Southland Sustainability Centre – EcoDen

The Proposal
It is proposed to build a Southland Sustainability Learning Centre – EcoDen.
Vision
The Southland Sustainability Learning Centre – EcoDen is a facility that promotes, motivates and encourages all sectors of the community to be environmentally sustainable, emphasising resource stewardship, energy efficiency and waste minimisation.
Goals

• Demonstrate sustainable design and building practices
• Demonstrate sustainable living practices in its activities, but also within its features such as displays and demonstration areas.
• Demonstrate waste reduction, reuse, recycling and recovery of resources
• An educational facility that caters for all ages from preschool to adults i.e.  Field trip location, sustainable living classes, training facility for teachers and staff, natural building workshops etc.

The suggested location for the EcoDen is on vacant land at the Invercargill Waste Transfer Station, owned by the Invercargill City Council.    It is proposed that the facility be owned by an established charitable trust to aid in securing public funding and operated by WasteNet Southland.
Background
In 2008 a series of Sustainable Living workshops took place, set up by Invercargill City Council, Environment Southland and Southland Education.  Topics included No Weeds in the Vege Patch, Solar Energy, Recycling and Alternative Fuels.
The popularity of theses indicated that the timing was right to run further workshops.  A barrier to running these courses were the limited practical examples located in the one facility or venue.   To overcome this barrier, an idea evolved to develop a demonstration garden with an eco-classroom to cater for all weather conditions – hence EcoDen.
The idea has further been developed into one facility that caters for all sectors of the community from preschool to adult education.
There is also a need to raise public awareness of sustainable building, and to stimulate the professionals and trades involved in the building industry to make continuous improvements in this area. Particularly as Southland prepares for continued economic growth and population growth, new buildings are expected to be built, and as a region we need these to be sustainable, and as energy efficient as possible.
The EcoDen project leads itself as an opportunity for highlighting champions (developers, designers, retailers, builders and other trades).  The EcoDen could include  a commercial display space for different products, which could generate income for the facility to cover operational costs, as well as showcasing the products and design aspects used in the building itself.


Project Team
The following key project team roles have been identified:

Partners
The following outlines some of the potential partners in this project and indicates their potential involvement.

Draft Timeline

Funding
A variety of funders will be approached to support the project (see Partners).  It is proposed to seek funding for project as soon as the vision and goals have been clarified.