Ithaca Green Buildings Open House 2008

The Tompkins County (NY) Cooperative Extension and the Ithaca Green Building Alliance are offering two days of arranged tours of sustainable building projects in and around Ithaca as part of the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association's Green Builidings Open House and American Solar Energy Society's National Solar Tour.

Sites in the 2008 Green Buildings Open House illustrate a variety of green building approaches.  Each is as varied as the owner's goals, definitions of "green," aesthetics and budget.  The tour includes conventional homes incorporating energy efficiency and renewable energy, renovation projects using recycled and non-toxic materials, and newly constructed homes designed and built to be as environmentally sustainable as possible.

Visit sites 1-14 on Saturday during the designated hours and then sites 15-27 on Sunday.  You do NOT need to visit the sites in order.  Homeowners and/or builders will be on hand to show you their site's green features and answer questions.  Closer to the date, check the website for additional sites that may have registered since the program was set up:  www.nesea.org/buildings/openhouse for new listings.  (Note: they're not up their yet, as of early September.)

Visiting on your own is FREE.

There will also be shuttle van tours lead by green building professionals for a fee of $10/person or $15/two from the same household.  They will visit 4 sites between noon and 4:30pm on each day.  Preregistration is required.  Call 607.272.2292 on weekdays.  Guided bicycle and motorcycle tours will be offered only on Saturday, October 4 (rain date, Sunday).  Bike and motorcycle tours will meet at Gimme! Coffee on Cayuga St at 10am.  The bike tour will be approximately 20-25 miles at a relaxed pace.  People will need roadworthy bikes and helmets.  Advance registration is required on all tours.