The Vision of Paramita Green

Once a cracked and barren parking lot at Naropa's Paramita Campus, the Paramita Green offers lush grass and trickling water where oil stains and exhaust fumes used to reign. Designed and constructed by Naropa's own facilities maintenance and landscape crews, the project commenced last March. By late summer, it stood as a functional, sustainable and inviting area—an environment that grounds, uplifts and inspires its visitors.

Upon entering, one sees a large multi-use lawn space, a walking meditation path, arbors, a flagstone patio with stone tables and benches, as well as a solar-powered water element. Major sustainability design aspects include the sub-surface irrigation and fertilization system for the lawn and a drip system for the gardens. These watering methods are synchronized with an on-site weather station and, by keeping evaporation to a minimum, approach 100 percent efficiency.

Other elements at Paramita Green are Bali flags (now present on all campuses), stacked stone sculptures and the Dharma Wheel cut into the flagstone patio. The wheel is oriented to true north rather than magnetic north to remind those who enter the space to seek their true path, as opposed to the 'magnetic' pull of our sometimes skewed societal norms.

Paramita Green Slideshow I

Paramita Green Slideshow II