February 2015 Faculty Grant (2014-15): Developing the Ecological Design Collaboratory : Phase II
In August 2014 the Rubenstein School was very fortunate to receive funding from the Henry David Thoreau Foundation to continue the development of the Ecological Design Collaboratory at the University of Vermont. This funding has proven to be a very effective catalyst for a range of innovative educational endeavors that have allowed diverse groups of students to collaborate on design-build projects that create solutions to pressing local environmental problems.
GreenHouse Residential Learning Community has served as programmatic home for the Collaboratory, and we have continued to transform the facility into a design hub that serves the entire campus. It has become a place where hundreds of undergraduates can practice design inspired by local ecosystems, build with local materials, and acquire the leadership skills necessary to design, fund, and complete projects on behalf of community partners. The project is also proving to be of great value to the faculty by affording us the opportunity to forge new working relationships across campus and undertake innovative projects beyond the walls the university. In this interim report, I would like to feature some of the highlights of the past six months:
Food Hub Design-Build Project Community Planning in Burlington’s South End Arts District Aquaponics Project in the Bahamas Launching the Ecological Engineering Program at Greenhouse Building a Traditional Cedar Canoe Continued Transformation of the Greenhouse FacilityWe are very grateful to the Thoreau Foundation for so generously funding these and other projects over the past year. The Ecological Design Collaboratory is having very positive impacts on the lives of our students and the culture of the University.