Life At Zephyr
Life at Zephyr revolves around our community center, where we have potluck meals once a week, and on holidays, parties, and after meetings. We have a spring fed pond for swimming. We have another pond where we ice skate. We also have a soccer/baseball field, and a playground for small children. We have several barns for storage, and some barn space for raising animals.
We have several miles of trails for hiking and skiing. There are 176 acres of woodlands, 81 acres of goat prairies and many acres of pastures, high-grass meadows, ponds, creeks, and a trout stream. A wild spaces policy governs the use of these areas. Zephyr is an active participant in various Federal and State conservation programs.
Due to the abundance of deer in our valley, most vegetable gardening has to be done behind a deer proof fence. Zephyr has a 1/4 acre fenced-in community garden, and a 1 acre deer-fenced garden where four individual quarter-acre plots are available for rent to community members. Several of our members are avid deer hunters.
The Mississippi River town of Winona, is a 25 minute drive away, and has a rich cultural life for such a small town, largely due to the presence of two universities: Winona State and St. Mary's.
It also has a natural foods co-op, a movie theater, several cafes, and is home to the Minnesota Marine Art Museum.
We have several miles of trails for hiking and skiing. There are 176 acres of woodlands, 81 acres of goat prairies and many acres of pastures, high-grass meadows, ponds, creeks, and a trout stream. A wild spaces policy governs the use of these areas. Zephyr is an active participant in various Federal and State conservation programs.
Due to the abundance of deer in our valley, most vegetable gardening has to be done behind a deer proof fence. Zephyr has a 1/4 acre fenced-in community garden, and a 1 acre deer-fenced garden where four individual quarter-acre plots are available for rent to community members. Several of our members are avid deer hunters.
The Mississippi River town of Winona, is a 25 minute drive away, and has a rich cultural life for such a small town, largely due to the presence of two universities: Winona State and St. Mary's.
It also has a natural foods co-op, a movie theater, several cafes, and is home to the Minnesota Marine Art Museum.
Running Zephyr
We hold 2-hour community meetings, twice a month, open to all Members and those in the membership process. Here we thresh out issues and work toward agreement through consensus. Decisions about the land and the community are made here. All other decisions are individual and are made privately. The option exists to resolve conflicts by majority decision, but this option has never been used.
Consensus can be frustrating for people who feel they have a reasonable request, but find that this is not the way the community wants to go, or that the community will not meet their time frame. However, when consensus is working at its best, the eventual decisions reached are better than any ideas that individuals have initially.
Through the years, the community adopted a meeting process that has been successful in leading efficiently to consensus decisions.
Our By-Laws are available upon request.
Committees - In addition to the bi-monthly general meetings, we also break down into four specialty committees, which meet as needed in between the general meetings, to work on specific issues in more detail, before presenting it to the general meeting for further discussion and final voting. Members are expected to serve on two committees.
Work Days - We also hold community work days a few times a year where we take care of our amenities. Memorial Weekend is our traditional time for cleaning and filling the swimming pond, for example. Community members sign up and pitch in on the various needed tasks on workdays.
Consensus can be frustrating for people who feel they have a reasonable request, but find that this is not the way the community wants to go, or that the community will not meet their time frame. However, when consensus is working at its best, the eventual decisions reached are better than any ideas that individuals have initially.
Through the years, the community adopted a meeting process that has been successful in leading efficiently to consensus decisions.
Our By-Laws are available upon request.
Committees - In addition to the bi-monthly general meetings, we also break down into four specialty committees, which meet as needed in between the general meetings, to work on specific issues in more detail, before presenting it to the general meeting for further discussion and final voting. Members are expected to serve on two committees.
Work Days - We also hold community work days a few times a year where we take care of our amenities. Memorial Weekend is our traditional time for cleaning and filling the swimming pond, for example. Community members sign up and pitch in on the various needed tasks on workdays.
ZVCC 25th Anniversary Party
