Sustainability House Plan Executive Summary
Created by the Sustainability in On-Campus Housing Project, Spring 2005

Opportunity/Motivation
As a living space for students matriculating at a progressive, liberal arts university, Evergreen’s on-campus housing is home to a great number of students motivated to consume and live consciously. In fall of 2004, the Sustainability House was created to gather and coordinate some of these students. Due to divergent motivations and lack of organization, this group of approximately 30 residents living in I-dorm largely failed to create a community of sustainability. 

Solution Overview
The restructured sustainability housing will overcome these difficulties by creating a structured plan for communication and resource sharing facilitated by housing. Components of the structure are described below.

Improved Roommate Placement and Vision Sharing
Communities require a sense of cohesion to thrive. Because the organizing theme of sustainability can be somewhat vague, it is especially important that Sustainability House residents are clear and forthright about their commitment to activities. An entrance survey (sent to potential residents before room assignment) will group residents with similar levels of commitment and similar interests. Once students are grouped, residents will be encouraged to practice vision-sharing exercises to determine individual and collective motivations. 

Communication Structure
Communication, both among sustainability house residents and between residents and housing, is crucial for effective organization. The Sustainability House Communication and Organization Plan (which contains details of the communication structure) calls for a self-organizing communication structure facilitated by an elected or appointed resident with the title of Resident Coordinator (RC). The RC will also be responsible for communicating with housing staff when necessary. This person will be a resident in the sustainability house and will work in parallel with the Resident Advisor, who will fulfill his/her normal housing life duties. 

Informational and Human Resources
The Sustainability House Information Webpage will provide a concentrated and updateable body of knowledge for residents to learn about sustainable living practices. Evergreen Web Services has agreed to host this site and update it with content provided by residents communicated through the Resident Coordinator. Online resources will include communal living agreement worksheets, vision sharing exercises, and fact-sheets about sustainable living practices. Additionally, the resident coordinator can provide access to a vast array of human resources including faculty, housing staff, student groups, and members of the local community.

Resources to be provided by Evergreen Housing
Sustainability House requires little commitment or contribution on the part of Evergreen’s housing. These commitments include 
•	Webspace and website manager
•	Resident coordinator (minimal funding is a possibility for this resident)
•	Access to housing officers when necessary

Principal leaders
•	Robin Fenske and Mark Retzlaff – Project Designers
•	Chuck McKinney – Director of Housing Life
•	Noel McHugh - Web Services Manager

For more information, contact the project designers:
-	Mark Retzlaff – markretzlaff@comcast.net
-	Robin Fenske – Robin@Towanda.com