample candy, soft drinks, and other foods from Europe or listen to a jukebox playing German-language music. Waldsee also has a Laden at which villagers can make purchases using Euro.
Leased sites
Waldsee has also operated at leased sites since its founding in 1961. Waldsee has been located in Alexandria, MinnesotaAlexandria, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 8,820 people, however the most recent count suggests a population upwards of 10,000, which is displayed on Alexandria's city limits signs. The census lists 4,047 households, and 2,011 families residing in the city. The population density was 992.5 people per...
, Vergas, Minnesota
Vergas, Minnesota
Vergas is a city in Otter Tail County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 331 at the 2010 census.Vergas claims it is home of the World's Largest Loon, actually a sculpture of a loon, the Minnesota state bird.- History :...
, Menagha, Minnesota, Hackensack, Minnesota, and Cass Lake, Minnesota
Cass Lake, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 860 people, 331 households, and 192 families residing in the city. The population density was 753.2 people per square mile . There were 384 housing units at an average density of 336.3 per square mile . The racial makeup of the city was 30.12% White, 64.42%...
. Waldsee departed from Vergas in the summer of 2006 to make room for Al-Wāḥa
Al-Waha
is an immersion-based Arabic-language camp for students between the ages of 7 and 18 associated with Concordia Language Villages. It was established in 2006 with the help from a grant from the U.S. State Department. The camp is located near Vergas, in northwestern Minnesota, on the shores of Lake...
, the Arabic language village, which was founded that year.
Abroad
Waldsee travels abroad to GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
with smaller groups of high school students studying German in their summer for credit.
BioHaus (Passive House)
In 2006, Waldsee opened the BioHaus, the first certified passive housePassive house
The term passive house refers to the rigorous, voluntary, Passivhaus standard for energy efficiency in a building, reducing its ecological footprint. It results in ultra-low energy buildings that require little energy for space heating or cooling. A similar standard, MINERGIE-P, is used in...
in North America, on its permanent site near Bemidji, Minnesota
Bemidji, Minnesota
Bemidji is a city in Beltrami County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was at 13,431 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Beltrami County. Bemidji is the most major city in North Central Minnesota and the largest commercial center between Grand Forks, North Dakota and Duluth,...
. It is built to the German passive house standard for energy conservation and renewable energy use, and uses 85% less energy than a house built to the Minnesota Energy Code.
The construction of the BioHaus was funded in part through a grant from the Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU), which is the world's largest foundation dedicated to environmental practice, education and construction. The Waldsee passive house marked the first time that DBU had awarded such a grant in North America.
In 2007, the BioHaus won the Minnesota Environmental Initiative Award in the category of Air Quality and Climate Protection. It was a 2007 Nominee for the World Clean Energy Award in the construction category.
Cultural importance
The fixtures are German, and the house helps to introduce students to the "new Germany" as well as preparing them for responsible and ecological citizenship in the global community, the mission of Concordia Language Villages. The modern house itself pays homage to the BauhausBauhaus
', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...
school of 1920s architecture, and floor-to-ceiling windows recall the symbolic transparency built into West German government buildings post-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Design
The house was built using eight critical design strategies: Passive Solar Design, Superinsulation, Advanced Window Technology, Airtightness, Ventilation, Space Heating, Efficient Lighting and Electrical appliances.The building replaces 100% outside air; no air is recirculated through the system. Two underground tubes exchange outside and inside air eight feet beneath the ground, passively warming or cooling the air to match the temperature of the ground (~55°F year round). The house transfers heat between the outgoing air and the incoming air before it reaches the rooms, resulting in a difference of less than 10°F between the incoming fresh air and the desired room temperature, even in the midst of Minnesotan winter.
Water in the house is heated by solar thermal heat panels
Solar hot water
Solar water heating or solar hot water systems comprise several innovations and many mature renewable energy technologies that have been well established for many years...
on the roof, rather than photovoltaic solar cells, which would convert solar energy directly to electricity.
Low-growing plants make up the building's green roof, reducing rainwater runoff and adding another layer of insulation to the building. Additionally, the western half of the lower level of the structure is tucked into the slope, enabling natural insulation based on the soil.