Findhorn Ecovillage
Encyclopedia
Findhorn Ecovillage is an experimental architectural community project based at The Park, in Moray
, Scotland, near the village of Findhorn
. The project's main aim is to demonstrate a sustainable development
in environmental, social, and economic terms. Work began in the early 1980s under the auspices of the Findhorn Foundation
but now includes a wide diversity of organisations and activities. Numerous different ecological techniques are in use, and the project has won a variety of awards, including the UN-Habitat
Best Practice Designation in 1998.
A recent independent study concludes that the residents have the lowest ecological footprint
of any community measured so far in the industrialised world and is also half of the UK average. Although the project has attracted some controversy, the growing profile of environmental issues
such as climate change
has led to a degree of mainstream acceptance of its ecological ethos.
marked the beginning of serious attempts by the intentional community
, which had existed at Findhorn
since 1962 to demonstrate a human settlement that could be considered sustainable in environmental, social, and economic terms.
The term ‘ecovillage
’ later came to be used to describe such experiments and in 1995 the first international conference of ecovillages, Ecovillages and Sustainable Communities for the 21st Century, was held in Findhorn.
At first almost all of the activities this involved, such as eco-house construction, a 75 kW Vestas
wind turbine and an ecological waste water treatment system were undertaken by the Findhorn Foundation itself, or its trading company New Findhorn Directions Ltd. However, from 1990 onwards a growing number of independent charities, businesses, small sister communities, independent practitioners and community bodies have grown up and significantly extended the size and diversity of ecological projects, some of which are listed below. As of 2005 the Ecovillage has around 450 members centred around The Park (the main campus on the southern edge of Findhorn), but also based at numerous locations in the nearby town of Forres
and elsewhere in Moray
. The project supports approximately 300 jobs in the Findhorn/Forres area and provides a total aggregate economic impact in excess of £5 million per annum in the Highlands
of Scotland as a whole.
s usually rely on a wide variety of approaches to minimise their ecological footprint. Some of the most important used at Findhorn are listed here although it is important to bear in mind that in any given situation the single largest factor is likely to be the attitudes of the residents rather than the technologies themselves. The national scale is far better researched than the micro scale, and at this level it is easy to observe that countries with similar levels of wealth may have quite different footprints — see for example Chambers (2004).
The site has a comprehensive building code that all new buildings are required to meet. It goes far beyond current UK building standards and includes features such as very efficient insulation (typically using products made from recycled paper), non-toxic organic paints, wood preservatives and boarding manufactured without the use of toxic glues or resins and roofing with natural clay tiles.
There are a wide variety of other options used including low-energy light bulbs, 'breathing wall' construction allowing a controlled exchange of air & vapour water conservation features and locally sourced materials. Shared facilities such as laundry, kitchens, lounges etc. are encouraged, thus avoiding unnecessary duplication.
Most new buildings incorporate design features that invite passive solar radiation to reduce building heating needs, such as south-facing windows, conservatories and minimal wall openings on north walls. Sustainably harvested wood provides space heating for many homes both old and new, and an Ecovillage company supplies solar panels for domestic hot water heating to residential and commercial customers throughout the UK. The Highlands and Islands Community Energy Company
recently awarded a grant for the installation of ground
source heating for the proposed new Moray Arts Centre based at Findhorn.
Simply Build Green — Talbott (1993) — is based on research undertaken at Findhorn Ecovillage and was the UK’s first technical guide to ecological housing.
barrel. The idea was later developed and several buildings on this theme were constructed. Other innovative styles include a strawbale house
, and an earthship
electricity sub-station. Over fifty new houses have now been constructed, some in exotic styles, others more prosaic in appearance. The rigorous building codes contrast with an apparent absence of visual guidelines and the result is a diversity of design rather than a consistent approach to aesthetics.
In 1995 Jonathon Porritt
opened Europe's first Living Machine (also known as Eco-Restorers in The UK) at The Park campus. This is an ecologically engineered waste water treatment system which is designed to treat sewage from a population of up to 350 people and in common with a number of other such systems also provides a research and educational facility to promote the technology. It was constructed with assistance from the European Union
. The invention of Canadian scientist John Todd
, they use tanks containing diverse communities of bacteria, algae, micro-organisms, numerous species of plants and trees, snails, fish and other living creatures to treat the water. At the end of the series of tanks, the resulting water is pure enough to be returned to the local water table. Plans to use the water for irrigation have been considered but not implemented to date.
for the local area, some of it grown using permaculture
techniques. This horticulture '"provides more than 70% of the community's fresh food requirements" and Phoenix Community Stores
, based at the Park, is one of the largest retailers of organic produce in northern Scotland.
wind turbines which can generate up to 750 kW. These make the Park settlement net exporters of electricity produced from renewable resources. The first V17 generator was installed in 1989 and three additional three V29s in March 2006. The original site was a caravan park
and as a result the Ecovillage has its own private electricity grid. Most of the generation is used on-site with any surplus exported to the National Grid.
