McKnights Senior Living highlights RoseVilla’s Resident Green Team and ReadyForce Resident Groups that are advancing our sustainability and resiliency efforts.
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Senior living resident ‘Green Teams’ pursue environmental sustainability projects for their communities
Kimberly Bonvissuto, November 18, 2025
Senior living residents in two Portland, OR, continuing care retirement communities are taking emergency preparedness and environmental sustainability into their own hands through “Green Teams” that work with community leadership through a shared commitment to protecting people and the planet.
RoseVilla, a nonprofit life plan / continuing care retirement community, recently unveiled the ROSE — Resilient Operations and Sustainable Energy — Port, the Pacific Northwest’s first solar-powered resilient hub in senior living and the first of 12 planned on the community’s 22 acres under a 25-year resiliency action plan. Key priorities in the plan include energy and water resilience, seismic safety, and air quality and fire safety.
The earthquake-resilient hub is a carport with solar panels on the roof to store renewable energy and a rainwater storage system that collects and purifies rainwater. It’s also home and supports zero-emission transportation by housing four resident electric vehicles. Additional ROSE Ports, resilient buildings designed to support the community during a crisis, will systematically replace older buildings on campus and provide safe gathering spaces for residents and staff during natural disasters.
The Ready Force, RoseVilla’s resident emergency preparedness team, worked with the resident Green Team, which leads the charge on policies and programs to address climate change and promote sustainable living, on the ROSE Port project. Ready Force also hosts an annual ROSES Refresh Party in September during National Preparedness Month to promote emergency readiness and engage residents in hands-on planning. During the event, residents are encouraged to refresh supplies, update emergency contacts and connect with neighbors.
The ROSE Port is just one project underway at the CCRC, which also has a greywater reclamation system, backyard habitat certification, drip irrigation systems, battery-powered grounds equipment and low-water landscaping. The community operates under a mission to reduce its environmental and financial impact while elevating its community, wellness and health impact.
Sustainability leader
Meanwhile, Willamette View, one of RoseVilla’s neighbors, earned Gold Leader in Sustainability certification from Clackamas County for environmental sustainability thanks to the efforts of its resident Green Team’s pursuit of ways to reduce the community’s effects on the environment.
Willamette View is one three Clackamas County CCRCs to earn Leaders in Sustainability certification, along with Mary’s Woods and RoseVilla. Willamette View has maintained 10 years as an accredited Gold Leader, this year meeting 86 of 133 sustainability-related goals as part of a comprehensive environmental initiative. Gold certification requires meeting 60 benchmark goals.
The community’s leadership team and residents have made several sustainability improvements to the campus over time, including waste reduction, expansion of its electric vehicle charging infrastructure, development of a bio-swale to help manage rainwater and native plants along the river walk.
“The efforts are really encouraged by our residents and staff, who are deeply committed to the long-term health of the local, regional and global environment,” Willamette View CEO Craig Van Valkenburg said in a statement. “They’re focused on continuously evolving operations and reaching higher standards of environmental stewardship, proving that greener living is better living.”
Willamette View serves more than 500 residents and employs 440 staff members. Many of its sustainability efforts are guided by its resident Green Team, a volunteer group that formed in 2009 and plans green initiatives and educational programs in partnership with managers and staff.
An ongoing solar project, completed in October, leveraged incentives from the Energy Trust of Oregon, federal tax credits and a grant from the community’s Blue Heron Foundation to install a 77-kilowatt solar array atop one of its buildings.
Over the past year, the community’s assisted living building, The Neighborhoods, underwent a comprehensive renovation aimed at boosting energy efficiency and extending the building’s longevity. Upgrades included new siding and windows, modernized HVAC systems, refreshed interiors and a roof designed to accommodate solar technology.
The new solar array is projected to generate clean energy for at least 30 years and complement the existing solar panels on the North Pointe independent living building, which has been harnessing solar power since 2019.
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