Reflecting on a recent volunteer tree planting around the Ecovillage as part of our ongoing effort to manage invasive species and foster native and productive plants in stewardship of our 170 acres of land.
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What remains to be seen in this decarbonization process? How to convince 30 households to make a decision together to adapt to a future in which climate responsibility is imperative. Like the baby robins forced from their refuge by the imminent threat, I wonder what it will take to nudge my community out of its comfort zone and move forward. The next chapter of our collective climate liberation saga awaits.
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As I reach the one-year anniversary of moving to Ecovillage at Ithaca, I have been reflecting on the idea of evolution. Personal evolution, community evolution, planetary evolution . . . where am I, we, all of us headed? And is the direction of our evolution proactive or reactive?
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What is Thrive@EVI?
Formerly known as LEARN@Ecovillage, there has been an education and outreach arm for Ecovillage at Ithaca since our forming days in the 1990s.
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The motivation to lighten our environmental footprint is central for many of us drawn to the ecovillage lifestyle. But, how much impact can a lifestyle choice like this really have? Professor Jesse Sherry at Eckerd College set about gathering the numbers to answer this question.
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Our conventional education system teaches us about the world in a very disconnected way: subjects like history, social science, and natural sciences are taught in isolation. We are taught to think of ourselves as individuals divorced from the natural world rather than parts of an interconnected living system. Because we believe that we are separate from the natural world, we feel no responsibility for caring for it.
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Heat waves, natural disasters, rising sea levels. We know that climate change is affecting us physically, but did you know it is also hurting our mental and emotional health? Whether you’ve experienced a climate-related disaster first-hand or been overwhelmed by frightening stories in the news, you might have felt “eco-anxiety” before. Dr. Kathryn Caldwell, an Ithaca College psychology professor and EcoVillage resident, has advice for weathering the storm of climate change.
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Today the electric vehicle revolution is growing steadily: battery prices are falling while battery capacity is increasing, charging is getting faster, and cars are becoming more affordable. BloombergNEF predicts that electric cars will make up more than half of all passenger and light commercial vehicle sales by 2040. As the residents at the Ithaca EcoVillage strive to reduce their carbon footprints, implementing a village-wide electric car system seems like the natural next step. Jeff Gilmore, a resident of EcoVillage for twelve years, is spearheading this effort.
Dawn Montanye is currently working to establish a village-wide carshare program at the Ithaca EcoVillage as well as develop guidelines for informal, community-based car-sharing initiatives that can be applied anywhere. Now, she wants to share the lessons she’s learned in the hopes that others can implement similar programs in their own communities.
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