Since 2002 a local currency
has been in operation. Launched by Ekopia, the community’s development trust
, it is accepted by almost all Ecovillage organisations. There are roughly £20,000 of notes in circulation and issuing them has enabled Ekopia to make low interest loans and donations to support various initiatives including an ecological guest facility, the wind park (above) and the local Youth Project. The current issue, which is due to expire in 2011, is at par with sterling i.e. 1 Eko = £1, and notes are in one, five, ten and twenty denominations.
has been running educational programmes in environmental education since the early 1980s, but a new development occurred in September 2006 with the formal launching of CIFAL
Findhorn. This is a new sustainable development
training facility, which is a joint initiative between The Moray Council
, the Global Ecovillage Network
, the Findhorn Foundation and UNITAR
.
An ecological footprint
is an attempt to measure the total environmental impact of human activities in a given area. The results measure the amount of land and water that the population requires to provide the resources they utilise and to absorb their wastes. The calculations used converts this into a measure of land area, global hectares (gha). It is widely accepted that the human impact on planet Earth now exceeds the available capacity of natural systems to sustain it, and that western countries typically have a resource usage that ‘would require three planets’ to maintain if every citizen on Earth had a similar impact. In October 2006 preliminary results of the ecological footprint study for the Findhorn Ecovillage undertaken by The Sustainable Development Research Centre of the UHI Millennium Institute
in collaboration with the Stockholm Environment Institute
confirmed that ecovillages can tread significantly more lightly on the Earth than more conventional communities.
The study found that residents of The Park and the nearby campus of Cluny Hill
College have, on average, a footprint of 2.71 hectares per capita, a little over half the UK national average of 5.4 hectares. (By comparison the comparable figure for the United States is 9.5gha, whilst Uzbekistan
is rated at the average 'global earthshare' of 1.9gha). Of particular significance are the results relating to food, ‘home and energy' use, and 'consumables and personal possessions' which have 35%, 27% and 44% of the national average respectively. Findhorn residents have an eco-footprint some 13% lower than those at the London eco-housing development, BedZED
. The study is also intending to measure the additional impact caused by visitors to the Ecovillage but results are not yet available.
Various critiques exist in print although these tend to concentrate on the eclectic spirituality of the Findhorn Foundation
rather than the environmental aspects of the Ecovillage. There is a statement of core values for the Ecovillage and its associated community called ‘Common Ground’ but other than affirming a commitment to “active spiritual practice” (which is diversely understood and interpreted) it concentrates largely on preferred interpersonal behaviours rather than prescribing a spiritual philosophy. Objections were raised by a local pressure group against the expansion of the wind park but the concerns of local people about the Ecovillage appear to have reduced, partly due to the proactive stance of the ecovillagers themselves, especially perhaps as a result of the gift of some amenity land to a local land trust
by Duneland Ltd., an Ecovillage company.
While many houses are modest in size some are large, exceeding 200 m² in built area for a single household. Diversity of lifestyle may well be part of any human settlement but the magnitude of such structures hints that the commitment to ‘living lightly on the Earth’ is not as whole-hearted as first appearances may suggest. Nonetheless, working examples of how a western lifestyle might be possible whilst living within the means of the Earth's renewable resources to support it are likely to be of interest at a time when the consensus of mainstream opinion is moving towards the view that ‘business as usual’ may no longer be an option.
Moray
Moray is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland.- History :...
, Scotland, near the village of Findhorn
Findhorn
Findhorn is a village in Moray, Scotland. It is located on the eastern shore of Findhorn Bay and immediately south of the Moray Firth. Findhorn is 3 miles northwest of Kinloss, and about 5 miles by road from Forres....
