ECOLE to Integrate Sustainable Living into McGill Residence

The student-run initiative “ECOLE” (Educational COmmunity Living Environment) is working to transform a MORE house into a space for sustainable living to open in September 2014.

Published on January 20 2014 | Bull and Bear
Written by Tess Wrobleski

Head coordinators Courtney Ayukawa (U3, Sustainability, Science, and Society) and former McGill student Lily Schwarzbaum, along with a student working group, have been working closely with Student Housing and Hospitality Services, SSMU, and McGill Office of Sustainability to develop planning and funding for the project. 8-10 students, referred to as “facilitators,” will live in the house as part of an “experiment with sustainable living strategies,” Ayukawa stated.

ECOLE developed from an Alternative University Project (AltU) known as the Greenhaus classroom. In the Fall of 2011, students at McGill and Concordia University developed AltU as a means of coping with what they saw as barriers to University education in Quebec, including increasing tuition costs and the inaccessibility of professors and academic staff. The AltU Manifesto outlines the aims of the original project, which includes: “establishing a place of learning, both inclusive and accountable to the community around it, that strives to support creative exploration, excellence in learning, and community involvement.” Similarly, The ECOLE project is guided by the principles of living, learning, and community building.

Read the full article here.