Land Restoration – Ecovillage at Ithaca

The Land Partnership Team works to restore the health of the ecosystem here, which had been degraded by years of conventional farming. We coordinate activities so residents of all ages learn more about the land we live on and connect deeply with a shared sense of place.

Our Biodiversity & Wildlife Restoration Goal is to preserve and restore wildlife and its habitat on our land:

• by consciously and consistently learning about the land we live on, the living things we share it with, and the interactions and ecosystems that hold it all together

• by sharing our learning with our fellow villagers, nurturing their interest in and understanding for the land

• by developing a land-use plan that includes a healthy and extensive forest cover as a climate buffer

• by creating wildlife habitats (including woods and wetlands) to the greatest extent possible.

• by implementing a species management plan

• by establishing respectful interrelationships between human habitation on the land and the living matrix of our surrounding plant and animal life.

The land at Ecovillage represents many different wildlife habitats and plant communities. Three major areas are the hardwood forest, the aspen groves, and the semi-open fields. With the guidance of local tree expert Akiva Silver, we have planted over 100 trees in the aspen groves and field margins. His advice:

Nothing will affect the land in a more profound and lasting way than the establishment of seed producing beneficial trees. The effect of mowing will not last morethan a few years, killing invasive plants may last a few more, but establishing a bur oak or a chestnut tree will have an endless effect on the people and wildlife of your land.