The Green Gosport Initiative
Drawing on a long tradition of creative resource use and conservation at the Isles of Shoals, the Green Gosport Initiative is Star Island’s sustainability program. Named for the original fishing village on the island, this is a reference to the endurance, resilience, and creative spirit of the island communities that have called Star Island home.
As an island with limited resources, Star has long understood how to live within its means. This need for self-reliance has shaped the character of the island’s communities over time and fostered on Star a creative, can-do spirit. Rather than accept paucity at face-value, Shoalers have risen to the challenge, building dynamic and enduring communities over several eras.
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The Meaning of Sustainability
Sustainability can be a tough thing to wrap your head around. As the United Nations defines it, sustainability is meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. In practicality, sustainability is a nuanced term, having different meanings for different people in different places operating on different scales.
Examples of Sustainability on Star
On Star Island sustainability is about Island Citizenship: working with intention and keeping big-picture and long-term goals in mind. Sustainability is integration and adaptability. Here are some examples of what we currently do to sustain our summer home:
- With limited fresh water on-island, toilets are flushed with salt water, and rainwater is collected in a larger cistern for filtration to use as drinking water in taps, showers, and laundry.
- Our solar array delivers up to 60% of Star Island’s energy needs.
- When the back-up diesel generator is used, “waste heat” is reclaimed to heat water for several uses.
- Rather than sending all “waste” off-island as trash or recycling, we’re working to find beneficial uses on-island: crushing used glass bottles for sand/gravel fill, shredding cardboard and paper for compost and chicken bedding, composting food waste, integrating chickens into the compost cycle to process and provide food. Since things we need that can’t be found on island come by boat and waste we can’t use leaves by boat, this can help reduce demand on boats for importing and exporting materials.
We’re updating this page in order to better keep everyone informed about our island systems and to share what’s going on with sustainability projects, goals, and achievements. Remember that, above all, sustainability takes participation and commitment. As we update the Green Gosport page, help us define and be a part of sustainability: on Star, in your own life, and around the world.
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