. The project's main aim is to demonstrate a sustainable development
Sustainable development
Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...
in environmental, social, and economic terms. Work began in the early 1980s under the auspices of the Findhorn Foundation
Findhorn Foundation
The Findhorn Foundation is a Scottish charitable trust registered in 1972, formed by the spiritual community at the Findhorn Ecovillage, one of the largest intentional communities in Britain....
but now includes a wide diversity of organisations and activities. Numerous different ecological techniques are in use, and the project has won a variety of awards, including the UN-Habitat
United Nations Human Settlements Programme
The United Nations Human Settlements Programme is the United Nations agency for human settlements. It was established in 1978 and has its headquarters at the United Nations Office at Nairobi, Kenya...
Best Practice Designation in 1998.
A recent independent study concludes that the residents have the lowest ecological footprint
Ecological footprint
The ecological footprint is a measure of human demand on the Earth's ecosystems. It is a standardized measure of demand for natural capital that may be contrasted with the planet's ecological capacity to regenerate. It represents the amount of biologically productive land and sea area necessary to...
of any community measured so far in the industrialised world and is also half of the UK average. Although the project has attracted some controversy, the growing profile of environmental issues
Environmental movement
The environmental movement, a term that includes the conservation and green politics, is a diverse scientific, social, and political movement for addressing environmental issues....
such as climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
has led to a degree of mainstream acceptance of its ecological ethos.
Beginnings
The October 1982 Conference ‘Building a Planetary Village’ hosted by the Findhorn FoundationFindhorn Foundation
The Findhorn Foundation is a Scottish charitable trust registered in 1972, formed by the spiritual community at the Findhorn Ecovillage, one of the largest intentional communities in Britain....
marked the beginning of serious attempts by the intentional community
Intentional community
An intentional community is a planned residential community designed to have a much higher degree of teamwork than other communities. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, or spiritual vision and often follow an alternative lifestyle. They...
, which had existed at Findhorn
Findhorn
Findhorn is a village in Moray, Scotland. It is located on the eastern shore of Findhorn Bay and immediately south of the Moray Firth. Findhorn is 3 miles northwest of Kinloss, and about 5 miles by road from Forres....
since 1962 to demonstrate a human settlement that could be considered sustainable in environmental, social, and economic terms.
The term ‘ecovillage
Ecovillage
Ecovillages are intentional communities with the goal of becoming more socially, economically and ecologically sustainable. Some aim for a population of 50–150 individuals. Larger ecovillages of up to 2,000 individuals exist as networks of smaller subcommunities to create an ecovillage model that...
’ later came to be used to describe such experiments and in 1995 the first international conference of ecovillages, Ecovillages and Sustainable Communities for the 21st Century, was held in Findhorn.
At first almost all of the activities this involved, such as eco-house construction, a 75 kW Vestas
Vestas
Vestas Wind Systems A/S is a Danish manufacturer, seller, installer, and servicer of wind turbines. It is the largest in the world, but due to very rapid growth of its competitors, its market share decreased from 28% in 2007 to 12.5% in 2009...
wind turbine and an ecological waste water treatment system were undertaken by the Findhorn Foundation itself, or its trading company New Findhorn Directions Ltd. However, from 1990 onwards a growing number of independent charities, businesses, small sister communities, independent practitioners and community bodies have grown up and significantly extended the size and diversity of ecological projects, some of which are listed below. As of 2005 the Ecovillage has around 450 members centred around The Park (the main campus on the southern edge of Findhorn), but also based at numerous locations in the nearby town of Forres
Forres
Forres , is a town and former royal burgh situated in the north of Scotland on the Moray coast, approximately 30 miles east of Inverness. Forres has been a winner of the Scotland in Bloom award on several occasions...
and elsewhere in Moray
Moray
Moray is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland.- History :...
. The project supports approximately 300 jobs in the Findhorn/Forres area and provides a total aggregate economic impact in excess of £5 million per annum in the Highlands
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
of Scotland as a whole.
Examples of eco-projects
EcovillageEcovillage
Ecovillages are intentional communities with the goal of becoming more socially, economically and ecologically sustainable. Some aim for a population of 50–150 individuals. Larger ecovillages of up to 2,000 individuals exist as networks of smaller subcommunities to create an ecovillage model that...
s usually rely on a wide variety of approaches to minimise their ecological footprint. Some of the most important used at Findhorn are listed here although it is important to bear in mind that in any given situation the single largest factor is likely to be the attitudes of the residents rather than the technologies themselves. The national scale is far better researched than the micro scale, and at this level it is easy to observe that countries with similar levels of wealth may have quite different footprints — see for example Chambers (2004).
Ecological building codes
There are a wide variety of other options used including low-energy light bulbs, 'breathing wall' construction allowing a controlled exchange of air & vapour water conservation features and locally sourced materials. Shared facilities such as laundry, kitchens, lounges etc. are encouraged, thus avoiding unnecessary duplication.
