Ithaca NY area gets another "Eco-Village."

White Hawk village breaks ground

By Linda Stout
Journal Staff

DANBY — Mary Elizabeth “Magic” Barrett said she felt pregnant during the years of planning of White Hawk Ecovillage.

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Four years from early planning, about 40 people — members of the community, builders, friends and Town of Danby Supervisor Ric Dietrich and Code Enforcement Officer Sue Beeners — celebrated the advent of the community Sunday.

This wasn't your typical ribbon-cutting. Instead of the traditional petrochemical variety, the “ribbon” was a thick web of invasive wild grape vines from the land that members interspersed with flowers.

Builders began construction on the first two eco-friendly homes in November on this east-facing hillside just north of the Hamlet of Danby. Eight more homes are slated for the first of three building phases, with more building to begin in the spring. George Van Valen of Van Valen Excavating Inc, of Ithaca, has begun excavation, with roads and ponds on the site.

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