GreenTown Breaks Ground on First Eco-Home

Left to right: Mayor Bob Dixson, City Administrator Steve Hewitt, property donor Kim Gamble, GreenTown Board Chair Jackie Robertson, GreenTown staff Mason Earles, Executive Director Daniel Wallach, Program Director Catherine Hart, GreenTown staff John Wickland, GreenTown staff Emily Schlickman, AT&T Director for External Affairs Richard Shank, and Armour Homes General Manager David Moffitt

Last Thursday’s groundbreaking for the first Eco-Home was a very special event for GreenTown. We were happy to see so many friends and supporters come by to hear about the project, meet the builders, and watch the ceremonial turning of the soil.

The ceremony got underway as T.J. Lawson, Pastor of Greensburg’s First Christian Church, opened with a prayer. Daniel Wallach, GreenTown’s Director, welcomed guests and introduced the people who have made this project possible: the funders, builders, staff and board. Daniel singled out the efforts of City Administrator Steve Hewitt in keeping the vision and momentum going. He acknowledged that the entire town worked together like a “symphony orchestra” to give vitality to the recovery and the Green Initiative. Board Chair Jackie Robertson thanked the staff and talked about the importance of the Green Initiative and GreenTown’s role in it. Mayor Bob Dixson welcomed people and spoke of the import of the town’s direction related to sustainability. And David Moffitt, General Manager of Armour Homes, described how his company feels privileged to be a part of this project.

Plantable seed papers were distributed to everyone in attendance, and each person wielding a shovel tossed a packet into the soil. As the shovels met the dirt, GreenTown staffer Mason Earles, an Eco-Home Project Manager, invited each person in the audience to bring their wildflower packet home to plant, so as to be symbolically connected to the project.

After the groundbreaking, Daniel introduced Johnathan Goodwin, and invited him to tell the group about the work he does converting gas-guzzling cars into models of fuel efficiency. He and two employees drove from Wichita to Greensburg in a converted Hummer, which is now getting approximately three times the gas mileage (and several times the amount of horsepower) as when the car was originally manufactured. Goodwin is involved in a partnership with singer Neil Young; they have transformed Young’s 1959 Lincoln Continental into a model of efficiency, reaching 100 miles per gallon. Goodwin is very interested in bringing his technology to Greensburg and becoming involved in the Eco-Homes Project as well. He is exploring ways to power a home from the energy produced by a car.

Greensburg residents Kim and Ki Gamble generously donated the property at the corner lot adjacent to the Big Well. Kim attended the event and helped turn the soil as we broke ground. Dubbed the Silo Eco-Home, the structure going up at 402 S. Sycamore will be a model of strength and sustainability. It was designed by Armour Homes, a company out of Florida, which is putting up the building’s outer shell, which is fashioned out of concrete. Armour is the core sponsor of this home, and several other funders are participating to bring this dream to fruition: AT&T (which is funding the entire chain of Eco-Homes project), Ogden Publications (publisher of Mother Earth News and Natural Home magazines), Viega, Caroma and Evolve.

You can visit Armour Homes' website to get a sense of the kind of quality home they have planned for the Eco-Homes Project.