Who We Are and What We've Been Up To

From the beginning, it was our intention to create this sustainable demonstration site downtown for our community. We believe people need to see what's possible in order to emulate it. We do a lot of tours for local people and enjoy a steady stream of regular visits from neighbors, supporters and curious passers-by.

This video was made from a collection of events made over an eleven year period. It shows our history, philosophy and vision.

 

Neighborhood Crossroads

This intersection near Fertile Ground was first developed on the Fall Equinox of 2003 during a big block party called OlyNow. Since then we've re-painted it three times. Here's a short video of the most recent acts of joyfulness on July 31, 2010. The City of Olympia has approved these intersection and has information on their website about how you can enhance your intersection with your neighborhood.

In the 1990's, when the state of Washington chose the City of Olympia as a model city for sustainability, it seemed like an exciting opportunity to really go Green. Our city council and public officials have been working to make that dream come true.

Since 1998, our response has been to create this lovely demonstration site. Because we needed some way to sustain ourselves as we developed, we began operating the Fertile Ground Guesthouse in 2000. In 2005, we incorporated as a state non-profit, Fertile Ground Community Center and became a project of A.W.I.S.H. (A World Institute for Sustainable Humanity), our 501(c)3 fiscal sponsor.

Now we are operating both businesses at once. We demonstrate and educate sustainable living practices through green lodging, tours, classes and workshops. If you're planning a visit to Olympia, check out our calendar to see what else might be happening during your stay. You are welcome to participate in any way that makes your stay here more enjoyable

We're very proud of our wonderful town and we enjoy providing this page of links. We'd love to cook up an actual, physical tour where people from out of town can visit with some of the folks who helped make Olympia the innovative place that it is. If you'd like to hear more about our plans for a Sustainable City tour, just ask.

We'd love to hear from you if you have a local website we can add to our links.

Check our calendar for upcoming events.

Procession of the Species 2010 video

Procession of the Species 2008 photos