Sunday. 7pm. I strode up University Street with a tupperware full of stir fry in my backpack. My destination was not known for clearing its driveway, so I walked up the steps and stomped my feet to rid myself of the snow of my boots. Pausing my music, I buzzed the dining room, got in, took off my boots, and headed downstairs.
On a bleak, wintery night like this, there is nothing better than a house bustling with lively, intelligent people and homemade food. This house is precisely what I need. Ever since my first time showing up early last semester, ECOLE’s Sunday potluck became a part of my life. At times, the weekly event is one of the few things to get me through the week.
The kitchen was warm and the air was filled with aroma. The facilitators served baked bell peppers, potatoes, and vegetables. I set my stir fry on the table. It was a quiet night; only me and four other facilitators were present. Half way through the meal, another guest turned up, adding to the table a delicious plate of chocolate chip cookies, which complimented the home-baked apple crumble for dessert. It was like home, built by my peers.
The ECOLE project, or the Educational Community Living Environment project, resides in one of McGill’s former MORE houses. The year-long social experiment, wherein about ten students pursued “collective sustainable living”, was launched in September 2014, and have since become one of McGill’s hidden gems. Here, upper year students were selected as facilitators and had their rent subsidized as they worked to promote environmental and social sustainability at not only McGill, but the greater Montreal community. Throughout the year, they provide space for campus clubs and services, organize events centred around sustainability, and help bring the community together. Aside from the weekly potluck, ECOLE facilitators also work hard to run movie nights, workshops, and campaigns like next week’s Zero Waste Challenge.
According to Zero Waste International Alliance, Zero Waste means “designing and managing products and processes to systematically avoid and eliminate the volume and toxicity of waste and materials, conserve and recover all resources, and not burn or bury them”. Leading up the big week is a series of preparatory events aimed to introduce individuals to the concept and philosophy of Zero Waste: workshops for waste reduction, food waste disposal, and dumpster diving, screening of the documentary Minimalism, and of course, a Sunday potluck to launch the week. Throughout the Zero Waste week, more workshops about the the environmental impact of the fashion industry, clothes mending, and DIY hygiene products will also be offered, followed by a closing potluck during which the participants bring their week’s waste to the collective bin to measure how much waste they produced over the week. Partnering with SSMU Environment Committee, La Fabrique éthique, Reboot McGill, Les Échelle, McGill Food and Dining Services, and other like-minded individuals and experts, ECOLE welcomes staff, students, and community members who wish to adopt a more conscientious lifestyle.
Not to mention the cool people – the facilitators – who run the house this year. The ten upper-year students come from a diverse background, each bringing with them a unique astuteness and personality. It is in the house that I have found my clan. If you would like to learn ways to live more sustainably, or just get to know the project and its vision a little better, come to an event, be it a workshop, movie screening, or a potluck. Or shoot their Facebook page a message: https://www.facebook.com/ECOLEProject/
Images from:
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