Most new buildings incorporate design features that invite passive solar radiation to reduce building heating needs, such as south-facing windows, conservatories and minimal wall openings on north walls. Sustainably harvested wood provides space heating for many homes both old and new, and an Ecovillage company supplies solar panels for domestic hot water heating to residential and commercial customers throughout the UK. The Highlands and Islands Community Energy Company
Highlands and Islands Community Energy Company
Community Energy Scotland is an independent Scottish charity established in 2008 that provides advice and financial support for renewable energy projects developed by community groups in Scotland...
recently awarded a grant for the installation of ground
source heating for the proposed new Moray Arts Centre based at Findhorn.
Simply Build Green — Talbott (1993) — is based on research undertaken at Findhorn Ecovillage and was the UK’s first technical guide to ecological housing.
Eco-architecture
The first new dwelling to be constructed at the Ecovillage was a small house in the round made from a recycled whiskyWhisky
Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and corn...
barrel. The idea was later developed and several buildings on this theme were constructed. Other innovative styles include a strawbale house
Straw-bale construction
Straw-bale construction is a building method that uses bales of straw as structural elements, building insulation, or both...
, and an earthship
Earthship
An earthship is a type of passive solar house made of natural and recycled materials. Designed and marketed by Earthship Biotecture of Taos, New Mexico, the homes are primarily constructed to work as autonomous buildings and are generally made of earth-filled tires, using thermal mass...
electricity sub-station. Over fifty new houses have now been constructed, some in exotic styles, others more prosaic in appearance. The rigorous building codes contrast with an apparent absence of visual guidelines and the result is a diversity of design rather than a consistent approach to aesthetics.
Living Machine
Jonathon Porritt
Jonathon Espie Porritt, CBE, is an English environmentalist and writer. Porritt appears frequently in the media, writing in magazines, newspapers and books, and appearing on radio and television regularly.-Early life and family background:...
opened Europe's first Living Machine (also known as Eco-Restorers in The UK) at The Park campus. This is an ecologically engineered waste water treatment system which is designed to treat sewage from a population of up to 350 people and in common with a number of other such systems also provides a research and educational facility to promote the technology. It was constructed with assistance from the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. The invention of Canadian scientist John Todd
John Todd (biologist)
John Todd is a biologist working in what is sometimes considered the general field of ecological design, in that his ideas often involve applications that become the basis of alternative technologies. His principal professional interests have included solving problems of food production and...
, they use tanks containing diverse communities of bacteria, algae, micro-organisms, numerous species of plants and trees, snails, fish and other living creatures to treat the water. At the end of the series of tanks, the resulting water is pure enough to be returned to the local water table. Plans to use the water for irrigation have been considered but not implemented to date.
Organic food production
One of the most significant factors in the Ecovillage's low eco-footprint (see below) is its attitude to food production and consumption. Various smallholdings associated with the Ecovillage contribute to a community supported agriculture or 'box' scheme which provides organic produceOrganic food
Organic foods are foods that are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.For the...
for the local area, some of it grown using permaculture
Permaculture
Permaculture is an approach to designing human settlements and agricultural systems that is modeled on the relationships found in nature. It is based on the ecology of how things interrelate rather than on the strictly biological concerns that form the foundation of modern agriculture...
techniques. This horticulture '"provides more than 70% of the community's fresh food requirements" and Phoenix Community Stores
Phoenix Community Stores
The Phoenix Community Store is a community-owned business, and specialises in organic, local, Fairtrade and artisan foods and products, including farmhouse cheeses, organic local whisky, recycled stationery and Fairtrade clothing and music...
, based at the Park, is one of the largest retailers of organic produce in northern Scotland.
Wind park
Another reason for the low ecological impact of the settlement is the presence of four VestasVestas
Vestas Wind Systems A/S is a Danish manufacturer, seller, installer, and servicer of wind turbines. It is the largest in the world, but due to very rapid growth of its competitors, its market share decreased from 28% in 2007 to 12.5% in 2009...
wind turbines which can generate up to 750 kW. These make the Park settlement net exporters of electricity produced from renewable resources. The first V17 generator was installed in 1989 and three additional three V29s in March 2006. The original site was a caravan park
Trailer park
A trailer park is a semi-permanent or permanent area for mobile homes or travel trailers. The main reasons for living in such trailer parks are the often lower cost compared to other housing, and the ability to move to a new area more quickly and easily, for example when changing jobs to another...
and as a result the Ecovillage has its own private electricity grid. Most of the generation is used on-site with any surplus exported to the National Grid.
