Blue Heron Education Association

a non-profit corporation organized to promote sustainable living

Our purpose is to help preserve, protect, and utilize natural resources for sustainable living:
air, water, energy, soil, and the human spirit.

We do this by providing funds and labor to develop model conservation and environmental projects for families, neighborhoods and small communities.

We plan to provide training and education in a wide variety of subjects pertaining to sustainable living: water conservation, waste-water treatment, sustainable agriculture and forestry management, energy conservation, and pollution prevention.

Recognizing the importance of family and community in the pursuit of sustainability, we will also provide training in small group development, community building, family-life skills, communications, human relations and leadership.

The first project we have undertaken is an innovative waste-water treatment system designed to remove pollutants from residential wastewater before it is disposed of in a traditional septic field.

This system utilizes two treatment systems in addition to the traditional septic tank and field system: the sand filter and constructed wetlands.

The sand filter removes sediment and other pollutants. Oxygen inside the sand filter aerates the wastewater and fuels the microbes that break down pollutants.

Constructed wetlands are filled with soil or gravel and lined to prevent waste from leaching into groundwater. They are planted with plants which convert sunlight to chemical energy and carry oxygen from their leaves to their roots, providing these essential elements to chemical and biological treatment processes. Some pollutants are taken up by the plants. Others are broken down or converted to less harmful forms by tiny animals, microbes and fungi that live on the plant roots, stems, leaves and in the surrounding soil.

These two systems, the sand filter and the created wetlands mimic nature: soil and wetlands are the way nature handles waste in health ecosystems.

Research, development and testing of these kinds of waste-water treatment systems is vital in order that they be made available for public use on a large scale.

In North Carolina 49% of the households are served by on-site septic systems. The amount of septic tank effluent applied to North Carolina soils is estimated at 50 billion gallons per year. North Carolina has limited amounts of soil suitable for accepting and processing septic effluent.

Due to tremendous economic growth and development, there is a huge demand for ways to use less suitable soils. Development and testing of this system which removes pollutants before they are introduced into the soils promises to protect ground water. The system also provides hope for development of the next logical step in promoting water conversation: the safe re-use of water.

This project is located at Blue Heron Farm, a 14 unit co-housing cooperative committed to exploring and modeling sustainable living practices.

Blue Heron Partners, Inc. has agreed to allow its residential community to be the site for research, testing, and education activities that Blue Heron Education Association conducts. Design and research activities are supervised by C. Halford House, Department of Forestry, North Carolina State University.

Blue Heron Education Association is proud and excited to be supporting such a worthwhile development and research.
Blue Heron Education Association is recognized as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization. If you would like more information about our projects or make a donation please write us at:

Blue Heron Educational Association
115 Blue Heron Farm Road
Pittsboro, North Carolina 27312
(919)542-0140

maryroy@juno.com