One Tree Orchard Sustainable Community

“The softest things in the world overcome the hardest things in the world”

Lao Tzu

When I first took this project on I was still thinking of myself as an outsider to this community. I had only been living in IslandView (pop. 300ish) for about four months. I knew I was going to do something out of the ordinary but I was, I’ll admit, thinking that the process would go very quickly. In fact I wanted to be breaking ground this summer. Three stages of development and you’re out of here.

Thank god, I managed to see where that process would have ended. I now see that there is a huge responsibility to tread softly when considering something as potentially devastating as completely altering the natural environment. This process will be very long and slow. I’m very happy about this since it now feels manageable. I had been worrying for a while that the control over this endeavour was slipping out of my family’s hands and into the black hole called ‘The Way Things Are Done Here’. There are many things that are fantastic about the way we do things in New Brunswick. (We aren’t arrogant people. We don’t like to tell others how to live their lives. We eat plants that are poisonous for all but two weeks of their lives. We make really good beer, we have the worlds largest axe. etc…) Unfortunately, skyrocketing energy costs and the bombardment of new terrifying environmental concerns make the argument for the housing market status quo, in my view, unconscionable. There are far too many choices (some simple, some very complex) that will allow us to reduce our impact on our natural world. Passivity is the most dangerous personal attribute of our age. I am very lucky to have the choices that I have in life. (That’s the understatement of the decade.) I believe that the only way to influence others in a positive way is to show by example. In my experience, trying to convince someone to use a travel mug instead of a paper double cup by telling them how much harm they’re doing has little to negative effect. It takes a great deal of effort to not push this issue because I feel so much better about myself when I’ve spoken my peace. Did it accomplish anything? Not so sure. Has it put that person on the defensive? More likely.

I have a unique opportunity here to show the larger community that sustainable design IS a part of the Greater Fredericton value system. And furthermore that sustainable design is more profitable to the land owner than the current clear it, dig it, build it, and run method. Now all I’ve got to do is make it happen…