{"id":225,"date":"2012-08-16T12:56:57","date_gmt":"2012-08-16T16:56:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.berea.edu\/sustainability\/?page_id=225"},"modified":"2017-11-20T05:54:57","modified_gmt":"2017-11-20T05:54:57","slug":"ecovillage-and-sustainability","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/legacy.berea.edu\/sustainability\/campus-culture\/ecological-renovations-at-berea-college\/ecovillage-and-sustainability\/","title":{"rendered":"Ecovillage"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”3569″ img_size=”full”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The Ecovillage is an ecologically-sustainable residential and learning complex designed to meet housing needs for student families, childcare for campus children, and provide a living\/labor opportunity for students interested in sustainability.\u00a0 The complex includes 50\u00a0apartments, a state-of-the-art\u00a0Child Development Laboratory (CDL)<\/a>, a\u00a0Commons House<\/a>, and a\u00a0Sustainability and Environmental Studies (SENS) demonstration house.<\/a><\/p>\n

Key features of the Ecovillage apartments include solar tubes and compact fluorescent lighting, low-flow toilets and showerheads, low-VOC carpets and paints, ceiling fans, and outdoor clotheslines for drying clothes.\u00a0 In additional to individual garden plots for each apartment, the Ecovillage also includes several raised garden beds and a permaculture \u201cfood forest\u201d for all residents\u2019 use.<\/p>\n

The SENS House includes additional features such as a timber frame from College-harvested wood, natural building techniques, a composting toilet, and a net-metering solar electric system.\u00a0 The community\u2019s sewage is converted to swimmable quality water by an \u201cecological machine,\u201d which is composed of a series of tanks filled with plants, fish, and other aquaculture.\u00a0 Much of this water is recycled to flush toilets in the Ecovillage.\u00a0 The sustainability goals of the Ecovillage include reducing energy use by 75%, reducing per capita water use by 75%, and reusing or composting at least 50% of waste.<\/p>\n

Regular Ecovillage tours are offered on Thursdays at 1:00 p.m. and Saturdays at 10:00 a.m.\u00a0 Please contact the\u00a0Ecovillage Coordinator<\/a>\u00a0to RSVP for scheduled tours.<\/p>\n

Document Resources<\/h2>\n