Eko currency
| Eko | |
| Value: | 1 Eko = 1.00 £ sterling Pound sterling The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence... |
| Obverse Design: | Wind turbines |
| Reverse Design: | Low-cost housing |
| Designer: | Posthouse Printing |
| Design Date: | 2006 |
Since 2002 a local currency
Local currency
In economics, a local currency, in its common usage, is a currency not backed by a national government , and intended to trade only in a small area. As a tool of fiscal localism, local moneys can raise awareness of the state of the local economy, especially among those who may be unfamiliar or...
has been in operation. Launched by Ekopia, the community’s development trust
Development trust
Development Trusts are organisations which operate in the United Kingdom that are:*community based, owned and led*engaged in the economic, environmental and social regeneration of a defined area or community...
, it is accepted by almost all Ecovillage organisations. There are roughly £20,000 of notes in circulation and issuing them has enabled Ekopia to make low interest loans and donations to support various initiatives including an ecological guest facility, the wind park (above) and the local Youth Project. The current issue, which is due to expire in 2011, is at par with sterling i.e. 1 Eko = £1, and notes are in one, five, ten and twenty denominations.
CIFAL Findhorn
The Findhorn FoundationFindhorn Foundation
The Findhorn Foundation is a Scottish charitable trust registered in 1972, formed by the spiritual community at the Findhorn Ecovillage, one of the largest intentional communities in Britain....
has been running educational programmes in environmental education since the early 1980s, but a new development occurred in September 2006 with the formal launching of CIFAL
CIFAL
The CIFAL Network, which is composed of several associated CIFAL Centres, forms a key part of the work of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research 's Local Development Programme...
Findhorn. This is a new sustainable development
Sustainable development
Sustainable development is a pattern of resource use, that aims to meet human needs while preserving the environment so that these needs can be met not only in the present, but also for generations to come...
training facility, which is a joint initiative between The Moray Council
Moray
Moray is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland.- History :...
, the Global Ecovillage Network
Global Ecovillage Network
The Global Ecovillage Network is a global association of people and communities dedicated to living "sustainable plus" lives by restoring the land and adding more to the environment than is taken...
, the Findhorn Foundation and UNITAR
United Nations Institute for Training and Research
The United Nations Institute for Training and Research was established in 1965 following a "for the training of personnel, particularly from developing Member States, for administrative and operational assignments with the United Nations and the specialized agencies, both at Headquarters and in...
.
Ecological Footprint Study
Ecological footprint
The ecological footprint is a measure of human demand on the Earth's ecosystems. It is a standardized measure of demand for natural capital that may be contrasted with the planet's ecological capacity to regenerate. It represents the amount of biologically productive land and sea area necessary to...
is an attempt to measure the total environmental impact of human activities in a given area. The results measure the amount of land and water that the population requires to provide the resources they utilise and to absorb their wastes. The calculations used converts this into a measure of land area, global hectares (gha). It is widely accepted that the human impact on planet Earth now exceeds the available capacity of natural systems to sustain it, and that western countries typically have a resource usage that ‘would require three planets’ to maintain if every citizen on Earth had a similar impact. In October 2006 preliminary results of the ecological footprint study for the Findhorn Ecovillage undertaken by The Sustainable Development Research Centre of the UHI Millennium Institute
UHI Millennium Institute
The University of the Highlands and Islands is a federation of 13 colleges and research institutions in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland delivering higher education. Its executive office is in Inverness.-History:...
in collaboration with the Stockholm Environment Institute
Stockholm Environment Institute
The Stockholm Environment Institute, or SEI, is a non-profit, independent research and policy institute specialising in sustainable development and environmental issues.-Mission:...
confirmed that ecovillages can tread significantly more lightly on the Earth than more conventional communities.
The study found that residents of The Park and the nearby campus of Cluny Hill
Cluny Hill
Cluny Hill is a hill on south side of Forres, Scotland.At the top of Cluny Hill is Nelson's Tower, built in 1806 to commemorate Admiral Lord Nelson and his victory at Trafalgar. The Tower is open to the public....
