Ecovillage At Ithaca | Community Buzz

Profile of EcoVillage at Ithaca

Monday, August 24th, 2009

The Star, a major Malaysian newspaper, profiled EcoVillage at Ithaca in an online article this week, introducing readers to the ecovillage model and interviewing several community residents.

A 'village' in upstate New York shows that you can nurture community values and tread lightly on the planet without forgoing modern living.

Read full article here.

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Ecovillage Helping Start Charter School Focused on Sustainability

Monday, June 2nd, 2008

Tina Nilsen-Hodges, a resident of Ecovillage at Ithaca who is also an Ithaca College lecturer, is leading an effort to create a charter school focused on sustainability. The alternative high school, New Roots School, would not be a project of the ecovillage but might hold some classes there and be involved with the organic farm and CSA located at the ecovillage.

At West Haven Farm at EcoVillage they are likely to work on the farm doing things like soil analysis. Produce from West Haven Farm will be part of the school's meal program, she said.

Nilsen-Hodges imagines that students could, for instance, restore wetlands, conduct climate-related agricultural research, bring solar panels to low-income neighborhoods and create small green business enterprises. She sees students becoming entrepreneurs and community leaders, she said.

Read the article in the Ithaca Journal about the sustainable charter school

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Ecovillage Helps Start Ithaca Car Sharing

Friday, May 9th, 2008

EcoVillage at Ithaca is helping set up a car sharing cooperative for the town of Ithaca, NY. Car Sharing co-ops are designed for people who don't own cars but have occasional needs for them. Members are often cyclists, walkers, and frequent users of public transit.

After about three years of planning, Ithaca CarShare is set to launch June 1 with six Nissan Versa hatchbacks and a Ford Ranger pickup. The organization expects to add more vehicles in August.

Jennifer Dotson, executive director of Ithaca CarShare, said the average car sharing member spends $100 a month compared to the $600 a month that AAA says the average car owner spends.

Nancy Jacoby, an Ithaca resident, said, "I'm really excited. It's been rocking my world all week. It's the missing link to getting rid of my car."

One of the locations cars will be available is at the Ecovillage. I'm sure a number of Ecovillage members will take advantage of the program.

Read the article on Ithaca CarShare.

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Arcosanti and Ecovillages in the Washington Post

Monday, April 21st, 2008

In honor of Earth Day, the Washington Post ran an article on Arcosanti with a sidebar on ecovillages as a green vacation destination.

Arcosanti was started in the 1970s by Italian architect Paolo Soleri, a spitfire who seeks an alternative to a car-dominant, hyper-consumerist society. With his so-called urban laboratory, Soleri, 88, hopes to eliminate the automobile, promote frugality and create a functional metro center run on the Earth's resources: food from organic gardens, power from the sun, air conditioning from the shade, building materials from the natural surroundings. Though still a work in progress, Arcosanti in theory offers residents the same amenities as, say, a Manhattanite: housing, commerce, culture and dining.

Some have lobbed the word "commune" at Arcosanti; "tightknit community" is a better description.

The article includes a short slideshow and focuses on Arcosanti as a green tourist destination. The side bar lists a handful of ecovillages and other communities including: Findhorn, LA Ecovillage, EarthArt Village, Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage, Ecovillage at Ithaca, and Huehuecoyotl Eco-Village.

I hope those communties are ready for a flood of visitors!

Washington Post article on Arcosanti

Sidebar on Green Tourism at Ecovillages

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Ecovillage Bed and Breakfast

Wednesday, March 26th, 2008

The Wild Goose Bed and Breakfast got some publicity for ecovillages on the Ithaca, NY local news. The bed and breakfast is located in the Ecovillage at Ithaca community just outside of town and draws customers interested in a green lifestyle.

"I don't have to turn on the heat once the sun's shining in 'till late in the afternoon even on a bitter day like today," said Gail Carson, the owner. Thick walls and south-facing windows help make heating homes at EcoVillage more efficient than most houses.

Her business has doubled in the last year, while energy consumption at the inn continues to be minimal. Carson said one of the reasons she thinks her business has increased over the years is because people are simply curious about eco-villages.

See the Ecovillage Video.

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Ecovillage Helps Ithaca Rank as 2nd Greenest City

Thursday, January 24th, 2008

The city of Ithaca was second on the list of Greenest Cities in part due to the work of the Ecovillage at Ithaca an intentional community with two 30-home cohousing clusters. The Ecovillage was recently featured in Time magazine and is a great example of a community moving towards sustainability.

Move.com profiled Ithaca and highlighted the Ecovillage as a major part of the cities green ranking:

The village is already at work on phase two: future developments are being considered and will likely include more accessible and affordable housing, a charter school, an education center, village-scale wind power, organic orchards, a roadside farm stand, graywater recycling, on-site biological wastewater treatment center, biomass energy crops, shuttle van, carshare, a natural cemetery, onsite biodiesel/vegetable-oil fuel production, and educational programs.

Not surprisingly most of the top green cities on the list are home to ecovillages, cohousing, and other forms of intentional community. Are communities attracted to green cities or are cities made green by community? I'm sure the answer is both.

Read the Article.

See the list of Greenest Cities.

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