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Mission and Long-term Goals
EcoVillage of Loudoun County combines the co-housing ideal of people living together in community with the ecovillage ideal of people living in harmony with Earth and its inhabitants. We aim to restore nature and expand human potential by creating a lifestyle that nurtures the human spirit and offers hope for future generations.
Values
- A simple lifestyle which incorporates respect, work, open communication, humor, free inquiry, fun, and creative expression nurtures the human spirit
- A wise and sustainable society restores biodiversity and integrates the community with nature
- Human health, community health and the health of our planet are interconnected and interdependent
- Every person has inherent dignity and worth regardless of age, sex, race, sexual orientation, abilities, financial resources, or spiritual or political beliefs
- Cooperation and teamwork is our model for interaction
- Collaboration is most likely to occur in an environment which respects individual rights to privacy
- Taking individual responsibility for our own needs and decisions as well as caring about the well-being of others supports community
- Our children deserve special attention, support and nourishment
Long-term Goals & Objectives
Ecological Goal
Preserve and restore biodiversity, quality, and abundance of natural resources. Balance natural systems so that each generation acts to benefit future generations.
Objectives
- Protect and enhance the diversity, abundance and balance of native plants and wildlife
- Protect and expand nesting sites, forested land, wetlands, and other critical wildlife habitats and migratory corridors
- Enhance the quality and base flow of streams and springs
- Ensure the conservation and wise use of ground and surface water
- Protect and restore riparian and aquatic habitats
- Enhance the quality, productivity, and stability of soils
- Enhance local air quality and develop microclimate that minimizes reliance on active heating and cooling systems
- Select and promote the use of environmentally friendly techniques to maximize energy independence and minimize use of non-renewable resources
- Preserve stellar visibility and quiet of the countryside
- Minimize waste that must be exported off-site
- Minimize environmental toxicity through the use of organic and low-toxicity materials and products that are safely biodegradable
- Share resources such as common appliances and machinery to reduce the amount of embodied energy and environmental impact of daily living
- Reduce dependence on the automobile and encourage pedestrian and mass transit alternatives
- Promote awareness of seasonal cycles, flora, fauna, air, water, soils and the local ecosystem as a basis for continued stewardship of EcoVillage
- Encourage the use of locally produced goods and services
Social Goal
Maintain a community lifestyle that protects individual rights, fosters a spirit of community, and facilitates activities that benefit individuals, enrich the community, and promote positive relations with the larger world.
Objectives
- Contribute ideas, talents, energies and leadership in a spirit of active neighborhood collaboration in committee work, common meal preparation, and other community-wide activities
- Encourage celebration of spiritual and cultural diversity through community events that provide a sense of inclusion and integration
- Create and maintain an economic foundation which produces a dynamic village atmosphere and long-term sustainability of the community and the environment
- Establish integrated living patterns, handicapped accessible architectural features, and multiple valued roles in order to insure inclusion of individuals of all ages and varied abilities in community life
- Participate in decision-making by giving consent or by raising timely objections that are reasoned, responsible and logical
- Deal directly, openly and respectfully with one another, assuming individual responsibility to recognize and resolve conflicts as they arise, seeking mediation if resolution is not achieved
- Avoid physical and emotional violence in our relationships with children and adults
- Maintain a safe community environment by minimizing risk through prevention-oriented construction, and maintenance of physical facilities, and using practices based on sound judgment and prevention awareness
- Promote lifelong education for community residents
- Promote positive relationships and understanding of EcoVillage principles and practices through participation in shared activities with the Taylorstown and Loudoun County communities, and the larger world
Sustainable Development
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has developed five areas of emphasis that are important to promoting sustainable development. Below is a review of how the EcoVillage of Loudoun County, VA is addressing each of these important areas of concern.
Low-impact development - avoiding sprawl
- Site is located on farm that is already zoned for residential development
- Site is within walking distance of 250-year-old hamlet of Taylorstown, VA
- Of the original 180-acres, approximately 85% of the 28 lot development in northern 80 acre section is to remain as permanent open space. The southern 100 acre section has been placed under permanent conservation easement held by the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust. Subject to Loudoun County approvals, a maximum of 5 lots or an environmental/health facility with one caretaker residence can be developed on this privately-owned property.
- State collector highway provides approximately one mile of road frontage to the site
- Ten minutes by car from site to Washington, DC commuter train station (MARC Train)
Protecting vital resources
- Entire original 180-acre site is organically managed; covenants or conservation easements require that farming, gardening and landscaping utilize organic methods
- Approximately three-quarters of the site is required forested
- Vegetable, grain and fruit production planned; animal husbandry restrictions
- Protections established for flora, fauna, air, water, soil, quiet enjoyment, and stellar visibility
- Building materials encouraged to meet stringent health, energy, durability, environmental impact criteria
Transportation and infrastructure
- • Public transit, ride sharing, telecommuting, and on-site business activity
• Parking on periphery of clusters to ensure pedestrian-friendly community
• Paths that respect nesting sites, forested land, wetlands and other wildlife habitats and migratory corridors
• Low-water-use fixtures; advanced, environmentally-friendly septic systems
• User-friendly recycling and composting systems
• High speed internet access
• House and landscape designs that minimize reliance on active heating and cooling systems
Quality of life and economics
- Commitment to sustainable economics -- localized business activity, shared appliances and machinery, shared child- and eldercare, shared meals and activities
- Living patterns facilitate collaboration while ensuring privacy
- Multiple valued roles designed to include individuals of all ages and varied abilities in community life
- Decision-making by consent or by raising timely objections which are reasoned, responsible and logical
- Community activities with Taylorstown and Loudoun County and the larger world
A new design for living
- Environmental principles and social ecology to promote sustainability in a synergistic manner
- Community systems that make adherence to the ecological and social objectives easy -- from composting to land maintenance
- Life cycle awareness as it applies to purchasing decisions
- Long-term commitment to sustainability values through covenants and environmental and architectural guidelines
- Recognition that any dynamic system has problems; commitment to creating conditions for favorable resolutions
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