An ecovillage is a traditional or intentional community with the goal of becoming more socially, culturally, economically, and/or ecologically sustainable. An ecovillage strives to produce the least possible negative impact on the natural environment through intentional physical design and resident behavior choices. It is consciously designed through locally owned, participatory processes to regenerate and restore its social and natural environments. Most range from a population of 50 to 250 individuals, although some are smaller, and traditional ecovillages are often much larger. Larger ecovillages often exist as networks of smaller sub-communities. Some ecovillages have grown through like-minded individuals, families, or other small groups—who are not members, at least at the outset—settling on the ecovillage's periphery and participating de facto in the community.
Permaculture is an approach to land management and settlement design that adopts arrangements observed in flourishing natural ecosystems. It includes a set of design principles derived using whole-systems thinking. It applies these principles in fields such as regenerative agriculture, town planning, rewilding, and community resilience. Permaculture originally came from "permanent agriculture", but was later adjusted to mean "permanent culture", incorporating social aspects. The term was coined in 1978 by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, who formulated the concept in opposition to modern industrialized methods instead adopting a more traditional or "natural" approach to agriculture.
Bruce Charles "Bill" Mollison was an Australian researcher, author, scientist, teacher and biologist. In 1981, he was awarded the Right Livelihood Award "for developing and promoting the theory and practice of permaculture".
David Holmgren is an Australian environmental designer, ecological educator and writer. He is best known as one of the co-originators of the permaculture concept with Bill Mollison.
Dunford Bridge is a remote hamlet in the civil parish of Dunford, lying northwest of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England, 1.3 miles (2 km) from the border with West Yorkshire and 2.3 miles (4 km) from the border with Derbyshire. It lies in the Peak District, 5 miles (8 km) west of Penistone and 5 miles (8 km) south of Holmfirth, within the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley. Before the Local Government Act 1972 the area covered by South Yorkshire was part of the West Riding of Yorkshire.
The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College, one of the university's residential colleges, first proposed in 1840 in Lieutenant-Governor Sir John Franklin's Legislative Council, was modeled on the Oxford and Cambridge colleges, and was founded in 1846, making it the oldest tertiary institution in the country. The university is a sandstone university, a member of the international Association of Commonwealth Universities, and the Association of Southeast Asian Institutions of Higher Learning.
Lalor is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 17 km (11 mi) north of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Whittlesea local government area. Lalor recorded a population of 23,219 at the 2021 census.
Stelle is an unincorporated community located in Rogers Township in northern Ford County, Illinois, United States. Its estimated population as of 2013 is 100.
Peterborough is a town in the mid north of South Australia, in wheat country, just off the Barrier Highway. At the 2016 census, Peterborough had a population of 1,419. It was originally named Petersburg after the landowner, Peter Doecke, who sold land to create the town. It was one of 69 places in South Australia renamed in 1917 due to anti-German sentiments during World War I.
CERES Community Environment Park is a 4.5-hectare (11-acre) environmental education centre and social enterprise located in urban Brunswick East, Victoria, Australia. CERES stands for Centre for Education and Research in Environmental Strategies. The name also connects with Ceres the goddess of agriculture in Roman mythology.
The United Kingdom is home to a widespread and diverse co-operative movement, with over 7,000 registered co-operatives owned by 17 million individual members and which contribute £34bn a year to the British economy. Modern co-operation started with the Rochdale Pioneers' shop in the northern English town of Rochdale in 1844, though the history of co-operation in Britain can be traced back to before 1800. The British co-operative movement is most commonly associated with The Co-operative brand which has been adopted by several large consumers' co-operative societies; however, there are many thousands of registered co-operative businesses operating in the UK. Alongside these consumers' co-operatives, there exist many prominent agricultural co-operatives (621), co-operative housing providers (619), health and social care cooperatives (111), cooperative schools (834), retail co-operatives, co-operatively run community energy projects, football supporters' trusts, credit unions, and worker-owned businesses.
A consumers' co-operative is an enterprise owned by consumers and managed democratically and that aims at fulfilling the needs and aspirations of its members. Such co-operatives operate within the market system, independently of the state, as a form of mutual aid, oriented toward service rather than pecuniary profit. Consumers' cooperatives often take the form of retail outlets owned and operated by their consumers, such as food co-ops. However, there are many types of consumers' cooperatives, operating in areas such as health care, insurance, housing, utilities and personal finance.
The Prospect Reservoir is a heritage-listed 50,200-megalitre potable water supply and storage reservoir created by the Prospect Dam, across the Prospect Creek located in the Western Sydney suburb of Prospect, in New South Wales, Australia. The eastern bounds of the reservoir are a recreational area and the western periphery are within the bounds of Western Sydney Parklands. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 18 November 1999.
Geoff Lawton is a British-born Australian permaculture consultant, designer, teacher and speaker. Since 1995 he has specialised in permaculture education, design, implementation, system establishment, administration and community development.
Thurgoona is an outer suburb of the regional city of Albury in southern New South Wales, Australia. The suburb is located in the City of Albury local government area.
The Lower Prospect Canal Reserve is a heritage-listed former farm and public water supply canal and now bushy corridor and nature reserve stretching 7.7 kilometres (4.8 mi) through the heart of suburban Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The lineal corridor stretches from Prospect Reservoir to Sydney Water Pipehead at Albert Street, Guildford with the majority of the reserve located in Greystanes, which is a suburb within the Cumberland Council area.
Gumbaynggir language is an Australian Aboriginal language spoken by the Gumbaynggirr, who are native to the Mid North Coast of New South Wales. Gumbaynggir is the only surviving language in the Gumbaynggiric family of Pama–Nyungan stock.
Low-impact development (LID) has been defined as "development which through its low negative environmental impact either enhances or does not significantly diminish environmental quality".
Prospect Post Office is a heritage-listed former post office and shop at 23 Tarlington Place, Prospect, City of Blacktown, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by James Watts and built by Watts from 1880 to 1890. The property is owned by the City of Blacktown. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 2 April 1999.
Australian poster collectives were artist collectives established in the late 1960s, 70s and 80s in the capital cities of Australia, largely led by women and focused on various forms of political activism.
