Sustainable Stillwater GOLD Award

In 2023 Zvago Stillwater was awarded a gold level Green Business award by Sustainable Stillwater

- which demonstrates our strong commitment to environmental sustainability. The Zvago Green Team champions a sustainable approach to living through multiple eco-friendly initiatives, such as enhanced recycling facilities on each floor, conducting a Green Expo for members, and two new EV charging stations.  More of our eco-friendly practices are listed in the essay below.  

Our application to the Stillwater Green Business directory included this informative essay about Zvago Stillwater:

"Nestled into almost eleven acres between Myrtle and Olive streets, Zvago Stillwater, a member-owned senior living cooperative, opened in January 2022, to a full house of 48 units. Each home looks out on changing natural landscapes—lush green to fall reds and yellows, winter's white, the fallow time, turning once again to green. The setting is replete with some older-growth trees, some newer trees, landscaping, some native plants, raised gardening beds, and walking paths throughout that lead to some of the best trails in and around Stillwater.

In addition to the 48 units, there are common rooms for gathering with fellow members. We've rung in the New Year, with dinner and dancing; celebrated holidays with themed potluck meals. We've work on crafts together and gathered for games and book discussions, and met together to learn the business of running our cooperative, creating a fun, vibrant place to live now, and planning the care of our beautiful home for the future.

A cooperative is different from condos or townhouses. At Zvago Stillwater, at least one person in each unit is 62 or older. Individuals own shares in the property—buildings and grounds as a whole—collectively making decisions about things like landscaping, improving our grounds, decorating common spaces, and "making our building a home."

In early 2022, when we were settling in and getting to know our new neighbors, discovering each other's interests and skills and sharing the stories that brought us here, we began to form the committees that would oversee our buildings and grounds, plan our budgets, and dream up interesting, useful, and fun opportunities.

Very early on, we discovered a common interest and goal in doing what we can to reduce, reuse, and recycle. We refined our recycling efforts—donating paper bags for reuse and aluminum cans for rebates to give to charity. We began to collect our food scraps, which volunteers take regularly to the Washington County Food Scraps centers. Members reach out to each other when they're making electronic recycling trips, and we let each other know about other opportunities.

One member collects and takes egg cartons, which can't be recycled, to an egg processing facility. Another member set up an online selling and exchange program for members to divest themselves of unneeded household goods or to pick up something they need. We have a free shelf and an informal sharing network for things a person might need but not want to own. We have a communal Maker's Space with tools and supplies for all kinds of woodworking and other DIY endeavor, a Guild where people can work on craft and art projects together and share supplies members have donated.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: we keep looking for new ways to make our jointly owned building more green. We're creating a vibrant, beautiful place to live. And if you're thinking about where you want to live next, we invite you to set up a time to tour. https://www.zvagostillwater.com/  651-829-0498 "