UMaine to get greener village
Students call for 'eco-charette'
Sam Cohen
Issue date: 4/21/08 Section: News
What started as a class project to create an energy-efficient residence hall in York Village could soon become a reality.
An environmental design workshop will take place on April 22 - Earth Day - to formalize a plan to create a sustainable residence hall on campus by the fall of 2010.
The plan began last semester when a peace studies class, Building Sustainable Communities, proposed the idea to create an eco-village at the University of Maine.
The proposed ecovillage will have self-sufficient solar and geothermal energy resources, four-season greenhouses for students to grow vegetables, an edible forest corridor with fruit trees running between York Village and Chapel St., gardens, and composting toilets.
"It will be from cradle to cradle rather than cradle to grave. No waste will be allowed. We want the whole place off the grid," said Emily Markides, adjunct faculty member and president of the International Eco-Peace Community- EcoPeace, Sustainability, Training, International Affiliations (ESTIA), who taught the PAX 370 class last semester.
At Tuesday's first "eco-charrette" planning session, more than 100 registered students and at least 15 faculty members will meet at York Village starting at 9 a.m. to take part in a "massive group brainstorm" according to Morgan Cooper, a sophomore international affairs and political science major, who will help facilitate discussion.
Markides and other volunteers met every week since March to plan the workshop. They created 10 teams to address issues like fundraising, energy management, water management, alternative energy, retrofitting and business, among others. Depending on their interest or previous background, students at the morning session can choose to help aid these teams by providing ideas and design plans.
"We're breaking up this seemingly unaccomplishable task into smaller groups so it can actually happen," Cooper said.
An afternoon session open to all members of the university and community will start at 1:30 p.m. in the Recreation and Fitness Center. The ideas of the morning session, including discussions and designs, will be synthesized into a design plan.
An environmental design workshop will take place on April 22 - Earth Day - to formalize a plan to create a sustainable residence hall on campus by the fall of 2010.
The plan began last semester when a peace studies class, Building Sustainable Communities, proposed the idea to create an eco-village at the University of Maine.
The proposed ecovillage will have self-sufficient solar and geothermal energy resources, four-season greenhouses for students to grow vegetables, an edible forest corridor with fruit trees running between York Village and Chapel St., gardens, and composting toilets.
"It will be from cradle to cradle rather than cradle to grave. No waste will be allowed. We want the whole place off the grid," said Emily Markides, adjunct faculty member and president of the International Eco-Peace Community- EcoPeace, Sustainability, Training, International Affiliations (ESTIA), who taught the PAX 370 class last semester.
At Tuesday's first "eco-charrette" planning session, more than 100 registered students and at least 15 faculty members will meet at York Village starting at 9 a.m. to take part in a "massive group brainstorm" according to Morgan Cooper, a sophomore international affairs and political science major, who will help facilitate discussion.
Markides and other volunteers met every week since March to plan the workshop. They created 10 teams to address issues like fundraising, energy management, water management, alternative energy, retrofitting and business, among others. Depending on their interest or previous background, students at the morning session can choose to help aid these teams by providing ideas and design plans.
"We're breaking up this seemingly unaccomplishable task into smaller groups so it can actually happen," Cooper said.
An afternoon session open to all members of the university and community will start at 1:30 p.m. in the Recreation and Fitness Center. The ideas of the morning session, including discussions and designs, will be synthesized into a design plan.
Be the first to comment on this story