Michigan Ecovillages and Intentional Communities Touring

Community Energy Solution's Tom Stanton is working on multiple projects centered around Ecovillages and Intentional Communities of all kinds. He has helped to establish multiple projects affiliated with Global Ecovillage Network (GEN) and multiple regional groups that are included within the GEN family of organizations. Those include GEN-Europe, GENNA (for North America), and GEN-CASA (for Central and South America). Tom initiated what is now a joint project between GEN International and Appropedia (the open-source Wiki for appropriate and sustainable technologies). This project is focusing on success stories and all kinds of technologies, governance practices, decision making tools, and frameworks and guidelines for ecovillages. See https://www.appropedia.org/Ecovillages_%26_Intentional_Communities_Energy_and_Climate_Action_Research_Project.

For July 2025, Tom is working on plans for Michigan Ecovillage and Intentional Community touring and education. All Michigan existing and planned ecovillages are invited to participate, and anyone interested in neighborhood, village, and community based sustainability, restoration, and resilency are invited, too. Plans for the tour are still being adjusted, and we welcome input from everyone about topics for discussion. Plans will be adjusted based on registrations and through communications with the registered guests. Thursday July 17 – All Day at Interlochen Arts Academy. Interlochen Arts Academy is a century-old intentional community, which hosts more than 3,000 transient visitors each year, from all states and many foreign countries. Interlochen itself is engaging in many successful sustainability projects relevant to other intentional communities, and Interlochen has already adopted its own comprehensive Climate Action Plan. Discussions are starting now about the best ideas for Interlochen’s second century, which begins in 2026. The days events will include:

10:00AM to Noon: An exploration and tour of many of Interlochen's sustainability activities.

Lunch at one of the Interlochen cafeterias.

1:00 to 3:00PM -- History tour of the Interlochen Main Campus.

3:00 to 5:00PM -- Discussion about Michigan Ecovillages and brainstorming ideas for Interlochen's second century, which starts in 2026. 5:00 to 7:00 -- Dinner available at one of the Interlochen cafeterias

Friday July 18 – Traverse City, Suttons Bay, and Benzie County. -- Themes include agriculture, food processing, food waste diversion and converting

food wastes into valuable products and byproducts, agrivoltaics and floatovoltaics.

10AM -- Suttons Bay, Michigan. We will visit a nature preserve, a local greenhouse that is producing tomatos, and we will visit with leaders from

Leelanau Energy, that is working to establish Northport, Michigan, as a 100% clean energy community. LUNCH -- either in Sutton's Bay or at Grow Benzie (to be determined).

AFTERNOON -- Visit with Grow Benzie. Visit and tour Telford Farms Ecovillage. Visit Birch Point Farms community supported agriculture farm.

DINNER -- Guests each buy their own. We will discuss innovation successes in Traverse City, with local leaders making presentations about their activites.

Saturday July 19 – Boyne Falls, and Traverse City. Themes include bio-energy production with greenhouse gas emissions certification and accounting, local food processing for fruits, vegetables, and acquaculture, converting vehicles to operate on clean biofuels, and preparation and delivery of biofuel substitutes for fuel oil, diesel fuel, gasoline, propane, hydrogen, and more.

11:00am to 4:00pm -- Tour and Discussion at GasTechno, LLC's new "Energy Center" that is under construction at Boyne Falls, Michigan. Luncheon will be provided to registered guests. GasTechno (https://gastechno.com). We will visit with people who are planning a new ecovillage of cottages at Boyne City.

5:30 to 7:30PM -- Traverse City. Details are still being determined. We'll explore options for high-efficiency buildings powered in part by renewable energy, explore and consider innovations being implemented by multiple Traverse City groups, and enjoy a dinner (each guest paying for their own).

Sunday July 20 – Brunch at Crystal Mountain Resort.

10:00 to 12:30PM, Breakfast/Brunch, and learn about Crystal Mountain’s many Sustainability Projects.

12:30 to 1:30PM. Guided tour of Crystal Mountain Facilities.

3:30 to 4:30PM. Visit new Tiny Home Neighborhood in Grand Rapids, that is working to relieve and reverse homelessness. 

5:00 to 7:00PM. Dinner and discussion in Grand Rapids. Sustainable microbreweries discussion.

Monday July 21 – Lansing and East Lansing, studying food systems, circular economies, and agricultural innovations. Visit a Lansing Co-Housing Neighborhood, composting and urban agriculture operations, and explore state of the art practices for circular economies, food systems, sustainable packaging, and bioeconomy options at Michigan State University.

Tuesday July 22 – Ann Arbor, including a tour of the new Veridian Farms “Thrive Community” ecovillage, and Ann Arbor cohousing neighborhoods.

Visit ZingTrain to learn about Zingerman's unique expansion plans for integrated growth in southeast Michigan, by expanding vertically into many kinds of smart, local food production. Visit with Ann Arbor's Sustainability Office, and explore Ann Arbor's new "Sustainable Energy Utility." Learn about sustainability, resilience, and restoration approaches on the part of the City of Ann Arbor and University of Michigan.

10AM to 2PM -- Visit, tour, and discussion at Veridian Farms, including luncheon (each guest paying on their own).

2:00 to 3:00PM -- Ann Arbor CoHousing Neighborhood Tour and Discussion.

3:00 to 6:00PM -- Zing Train meeting and discussions. Dinner orders (each guest paying on their own) will be catered by Zingerman's.

Wednesday July 23 – Detroit area. Plans include visits to the Detroit Arboreatum, to Urban food producers and gardens, and to Detroit

Ecovillage neighborhoods.

Thursday July 24 – Detroit area. We are also arranging for visits to the Motown Museum, and to Greenfield Village and Henry Ford Museum, including a guided tour of the Buckminster Fuller Dymaxion House Exhibit inside the Ford Museum and the Thomas Edison Workshop in Greenfield Village.