Students on campus can live sustainably on their own accord, but some of them choose to take a more official pledge to live sustainably by living in the “eco-cottage.” In order to live in there, they have to apply through a competitive process, where they explain their personal sustainable habits and explain how they plan to volunteer their time to environmental causes. These students are role-models for being energy efficient, recycling, composting, and cooking local food. They often have community dinners on the picnic tables out in front of the cottage. They’re also responsible for maintaining a small photovoltaic solar and a small wind turbine, from which they run some of their appliances.
Living sustainably is a creative venture… check out how some of our staff and students incorporate it into their lifestyles…
 Doug Van Horn
Professor
“I have been harvesting and fresh market retailing 16 acres of Organic Wild Maine Blueberries from Twitchell Hill Community in Montville since 1976. In the last few years I have been working cooperatively with two young farmers, Maia and Jacob, who live down the road from the farm at After The Fall Farm. I lived in the communal house on the site where the blueberries are for about 5 years. I presently live in Freedom, Maine but am still a communal owner of the house and 70 acres that includes the blueberries. The house is completely off grid.”
 Jesse Pyles
Sustainability Coordinator
“I’ve become known in some circles for keeping a food bag, of sorts. A lot of my sustainability commitments revolve around food, and opportunities for eating away from home abound in a college setting. I keep a Vermont-made, wooden bowl on hand nearly all the time, and try not to use disposable flatware at campus and community events. I frequently practice water conservation by forgetting to wash my bowl.”
 Deirdre Birbeck
Food, Agriculture, & Sustainability Student
“I try to live sustainably by thinking of things I do that have an effect on the environment, what that effect is, and how I can lessen that effect if it is a negative one. For example, I have to eat. If I choose to eat all of the food on my plate, I am minimizing waste and area that needs to be farmed. If I am eating local or organic food, I am minimizing pesticides used in growing food and miles that it has traveled. By eating lower on the food chain (i.e. less meat), I am reducing the amount of grain that would have been able to feed a person, but fed an animal instead. It takes seven pounds of grain to make one pound of beef. I try to minimize car trips, set my thermostat lower, buy less "stuff" and more second-hand items, and I recycle and compost everything that crosses my path. If composting/recycling resources aren't around, I hold onto it and wait. I also try to share my methods with others, and learn some of their sustainable ways as well.”
 Ashley Zook
Environmental Humanities Student
“I live in the eco cottage on campus at Unity College. We generate part of the energy that we use through two solar panels. We had a wind turbine and we are in the process of replacing it. I only eat non industrial meat, no fast food or any of that. I support local farms, and I love to eat at Crosstrax, a local sandwich shop that gets all its ingredients from local sources. I helped bring composting back to the college, and I volunteer to oversee the process three hours a week. I also have my own worm composting system at my cottage.”
 Mick Womersley & Aimee Phillippi
Professors
UC Faculty members Mick Womersley and Aimee Phillippi own a small farm in the hills of Jackson, Maine, 13 miles from campus. The Womersley-Phillippis, or “Womerlippis,” raise sheep, pigs, chickens and ducks, eating, selling or giving away the surplus meat and eggs, which are much more than enough for their own consumption. They grow enough potatoes, tomatoes, basil and cabbage for their own consumption and to give away a little, as well as smaller amounts of other vegetables. The farm is a part-time business for them, and they hope someday to make a small profit over and above the large amount of food they grow for themselves, friends and neighbors. Their small farmhouse, which was derelict when they bought it, has been lovingly restored and retrofitted with new windows, wood stoves, and insulation. It runs on 100% Maine-produced renewable electricity and home grown firewood.
 Charlie Krause
Student Center manager/ Catering Chef
“After living in an off grid hand built house powered by solar panels for 17 years, I moved to an old farmhouse in Thorndike, Maine. My wife Barbara (a potter) and I have built a business around organic flower farming and have a MOFGA-Certified Organic farm growing plants and flowers for sale, and growing as much of our own organic food as possible. We make all our own compost on the farm. Recently I built a log cabin out building for potting plants and other garden projects. It is powered by one solar panel that runs lights, a fan, and music. The building is natural local cedar and is heated by a wood stove set in a sauna with a natural convection system that keeps the building warm in the spring. We have also planted fruit trees, raspberries, grapes and hops for future use.
I used to make baskets as a business in the 1980’s but discovered how the reeds were made and how the carbon footprint of transporting the basket materials around the world was not good, so I closed that business. I am now developing a crop of basket willow grown on the farm and have started making organic earth friendly baskets. I am also experimenting with living fences made from the willow. I also grow gourds for containers and other uses and I try to make anything I need with local products before going “shopping.”
The change from consumerism to self sufficiency came as a result of spending 17 years living deep in the woods in a small home-built cabin surrounded by the incredible beauty and power of the natural world in all its facets.”
 Jason Reynolds
Environmental Policy/Ecology Alumnus, 2006
“I combine my lifelong love of carpentry with my education in Ecology and Environmental Policy to create more sustainable living environments. As a certified energy auditor, I started a contracting company, jbuilt, which specializes in efficient design and use of local materials to create new shelters and retrofit old. My recent focus has been restoration of historic facades in an effort to revitalize downtown business districts and encourage a culture of pedestrianism and environmentally sound development planning. jbuilt is transported via a waste vegetable oil truck, which I enjoy tinkering with in my spare time.”
 Sara Trunzo
Environmental Writing Alumna, 2008
“We should all have access to sustainable and satisfying food; that’s why I’m engaged in small scale agriculture and local food projects, both professionally and as a volunteer. I manage organic vegetable production at Unity College, which provides food to our Dining Services department, the food pantry, and other local non-profits. I’ve been an organizer of educational gardening projects at local schools and at the College. I’m always looking for more ways to get people excited to learn about food and agriculture. In terms of sustainability at home—local, sustainable food is important to have, but everything else can be hand-me-down. Yankee thrift and common sense are helpful as I strive to reduce waste.”
 Nancy Ross
Associate Professor, Environmental Policy
“When it comes to what you eat, simple rules like make it organic or local aren't always the route to sustainability. Plenty of organic food comes from industrial farms and agribusinesses that exploit their workers, treat animals inhumanely, and overuse scarce water resources. Yes, I drink coffee, but it better be roasted in Maine and grown in the shade without pesticides by small farmers who are paid fairly. Much of what my family eats is grown at home or comes from nearby farms. Still, that isn't enough to make it sustainable. Over the years, I've gone deeper into life cycle analysis of our food. I'll try growing almost anything, but if it needs extra heat to grow in the winter, forget about it. And, if a crop needs watering beyond rainfall, it's not in my garden. Click here for a good website about buying good food in season.”
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