A Vision for the Future

This 18 acre site in Custer, Wisconsin is the headquarters of the premier alternative energy education center in the Midwest and the location of the largest alternative energy fair in the US.

Midwest Renewable Energy Association

The Midwest Renewable Energy Association wanted to create a site plan with a visionary design concept that promotes ethical human use and permanent sustainability of the MREA property. The site plan needed to address the daily needs and anticipated growth of the organization, while preserving the site’s ability to host a major annual event.

Mark Shepard, Wayne Weiseman and Jeff Rabkin led a week-long hands-on workshop to develop a visionary site plan for the 18-acre educational site in Custer, Wisconsin.

Throughout the workshop a group of students, working with MREA staff, evaluated the site and assessed MREA’s available resources including: land, soil, wildlife, plants, solar energy, water, topography, buildings, people, financial resources, and outside resources, to create a permaculture-based design that’s helping the MREA plan for their future growth.