College have, on average, a footprint of 2.71 hectares per capita, a little over half the UK national average of 5.4 hectares. (By comparison the comparable figure for the United States is 9.5gha, whilst Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
is rated at the average 'global earthshare' of 1.9gha). Of particular significance are the results relating to food, ‘home and energy' use, and 'consumables and personal possessions' which have 35%, 27% and 44% of the national average respectively. Findhorn residents have an eco-footprint some 13% lower than those at the London eco-housing development, BedZED
BedZED
Beddington Zero Energy Development is an environmentally friendly housing development in Hackbridge, London, England. It is in the London Borough of Sutton. It was designed by the architect Bill Dunster to support a more sustainable lifestyle...
. The study is also intending to measure the additional impact caused by visitors to the Ecovillage but results are not yet available.
Awards, UN connections and critiques
At a time when resource depletion and global warming are international concerns it is not perhaps surprising that these activities should receive various accolades.- In September 1995 The Findhorn Ecological Village Project was awarded the 'We the Peoples 50 Communities' award given by the Friends of the United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
as part of the 50th Anniversary of the UN Celebrations.
- In October 1998 the Ecovillage Project, together with other 100 leadership Initiatives "which are inspiring innovative action on Earth", received Best Practice Designation from the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements — UNCHS (Habitat) and Dubai Municipality.
- In September 2000 the conservation charity Trees for Life received the Millennium Marque Award in recognition of its work in helping to restore the Caledonian Forest in Glen AffricGlen Affricright|300px|thumb|Glen AffricGlen Affric is a glen south-west of the village of Cannich in the Highland region of Scotland, some to the west of Loch Ness. The River Affric runs along its length, passing through Loch Affric and Loch Beinn a' Mheadhoin .It used to be part of the lands of the Clan...
.
- The following year the United Nations Environment Programme noted that “most of the problems identified by Agenda 21Agenda 21Agenda 21 is an action plan of the United Nations related to sustainable development and was an outcome of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992...
have their roots at the local level, therefore UNEP appreciates your significant contribution at the local level to models for holistic and sustainable living in harmony with the environment.”
Various critiques exist in print although these tend to concentrate on the eclectic spirituality of the Findhorn Foundation
Findhorn Foundation
The Findhorn Foundation is a Scottish charitable trust registered in 1972, formed by the spiritual community at the Findhorn Ecovillage, one of the largest intentional communities in Britain....
rather than the environmental aspects of the Ecovillage. There is a statement of core values for the Ecovillage and its associated community called ‘Common Ground’ but other than affirming a commitment to “active spiritual practice” (which is diversely understood and interpreted) it concentrates largely on preferred interpersonal behaviours rather than prescribing a spiritual philosophy. Objections were raised by a local pressure group against the expansion of the wind park but the concerns of local people about the Ecovillage appear to have reduced, partly due to the proactive stance of the ecovillagers themselves, especially perhaps as a result of the gift of some amenity land to a local land trust
Land trust
There are two distinct definitions of a land trust:* a private, nonprofit organization that, as all or part of its mission, actively works to conserve land by undertaking or assisting in land or conservation easement acquisition, or by its stewardship of such land or easements; or* an agreement...
by Duneland Ltd., an Ecovillage company.
While many houses are modest in size some are large, exceeding 200 m² in built area for a single household. Diversity of lifestyle may well be part of any human settlement but the magnitude of such structures hints that the commitment to ‘living lightly on the Earth’ is not as whole-hearted as first appearances may suggest. Nonetheless, working examples of how a western lifestyle might be possible whilst living within the means of the Earth's renewable resources to support it are likely to be of interest at a time when the consensus of mainstream opinion is moving towards the view that ‘business as usual’ may no longer be an option.
See also
- Sustainable development in ScotlandSustainable development in ScotlandScotland development in Scotland has a number of distinct strands. The idea of sustainable development was used by the Brundtland Commission which defined it as development that "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." At...
- Renewable energy in ScotlandRenewable energy in ScotlandThe production of renewable energy in Scotland is an issue that has come to the fore in technical, economic, and political terms during the opening years of the 21st century. The natural resource base for renewables is extraordinary by European, and even global standards...
- Centre for Alternative TechnologyCentre for Alternative TechnologyThe Centre for Alternative Technology is an eco-centre in Powys, mid-Wales, dedicated to demonstrating and teaching sustainable development. CAT, despite its name, no longer concentrates its efforts exclusively on alternative technology, but provides information on all aspects of sustainable living...
- Diggers and DreamersDiggers and DreamersDiggers and Dreamers: The Guide to Communal Living is a primary resource for information, issues, and ideas about intentional communities in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - from urban co-ops to cohousing groups to rural communes and low impact developments.-History:Since 1989...