[SustainableTompkins] 3rd Neighborhood Forming at EcoVillage

[Elan Shapiro]

Third Neighborhood Forming at EcoVillage at Ithaca!

Join us for a Free Public Tour at 3pm, followed by an Open House at 
4:30pm on Saturday, February 23. Details below.

Have you ever wanted to get to know your neighbors better, to live in 
greater harmony with the earth, and to work cooperatively with other 
like-minded people to live more sustainably? Are you eager to better 
integrate organic and permaculture principles as you garden, to find 
a safer place for your children to play, to find a more satisfying 
balance between private life and community? One way to continue 
moving toward those goals is to live in a co-housing community, such 
as those at EcoVillage at Ithaca.

The third neighborhood group, called the Third Residential 
EcoVillage Experience, or TREE, is currently meeting to plan its new 
neighborhood, and it welcomes new members. There will be a free 
public tour and open house on Saturday, February 23, at Ecovillage. 
Please join us at 3 pm for the tour, and at 4:30 pm for the open 
house, at the first neighborhood Common House. The new neighborhood 
has set itself the challenging goal of building housing that is 
affordable, accessible, and very green. The housing will be 
super-insulated, sited to make use of passive solar energy, and 
tightly clustered to maintain green space.

TREE welcomes potential residents who combine a keen interest in 
living in community with a commitment to sustainability.  Because so 
many people in the local  bioregion have substantial interest and 
experience in sustainable living, and a clear commitment to building 
local community, we especially invite local people to consider 
joining us. We look forward to working together and learning from 
each other, whether as neighbors or simply as allies as we all face 
the challenges of global warming and rising fossil fuel prices.

Ecovillage at Ithaca combines an internationally-recognized 
non-profit organization and a living community located on 175 acres 
on West Hill, with two residential neighborhoods of 30 households 
each, organic farms that grow both vegetables and berries, and a 
variety of educational programs, including links with Ithaca College 
and Cornell. A not-for-profit organization, EVI, Inc., owns the land, 
part of which is protected by a conservation easement held by the 
Finger Lakes Land Trust. Each neighborhood is a cooperative, and each 
has a neighborhood-owned Common House, or community building. Each 
household owns shares equivalent in value to the price of its house, 
and mortgages have been readily available from local banks. The 
residents jointly manage and care for the residential areas of the 
village, and they govern themselves by consensus.

For more information, please visit the Ecovillage website, 
<http://www.ecovillage.ithaca.ny.us/> www.ecovillage.ithaca.ny.us, or 
call Ellen Bowen, TREE Membership Coordinator, at 203-322-7951.

To reach Ecovillage from Ithaca by car or bike, go up Rte 79 West 
(Seneca St.) about 2 miles, and turn left on Rachel Carson Way. The 
first neighborhood (Frog) Common House is about half a mile in, next 
to the turning circle. Visitor parking is nearby or along the road. 
The number 14 bus leaves the Seneca Street shelter at 2:02 and 
arrives at Linderman Creek apartments at 2:10, or you can check the 
TCAT Trip Finder for more options -  www.tcatbus.com.
-- 
Elan Shapiro
Sustainable Tompkins Community Partnership Coordinator
Sustainable Living Associates, Principal
Frog's Way B&B
211 Rachel Carson Way
Ithaca, NY 14850
607-275-0249    607-592-8402 Cell

"We must be the change we want to see in the world"
	          Mohandas Gandhi