Founded in 1995, Kroka Expeditions has been teaching environmental sustainability for 27 years through its innovative educational programming for youth. Participants interact with water, soil, energy, and food systems in every moment of their time on campus.
In 2018, Kroka launched its 25th anniversary capital campaign, to renovate the 200-year-old farmhouse operations center and turn it into a sustainability education center for the thousands of children and community members who visit campus each year. Inspired by the principles of the Living Building Challenge, this newly renovated building is a state of the art regenerative energy systems building crafted from sustainably sourced lumber, all harvested from our land and milled locally. Each timber, door, and tile of the farmhouse, either recycled from the old building, crafted by a community member, or procured with responsible sourcing, were selected and placed with great intention and care.
Living Building Principles
from the Living Future Institute
PLACE – restoring a healthy interrelationship with nature
WATER – operating within the water balance of a given place and climate
ENERGY – relying on solar income
HEALTH & HAPPINESS – creating environments that optimize physical and psychological health and well being
MATERIALS – endorsing products that are local and safe for all species through time
EQUITY – supporting a just and equitable world
BEAUTY – celebrating design that uplifts the human spirit
Kroka’s Sustainability Education Project
The final stage in the completion of this building will be to create an energy education system that will be highly interactive and informative. Kroka will be working with the award winning Linnean Solutions design firm to engineer and install a Living Building Dashboard that will engage and educate visitors by translating complex systems into a simple and visually compelling narrative, rooted in Kroka’s core principles of “beauty, simplicity, and sustainability.” Through a network of meters, sensors, and hands-on data collection, the system will collect and display real-time data made accessible to a variety of audiences.
Here is a look into some of what is to come:
Check out our energy production here! With our photovoltaic solar system now installed, we are generating the electricity we need to operate. Our system is connected to the grid so that any excess power generated is given back for others to use.
