The development of a sense of community is one of the foundations of the project and this is promoted through the design of the Ecovillage in many ways.
These include:
- several parks situated in prominent spaces around the Ecovillage
- the Bowls facility
- community gardens
- over four kilometers of walking tracks and bike paths through the restored Heathland areas. Almost every house in the Ecovillage will face onto the walking track network that permeates the village, encouraging people to adopt a healthy lifestyle and use walking and cycling as the primary means of transport around the community. Currently there are very few walking trails in Cape Paterson and pedestrians often share roads with traffic.
- housing arranged in a series of small clusters, with most centred around small courts. This will minimize through traffic and promote pedestrian and child friendly road spaces.
The SEEC centre (Sustainability and Environmental Education Centre) will host recreational, educational/learning and health and fitness activities, and will be available to residents of the Ecovillage and Cape Paterson as well as visitors.
The components of the SEEC centre will include a café/restaurant, a gallery space for local artists, a consulting rooms, a health and wellbeing space and a conference and seminar space. A number of high quality ecolodges will be developed in the vicinity of the community hub. These will provide either serviced or self contained accommodation for visitors. The types of groups to be attracted by the community hub facility will include holiday makers and weekenders, students of sustainability, people looking for a quiet place to come and work, write, paint or relax, or people participating in organized events and activities. Such activities will include ecology and field naturalist groups, seminars and retreats focused on fitness, nutrition and health, as well as work conferences, weddings and celebrations.
Combined, these community facilities will ensure all residents and visitors, from downsizing families to active retirees seeking a sea change, and professionals working from home will be surrounded by a diverse, vibrant and distinct local culture.
