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For kids growing up in one upstate New York community, sustainable living is part of everyday vocabulary and action.
by Rebecca Klein
“Where in many families, the default is of course you just buy more stuff and of course you discard things and buy fruits from Argentina, when you can buy the same thing locally, our kids have an awareness of the world’s interdependency,” shares resident Linda Glaser and mom of two.
The Glasers are one of 60 families who live in EcoVillage at Ithaca (EVI), a green friendly community, which formed in 1991. Composting, recycling, maximizing energy efficiency, and eating organically from the onsite farm are second nature here.
“EVI is a living laboratory that draws from the best alternative practices in land use, organic agriculture, community living, green building, and energy conservation,” writes co-founder Liz Walker in her book, EcoVillage at Ithaca, Pioneering a Sustainable Culture.
“Super insulated” duplex homes are clustered together in the community’s two neighborhoods, with plans to leave at least 80 percent of the 175 acres for open space. A third neighborhood is in the works. Each neighborhood includes a common house with such amenities as a children’s playroom, guest room, dining room, and laundry room.
There are family-style community meals held each week, group projects such as ecosystem restoration, and requirements for adults to volunteer two to four hours weekly on such work teams as meal preparation, finance, and maintenance. In the evenings, there are often lectures, meetings, and social activities.
“EcoVillage is not a commune,” emphasizes Glaser, of what she says is a common misconception. There isn’t a shared livelihood; residents work in diverse professions. “We’re a bunch of normal, most of us fairly middle-class people, that really are committed to creating a more sustainable way of living,” Glaser adds.
According to Walker, recent appraisals value most EVI homes between $150,000 and $250,000. About 10 percent rent; there is also some subsidized housing. A five day visit and participation in a variety of community activities are required for potential residents.
“I think what the kids are really gaining is a sense of belonging and a sense of freedom they wouldn’t get in other places,” says Glaser, whose almost 10-year-old and 12-year-old daughters have spent a significant part of their lives here and enjoy the ability to move freely throughout their neighborhood, which is pedestrian friendly and car-free. All cars are parked outside the community.
The Glasers moved to EVI from a New Jersey suburb five years ago, where they were part of the Orthodox Jewish community but felt alone in terms of their environmental values. When Glaser’s husband began a job where he could telecommute, the family started looking for a place like EVI.
The Glasers found EVI’s location, near Cornell University and Ithaca College to be attractive. “You have a small town feeling while having tremendous educational and scientific resources.”
They instantly knew they found a match, one that went beyond a shared environmental philosophy. “I think the thing that really clinched it was feeling like these are people I could see spending my life cooperating and working with,” says Glaser, adding, she enjoys how people of different religious and spiritual backgrounds invite each other to join in their rituals and celebrations.
The sense of togetherness also holds during hard times. “You’re not all by yourself trying to manage everything,” says Glaser. “It’s really like having an extended family.”
In her nuclear family, she’s experiencing some typical tween rebellion from her oldest daughter. “She thinks it’s not cool to put your sandwich in a reusable container. God forbid she should eat whole wheat.” Glaser believes she’ll soon return to the core values EVI helped to nurture.
“I think kids really absorb what they’re surrounded with,” she says. “Whether any of them will go on to be guiding forces in saving the world, I don’t know. I think that it’s safe to assume they will be people that make decisions that include the planet.”
For more information, visit ecovillage.ithaca.ny.us.
